Trapped

The Lost Village by Camilla Sten was listed in a social media thread about horror stories.

This wasn’t my idea of a horror story. It switches between Now and Then in the abandoned village of Silvertjärn.

In the Now, Alice is researching the place based on her grandmother’s stories. She has a crew of two girls and two guys with her. One of the girls, Tone, also has a connection to the village. Her mother was the only living person recovered from the place as a newborn baby.

In the past, a new minister came to town and slowly turned most of the villagers into his minions, including Alice’s grandmother’s younger sister. A girl with special needs ends up being stoned to death after delivering a baby (Tone’s mom). All of this is slowly revealed through letters and narrative.

Alice’s group begin hearing voices and seeing an unknown person as they start their investigation. Those left alone end up murdered until only three of them remain.

Spoiler-

The mystery of the lost village is finally solved as it turns out the whole village was trapped in the mines underneath after being led there by the pastor.

I may be a little picky with my reading as the last couple of books haven’t been super appealing to me. This one has some good points. I think it would appeal most to a teen/young adult audience interested in mystery.

Breaking Bonds

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White is not for the faint of heart (hence the author’s note which provides a disclaimer including the following statement: “You can get off the operating table and walk away at any time”). This is a 2026 high school Nutmeg nominee.

The book is set during the late 1800s in London and is considered a Gothic horror story.

Gloria is a beautiful young lady who identifies as a male named Silas with a passion for all things surgical. She learned as much as possible from her older medical brother. Her violet eyes mark her as special with an ability to split the veil between reality and the spirit world. Silas is also autistic.

With so many differences stacked against her, she has spent her life being forced to control herself and to be ladylike. Through her adolescence she tried to avoid the attention of the Speaker society (creepy men who wish to procreate with violet-eyed girls).

Silas is caught impersonating a male at a public event, and is sent to a boarding school to fix problematic girls just like her. It is while in this school that she meets the twisted Headmaster whose sole purpose is to torture the inmates.

Silas is able to connect to ghosts of his previous victims and to forge connections with some of the other girls in the home. He finds a kindred spirit in Edward, a suitor who identifies as Daphne.

They work together to expose the horrors in the home. But lives will be lost and unspeakable events will occur throughout.

As mentioned, there is graphic medical gore (which was definitely unsettling at certain points). There is also the creepy feeling from ghosts trying to share their experiences. I definitely enjoyed the book despite some moments of discomfort.

Too Happy

All Better Now by Neal Shusterman tracks the consequences of a new pandemic (post COVID). This one is called Crown Royale and its effects are either death or intense well being and care for humanity.

The book follows multiple characters. One group is completely against the virus and will do anything to eradicate it. They feel that those who recover are mindlessly happy.

One of these characters is Morgan. She is a savvy girl who is given an entire estate in order to accomplish this mission. People are expendable in her drive to avoid exposure and to accomplish notoriety. Glynis Havilland is the formerly wealthy tyrant who left her entire fortune to Morgan. Now as a recoveree, she is trying to figure out how to stop her.

Meanwhile, the wealthy son of another one of Morgan’s donators recovers from the virus as a super spreader. He teams up with Mariel. It turns out that she has natural immunity. They are on the run together to avoid Tiburon’s dad and the authorities. As they travel, Ron feels pulled to spread Crown Royale to as many people as possible while Mariel attempts to control how it’s spread.

All the events and characters cross paths once Mariel is taken to create a cure. However the cure may be worse than the virus itself.

Overall this book kept my interest. Shusterman pulls many characters and subplots together with great writing. It raises the question of whether a virus akin to a happy pill could make the world a better place or not.

A Long Fall

The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee combines romance, plenty of drama, and social status commentary in a futuristic NYC setting.

The main characters all live in the thousand floor tower which runs itself much like a city. There are schools, restaurants and apartment blocks with the wealthier families living on the highest floors. Up there, everything is high tech and fast paced.

The book’s opening scene shows a girl falling to her death before flashing back to the events three months earlier leading to that moment. There is a love triangle between best friends Leda and Avery and a boy named Atlas that they both like, but one can’t have (he’s Avery’s stepbrother). Leda is unaware of Avery’s feelings, and only knows that their friendship has become extremely strained. Leda is also a recovering addict.

Watt is an extremely tech savvy teen with a computer named Nadia installed in his brain. He can hack just about anything and is hired by Leda to find out more about Atlas. This is how he meets and becomes infatuated with Avery.

Eris is another of Avery’s friends. She recently found out that her dad is not her biological father. He steps away from her and her mom, which forces them to change their wealthy lifestyle and move to the 130th floor. Eris realizes that it may be possible to find love and happiness without wealth.

Finally, there’s Rylin. She is a not a top floor resident, but her path crosses with the wealthy Cord Anderton (a regular hookup of Eris). They are both orphaned and start to fall for each other. But Rylin has already stolen drugs from him in order to save her imprisoned boyfriend.

The book alternates among each character’s perspective with plenty of overlap among them. The tension and stress builds until the eventual deadly ending.

This book kept my interest once I had the characters straight, although I was a bit unsatisfied by the loose ending which foreshadows a second book.

Strong Narratives

The Silence that Binds Us by Joanna Ho delves into topics of suicide, grief and racism.

May’s older brother seemed to have it all: favor with their parents, popularity as a star senior on the school’s basketball team, and a recent acceptance into Princeton.

His shocking suicide turns May and her parents’ world upside down. Especially when an influential businessman/parent of one of May’s classmates blames the recent suicides and stress among teens in their community on Asian parents’ pressure on their kids.

May sends a rebuttal to the town newspaper which creates further division in her community and negative consequences for her mom’s job.

Despite her parents’ warnings to stay quiet, May teams up with her closest black friend and her brother to confront racism. They discover that everyone has stories that deserve to be shared.

Through this process, May continues to work through her own grief and her relationship with her parents- specifically her mother.

This book handles tough topics with a direct yet sensitive approach.

Missing Margo

Paper Towns by John Green is a recent read completed with my school’s book club.

I’m normally a John Green fan, but this book wasn’t a favorite.

Quentin is infatuated by his former childhood friend and neighbor Margo. He admires her from afar, until she barges back into his life one night. She takes him on a revenge mission, in which she gets back at her cheating boyfriend and friend. Quentin feels they may be able to build on this experience, but she vanishes.

He becomes obsessed with finding her. Luckily, she has left little clues along the way. While his closest friends are caught up with typical senior year activities such as prom and parties, Quentin determines to find Margo.

When he finally figures out her location, a small group decide to skip graduation to go on a road trip from Florida to New York to find her. They have a specific amount of time to arrive before she will leave.

Once there, Quentin will finally find out if there could be something between them or not.

Miracle

After Life by Gayle Forman is about second chances and how life connects us in unexpected ways.

Amber was killed by a hit and run driver when she was seventeen. Seven years later she returns home feeling as though it’s an ordinary day.

Learning about her accident sets her off on a mission to make sure her life had meaning. Her first impulse is to see her high school boyfriend. This encounter does not go as Amber expected. Neither does her mom’s reaction to seeing her.

The story comes together through multiple viewpoints at different times before her death: Amber’s, her younger sister, her parents, her boyfriend, a teacher and her former best friend.

This story is well written and thought provoking. It had me reaching for tissues by its conclusion.

Silence is Violence

Kneel by Candace Buford is my final 2025 high school Nutmeg nominee. It’s a racially charged book taking place in a Louisiana town.

Russell and his football team have the potential to have a great senior year. That is until their toughest rivals from the neighboring white school instigate a fight during one of their first games.

Russell’s town lost a teen to police brutality. A terrible case in which the officer faced no charges. Rampant racism continues as Russell’s teammate faces charges for the fight while the instigator gets off with a slap on the wrist.

Russell is pressured to decide between activism or staying quiet to ensure looks from D1 colleges. His decision will potentially affect his ability to play, his relationship with teammates and his parents. His love interest is also part of the decision.

Events build to a boiling point at a peaceful protest that is portrayed as a riot.

Russell is able to make a final decision that brings needed attention to the horrific racism and inequality in their town.

Finding Color

As Long as the Lemon Tree Grows by Zoulfa Katouh is a high school Nutmeg nominee.

Salama works in a Syrian hospital during the uprising. She is faced with death on a daily basis. Her struggle is whether to stay and continue helping, or to follow her brother’s last request to get his pregnant wife Layla out of Syria.

Added to her decision is a new love interest who plans to stay in Syria (with his younger brother and sister) in order to continue sharing its stories with the world.

Through the story, Samala’s PTSD from losing her family (different scenarios) has her talking to an invisible male figure named Khawf. But this voice becomes more important than she could realize.

This book reveals details about potentially unknown events. It reveals the strength of character needed to endure hardship and the ability to find glimmers of light in darkness.

Sex Ed

Not So Pure and Simple by Lamar Giles is another Nutmeg nominee.

Del has been obsessed with Kiera since they were in grade school, but she was always in a relationship- until now. Del decides to join a church group to get closer to her so he can make his move, but it turns out to be a purity pledge group.

What follows is Del’s attempts to get closer to an uninterested Kiera with help from her neighbor Jameel. Through the process is town/school drama related to a group of teen moms known as the Baby Getters and a sexuality class being taught at the school. And social media has become a platform to call out deadbeat dads and shoddy male behavior.

There are so many other nuances to this book including topics of religion, parenting, relationships and sexuality. Eventually, Del realizes that he needs to change his approach to get the girl.

To be honest, I wasn’t super into reading this book at first. But the author’s conversational, humorous style engaged me within just a few pages. I wish this was required reading for every high school student.