Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley with Fierce Reads
The groundbreaking thriller, which Courtney Summers describes as “gripping and unforgettable,” revolves around Daunis, a biracial, unregistered tribe and the product of a scandal that never quite fits. After Daunis witnessed a shocking murder that puts her on criminal investigation, she agrees to go undercover with the FBI. But the deceptions – and deaths – keep mounting and soon the threat hits too close to home. How far will she go to protect her community if it means tearing apart the only world she has ever known?
If you’re looking for a book that walks you through numerous twists and turns in the plot, but also explores big concepts like identity, marginalization, and injustice, then YA thrillers with marginalized teenagers is your jam. As the YA thriller genre has grown, we see more diverse and compelling books from a wide range of voices that delve deep into the ways characters from various marginalized identities experience injustice and crime, and they range from dark and twisted see you fast and exciting. Immerse yourself in one of these ten great YA thrillers!
The girls I was from Tess Sharpe
Nora is the daughter of a cheater, but nobody should know that. If she goes to a bank with her ex-boyfriend Wes and her current friend Iris, she hopes it will be a awkward few minutes before they can part with a fundraiser before they can split up … but then two men hold them Bank with all three of them are still inside. Faced with a suddenly fatal situation, Nora is already planning a way out for them all – because there’s no chance in Hell that she’ll trust the two robbers not to kill them first. But once her past sees through, Nora has to make some life and death decisions.
A Line in the Dark by Malinda Lo
Jess is in love with her best friend Angie, but Angie doesn’t know. That’s okay – Jess is content to wait for the perfect moment to let her feelings get known. But when Angie starts dating a preschool girl, Jess is suspicious. The prep school girls have secrets and they are not from Jess and Angie’s world. Jess stays close to Angie’s side no matter how much it hurts because she knows it will be a matter of time before they part. And when someone is murdered, Jess is ready to do what she has to do to protect her best friend.
Swipe Right for Murder by Derek Milman
Aidan didn’t expect to be alone in New York City for just one night with a fantastic hotel room, so he’s doing what many teenagers could do – trying to find someone to hang out with. But when a right blow on a dating app leads him to a hotel room where he finds a murdered man and a flash drive, a case of false identity puts the FBI on Aidan’s trail. Now he’s on the run through the city that never sleeps and he can’t trust anyone – his friends, the authorities, or his family – while trying to stay one step ahead of the people who killed his date and to prove his truth identity!
The obsession with Jesse Q. Sutanto
Logan’s in love with Delilah … she just doesn’t know yet. That’s okay. Logan can wait his time while he waits to convince Delilah that it should be them. And in the meantime, he’ll be watching her closely. But when Logan Delilah catches her killing her mother’s abusive boyfriend in front of the camera, he suddenly realizes that his lover is not a delicate flower. Delilah is now fed up with men trying to control her. She got rid of her mother’s boyfriend and is excited to see cute Logan is in love with her. But when Logan turns out to be just another controlling fool, Delilah realizes she won’t even get out of Logan’s thumb if she doesn’t even flee to her father’s hometown, Singapore. But can she really get rid of him when he knows the worst she did?
You’re next to Kylie Schachte
Flora once tripped over the body of a classmate, and that discovery – and the police’s failure to find a killer – haunted her for years. When she receives a text from Ava, a girl she has fallen in love with for ages, she agrees to meet Ava, but arrives just in time to witness her murder. Now Flora wants to find out who keeps killing her classmates and why. Her investigation brings her closer and closer to a dark conspiracy that has infiltrated her school, and if Flora keeps poking her nose, she could be next on the list of killers.
Fake Lamar Giles ID
Nick Pearson isn’t really his name. But it’s the name the program gave it when Nick and his family had to go undercover to escape some very bad things. And now in his new town and school, Nick knows to keep his head down and not act suspicious. But when his new friend Eli begins pulling back the layers of a massive conspiracy and is then murdered for what he discovered, Nick teams up with Eli’s sister Reya to solve Eli’s murder, even if that is beyond the cover of Nick’s family.
Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson
The enchanted Jones wants nothing more than to sing. So when she is torn from the darkness at a national audition by none other than the Korey Fields, who offer to take care of her, a dream seems to come true. He says all the rights that make her parents trust him. Why does Enchanted wake up in his apartment with blood on her hands with no memory of what happened the night before? It doesn’t take long for the police to approach her, and figuring out the truth might be the only thing setting them free. This is a powerful thriller about power, influence and abuse that moves back and forth between the past and the present.
All eyes on us from Kit Frick
Amanda and Rosalie are both with Carter Shaw, although they don’t know it. Not at first. Amanda is serious about Carter, but for Rosalie the relationship is just bait so that her religious parents don’t learn about her secret friend. When both girls receive anonymous text messages from someone who wants to take out Carter and asks for their help, they’re not sure what to do. Is anonymous really someone you can trust? But maybe a better question is: can they really afford to get on the bad side of being anonymous?
Sarah Liu’s best lies
Remy Tsai thought she had the most perfect life. She had an amazing best friend named Elise and a perfect boyfriend named Jack. But in an instant her whole life changes when Jack is shot … and Elise is the one who did it. Now the police are questioning Remy and trying to find out what was going on. But every question forces Remy to rethink everything she thought she knew about their relationships. Were things really as perfect as they seemed, or was she just imagining that they were?
Hand over your sons from Adam Sass
When Connor bombs the SATs and then learns that the old man he delivers meals to has died, he comes out to his mother. But his mother doesn’t take it well – she has him kidnapped and taken to Nightlight Ministries, a conversion therapy camp on a remote island where he can’t walk and he and his roommates are treated miserably. Not only that, but everyone keeps secrets and it is obvious that the warehouse manager cannot protect them. Connor has an escape plan not just for him, but for everyone who will come. And he’ll dismantle the whole camp on the way.
Looking for more great YA thrillers? We’ll cover you.
