So Fetch! New Trends Part Two: Psychological Thrillers

Yesterday the FNC told you all about the killer girls trend and how it's going to be one of the hot new things in YA books this spring and summer. Today we have part two of the new trends in YA!

Today, Gretchen Weiner says

to...Psychological Thrillers!

This may be the biggest upcoming trend we saw at ALA. Looking through my books to see which titles to mention, there were TONS. This seems to go hand in hand with the killer girls trend, and the nightmares these books are going to give me are definitely worth it! For me, there's nothing like curling up with a scary story on a cold night. It certainly helps that my DVR is filled with episodes of Elementary, and Bones, and NCIS, and CSI...you can guess what kind of story I like.

I am super excited to get wrapped up in the mysteries in these books!

COLD CALLS by Charles Benoit

From Goodreads: "Three high school students-Eric, Shelly, and Fatima-have one thing in common: "I know your secret." Each one is blackmailed into bullying specifically targeted schoolmates by a mysterious caller who whispers from their cell phones and holds carefully guarded secrets over their heads. But how could anyone have obtained that photo, read those hidden pages, uncovered this buried past? Thrown together, the three teens join forces to find the stranger who threatens them-before time runs out and their shattering secrets are revealed."

THE KILLING WOODS by Lucy Christopher

From Goodreads: "Emily’s dad is accused of murdering a teenage girl. Emily is sure he is innocent, but what happened that night in the woods behind their house where she used to play as a child? Determined to find out, she seeks out Damon Hillary the enigmatic boyfriend of the murdered girl. He also knows these woods. Maybe they could help each other. But he’s got secrets of his own about games that are played in the dark."

This was the first book I picked to read out of my ALA pile. I almost missed my train stop THREE times because Christopher's writing pulls you instantly into the world of Darkwood. I sat in my car for 40 minutes after getting the train just because I couldn't put this book down before it was over! This is definitely a move-to-the-top-of-your-TBR-pile book!

NO ONE ELSE CAN HAVE YOU by Kathleen Hale

From Goodreads: "Small towns are nothing if not friendly. Friendship, Wisconsin (population: 689 688) is no different. Around here, everyone wears a smile. And no one ever locks their doors. Until, that is, high school sweetheart Ruth Fried is found murdered. Strung up like a scarecrow in the middle of a cornfield. Unfortunately, Friendship’s police are more adept at looking for lost pets than catching killers. So Ruth’s best friend, Kippy Bushman, armed with only her tenacious Midwestern spirit and Ruth’s secret diary (which Ruth’s mother had asked her to read in order to redact any, you know, sex parts), sets out to find the murderer. But in a quiet town like Friendship—where no one is a suspect—anyone could be the killer."

This is my second read from ALA. I'm about halfway through. For me, NO ONE ELSE CAN HAVE YOU hits the perfect combination of funny and creepy. I'm totally in love with Kippy Bushman. For me this has a Bones-esque feel to it--a solid dose of humor, but a serious murder mystery as well. Kind of like Bridget Jones joins CSI. And this book actually came out in January, so you can read it now!

LIV, FOREVER by Amy Talkington

From Goodreads: "When Liv Bloom lands an art scholarship at Wickham Hall, it’s her ticket out of the foster system. Liv isn’t sure what to make of the school’s weird traditions and rituals, but she couldn’t be happier—especially when Malcolm Astor, fellow artist and scion of one of the school’s original families, starts falling for her. Fellow scholarship kid Gabe Nichols warns her not to get involved with a “Wicky,” but things are finally going Liv’s way, and all she wants to do is enjoy it. But Liv’s bliss is cut short when she is viciously murdered. In death, she discovers that she’s the latest victim of a dark conspiracy that spans 150 years and many, many lives. Gabe, cursed with the ability to see their ghosts, turns out to be Liv’s only link to the world of the living. Liv must rely on Gabe’s help to prove to Malcolm that she’s still present… lingering with the other spirits. Together, Liv, Gabe, and Malcolm fight to expose the terrible truth that haunts the halls of Wickham before more lives are lost."


THE VANISHING SEASON by Jodi Lynn Anderson

From Amazon: "Girls started vanishing in the fall. For Maggie Larsen, the town of Gill Creek is only a stopgap before college and freedom. Until she meets Pauline and Liam. What starts as an uneventful year suddenly changes. Someone is killing teenaged girls, and the town reels from the tragedy. As Maggie's and Pauline's worlds collide and change around them, they will both experience love and loss. And by the end of the book, only one of them will survive."

And here's another trend Regina George has told:

Paranormal Romance

Judging by what we saw at ALA, gone are the days of the "I'm just a girl--but I'm also a vampire!" and the "She thought senior year would be boring...until she realized she was a werewolf!" Not to mention the, "Nothing interesting ever happened in Spoons...until the dark brooding boy with the mussed hair and deep, soulful, elf-like eyes moved in." By all accounts, paranormal romance has returned to it's coffin to chill out for awhile, taking it's small towns and soulful bad boys with it. Personally, I was beyond ready for this trend to be over--because while there was a lot of great books that came out of it, and while this trend brought a lot more mainstream and adult crossover support to the YA world, I just couldn't handle anymore straight up romance books. Give me the gore! Give me the death! Give me the psychological thrillers, please (and if you want to add a dash of romance, so be it--but no damsels in distress, please!)

Tune in tomorrow for part three of upcoming trends in the YA world! (Hint: these books will haunt your dreams!)