Books like 'The Unfortunates'
Readers who enjoyed The Unfortunates by Kim Liggett also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
horror action / adventure mystery survival suspense coming-of-age realistic grief high-school spooky
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Different Seasons by Stephen King
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 67 ratingsFrom the Magical Pen of Stephen King, Four Mesmerizing Novellas…“Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption”An unjustly imprisoned convict seeks a strange and startling revenge…the basis for the Best Picture Academy Award nominee The Shawshank Redemption...Categorized as:
coming-of-age high-school realistic spooky suspense 20th-century action-adventure adult -
After the Fire by Will Hill
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe things I've seen are burned into me, like scars that refuse to fade.Before, she lived inside the fence. Before, she was never allowed to leave the property, never allowed to talk to Outsiders, never allowed to speak her mind. Because Father John controlled everything—and Father John liked rules. Disobeying Father John came with terrible consequences...Categorized as:
coming-of-age high-school realistic survival suspense 20th-century abuse action-adventure -
The Lost Twin by Sophie Cleverly
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIvy, I pray that it's you reading this. And if you are, well, I suppose you're the new me...When shy Ivy's troublemaking twin Scarlet vanishes from Rookwood boarding school, Ivy is invited to "take her place." But when Ivy arrives, she discovers the school's true intention; she has to pretend to be Scarlet. She must think like Scarlet, act like Scarlet, become Scarlet...Categorized as:
coming-of-age high-school realistic suspense action-adventure audiobook boarding-school book -
Dark Rivers of the Heart / Sole Survivor / Intensity by Dean Koontz
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsDean Koontz is one of the world's top-selling authors with total worldwide sales of his novels at 225 million copies! He achieves what few writers can: he creates books that consistently jump to the top of the bestseller lists in both hardcover and paper... -
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The Body by Robin Waterfield, Stephen King
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsFrom Different Seasons The Body, as a media tie-in for the movie starring River Phoenix, Kiefer Sutherland, Wil Wheaton, Corey Feldman and Jerry O'Connell...Categorized as:
coming-of-age high-school realistic spooky suspense 20th-century action-adventure audiobook -
UnSouled by Neal Shusterman
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsTeens fight for their humanity in this thrilling third book in the New York Times bestselling Unwind Dystology series by Neal Shusterman.Connor and Lev are on the run after the destruction of the Graveyard, the last safe haven for AWOL unwinds...Categorized as:
coming-of-age high-school realistic survival suspense action-adventure audiobook book -
These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsNo electricity, no family, no connection to the outside world. For eight years, Cooper and his young daughter, Finch, have lived in isolation in a remote cabin in the northern Appalachian woods. And that's exactly the way Cooper wants it, because he's got a lot to hide. Finch has been raised on the books filling the cabin’s shelves and the beautiful but brutal code of life in the wilderness... -
No Exit by Taylor Adams
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 44 ratingsA brilliant, edgy thriller about four strangers, a blizzard, a kidnapped child, and a determined young woman desperate to unmask and outwit a vicious psychopath.A kidnapped little girl locked in a stranger’s van. No help for miles. What would you do?On her way to Utah to see her dying mother, college student Darby Thorne gets caught in a fierce blizzard in the mountains of Colorado... -
Secret Circles by F. Paul Wilson
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWhen his five-year-old neighbor goes missing, Jack can’t help feeling responsible. He should have taken Cody home when he found him riding his bicycle near the Pine Barrens. And then a lost man wanders out of the woods after being chased all night by...something...Categorized as:
coming-of-age suspense action-adventure audiobook book children-books fiction horror -
The Devil's Shallows by Debra Castaneda
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsEight miles of mystery. One night of terror.Residents trapped in a remote neighborhood confront the unimaginable in this horror novel from award-winning author Debra Castaneda.The salt marsh at Devil’s Landing is home to a terrifying urban legend.Adam Gray knows the old stories about the Slough Devil, the missing children, and the mutilated animals... -
Secret of McKinley Mansion by K.F. Breene
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIt was a dark and stormy night...But then, it was always stormy when she came. Beckoning. Calling to her followers. And follow her they did - never to be seen or heard from again. ~ * ~ * ~ Larkin, MO is not the cute, sleepy town it appears to be. Beneath the quaint façade lurks a secret - a secret everyone knows, but no one will talk about.Everyone knows to keep curfew... -
Last of the Magpies by Mark Edwards
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe chilling conclusion to the #1 bestseller The Magpies. Twelve months ago, Jamie Knight walked straight into Lucy Newton’s trap. Both Jamie and his ex-wife Kirsty barely survived. Now, with the police investigation into Lucy’s disappearance going nowhere, Jamie teams up with a true crime podcaster to track down his nemesis... -
I Am the Mission by Allen Zadoff
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsHe was the perfect assassin. No name. No past. No remorse. Perfect, that is, until he began to ask questions and challenge his orders. Now The Program is worried that their valuable soldier has become a liability. And so Boy Nobody is given a new mission. A test of sorts. A chance to prove his loyalty... -
Devil Dog by Boyd Craven, Kevin Pierce
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsDick, AKA Devil Dog's world changes drastically when the EMP takes out the power grid. The loss of electricity brings out the darker side of human nature across the city. A homeless Marine veteran living in the abandoned tunnels beneath Chicago, he's far better prepared than most people. Good folk have survived, but they are often outnumbered and outgunned... -
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Legend of the Ghost Dog by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA thrilling mystery set against a stark landscape and the inspiration of Nome's real-life dog hero, Balto.Twelve-year-old Tee didn't think she believed in ghosts . . . until a walk in the woods around her new rural Alaskan home changes her mind. She and her beagle, Henry, are stalked by a wolfish, decidedly spooky shadow. There's something out there - and it's not of this world... -
I So Don't Do Spooky by Barrie Summy
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsSomeone’s out to get Sherry’s stepmom. . . .Can she save her before it’s too late?Did you know that the main campus of the Academy of Spirits is at a Dairy Queen in Phoenix? Me either. Until now. Some weird stuff has been happening to my stepmother, Paula, and the Academy has asked me, Sherry Holmes Baldwin, to get to the bottom of it. They think someone’s trying to hurt her... -
What Waits in the Water by Kieran Scott
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsHannah is excited to spend some time at her best friend Jacob's lake house this summer. The catch? Hannah's annoying new stepsister, Katie, is tagging along. Katie is wild and pretty and seems to have a THING for Jacob. Hannah's not jealous...or is she? To make matters worse, the town they're staying in is sort of...creepy...Categorized as:
realistic suspense action-adventure book contemporary fiction horror law-enforcement -
The Body by Stephen King
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsSet in the fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine #1 New York Times bestselling author Stephen King’s timeless novella “The Body”—originally published in his 1982 short story collection Different Seasons, and adapted into the 1986 film classic Stand by Me—is now available as a stand-alone publication.It’s 1960 in the fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine...Categorized as:
coming-of-age realistic spooky suspense action-adventure audiobook bildungsroman book -
Dry by Neal Shusterman, Jarrod Shusterman
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsWhen the California drought escalates to catastrophic proportions, one teen is forced to make life and death decisions for her family in this harrowing story of survival,The drought—or the Tap-Out, as everyone calls it—has been going on for a while now. Everyone’s lives have become an endless list of don’ts: don’t water the lawn, don’t fill up your pool, don’t take long showers...Categorized as:
coming-of-age high-school realistic survival suspense action-adventure apocalyptic audiobook -
The Old Lady by Kristopher Triana
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsShe never wanted to come home.After the death of her estranged father, Tracey returns to the remote cabin she grew up in. As a traumatized veteran of the Vietnam War, Tracey’s father subjected her to rigorous survival training under brutal conditions, believing it was for her own good. She escaped and never looked back... -
Right Behind You by Gail Giles
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhen he was nine, Kip set another child on fire. Now, after years in a juvenile ward, he is ready for a fresh start. But the ghosts of his past soon demand justice, and he must reveal his painful secret...Categorized as:
coming-of-age grief high-school realistic suspense action-adventure book contemporary -
Violent Ends by Beth Revis, Blythe Woolston
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn a one-of-a-kind collaboration, seventeen of the most recognizable YA writers—including Shaun David Hutchinson, Neal and Brendan Shusterman, and Beth Revis—come together to share the viewpoints of a group of students affected by a school shooting... -
Scritch Scratch by Lindsay Currie
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA ghost story about a malevolent spirit, an unlucky girl, and a haunting mystery that will tie the two together. Claire has absolutely no interest in the paranormal. She’s a scientist, which is why she can’t think of anything worse than having to help out her dad on one of his ghost-themed Chicago bus tours... -
D.O.G.S by M.A. Bennett
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAfter the dramatic events of the last few weeks, Greer Macdonald is trying to concentrate on her A levels. Stuck for a play to direct for her drama exam, she gets help from an unexpected quarter . . .A priceless lost play, buried by time, is pushed under her door. It is Ben Jonson's The Isle of Dogs, a play considered so dangerous in Elizabethan times that every copy was burned . . . except one... -
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Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden
Rated: 3.98 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsWhen Ellie and her friends return from a camping trip in the Australian bush, they find things hideously wrong — their families are gone. Gradually they begin to comprehend that their country has been invaded and everyone in their town has been taken prisoner...Categorized as:
coming-of-age high-school realistic survival suspense 20th-century action-adventure apocalyptic -
The Fear Trials by Lindsay Cummings
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsMeadow Woodson has been trained to survive. This is a prequel to The Murder Complex, by Lindsay Cummings, and it is set in a blood-soaked world where the murder rate is higher than the birth rate. For fans of Moira Young's Dust Lands series, La Femme Nikita, and the movie Hanna.Meadow Woodson's father calls it The Fear Trials, and it is a rite of passage in their family... -
Return to the Dark House by Laurie Faria Stolarz
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIvy Jensen survived the Dark House once, but can she make it out a second time? Two months have passed since Ivy narrowly escaped the Nightmare Elf’s grip, but the memories of Parker, Natalie, Shayla, Frankie, and Garth continue to haunt her. Their killer is still out there—somewhere. The police trail has gone cold, though, and it’s up to Ivy to piece together the clues to find him... -
The Campfire Collection by R.L. Stine
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe Curse of Camp Cold LakeGhost CampWelcome to Camp NightmareSchool's out! And you're packed up and ready to head off to the best summer camp ever! Boating on the lake, tennis courts, campfires -- this place is all fun and games. But little do you know that the camp of your dreams is about to turn into the camp of your screams! Because the counselors aren't exactly what you expected...Categorized as:
high-school realistic survival action-adventure aliens anthologies children-books dark -
The Curse by Bill Myers, James Riordan
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratings“I think someone—or something—doesn’t want us here. And I think whatever it is is very powerful.”Becka Williams isn’t convinced that this trip to Louisiana was such a good idea...Categorized as:
coming-of-age realistic suspense action-adventure book children children-books christian -
Small Spaces by Katherine Arden
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsNew York Times bestselling adult author of The Bear and the Nightingale makes her middle grade debut with a creepy, spellbinding ghost story destined to become a classicAfter suffering a tragic loss, eleven-year-old Ollie only finds solace in books... -
Those Who Wish Me Dead by Michael Koryta
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe newest thriller from Michael Koryta, New York Times bestselling authorWhen fourteen-year-old Jace Wilson witnesses a brutal murder, he's plunged into a new life, issued a false identity and hidden in a wilderness skills program for troubled teens. The plan is to get Jace off the grid while police find the two killers. The result is the start of a nightmare... -
Scar Island by Dan Gemeinhart
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsJonathan Grisby is the newest arrival at the Slabhenge Reformatory School for Troubled Boys -- an ancient, crumbling fortress of gray stone rising up from the ocean. It is dark, damp, and dismal. And it is just the place Jonathan figures he deserves.Because Jonathan has done something terrible. And he's willing to accept whatever punishment he has coming... -
Jurassic Park and Congo by Michael Crichton
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsTwo breathtaking adventure novels in one bumper volume. Jurassic ParkOn a remote jungle island genetic engineers have created a dinosaur game park. Then a rival firm tries to steal embryos, and the nightmare begins. Congo Three intrepid adventurers plunge into the heart of Africa in a desperate bid for the fabulous diamonds of the Lost City of Zinj... -
Earthquake Terror by Peg Kehret
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhen Jonathan and his family go camping on Magpie Island, they look forward to a fun, relaxing weekend. But their fun quickly vanishes when Jonathan, his sister, Abby, and their dog, Moose, find themselves in the middle of a natural disaster... -
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Crazy Dangerous by Andrew Klavan
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsSam Hopkins is a good kid who has fallen in with the wrong crowd. Hanging around with car thieves and thugs, Sam knows it's only a matter of time before he makes one bad decision too many and gets into real trouble.But one day, Sam sees these thugs harassing an eccentric schoolmate named Jennifer...Categorized as:
coming-of-age high-school realistic survival suspense action-adventure audiobook book -
Gated: Sie sind überall by Amy Christine Parker
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsLyla Hamilton almost died escaping the Community. In her new life, the outsiders call the Community a cult. They don’t understand how easy it was to believe. How good it felt to belong. “Normal” life—high school and dating—is harder than Lyla expected.The Community is willing to do terrible things to bring her back to the fold...Categorized as:
coming-of-age high-school realistic suspense action-adventure audiobook book classics -
The Lost Causes of Bleak Creek by Rhett McLaughlin, Link Neal
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFrom the authors of the #1 New York Times bestseller Rhett & Link's Book of Mythicality and creators of Good Mythical Morning, a thrilling and darkly funny novel about two best friends fighting the sinister forces at the heart of their Southern town...Categorized as:
coming-of-age realistic spooky suspense 21st-century action-adventure amateur-sleuth audiobook -
Close Reach by Jonathan Moore
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIn a riveting tale of suspense and terror on the high seas, Bram Stoker Award nominee Jonathan Moore pits human beings against nature—and something far deadlier: one another. Kelly Pratihari-Reid and her husband sail their yacht into Antarctic waters, thinking their gravest concerns will be ice and storms—and their cracked marriage... -
All the White Spaces by Ally Wilkes
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn the wake of the First World War, Jonathan Morgan stows away on an Antarctic expedition, determined to find his rightful place in the world of men. Aboard the expeditionary ship of his hero, the world-famous explorer James "Australis" Randall, Jonathan may live as his true self -- and true gender -- and have the adventures he has always been denied... -
The Wide Game by Michael West
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsOn the advice of his wife, Paul Rice is making plans to attend his 10th year High School reunion. Returning to his boyhood home of Harmony, Indiana, he finds that he is still haunted by memories of that time-memories of Deidra, his first love, and memories of the Wide Game... -
The Creek by Jennifer L. Holm
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsCaleb Devlin is a legend on Mockingbird Lane, the boy who terrorized an entire town before he got sent away. They say he hurt other kids, tortured animals, set fires, and did things grown-ups speak of only in whispers. But that was all before Penny and her little brother moved here.Now Caleb's back, older and more dangerous than ever, and terrible things have started happening again... -
Oblivion Road by Alex McAulay
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFive stranded teenagers must battle for their lives against a group of escaped convicts, and each other, in this shocking survival thriller from the author of Bad Girls and Lost Summer. Courtney Stanton thinks she's on just another ski trip with her friends -- until a horrific car accident strands them all on an isolated Colorado road during a blizzard... -
This Wretched Valley by Jenny Kiefer
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFour ambitious climbers hike into the Kentucky wilderness. Seven months later, three mangled bodies are discovered. Were their deaths simple accidents or the result of something more sinister?This nail-biting, bone-chilling survival horror novel is inspired by the infamous Dyatlov Pass incident, and is perfect for fans of Alma Katsu and Showtime's Yellowjackets... -
Stranger with My Face [With Book] by Lois Duncan
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsHave you ever been haunted by the feeling that someone is spying on you, lurking around your house and yard, even entering your bedroom? Are your friends plotting against you when they say they've seen you do things you know you haven't done? What's going on -- and does Laurie really want to find... -
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The Girl I Used to Be by April Henry
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsWhen Olivia's mother was killed, everyone suspected her father of murder. But his whereabouts remained a mystery. Fast forward fourteen years. New evidence now proves Olivia's father was actually murdered on the same fateful day her mother died. That means there's a killer still at large. It's up to Olivia to uncover who that may be...Categorized as:
high-school realistic survival suspense action-adventure audiobook book contemporary -
Nil by Lynne Matson
Rated: 3.89 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsOn the mysterious island of Nil, the rules are set. You have one year. Exactly 365 days--to escape, or you die.Seventeen-year-old Charley doesn’t know the rules. She doesn’t even know where she is. The last thing she remembers is blacking out, and when she wakes up, she’s lying naked in an empty rock field... -
The Night She Disappeared by April Henry
Rated: 3.89 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsGabie drives a Mini Cooper. She also works part-time as a delivery girl at Pete's Pizza. One night, Kayla—another delivery girl—goes missing. To her horror, Gabie learns that the supposed kidnapper had asked if the girl in the Mini Cooper was working.Gabie can't move beyond the fact that Kayla's fate was really meant for her...Categorized as:
high-school realistic survival suspense action-adventure audiobook book contemporary -
Missing by Kelley Armstrong
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsEveryone knows they left. No one knows they're...m i s s i n gReeve's End is the kind of town every kid can't wait to escape. Each summer, a dozen kids leave, and at least a quarter never come back. I don't blame them - I'll do the same in another year. We thought it was just something that happened in town like ours.We were wrong... -
Feuerschwester by Emiko Jean
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsMurder. Fire. Revenge. That’s all seventeen-year-old Alice Monroe thinks about. Committed to a mental ward at Savage Isle, Alice is haunted by memories of the fire that killed her boyfriend, Jason. A blaze her twin sister Cellie set. But when Chase, a mysterious, charismatic patient, agrees to help her seek vengeance, Alice begins to rethink everything... -
Whalefall by Daniel Kraus
Rated: 3.87 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsWhalefall is a scientifically accurate thriller about a scuba diver who’s been swallowed by an eighty-foot, sixty-ton sperm whale and has only one hour to escape before his oxygen runs out.Jay Gardiner has given himself a fool’s errand—to find the remains of his deceased father in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Monastery Beach...
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