Young Adult
Note: this is A.G. Howard’s young adult book page; for info on her adult titles, follow this link.
INTL & NYT Bestselling Splintered Series
Gothic YA Alice In Wonderland spinoff
Publisher: Amulet Books
Welcome to the real Wonderland… Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to their ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. When Alyssa learns that what everyone thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality, she steps into the rabbit hole to a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. Join Alyssa’s own thrilling adventures as she drains an ocean of Alice’s tears, wakes the slumbering tea party, and subdues a vicious bandersnatch in hopes to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family, her friends, and all of Wonderland.
“Wonderfully dark, weird, and twisted, this richly drawn refashioning of [Lewis] Carroll’s classic fantasy…is equal parts thrilling fantasy adventure, poignant family drama, and journey of self-discovery, offering a distinctive and original story that remains faithful to the spirit of its source.”–Starred Review from The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Slasher Girls & Monster Boys
Young Adult Horror Anthology
Publisher: Dial
Publication date: August 18, 2015
A host of the smartest young adult authors come together in this collection of scary stories and psychological thrillers. Each story draws from a classic tale or two—sometimes of the horror genre, sometimes not—to inspire something new and fresh and terrifying. There are no superficial scares here; these are stories that will make you think even as they keep you on the edge of your seat. From bloody horror to supernatural creatures to unsettling, all-too-possible realism, this collection has something for any reader looking for a thrill.
#1 NYT Bestselling RoseBlood
Young Adult Phantom of the Opera Retelling
Publisher: Amulet Books
Publication date: January 10, 2017
This Phantom of the Opera spin-off follows a high school senior who is sent to RoseBlood Academy — a French boarding school for musical arts inside a renovated opera house rumored to have ties to the classic opera — only to discover a very real danger lurks within that has awaited her for over a century.
Stain
Young Adult Fairytale Retelling
Publisher: Amulet Books
Publication date: January 2019
A high-fantasy gothic fairytale inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s The Princess and the Pea and set in an alternative medieval world split apart by magic. To win back her kingdom of perpetual day, save her night prince, and reunite the sun with the moon, a princess incapable of speech or sound must prove herself everything a traditional princess is not: tough enough to sleep on a bed of nails, and loud enough to be heard without a voice. For more info, follow this link.
Shades of Rust and Ruin (Book 1)
Young Adult Goblin Market Retelling
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Publication date: September 6, 2022
Phoenix “Nix” Loring knows her family is under a Halloween curse. When she was three, her parents tragically died on October 31st. Eleven years later, her twin sister Lark suffered a similar fate.
Ever since, Nix has battled survivor guilt. She can’t even find comfort in Clarey, Lark’s boyfriend and the one person who understands her pain, because Nix’s hidden feelings for him go far beyond friendship. All that remains are her sketches, where she finds solace among the goblins and faeries in her imaginary world of Mystiquel. When her depression starts affecting her ability to see color, Nix all but gives up on her art, until her uncle goes missing on Halloween day. Hot on his trail, Nix and Clarey step through a portal, becoming trapped inside a decaying version of their town filled with Nix’s own sketches come to life.
As Nix and Clarey search for her uncle within the sinister and dangerous world of Mystiquel, Nix discovers there’s more to her family curse and otherworldly artwork than she ever imagined—and unless she can solve the Goblin King’s maze before the clock strikes midnight, her life won’t be the only one the curse claims next.