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.
The Nightblood Prince
by Molly X. Chang

Lifeng Fei, engaged to Crown Prince Siwang and destined to unite her divided land, strikes out on her own. After meeting Lan Yexue, prince of her rival kingdom, Fei considers challenging her fate... if she can figure out who to trust. Read-alikes: Elizabeth Lim's Six Crimson Cranes; Jordan Ifueko's Raybearer.
Codebreaker : a novel
by Jay Martel

Seventeen-year-old Mia Hayes' world shatters when her mother is killed and her father disappears, leaving behind a coded message that sends her and a rebellious hacker on a high-stakes race through D.C. to uncover government secrets and stop a devastating attack
Love spells trouble
by N. E. Davenport

"Cayden is well aware of that: her witch mom was shunned by her high-society parents when she fell in love with Cayden's human dad. Now, the family business is in trouble due to wealthy witches gentrifying her historic Texas neighborhood. So Cayden is appalled when she realizes she unknowingly went on a date with Coven it-boy Khy Carter...Suddenly, Cayden is thrown into the Coven system she grew up despising...As she spends more time with Khy, their fake dating starts to feel like real feelings"
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!
Central Arkansas Library System
100 Rock St.
Little Rock, Arkansas 72201
501-918-3000

www.cals.org/