What could be more fun than a fast-paced thriller that keeps you turning the pages late into the night even when you know you have to get up early for work or school the next day—or glued to your sofa, unwilling to stop reading no matter how pitifully your dog is begging you to go for a walk? If you enjoy this genre as much as I do, here are some recent and new releases to check out now!
Prettyboy Must Die by Kimberly Reid (Feb. 13) is an action-packed tale about a brilliantly multilingual African-American teenager who also just happens to be an undercover CIA agent. Posing as a regular high school student at a STEM school back in the U.S., his secret overseas mission to catch a Ukrainian terrorist behind him, it all goes pear-shaped when his good looks make him the latest viral internet sensation.
Honor Code by Kiersi Burkhart (Mar. 1) reveals a dark underbelly at an elite boarding school when a new student from a more modest financial background than most of her classmates is sexually assaulted. She learns that the school culture promotes misogynistic behavior and is determined to expose what is going on. Those who appreciate courtroom dramas and surprise endings will be kept spellbound.
A young con artist gets more than she bargained for in Kim Savage’s In Her Skin (Mar. 27). When a homeless teenager assumes the identity of a girl who disappeared some years before (and whose parents subsequently died), she at first is pleased at how easily she is able to infiltrate the family of the missing girl’s best friend—but things soon take a darker turn in this absorbing tale. Laura Simeon is the young adult editor.
