6 Suspenseful Page Turners to Recommend to Your Secondary Students

Nothing hooks you as a reader like well done suspense and a series of plot twists you never saw coming. Putting these types of page turners in the hands of students means they'll want to keep reading and won't want to put their book down.  They are ideal books for students who are often disengaged readers. Here's 6 suspenseful novels that I've recently read and would recommend to secondary students. Click the title of each to read my full review and ideas for using it in the classroom.

1. One Of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus

This is the story of what happens when five strangers walk into detention and only four walk out alive, is accurately described as “Pretty Little Liars meets The Breakfast Club.” The four survivors of detention narrate the book and each has something to hide, a secret only the outcast knew, which means each of them has a possible motive for murder. 

2. The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

in this interesting mix of fantasy and thriller, fairy tale and magical realism, the main character, Alice, is no doubt a nod to Alice of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll. Similar to Carroll's Alice, this Alice is far from perfect. She can be impulsive and is willing to use others to get what she wants. However, her mission is not a selfish one; she is trying to save her mother from whatever forces of evil have captured her. 

3. Girl, Stolen by April Henry

Cheyenne's kidnapping is really an accident, but becomes a crime of greater opportunity when her kidnapper's father finds out who her father is, and more importantly, who he works for. Despite being sick with pneumonia and almost entirely blind, Cheyenne is quick thinking and never stops trying to outsmart her captors. The novel becomes more and more intense as Cheyenne's situation grows increasingly more dangerous and her likelihood of survival decreases. 

4. Taken by Edward Bloor

As the divide between the rich and poor grows, cases of kidnapping also increase. The twists and turns in Charity's kidnapping will surprise you and you'll never suspect the true identify of her kidnappers. 

5. The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

Sixteen near strangers are named as heirs to millionaire Sam Westing, but in order to claim their inheritance, they must solve the mystery of who killed Sam Westing. The players are paired up and only one pair can win. Clues are stolen, three bombs explode, and family members are keeping secrets from one another as each pair desperately hopes to win. 

6. When by Victoria Laurie

This novel falls into the categories of mystery, suspense, and thriller, and the twists in the plot kept me hooked until the end. Maddie's ability to see peoples "death dates" seems like a gift until she become involved in a murder investigation. A number of believable red herrings and realistic character development make the novel a hit.