Teen Scene
August 2025

Recent Releases
The Thrashers
by Julie Soto

Seventeen-year-old Jodi Dillon, the outsider in an exclusive high school group, is caught between loyalty and self-preservation after the mysterious death of a former friend, as strange events and unsettling truths begin to unravel about the group's dark secrets.
A First Time for Everything
by K. L. Walther

After Madeline reveals to her brother’s fiancée that she’s never been kissed or on a date, she ends up navigating disastrous dates and being tugged in different directions, in a romance full of dating disasters, powerful firsts and the importance of family.
Out of Air
by Rachel Reiss

While scuba diving off the Australian coast, Phoebe "Phibs" Ray and her friends uncover a legendary underwater treasure, but as strange transformations begin to take hold, they must fight to protect each other from dangerous treasure hunters and a dark, growing power.
A Language of Dragons
by S. F. Williamson

In an alternate London in 1932, a girl breaks a truce between dragons and humans, and to save her family she must work at Bletchley Park as a codebreaker, in a story about language, loyalty, love and redemption.
All Paths Lead to Paris
by Sabrina Fedel

When a fashion influencer with a luxe Parisian life and a fake musician boyfriend meets a "normal" guy and begins to date him on the sly, she must rethink all of her lies-and consider whether they might have a little too much truth in them.
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.
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: 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.
Contact your librarian for more great books for age 14 and up!
Forsyth County Public Library
770-781-9840 | ForsythPL.org