Grades 6 and 7
The Nest by Kenneth Oppel
For some kids summer is a sun-soaked season of fun. But for Steve, it's just another season of worries. Worries about his sick newborn baby brother who is fighting to survive, worries about his parents who are struggling to cope, even worries about the wasp's nest looming ominously from the eaves. So when a mysterious wasp queen invades his dreams, offering to "fix" the baby, Steve thinks his prayers have been answered. All he has to do is say "Yes." But "yes" is a powerful word. It is also a dangerous one. And once it is uttered, can it be taken back?
Frozen Charlotte by Alex Bell
The haunting starts even before Sophie arrives on the Isle of Skye to spend the summer with her cousins, but when she arrives she finds a house haunted by the ghost of a girl who attended school there a hundred years ago, as well as cousin Rebecca who died young and is never mentioned by her family--and she must somehow solve the mystery of the frozen Charlotte dolls before the whole family is destroyed.
Ophie's Ghost by Justina Ireland
Ophelia Harrison used to live in a small house in the Georgia countryside. One night in November 1922, her home and father were take away from her. That same night, Ophie learned she can see ghosts. Now she and her mother are living in Pittsburgh with relatives they barely know. In the hopes of earning enough money to get their own place, they both work at Daffodil Manor, which is haunted by memories and prejudices of the past—and, as Ophie discovers, ghosts as well. And as Ophie forms a friendship with one spirit whose life ended suddenly and unjustly, she wonders if she might be able to help—even as she comes to realize that Daffodil Manor may hold more secrets than she bargained for.
Scary Stories for Young Foxes by Christian McKay Heidicker
A collection of six connected stories that follows a group of fox kits as they fight to survive in an unforgiving wilderness.
Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff
It's the summer before middle school and eleven-year-old Bug's best friend Moira has decided the two of them need to use the next few months to prepare. For Moira, this means figuring out the right clothes to wear, learning how to put on makeup, and deciding which boys are cuter in their yearbook photos than in real life. But none of this is all that appealing to Bug, who doesn't particularly want to spend more time trying to understand how to be a girl. Besides, there's something more important to worry about: a ghost is haunting Bug's eerie old house in rural Vermont...and maybe haunting Bug in particular. As Bug begins to untangle the mystery of who this ghost is and what they're trying to say, an altogether different truth comes to light--Bug is transgender.
Took by Mary Downing Hahn
They say that a ghost witch lives in the woods. They say that the witch takes young girls, and no one ever sees them again. Daniel doesn't believe the stories. But when his sister, Erica, disappears into the woods one day and doesn't come home, Daniel knows something is terribly wrong.
Whispering Pines by Heidi Lang and Kati Bartkowski
When otherworldly forces descend on their town of Whispering Pines, conspiracy theorist Rae, who's searching for her lost father, and Caden, who's haunted by the ghost of his brother, must band together to save their home.
Grades 7 and 8
The Getaway by Lamar Gilles
Jay discovers that mountain resort where he lives and works with his friends and family is also a doomsday oasis for the rich and powerful who expect top-notch customer service even as the world outside the resort's walls disintegrates.
Horrid by Katrina Leno
Following her father's death, Jane North-Robinson and her mom move from California to the dreary, dilapidated North Manor in Maine, where her mother grew up. As autumn arrives, Jane finds solace in old books and memories of her dad. She makes new friends, but struggles to tamp down her anger when facing bullying. Then Jane discovers that the "storage room" her mom has kept locked isn't for storage at all: it's a little girl's bedroom, left untouched for years and not quite as empty of inhabitants as it appears... -- adapted from jacket.
Man Made Monsters by Andrea L. Rogers
Haunting illustrations are woven throughout these horror stories that follow one extended Cherokee family across the centuries and well into the future as they encounter predators of all kinds in each time period.
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
After a family tragedy, Jacob feels compelled to explore an abandoned orphanage on an island off the coast of Wales, discovering disturbing facts about the children who were kept there.
Our Crooked Hearts by Melissa Albert
Told in alternating voices, years after it began, seventeen-year-old Ivy and her mom Dana's shared story comes down to a reckoning among a daughter, a mother, and the dark forces they never should have messed with.
The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson
When Springville residents--at least the ones still alive--are questioned about what happened on prom night, they all have the same explanation . . . Maddy did it. An outcast at her small-town Georgia high school, Madison Washington has always been a teasing target for bullies. And she's dealt with it because she has more pressing problems to manage. Until the morning a surprise rainstorm reveals her most closely kept secret: Maddy is biracial. She has been passing for white her entire life at the behest of her fanatical white father, Thomas Washington. After a viral bullying video pulls back the curtain on Springville High's racist roots, student leaders come up with a plan to change their image: host the school's first integrated prom as a show of unity. The popular white class president convinces her Black superstar quarterback boyfriend to ask Maddy to be his date, leaving Maddy wondering if it's possible to have a normal life. But some of her classmates aren't done with her just yet. And what they don't know is that Maddy still has another secret . . . one that will cost them all their lives.