The Horror Writers Association partnered with Booklist, Book Riot, iREAD, and NoveList® to select some bone-chilling young adult books that teens will find un-put-down-able. As Kendare Blake, the 2025 Summer Scares spokesperson explained, Summer Scares is a list of titles selected by a panel of authors and librarians to promote horror as a great reading option. To watch Kendare Blake’s conversation with authors Emma Berquist, Lamar Giles, and Kristen Simmons about their books, watch it here

Click the links below to discover the thrilling selected titles and some read-alikes that will leave you breathless!

Summer Scares 2025 titles:

Devils Unto Dust by Emma Berquist

The Getaway by Lamar Giles

Find Him Where You Left Him Dead by Kristen Simmons

Read-alikes:

She is Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran

Luminous Beings by David Arnold & Jose Pimenta

Dry by Neal Shusterman & Jarrod Shusterman

The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson

Saint Juniper’s Folly by Alex Crespo

Burn Down, Rise Up by Vincent Tirado

All of Us Villains by Amanda Foody & C. L. Herman

Snowglobe by SoYoung Park