Teen Scene
August 2025

Recent Releases
The Tournament
by Rebecca Barrow

Unlike most boarding schools, Gardner-Bahnsen School for Girls teaches survival classes and hosts a wilderness competition for seniors. To win, scholarship student Max, her ex-best friend Nora, and new student Teddy will provoke each other and spill dangerous secrets. This intensifying thriller will draw fans of dark academia.
When the bones sing
by Ginny Myers Sain

More than two dozen people have disappeared without a trace on local hiking trails in Lucifer's Creek, Arkansas, and 17-year-old Dovie can hear the bones of the dead calling for her to dig them up, in a gothic supernatural thriller. Simultaneous eBook.
Among Ghosts
by Rachel Hartman

Seven years ago, Charl and his mother fled to the safe haven of St. Muckle's. Life is peaceful, until a ghost, a murderer, a plague, and a dragon threaten the town in quick succession. This richly detailed fantasy is set in the world of author Rachel Hartman's popular Seraphina series.
Kill blue. 1, Let's go to school
by Tadatoshi Fujimaki

"Juzo Ogami has never led a normal life. He was picked up by a criminal organization as a child and grew up to become a legendary hit man. But everything changes when he's bitten by a mysterious insect and becomes a teenager again! Can this battle-hardened assassin handle the rigors of middle school life?! Juzo Ogami's a legend. Even among hit men, his name sends shivers down spines. There's never been a job he couldn't handle - that is, until the day he wakes up as a teenager! But how has his body transformed? To find out, he'll have to infiltrate the one place he thought he'd never find himself in again - school!"
After We Burned
by Marieke Nijkamp

On the night Eden and her girlfriend Payton planned to run away from their abusive families, their high school burned to the ground with Eden trapped inside. Now, Payton and her classmates strive to protect the secrets that may emerge during the investigation. Read-alikes: Kacen Callender's We Are Villains; Megan Davidhizar's Silent Sister.
 
Dark Academia
Sinister scholars, secret societies, deadly conspiracies...no matter the storyline, you can count on dark academia for plenty of twists, as well as unsettling, ominous vibes.
 
Curious Tides
by Pascale Lacelle

Emory and her best friend Baz unravel the secrets behind the strange ritual at Aldryn College for Lunar Magics that left seven students dead -- including Baz’s sister -- and imbued Emory with powerful magic. This fast-paced dark academia mystery opens a duology. Read-alikes: Kayla Cottingham’s My Dearest Darkest; Kate Alice Marshall’s The Narrow.
A Study in Drowning
by Ava Reid

Effy Sayre has won the opportunity to redesign the home of late author Emrys Myrddin. At the crumbling estate, Effy meets literature scholar Preston, and the longer they stay, the more they wonder if the evil Fairy King Myrddin wrote about isn't actually fictional. Read-alikes: A.B. Poranek's Where the Dark Stands Still; Anna Bright's The Hedgewitch of Foxhall.
Tender Beasts
by Liselle Sambury

Sunny Behre, a student at the posh Toronto private school bearing her family’s name, embraces her role as the golden child. But her loyalty is put to the test when clearing her brother’s name in a murder case means uncovering family secrets. Read-alikes: Kosoko Jackson’s The Forest Demands Its Due; Jumata Emill’s The Black Queen.
The Witch Haven
by Sasha Peyton Smith

New York City, 1911: 17-year-old Frances is suspected of murdering her brother. Being whisked away to Haxahaven Sanitarium not only saves her from being arrested, but allows her to hone magical talents that could help solve the crime. This dramatic, suspenseful dark fantasy incorporates themes of justice and sisterhood.
 
The Invocations
by Krystal Sutherland

Zara and Jude need magic to solve their problems, so they seek out Emer, a witch bent on revenge and dedicated to women in need. As Emer's former clients start dying mysteriously, the trio fights back to find the killer and fix their lives. Read-alikes: Georgia Bowers' Mark of the Wicked; Kate J. Armstrong's Nightbirds.
 
Contact your librarian for more great books for age 14 and up!
Rochester Hills Public Library
500 Olde Towne Rd
Rochester, Michigan 48307
248-656-2900

www.rhpl.org/