The Drowning Game by Dusti Bowling

 I received an advance copy of The Drowning Game which is due out on Oct. 26, 2026. It's a compelling thriller complete with action, suspense, and a tragic drowning (or was it murder?). The main character is 17-year-old Christian who is invited to go on a rafting trip in Arizona with his persuasive best friend, James. Christian travels from Minnesota to Arizona for the trip even though he is not a strong swimmer. James brings along two friends and his girlfriend Freya, and the teenagers have no lifejackets or helmets, and no adult supervision. The boys bring beer and are drinking and partying while Freya and Christian bond over their realization that James is really a terrible person and neither of them wants to go over the dangerous rapids. Tragedy strikes, leaving Christian angry, alone, and emotionally devastated. 

Flash forward one year and Christian is a college freshman in Arizona when he sees someone from that summer whom he believes should be dead. He becomes a stalker, obsessed with figuring out what really happened on that river and turning into a not-so-great person himself. But is James losing his mind? Or is there more to the story?   

This is Dusti Bowling's first book that is classified as Young Adult, and the reviews are saying it is best for grades 9-up. As a middle school librarian I am always looking for books that include adventure, suspense, and even murder, and I was eager to see if it might be appropriate for my 7th and 8th grade readers. As much as I plowed through this book quickly and enjoyed it immensely, I'm going to stick with the grades 9-up recommendation. I know there are 7th and 8th graders who will eat it up, but it does center around college students who are drinking, making out (nothing more than that), and dealing with the trauma of a drowning. Due to the age of the characters and these factors, I can't call it youngteenlit, but I absolutely recommend it for high school collections, and I probably will hand it to some 8th grade readers as well. I didn't mention that it's based on Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo, which is bit of a spoiler, but that tells you the kind of twisty story it is. Recommended for adults as well as high schoolers. 

The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Kids are clamoring for this series from the author of The Inheritance Games series. The Naturals was first published in 2014 but has had a social media resurgence in 2025. It's the story of 17-year-old Cassie, recruited by the FBI because of her natural ability to read people. She's brought together with a small group of teens who are also "naturals" at some aspect of crime solving. The teens aren't supposed to get directly involved with murder cases, but Cassie is motivated by her mother's murder many years ago, and one of the other teens has a criminal father. So the crime solving is personal, and the naturals get access to some evidence they can't put down. As in many YA books, there's also a love triangle. It's a gritty murder mystery, one that I would say is most appropriate for 8th-up (but younger kids are asking for it). It's smart and feels like watching a crime TV show. CW: mention of sexual abuse, mutilation, and use of the word "whore"

Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson

 

Stevie Bell is a modern-day girl who loves true crime. She goes to Ellingham Academy, a private school in the mountains of Vermont specifically so she can try to solve a crime that happened there in the 1930s. The founder, a man fond of games and puzzles, founded the school to bring together brilliant students, but his own wife and daughter were kidnapped and the crime was never solved. Stevie arrives at school hoping to investigate the long-ago crime, and becomes friends with some interesting students--an actor, an inventor, a writer, an artist. But when the past comes back to haunt them and tragedy strikes one of her new friends, Stevie has a new murder to solve. If you like solving crimes and if you're willing to read the whole trilogy (spoiler--you don't get all the answers without reading all three books), try this mystery. Recommended for grades 7-12. 

Scar Island by Dan Gemeinhart

Jonathan Grisby is being sent to prison--a creepy old juvenile detention center on an island. It's a terrible place, but Jonathan thinks he deserves the punishment he is getting. After just one miserable night, disaster strikes, leaving 16 young criminals without any adults in charge. It's a Lord of the Flies scenario for younger readers, and when one boy gets power hungry it could endanger everyone's lives. A good book for kids who like action, adventure, and books about troubled kids. Recommended for grades 4-7.

Skink No Surrender by Carl Hiaasen

Malley is a teenage girl who is headed to boarding school because of her wild ways. In typical fashion, she avoids boarding school by running off with a guy she meets on the Internet. Her cousin Richard, also her best friend, is getting phone calls from her and he knows she is in trouble. The problem is, he has no idea how to find her. Fortunately, Richard meets Skink, a quirky old man who used to be the governor of Florida but now is burying himself in turtle nesting grounds and surprising would-be egg thieves. One-eyed Skink decides that he can find Malley, and he brings Richard along for the ride. Of course, since it's Carl Hiaasen and it's set in Florida, there are alligators involved. This book is being billed as Hiaasen's first book for young adults. I would say it's a great read for 7th grade on up. There is a lot of humor and action, and the readers who grew up on Hiassen's books for younger readers (Flush, Hoot, Scat and Chomp) will love Skink No Surrender.

Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman

Yes, this is a popular TV show, but it originated as this book, which is the true story of one woman's year in a women's prison. Piper Kerman was a Smith College graduate who spent her first year after college traveling around the world with drug mules. Piper didn't mastermind anything or actually transport drugs, but she did knowingly transport drug money. She soon left that life and settled into a more normal existence, but ten years later her former "friends" turned her in and her past caught up with her. She was sentenced to 13 months in a women's detention center, and at age 35 she served her time. The book provides a really fascinating look at a place that most of us will never see, and it also gives a sympathetic view of the women who are incarcerated. Many lack an education and access to good attorneys, and the prison system does nothing to educate, rehabilitate, or otherwise help them be productive citizens. This is definitely worth reading. Recommended for high school on up.

Lincoln's Grave Robbers by Steve Sheinkin

Did you know that the U.S. Secret Service started out as a group of men who were working to stop counterfeiters from producing fake money? Back in the 1800s is was relatively easy to create counterfeit money, but it was difficult to actually make really good counterfeit bills. A man named Benjamin Boyd was very good at making fake money, and he made a lot of money at it. But he ended up in prison, and that's when a group of Chicago men came up with a plan to get Boyd out of prison. Strangely enough, that plan included stealing the dead body of President Abraham Lincoln and holding it for ransom. This book tells the story of the grave robbing plot as well as the story of the Secret Service agent whose job it was to stop the robbery. The book is a quick read that includes photographs of the people and places involved. I learned a lot from this book, and enjoyed adding to my knowledge of United States history. There are many characters, both good guys and bad guys in this story, and the hardest thing about this book was keeping track of who was who. Recommended for 6th grade and up.