Who needs sleep when you could instead stay up late to read a page-turning, spine-chilling YA thriller? Here are our six of top picks of recent, thrilling books for teens.

You can find even more recommendations by browsing the collection below.

The Erasure Initiative by Lili Wilkinson

A girl wakes up on a self-driving bus with no memory of how she got there or who she is. Her nametag reads: CECILY. The six other people on the bus are in the same predicament. Then, a series of tests begin with the passengers being asked to vote on outcomes, starting with the classic Trolley Problem. As the testing progresses, deadly secrets are revealed, and the stakes get higher and higher. The Erasure Initiative is a timely novel about the intensity and unpredictability of human behaviour under pressure.

Ghost Bird by Lisa Fuller

Stacey and Laney are twins, yet they could not be more different from one another. Stacey works hard at school; Laney skips school and sneaks out to meet her boyfriend. But when Laney disappears one night, Stacey refuses to believe, as most of the townsfolk do, that Laney has just run away with her boyfriend. There are darker forces at work and when Stacey starts to dream of terrifying monsters, she knows that she must find out what has happened to her sister – before it’s too late.

Deep Water by Sarah Epstein

Three months ago, 13-year-old Henry disappeared from The Shallows, a small rural Australian town, during a violent storm, leaving behind his muddy bike at the train station. Chloe Baxter thinks there is more to the story and resolves to uncover the truth, even if that means questioning everyone in town, her friends included. Henry’s disaffected brother Mason is struggling too, and desperate to escape the dark truths of their family. Sarah Epstein’s second book presents is a meticulously plotted, character-driven mystery.

None Shall Sleep by Ellie Marney

In 1982, in the USA, the innovative FBI Behavioral Science division is breaking new ground, and two teenagers with traumatic pasts – Emma Lewis and Travis Bell – are recruited to interview convicted juvenile killers for information on cold cases. Over Travis’s objections, Emma becomes the conduit between the FBI and Simon Gutmunsson, a super-intelligent, nineteen-year-old sociopath. And although Simon seems to be giving them the information they need to save lives, he’s also an expert manipulator playing a very long game.

I Killed Zoe Spanos by Kit Frick

When Anna Cicconi takes a nanny gig in the village of Herron Mills, she finds a community on edge after the disappearance of local girl Zoe Spanos. Anna’s eerie resemblance to Zoe stirs up feelings in the town, and Anna becomes convinced that she and Zoe are connected. When Zoe’s body is found in a nearby lake, and Anna is charged with manslaughter, Martina Green, teen host of the Missing Zoe podcast, is compelled to go after the truth. Inspired by Daphne du Maurier’s classic Rebecca, this gripping psychological tale is full of twists and turns.

The Vanishing Deep by Astrid Scholte

When seventeen-year-old Tempest’s older sister Elysea mysteriously drowns, Tempest seeks out the services at Palindromena, a high-end scientific facility that allows rich patrons to revive the dead for 24 hours to say their last goodbyes. After reviving her sister, the two young women embark on a dangerous journey to discover the truth about their parents’ death. Astrid Scholte’s second novel is a unique fantasy thriller, set in a watery and atmospheric post-climate change world.