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Hey YA fans!
I’m stoked to share a guest newsletter today by #1 New York Times Bestselling author Karen M. McManus. You likely know her from her debut One Of Is Is Lying, which is currently on the docket for adaptation. Her latest book, Two Can Keep A Secret, is a sequel to that title and hit shelves earlier this month.
Because she helped usher in a wave of thrillers in YA, I wanted to hear her thoughts on why it is we’re seeing more thrillers now and why the wave isn’t slowing down. What she said is smart and savvy and, I think, will give some incentive to people who, like me, might be wary of thrillers and encourage ravenous thriller readers to keep on with their passion.
Without further ado, welcome Karen!
**
A few nights ago, my phone rang at two a.m., waking me from a sound sleep. I squinted at the display, disoriented, and saw my thirteen-year-old son’s name. He was sleeping in our finished basement with the dog that night, and I instantly felt uneasy. When I answered, he whispered, “Someone is trying to get in.”
I ran for the stairs and peered into our living room. He was right. I watched the knob of our front door rattle, and saw the silhouette of someone’s head outside the window. I called 911, texted my son to stay downstairs, and waited for the police to arrive. Minutes later, they confirmed that our would-be intruder was a confused drunk.
Everything happened quickly and was resolved safely. But for a few terrifying minutes, it was like I’d been dropped into a plot from one of my own books.
I get asked a lot why thrillers are so popular, and my answer is always the same: in a world where life can be scary, confusing, and alarmingly random, there’s something cathartic and almost comforting about dark, twisted, and suspenseful storytelling. Current pop culture reflects this, from binge-worthy shows like Stranger Things, You, and Riverdale to the enduring popularity of true-crime podcasts and adult thrillers such as Gone Girl and The Silent Patient. In my second book, Two Can Keep a Secret, one of the main characters, Ellery, notes that “People love to be scared in a controlled environment. There’s something deeply, fundamentally satisfying about confronting a monster and escaping unscathed.”
That can be especially true for teens. The adolescent experience is characterized by a lot of firsts, and for many of us, that includes the realization that bad things can and do happen to us and to people we know. Schools, homes, and communities aren’t always the secure, welcoming places that we wish they were. Today’s kids are dealing with a lot of complicated issues, amplified by social media, and books provide a safe space to process these experiences on their own terms and at their own pace. Young adult thrillers allow teens (and adults) to grapple with the knowledge that fear and loss are inevitable, but in a way that leaves room for growth, hope, and connection.
The success of the YA thriller genre isn’t new. Some of its most prolific authors—including Sara Shepard, Lauren Oliver, and Barry Lyga—have been publishing heart-pounding mysteries for over a decade. But in recent years, the category has expanded to cover more types of stories and include an ever-growing cadre of diverse and dynamic authors. When people ask me for recommendations, I tend to shove an entire stack of books at them, with titles from both new and established authors like Kara Thomas, Tiffany D. Jackson, Caleb Roehrig, Mindy McGinnis, Arvin Ahmadi, Malinda Lo, Lamar Giles, Kit Frick, Derek Milman, Rory Power, Courtney Summers, and so many more.
There’s something for everyone among today’s YA thrillers: cutting-edge technology, social and political relevance, ripped-from-the-headlines story lines, complex family dynamics, locked-door mysteries, unlikely romances, and characters who feel so real that you can’t stop turning pages until you know what happens to them.
For a few days after our late-night, real-life scare, I didn’t sleep well. So I did what I’ve done ever since I was an anxious kid: turned to books, and got lost in a new story.
**
Karen M. McManus is the author of the New York Times and international bestselling young adult novels One of Us Is Lying and Two Can Keep a Secret. Her work has been translated into 40 languages worldwide.
Thank you so, so much, Karen, for stopping by today and thank you, readers, for hanging out again this week.
We’ll see you on Thursday!
— Kelly Jensen, @heykellyjensen on Instagram and editor of (Don’t) Call Me Crazy and Here We Are. **Psst — you can now also preorder my upcoming August release, Body Talk: 37 Voices Explore Our Radical Anatomy!.