So you want to write young adult horror? It’s time to read some! But what stories are considered horror? According to StoryGrid, horror is an allegory for the “horrific world we presently or could soon inhabit. It serves as a prescriptive or cautionary tale about how to best metabolize our darkest fears and survive.” Horror stories can also have a single protagonist or multiple characters in a mini-plot structure. There are impossible odds and possibly monsters. Check StoryGrid for more information.
What stories are considered young adult? Some resources are available about the differences between adult fiction and young adult fiction. Check them out here, here, and here.
Some examples are Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake, Slasher Girls & Monster Boys by April Genevieve Tucholke, Undead Girl Gang by Lilly Anderson, Shutter by Courtney Alameda, Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler, and Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake. Check out a list of more young adult horror titles here, here, and here.
Upcoming young adult horror titles can be found here, here, and here.
Check out OA’s recent blog posts on how you can support #WeNeedDiverseBooks
Authors and Videos of Support #WeNeedDiverseBooks
And check out OA’s recent blog posts about horror giants Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King here, here, and here.
This blog post is part of a series called Q: What Are You Reading? by Suzanna Anderson on Operation Awesome. Please note that this book list is not comprehensive. This list is a starting point, an introduction to Young Adult Horror titles. Suzanna reads a book and usually finds at least ten more books to read. Use this list as inspiration to check out titles at your local library, support your local bookstores with purchases, or wherever you get your books. Please do read, share, and write reviews (if you want to). Comment below what you’ve read and what you’re excited to read next!
What are you reading?
I’ve read all of the Darks Crowns books and loved them. I must confess that it never really occurred to me that they might be classed as horror - a genre I usually actively avoid. I was drawn to the first one purely by it’s beautiful cover 😂
ReplyDelete