“Good books don’t give up all their secrets at once.”-Stephen King. Never the wiser, I’d say. Mystery is one of the best yet most complicated genres out there in terms of novels. A good one can keep you so absorbed that you don’t notice three hours have flown by. A bad one, on the other hand, can spoil the ending within a matter of chapters due to over-foreshadowing. It seems that finding such balance when it comes to dropping clues to readers is a very hard skill, if the amount of bad mystery novels I’ve read is any indication. To make up for all these unsatisfactory ones though, I have read my fair share of incredible mystery novels. And to make your life much easier (and to keep your sanity intact), I have compiled a list of the best Young Adult mystery novels. So, are you ready to be taken on a journey of a lifetime?
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All Your Twisted Secrets by Diana Urban
What do the queen bee, star athlete, valedictorian, stoner, loner, and music geek all have in common? They were all invited to a scholarship dinner, only to discover it’s a trap. Someone has locked them into a room with a bomb, a syringe filled with poison, and a note saying they have an hour to pick someone to kill … or else everyone dies.
Amber Prescott is determined to get her classmates and herself out of the room alive, but that might be easier said than done. No one knows how they’re all connected or who would want them dead. As they retrace the events over the past year that might have triggered their captor’s ultimatum, it becomes clear that everyone is hiding something. And with the clock ticking down, confusion turns into fear, and fear morphs into panic as they race to answer the biggest question: Who will they choose to die?
This book, my friends, truly threw me into a loophole. I had absolutely NO idea that it would end as it did. I loved the unique plot of the book, and how it weaved in modern-day societal issues into the theme. The book has a relatively fast pace, but every little detail has a place in the plot. This adds to the shock factor at the end. Although this isn’t a super well-known novel, it still has the elements that makes it such a good read.
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The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Avery Grambs has a plan for a better future: survive high school, win a scholarship, and get out. But her fortunes change in an instant when billionaire Tobias Hawthorne dies and leaves Avery virtually his entire fortune. The catch? Avery has no idea why–or even who Tobias Hawthorne is. To receive her inheritance, Avery must move into sprawling, secret passage-filled Hawthorne House, where every room bears the old man’s touch–and his love of puzzles, riddles, and codes.
Unfortunately for Avery, Hawthorne House is also occupied by the family that Tobias Hawthorne just dispossessed. This includes the four Hawthorne grandsons: dangerous, magnetic, brilliant boys who grew up with every expectation that one day, they would inherit billions. Heir apparent Grayson Hawthorne is convinced that Avery must be a con-woman, and he’s determined to take her down. His brother, Jameson, views her as their grandfather’s last hurrah: a twisted riddle, a puzzle to be solved. Caught in a world of wealth and privilege, with danger around every turn, Avery will have to play the game herself just to survive.
Twists and turns, scandalous family secrets, romance, and high-class society drama: this book has it all. I am a huge fan of Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ novels, and this one definitely did not disappoint. The author does an outstanding job at mashing up several different plotlines without straying from the central plot. I know I know, you’re probably thinking, how does that even work? But trust me, this novel knows what it’s doing. It’s going to take you on one heck of a ride, and it’s only going to leave you hanging. Don’t worry though, it all comes full circle in its sequel. Do yourself a favour and check this novel out.
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Killing November by Adrianna Mather
It’s a school completely off the grid, hidden by dense forest and surrounded by traps. There’s no electricity, no internet, and an eye-for-an-eye punishment system. Classes include everything from Knife-Throwing and Poisons to the Art of Deception and Historical Analysis. And all of the students are children of the world’s most elite strategists—training to become assassins, counsellors, spies, and master impersonators. Into this world walks November Adley, who quickly discovers that friends are few in a school where personal revelations are discouraged and competition is everything. When another student is murdered, all eyes turn to November, who must figure out exactly how she fits into the school’s bizarre strategy games before she is found guilty of the crime…or becomes the killer’s next victim.
Did anyone else read and re-read and re-re-read the Spy School series when growing up? Yup, me too. This one is similar in that it’s set at a top-secret boarding school and there are killers on the loose. However, it has a much more complicated plot full of surprises that is a step up from the childhood classic. Not only is it an incredible mystery, but the book also teaches you all these cool things about history and body language that leaves you feeling kind of like a spy yourself. You will find yourself on the edge of your seat while you walk with the protagonist through the plot. You can thank me later!
