8 books for teens that bridge middle grade and YA
Author S.J. Wills recommends eight entertaining reads that fit into the gap between middle grade and young adult novels.
S. J. Wills is the author of the Bite Risk series
Young teen readers, at the transition from middle grade to young adult novels, are at an especially good age for discovering new stories.
All my recommendations here have scary moments, to varying degrees. This is partly because tense and exciting books are my jam, but also because at this point in their development, many readers actively seek to imagine themselves in unpredictable and frightening situations, within the safety of fiction.
This kind of reading can build feelings of resilience that will help children as they contemplate stepping into the adult world.
The books below are a mixture of longer/more challenging and shorter/easier reads, but each one is hugely entertaining, and will hook from the start.
1. Show Us Who You Are by Elle McNicoll
Something sinister is going on at Pomegranate Technologies, an AI company creating holograms of real people. This is a thrilling sci-fi to get your pulse racing, but also raises fascinating questions about what it means to be human, and takes you on a rollercoaster ride of emotions, too.
2. How I Saved the World in a Week by Polly Ho-Yen
This zombie-apocalypse novel is as much about family and hope as it is about running from the virus-ravaged undead hordes. There is plenty of heart-pounding action as Billy uses all the survivalist techniques he learned from his mum to stay alive. But if he’s to save the world, he may have to break one of her biggest rules: ‘trust no one’.
3. The Spook’s Apprentice by Joseph Delaney
Tom and his master, the Spook, must battle Boggarts and witches and a whole load of other supernatural nasties in a fictionalised version of Lancashire with a distinctly medieval vibe. Tom is 12 years old when the first book begins, and you can follow him through 20 books set in the same world as he grows up. Tom is a relatable, flawed but enormously appealing character, whom you root for from the very first pages. It’s action-packed, captivating, and utterly chilling. Not for the faint-hearted.
4. The Housetrap by Emma Read
There is no end of nightmare fuel in this suspenseful twist on escape rooms. A bunch of clever kids must work together (and sometimes against each other) to solve puzzles and survive, but every time they try to leave, the rooms move around. Warning: contains creepy dolls.
5. The Haunting of Tyrese Walker by J.P. Rose
Overwhelmed with grief after the death of his father, Tyrese goes to visit relatives in Jamaica, where he gets a lot more than he bargained for. Haunted by an entity known as The Shadow Man, he is in mortal danger. This is a properly scary horror story, but also a poignant and ultimately uplifting novel about facing up to and dealing with the things that scare you.
6. 21% Monster by P.J. Canning
Two not-entirely-human teens go on the run to escape a government agency that wants to kill them. Darren and Marek are living evidence of highly dodgy DNA experiments that the agency will go to any lengths to cover up. Great for conspiracy-loving readers, this novel does not hang about and will delight fans of Alex Rider. A series of three books to romp through.
7. The Deadsoul Project by Dan Smith
This has X‑Files vibes and horror in an action-filled, short, dyslexia-friendly novel. A particularly great choice for those who might be intimidated by longer reads, but still crave a fast-moving, scary yarn that isn’t for younger children. First in a new series.
8. Read Scream Repeat, edited by Jennifer Killick
The perfect read for those who want snack-sized, terrifying fiction to devour, this collection of short stories from a variety of award-winning and popular authors will send delicious shivers down your spine.
The Bite Risk series by S.J. Wills is out now.
