Book picks similar to
Shadow by Joyce Sweeney


ya
young-adult
middle-grade
fantasy

Sea of Shadows


Kelley Armstrong - 2014
    For they are the Keeper and the Seeker, and each year they must quiet the enraged souls of the damned.Only this year, the souls will not be quieted.Ambushed and separated by an ancient evil, the sisters’ journey to find each other sends them far from the only home they’ve ever known. Accompanied by a stubborn imperial guard and a dashing condemned thief, the girls cross a once-empty wasteland, now filled with reawakened monsters of legend, as they travel to warn the emperor. But a terrible secret awaits them at court—one that will alter the balance of their world forever.

Once Dead, Twice Shy


Kim Harrison - 2009
    Because I'm there. Seeing it. Touching it. Living it. Madison's prom was killer—literally. For some reason she's been targeted by a dark reaper—yeah, that kind of reaper—intent on getting rid of her, body and soul. But before the reaper could finish the job, Madison was able to snag his strange, glowing amulet and get away.Now she's stuck on Earth—dead but not gone. Somehow the amulet gives her the illusion of a body, allowing her to toe the line between life and death. She still doesn't know why the dark reaper is after her, but she's not about to just sit around and let fate take its course.With a little ingenuity, some light-bending, and the help of a light reaper (one of the good guys! Maybe . . . ), her cute crush, and oh yeah, her guardian angel, Madison's ready to take control of her own destiny once and for all, before it takes control of her.Well, if she believed in that stuff.

Spookygirl: Paranormal Investigator


Jill Baguchinsky - 2012
    But when Violet discovers paranormal activity in the girls' locker room, she finds herself ill-equipped for handling the school's ghostly echoes. Through Violet's own investigation and with the help of some unlikely allies, Violet discovers there is a lot she doesn't know about her special skill--and more still that can stand in the way of its power. With sharp wit and determination, Violet sets out to uncover the truth behind her school's haunting, to finish the investigation that led to her mother's sudden death, and to learn why the only ghost she has ever wanted to see is the one that has eluded her forever.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children


Ransom Riggs - 2011
    An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs. It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow-impossible though it seems-they may still be alive. A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.

The Line


Teri Hall - 2010
    The Line is the part of the border that lopped off part of the country, dooming the inhabitants to an unknown fate when the enemy used a banned weapon. It's said that bizarre creatures and superhumans live on the other side, in Away. Nobody except tough old Ms. Moore would ever live next to the Line. Nobody but Rachel and her mother, who went to live there after Rachel's dad died in the last war. It's a safe, quiet life. Until Rachel finds a mysterious recorded message that can only have come from Away. The voice is asking for help. Who sent the message? Why is her mother so protective? And to what lengths is Rachel willing to go in order to do what she thinks is right?

Raven's Gate


Anthony Horowitz - 2005
    When Matt Freeman gets into trouble with the police, he's sent to be fostered in Yorkshire. It's not long before he senses there's something wrong with his guardian; with the whole village. Then Matt learns about the Old Ones and begins to understand just how he is different. But no one will believe him; no one can help. There is no proof. There is no logic. There is just the Gate.

Thirteenth Child


Patricia C. Wrede - 2009
    Her twin brother, Lan, is the seventh son of a seventh son. This means he's supposed to possess amazing talent -- and she's supposed to bring only bad things to her family and her town. Undeterred, her family moves to the frontier, where her father will be a professor of magic at a school perilously close to the magical divide that separates settlers from the beasts of the wild.

The Black Tattoo


Sam Enthoven - 2006
    When Charlie wakes up one day and finds a mysterious, moving black tattoo on his back, it’s a clear sign that he’s even cooler than Jack thought. To top it off, Charlie has got super powers also.Or does he?Jack soon learns the terrifying truth: Charlie’s incredible powers come from an age-old demon called the Scourge, who is using Charlie to bring about its evil master plan. When the Scourge vanishes with Charlie, Jack and Esme, a girl with super powers of her own, follow their friend from the streets of London into Hell itself, where they face horrors that may well cost them their lives.

Story Time


Edward Bloor - 2001
    It boasts the highest test scores in the nation. But at what price? Their school's curriculum is focused on beating standardized tests; classes are held in dreary, windowless rooms; and students are force-fed noxious protein shakes to improve their test performance. Worst of all, there seems to be a demon loose in the building, one whose murderous work has only just begun.A bitterly funny satire about the state of modern education from the author of Tangerine and Crusader. Includes a reader's guide and an author's note.

Bury Me Deep


Christopher Pike - 1991
    But the vacation gets off to a gruesome start. The boy beside her on the plane chokes and dies. Jean tries to push the incident out of her mind when she arrives on the island, but find it impossible. Part of the reason is because Mike keeps coming back to her in dreams. Horrible dreams filled with blood.Two of Jean's friends are awaiting her in Hawaii—Mandy and Michele. They have already made friends with two young men who teach scuba diving at the hotel—Dave and Johnny. Jean and Johnny quickly become friends. But there are problems in paradise. Besides Jean's continuing nightmares, Dave and Johnny have recently lost a partner in the ocean. No one knows how he died. No one can find his body. But then Jean finds Mike's body. It isn't where it's supposed to be and seems to have some life in it.

The Dead of Winter


Chris Priestley - 2010
    One that would be unbelievable if it weren't true! Michael's parents are dead and he imagines that he will stay with the kindly lawyer, executor of his parents' will ...Until he is invited to spend Christmas with his guardian in a large and desolate country house. His arrival on the first night suggests something is not quite right when he sees a woman out in the frozen mists, standing alone in the marshes. But little can prepare him for the solitude of the house itself as he is kept from his guardian and finds himself spending the Christmas holiday wandering the silent corridors of the house seeking distraction. But lonely doesn't mean alone, as Michael soon realises that the house and its grounds harbour many secrets, dead and alive, and Michael is set the task of unravelling some of the darkest secrets of all. This is a nail-biting story of hauntings and terror by the master of the genre, Chris Priestley

Prophecy of the Sisters


Michelle Zink - 2009
    They have also become enemies. As they discover their roles in a prophecy that has turned generations of sisters against each other, the girls find themselves entangled in a mystery that involves a tattoo-like mark, their parents' deaths, a boy, a book, and a lifetime of secrets. Lia and Alice don't know whom they can trust.They just know they can't trust each other.

The Morganville Vampires, Volume 1


Rachel Caine - 2009
    Now these secrets come to light in the first two books of the Morganville Vampires series, together in one volume.GLASS HOUSESMorganville is a small college town in the heart of Texas that has its share of quirky characters - and some evil ones too. When student Claire Danvers moves off campus into one of Morganville's oldest houses, she finds that her roommates don't show many signs of life. But they'll have Claire's back when the town's deepest secrets come crawling out, hungry for fresh blood.THE DEAD GIRLS' DANCEClaire Danvers has her share of challenges - like living among creatures of the night. On the upside, she has a great roommate (who tends to disappear at sunup) and a new boyfriend. Now a fraternity is throwing its annual Dead Girls' Dance and - surprise! - Claire and her equally outcast friend have been invited. When they find out why, all hell breaks loose, because this time both the living and the dead are ready to tear up the night.

The Haunting of Sunshine Girl


Paige McKenzie - 2015
    there's the chill that wraps itself around her bones, the giggling she can hear in the dead of night, and then the strange shadows that lurk in her photographs. But the more weird stuff that happens, the less her mom believes her. Sunshine's always had a quirky affiliation with the past, but this time, history is getting much too close for comfort...If there is something, or someone, haunting her house, what do they want? And what will they do if Sunshine can't help them?As things become more frightening and dangerous, and the giggles she hears turn to sobs and screams, Sunshine has no choice but to accept what she is, face the test before her and save her mother from a fate worse than death.The first in a frighteningly good new series based on the popular YouTube sensation The Haunting of Sunshine Girl Network, created by Paige McKenzie.

Professor Gargoyle


Charles Gilman - 2012
    Display them on bookshelves—and then watch the cover characters morph into monsters as you pass by!Strange things are happening at Lovecraft Middle School. Rats are leaping from lockers. Students are disappearing. The school library is a labyrinth of secret corridors. And the science teacher is acting very, very peculiar. Robert Arthurt knew that seventh grade was going to be weird, but this is ridiculous!With the help of some unlikely new friends, Robert discovers there's more to Lovecraft Middle School than meets the eye. Can he uncover the secrets of the school before it's too late?