We all dream of adventure — but what would you do if adventure came barging through the door and dragged you away to some dark, dank dungeon? Would you fight tooth and nail to get away? Would you risk it all in a daring escape?
That’s exactly what these frightened and courageous teens find themselves facing in these six YA thrillers. Whether by obsessed strangers, human traffickers, unknown forces or their own family, these teenagers are all trapped — and no one’s coming to save them.
It’ll take every ounce of strength to save themselves.
Girl, Stolen by April Henry
While her mom filled her prescription at the pharmacy, sixteen-year-old Cheyenne Wilder took a nap in the back of her car. Then, their car was stolen — with Cheyenne still inside! Griffin hadn’t meant to kidnap Cheyenne, but once his dad finds out Cheyenne’s father is the president of a powerful corporation, everything changes ― now there’s a reason to keep her. What Griffin doesn’t know is that Cheyenne is not only sick with pneumonia, but she is also blind. How will Cheyenne survive this nightmare, and if she does, at what price?
Wolf’s Head Bay by Jeffery Allen Boyd
A camping trip into northern Michigan becomes a chilling and suspenseful race for survival for a group of unsuspecting and frightened teenagers. When one of the teens, Lynn, is abducted with the help of a charismatic boy, her friend Jeremy Hodak and his group attempt a bold rescue mission. Things quickly turn sideways though when they’re captured and held captive at a covert underground missile silo by the Colonel, a powerful and dangerous man intent on controlling the world’s human trafficking network. About to be taken out of the country and sold off, only the boy who lured Lynn in can help them — but he has his own price. (Read the full BookTrib review here.)
The Stillwater Girls by Minka Kent
Ignorant of civilization and cautioned against its evils, nineteen-year-old Wren and her two sisters were raised in off-the-grid isolation in a primitive cabin. Then their mother leaves with the youngest sister to get medical help from a nearby town — and they never return. As months pass, hope vanishes. Then comes a stranger who claims to be looking for the girls’ mother, and he’s not leaving without them. To escape, Wren and her sister must break the rule they’ve grown up with: never go beyond the forest. Past the thicket of dread, they must confront the chilling secrets that have left them in the dark their entire lives.
The Cellar by Natasha Preston
Nothing ever happens in the small, sleepy town of Long Thorpe, England… until seventeen-year-old Summer Robinson is kidnapped, disappearing without a trace. No family or police investigation can track her down, and Summer spends months inside the cellar of her kidnapper with three other girls: Rose, Poppy and Violet. After changing Summer’s name to Lily, her kidnapper thinks she’ll make a beautiful addition to his family of “flowers.” But flowers can’t survive long cut off from the sun, and time is running out…
Secrets of the Building by Emma Beazley
When Mark’s brother Tommy goes missing after a fight with his parents, Mark goes off searching for him. He feels drawn to the woods near his home — the one place he and his brother have been forbidden from going. Once inside, he loses his way and suddenly blacks out. When he wakes up, he finds himself in the hospital, where he meets Josie. They soon realize they are locked in and something about the hospital seems very off — can they escape while still uncovering the truth about Tommy? (Read the full BookTrib review here.)
Stolen by Lucy Christopher
Drugged and kidnapped from her parents at the Bangkok airport, English teen Gemma wakes to find herself in the Australian outback. Her only company is her captor, a handsome young Australian named Ty. The unknowing object of a long obsession, Gemma learns that he has been watching her since she was a child and now plans to keep her with him forever. Gemma’s gripping story of survival is told in the form of a letter she is writing to Ty, reflecting on those strange and disturbing months: months when the lines between love and obsession, and love and dependency, blur until they don’t exist — almost.
