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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Buffalo chapter.

Growing up, my family and I didn’t celebrate spooky season at all, the most I did on Halloween was eat the candy that my neighbors brought for us, read thrillers, or watch Halloween movies. Yes, I was that girl lol. I was always buried in a book so I thought it was fitting for me to recommend books, spooky season edition, especially since this Halloween is the most unique of them all, being in the middle of a pandemic. Curling up with a book on a nice fall evening can be extremely satisfying, and might be the alternative to the usual Halloween activities due to the many restrictions we have in place to keep us safe. Here are a few books I have in mind along with the overview: 

 One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus

Barnes and Nobles Overview: 

FROM THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR, KAREN McMANUS

Pretty Little Liars meets The Breakfast Club” (EW.com) in this “flat-out addictive” (RT Book Reviews) story of what happens when five strangers walk into detention and only four walk out alive. 
 
Pay close attention and you might solve this.
On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention. Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule. Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess. Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing. Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher. And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High’s notorious gossip app.
 Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention Simon’s dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn’t an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he’d planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who’s still on the loose? 

Everyone has secrets, right? What really matters is how far you would go to protect them. 

Abandon by Meg Cabot

This is honestly one of my favorite books growing up and I will never stop recommending this, it is actually on my list of books to read again. Meg Cabot is also known for The Princess Diaries series, so you know that this book is top tier. 

Barnes & Noble Overview:

New from #1 New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot, a dark, fantastical story about this world . . . and the underworld.

Though she tries returning to the life she knew before the accident, Pierce can’t help but feel at once a part of this world, and apart from it. Yet she’s never alone . . . because someone is always watching her. Escape from the realm of the dead is impossible when someone there wants you back. 

But now she’s moved to a new town. Maybe at her new school, she can start fresh. Maybe she can stop feeling so afraid. 

Only she can’t. Because even here, he finds her. That’s how desperately he wants her back. She knows he’s no guardian angel, and his dark world isn’t exactly heaven, yet she can’t stay away . . . especially since he always appears when she least expects it, but exactly when she needs him most. 

But if she lets herself fall any further, she may just find herself back in the one place she most fears: the Underworld.

 

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

Barnes & Noble Overview:

For readers of Kara Thomas and Karen McManus, an addictive, twisty crime thriller with shades of Serial and Making a Murderer about a closed local murder case that doesn’t add up, and a girl who’s determined to find the real killer—but not everyone wants her meddling in the past.

Everyone in Fairview knows the story.

Pretty and popular high school senior Andie Bell was murdered by her boyfriend, Sal Singh, who then killed himself. It was all anyone could talk about. And five years later, Pip sees how the tragedy still haunts her town.

But she can’t shake the feeling that there was more to what happened that day. She knew Sal when she was a child, and he was always so kind to her. How could he possibly have been a killer?

Now a senior herself, Pip decides to reexamine the closed case for her final project, at first just to cast doubt on the original investigation. But soon she discovers a trail of dark secrets that might actually prove Sal innocent . . . and the line between past and present begins to blur. Someone in Fairview doesn’t want Pip digging around for answers, and now her own life might be in danger.

This is the story of an investigation turned obsession, full of twists and turns and with an ending you’ll never expect.
 

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Barnes and Noble’s Overview:

The #1 New York Times best-selling series.

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of peculiar photographs. It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its decaying bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that Miss Peregrine’s children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

 

I hope these books find their way into your hearts and maybe even into your spooky season reading list! :) 

A UB student double majoring in Psychology and Criminology, activist, coffee enthusiast, music and fashion lover. She loves using Her Campus as a medium to express her many passions, from self-care, fashion, movies, and books to activism, criminology and psychology.