Books like 'The Box in the Woods'
Readers who enjoyed The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary young adult dark romance paranormal fantasy mystery suspense queer found-family high-school
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Don't Let the Forest In by C.G. Drews
As alluring as it is unsettling, award-winning author CG Drews' debut YA psychological horror will leave readers breathless and hesitant to venture deeper into the woods.Once upon a time, Andrew had cut out his heart and given it to this boy, and he was very sure Thomas had no idea that Andrew would do anything for him. Protect him. Lie for him. Kill for him... -
The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 64 ratingsWhen the dead come back to haunt the living, Lockwood & Co. step in . . .For more than fifty years, the country has been affected by a horrifying epidemic of ghosts. A number of Psychic Investigations Agencies have sprung up to destroy the dangerous apparitions.Lucy Carlyle, a talented young agent, arrives in London hoping for a notable career... -
The Summer Hikaru Died Vol. 3 by Mokumokuren
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsA strange man arrives to investigate the strange occurrences that seem to be happening more and more frequently around the village. Everything seems to be linked to the mountain where Hikaru died and “Hikaru” came from.. -
The Summer Hikaru Died, Vol. 1 by Mokumokuren
It has Hikaru’s face. It has Hikaru’s voice. It even has Hikaru’s memories. But whatever came down from the mountains six months ago isn’t Yoshiki’s best friend. Whatever it is, it’s dangerous. Carrying on at school and hanging out as if nothing has changed―as if Hikaru isn’t gone―would be crazy...but when it looks so very like Hikaru...and acts so very like Hikaru.. -
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Casket of Souls by Lynn Flewelling
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsThe Nightrunners are back in this gripping novel full of Lynn Flewelling's trademark action, intrigue, and richly imagined characters. More than the dissolute noblemen they appear to be, Alec and Seregil are skillful spies, dedicated to serving queen and country... -
The Darkangel Trilogy by Meredith Ann Pierce
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratings3 novels in 1 The Darkangel; A Gathering of Gargoyles; The Pearl of the Soul of the World... -
Nocte by Courtney Cole
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsMy name is Calla Price. I'm eighteen years old, and I'm one half of a whole. My other half-- my twin brother, my Finn-- is crazy. I love him. More than life, more than anything. And even though I'm terrified he'll suck me down with him, no one can save him but me. I'm doing all I can to stay afloat in a sea of insanity, but I'm drowning more and more each day. So I reach out for a lifeline... -
Arising Son by Marie Montine
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsRyan Reyn has special abilities that allows him to help people with thier ailments.But he also has abilities that can annihilate everyone in the town, he just doesn't know it yet, and they are awakening...He goes to the one person who can help him with his conflicting nature.His Cassandra Wynstrom.Arising Son is the sequel to Mourning Grey, taking place twenty years after the Great War... -
No Time to Die by Elizabeth Chandler
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsMessage from a dead girl... It's too late to call back. Jenny will never speak to Liza again. But it seems that even from beyond the grave, Liza is begging her sister for help.... They say it's a serial killer. Is it? Jenny can't afford to trust anyone. Now she's here, in Wisteria, anonymously registered at the Chase College theater camp where her sister died... -
The Deep End of Fear by Elizabeth Chandler, Sandy Young
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsLet Sleeping Ghosts LieTwelve years ago Kate's family left the Westbrook estate on a stormy night, just after young Ashley Westbrook drowned in an icy pond. Now kate, alone in the world, has returned to the estate to tutor another spoiled Westbrook child, Patrick. The seven-year-old says he talks to Ashley by the pond. He does dangerous, deadly things because, he says, "Ashley dared me to... -
White Walls by Lauren Hammond
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsAdelaide Carmichael knows that she's lost her mind. She's aware that she's being sent to The Oakhill Institution, but she's been told that she's being sent there to get better. She's been told that the staff is there to help. And it doesn't take Adelaide long to discover that she was very, very wrong about The Oakhill Institution. Patients roam the halls like zombies... -
Old Wounds by Logan-Ashley Kisner
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsTwo transgender teens end up in a small, isolated town, where they must escape the locals who plan to sacrifice one of them to an ancient monster that only eats girls. A pulse-pounding thriller perfect for fans of Midsommar and Hell Followed with Us!Erin and Max are two transgender teens trying to get to California... -
Every Ugly Word by Aimee L. Salter
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWhen seventeen-year-old Ashley Watson walks through the halls of her high school bullies taunt and shove her. She can’t go a day without fighting with her mother. And no matter how hard she tries, she can’t make her best friend, Matt, fall in love with her. But Ashley also has something no one else does: a literal glimpse into the future... -
Happiness, Vol. 3 by Shuzo Oshimi
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsA supernatural story of sexual awakening, growing up, and suburban vampirism, Happiness follows a dorky boy who is attacked by a girl in an alley. She sucks his blood and gives him a choice: life or death... -
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Rise by Ellen Goodlett
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSisters Akeylah, Ren, and Zofi are all a step closer to their dying father's throne, a step closer to the crown that will allow one of them to rule over Kolonya. But the sisters' pasts continue to haunt them. Each hides a secret marked with blood and betrayal, and now their blackmailer is holding nothing back... -
Slaying Isidore's Dragons by C. Kennedy
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratings5 Best friends, 4 Vicious brothers, 3 STD tests, 2 Guys in love, 1 Car bombing & nowhere to runFollow the burgeoning love of two teens during the worst year of their lives. Irish-born Declan David de Quirke II is the son of two ambassadors, one Irish and one American. He is 'out' to his parents but to no one else... -
The Honeys by Ryan La Sala
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 44 ratingsFrom Ryan La Sala, the wildly popular author of Reverie, comes a twisted and tantalizing horror novel set amidst the bucolic splendor of a secluded summer retreat.Mars has always been the lesser twin, the shadow to his sister Caroline's radiance... -
Every Exquisite Thing by Laura Steven
A feminist YA horror-thriller-romance retelling of The Picture of Dorian Gray by the TikTok sensation and author of The Society for Soulless Girls… Penny Paxton is the daughter of an icon. Her supermodel mother has legions of adoring fans around the world, and Penny is ready to begin her journey to international adoration, starting with joining the elite Dorian Drama School... -
The Dark Becomes Her by Judy I. Lin
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsPerfect for fans of Ryan LaSala and Trang Thanh Tran: a sinister tale of the supernatural, sisterhood, and the shadows that rule our darkest desires, New York Times best-selling author Judy I... -
What Stalks Among Us by Sarah Hollowell
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsFrom Sarah Hollowell, author of A Dark and Starless Forest, comes a spine-tingling, deliriously creepy YA speculative thriller about two best friends trapped in a corn maze with corpses that look just like them... -
Notes from My Captivity by Kathy Parks
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsAdrienne Cahill cares about three things: getting into a great college; becoming a revered journalist like her idol, Sydney Declay; and making her late father proud of her... -
Verum by Courtney Cole
Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsThe truth shall set you free. My name is Calla Price and I’m drowning. My new world is a dark, dark ocean and I’m being pulled under by secrets. Can I trust anyone? I don’t know anymore. The lies are spirals. They twist and turn, binding me with their thorns and serpentine tongues. And just when I think I have it figured out, everything is pulled out from under me... -
Gallows and Ghouls by Katie May
Rated: 3.91 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsOne’s a liar. One’s arrested for murder. One’s dead. The rest of us? We’re struggling to get out of this mess alive. With new secrets emerging and the Shadow Man more determined than ever to claim me, we must all do something we’ve never done before: embrace our darkness... -
The Depths by Nicole Lesperance
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA tropical island full of secrets. Two Victorian ghosts, trapped for eternity. And a seventeen-year-old girl determined not to be next.Eulalie Island should be a paradise, but to Addie Spencer, it's more like a prison.Forced to tag along to the remote island on her mother's honeymoon, Addie isn't thrilled about being trapped there for two weeks... -
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Gilt Hollow by Lorie Langdon
Rated: 3.89 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWillow Lamott’s best friend is a murderer, and no one in the small town of Gilt Hollow will let her forget it. For four long years, she’s tried to fade into the background—but none of that matters when Ashton Keller comes striding into school, fresh out of juvie and fueled by revenge. The moment their eyes meet, Willow no longer feels invisible... -
Quinsey Wolfe's Glass Vault by Candace Robinson
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsYOUNG ADULT EDITION OUT OF PRINTA girl without answers. A boy who wants to help her. A mysterious museum that some see... And some don't...Perrie Madeline lives a simple life. Her only concern is deciding whether or not to let herself fully fall for August Hartley. That is, until a strange museum, known as Quinsey Wolfe’s Glass Vault, appears overnight and people around her begin to go missing... -
We'll Never Be Apart by Emiko Jean
Rated: 3.89 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsMurder. Fire. Revenge. That’s all seventeen-year-old Alice Monroe thinks about. Committed to a mental ward at Savage Isle, Alice is haunted by memories of the fire that killed her boyfriend, Jason. A blaze her twin sister Cellie set. But when Chase, a mysterious, charismatic patient, agrees to help her seek vengeance, Alice begins to rethink everything... -
Poison Ivy: Thorns by Kody Keplinger
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsNew York Times bestselling author of The DUFF Kody Keplinger and artist Sara Kipin reimagine an iconic DC antihero with a gothic-horror twist.There's something unusual about Pamela Isley—the girl who hides behind her bright red hair. The girl who won't let anyone inside to see what's lurking behind the curtains. The girl who goes to extreme lengths to care for a few plants... -
The Darkest Lie by Pintip Dunn
Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars · 11 ratings“The mother I knew would never do those things. But maybe I never knew her after all.”Clothes, jokes, coded messages… Cecilia Brooks and her mom shared everything. At least, CeCe thought they did. Six months ago, her mom killed herself after accusations of having sex with a student, and CeCe’s been the subject of whispers and taunts ever since... -
The Masked Truth by Kelley Armstrong
Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsRiley Vasquez is haunted by the brutal murder of the couple she was babysitting for.Max Cross is suffering under the shadow of a life-altering diagnosis he doesn’t dare reveal.The last thing either of them wants is to spend a weekend away at a therapy camp alongside five other teens with “issues.” But that’s exactly where they are when three masked men burst in to take the group hostage... -
Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson
Rated: 3.87 of 5 stars · 87 ratingsNew York Times bestselling author Maureen Johnson weaves a delicate tale of murder and mystery in the first book of a striking new series, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and E. Lockhart.Ellingham Academy is a famous private school in Vermont for the brightest thinkers, inventors, and artists... -
Insanity by Lauren Hammond
Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsAdelaide Carmichael and Damien Allen couldn’t be more opposite. Adelaide’s mother abandoned her when she was ten years old, leaving her to be raised by her abusive and alcoholic father. Damien on the other hand came from a wealthy family, was a local celebrity, and seemed to have a bright future ahead of him... -
Here Lives a Corpse by C.L. Matthews
Rated: 3.85 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsA Dark Bully Academy Reverse Harem RomanceHere Lives a Corpse is book one of a five-part series. You do have to read all to understand. Each one ends on a cliffhanger.Life doesn’t promise anything but existence.Losing Cass proved that.Everyone thinks I’m crazy.Corpse.Freak.Vampire.They called me the one who never overcame the loss of her brother, the outcast, the least likely to succeed... -
Nine Liars by Maureen Johnson
Senior year at Ellingham Academy for Stevie Bell isn’t going well. Her boyfriend, David, is studying in London. Her friends are obsessed with college applications. With the cold case of the century solved, Stevie is adrift. There is nothing to distract her from the questions pinging around her brain—questions about college, love, and life in general... -
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This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel
Rated: 3.85 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsBravery, danger, and intense passion. How does obsession begin?Victor and Konrad are the twin brothers Frankenstein. They are nearly inseparable. Growing up, their lives are filled with imaginary adventures...until the day their adventures turn all too real. They stumble upon the Dark Library and discover secret books of alchemy and ancient remedies... -
Sorrow's Knot by Erin Bow
Rated: 3.79 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsIn the world of Sorrow’s Knot, the dead do not rest easy. Every patch of shadow might be home to something hungry and nearly invisible, something deadly. The dead can only be repelled or destroyed with magically knotted cords and yarns. The women who tie these knots are called binders. Otter is the daughter of Willow, a binder of great power... -
Absent by Katie Williams
Rated: 3.78 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWhen seventeen-year-old Paige dies in a freak fall from the roof during Physics class, her spirit is bound to the grounds of her high school. At least she has company: her fellow ghosts Evan and Brooke, who also died there. But when Paige hears the rumor that her death wasn't an accident--that she supposedly jumped on purpose--she can't bear it. Then Paige discovers something amazing... -
The Unquiet by Jeannine Garsee
Rated: 3.81 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsSixteen-year-old Rinn Jacobs has secrets: One, she’s bipolar. Two, she killed her grandmother. After a suicide attempt, and now her parents' separation, Rinn and her mom move from California to the rural Ohio town where her mother grew up... -
The Vanishing Game by Kate Kae Myers
Rated: 3.81 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsSeventeen-year-old Jocelyn follows clues apparently from her dead twin, Jack, in and around Seale House, the terrifying foster home where they once lived. With help from childhood friend Noah she begins to uncover the truth about Jack's death and the company that employed him and Noah... -
Ghosted by Emily Barr
Rated: 3.75 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAriel's accidental meeting with a handsome stranger called Joe is completely perfect; they have a connection like she's never known before. They exchange numbers and agree to meet when he is back from a trip to France. But when Ariel messages him, the number Joe gave her is disconnected. He's ghosted her. She assumes she will never see him again.Except she does. Again and again... -
Initium by Courtney Cole
Rated: 3.76 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsI never knew what the consequences would be. I say that like it’s a defense, an excuse. It’s not. It’s simply the truth. I never knew what he would become to me. Through everything, he’s become everything. My rock, my air, my love. My everything. And then…. Things changed. Because it was wrong. Because sometimes, our sons must pay for the sins of their fathers... -
The Companion by Katie Alender
The other orphans say Margot is lucky. Lucky to survive the horrible accident that killed her family. Lucky to have her own room because she wakes up screaming every night. And finally, lucky to be chosen by a prestigious family to live at their remote country estate. But it wasn't luck that made the Suttons rescue Margot from her bleak existence at the group home... -
My Dearest Darkest by Kayla Cottingham
Rated: 3.79 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsWILDER GIRLS meets THE CRAFT in this Sapphic horror debut that asks: What price would you be willing to pay to achieve your deepest desires?Finch Chamberlin is the newest transfer student to the ultra-competitive Ulalume Academy... but she's also not what she seems. Months before school started, Finch and her parents got into an accident that should have left her dead at the bottom of a river... -
Welcome to the Dark House by Laurie Faria Stolarz
Rated: 3.77 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsWhat’s your worst nightmare? For Ivy Jensen, it’s the eyes of a killer that haunt her nights. For Parker Bradley, it’s bloodthirsty sea serpents that slither in his dreams. And for seven essay contestants, it’s their worst nightmares that win them an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at director Justin Blake’s latest, confidential project... -
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Keep You from Harm by Debra Doxer
Rated: 3.70 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsSecrets… They weigh you down. I’ve kept a secret all my life. It’s my mother’s secret, too. I inherited it from her along with a unique ability that only we possess. She’s gone now, another victim of addiction. If her death isn’t enough to bring me to my knees, her betrayal flays me to the bone. Because the secret my mother and I have been keeping is just one of many she’d kept... -
Beautiful Nightmares by Lauren Hammond
Rated: 3.53 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsThe epic, final installment in the Asylum Trilogy. Sanity is a funny word. Sanity. Sanity. To be sane. To have clear thoughts. To be able to distinguish the difference from fantasy and reality. I used to think that my sanity was still intact. That all of my marbles were still in the bag known as my mind. That I would never—EVER—let Oakhill get the best of me... -
Happiness, Vol. 1 by Shuzo Oshimi
Rated: 3.69 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsTHE THIRST Nothing interesting in happening in Makoto Ozaki’s first year of high school. HIs life is a serise of quiet humiliations: low-grade bullies, unreliable friends, and the constant frustration of his adolescent lust. But one night, a pale, thin girl knocks him to the ground in an alley and offers him a choice. Now everything is different. Daylight is searingly bright. Food tastes awful... -
The Restless Dark by Erica Waters
Rated: 3.48 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsEnter Cloudkiss Canyon at your own risk.The Cloudkiss Killer is dead. Now a true-crime podcast is hosting a contest to find his bones.Lucy was almost the serial killer’s final victim. Carolina is a true-crime fan who fears her own rage. Maggie is a psychology student with a little too much to hide.All of them are looking for answers, for a new identity, for a place to bury their secrets... -
The Creeping by Alexandra Sirowy
Rated: 3.61 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsEleven years ago, Stella and Jeanie disappeared. Only Stella came back.Now all she wants is a summer full of cove days, friends, and her gorgeous crush - until a fresh corpse leads Stella down a path of ancient evil and secrets.Stella believes remembering what happened to Jeanie will save her. It won’t.She used to know better than to believe in what slinks through the shadows. Not anymore... -
I Am Her Revenge by Meredith Moore
Rated: 3.53 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsShe can be anyone you want her to be. Vivian was raised with one purpose in life: to exact revenge on behalf of her mother. Manipulative and cruel, Mother has deprived Vivian not only of a childhood, but of an original identity. With an endless arsenal of enticing personalities at her disposal, Vivian is a veritable weapon of deception. And she can destroy anyone...
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