Recommendations based on "How Bad Things Can Get"

As a teenager, Toni Murphy had a life full of typical adolescent complications: a boyfriend she adored, a younger sister she couldn't relate to, a strained relationship with her parents, and classmates who seemed hell-bent on making her life miserable. Things weren't easy, but Toni could never have predicted how horrific they would become until her younger sister was brutally murdered one summer night.Toni and her boyfriend, Ryan, were convicted of the murder and sent to prison.Now thirty-four, Toni, is out on parole and back in her hometown, struggling to adjust to a new life on the outside. Prison changed her, hardened her, and she's doing everything in her power to avoid violating her parole and going back. This means having absolutely no contact with Ryan, avoiding fellow parolees looking to pick fights, and steering clear of trouble in all its forms. But nothing is making that easy―not Ryan, who is convinced he can figure out the truth; not her mother, who doubts Toni's innocence; and certainly not the group of women who made Toni's life hell in high school and may have darker secrets than anyone realizes. No matter how hard she tries, ignoring her old life to start a new one is impossible. Before Toni can truly move on, she must risk everything to find out what really happened that night.But in That Night by Chevy Stevens, the truth might be the most terrifying thing of all.

Girl Online meets Wild in this emotionally charged story of girl who takes to the wilderness to rediscover herself and escape the superficial persona she created on social media.Mari Turner’s life is perfect. That is, at least, to her thousands of followers who have helped her become an internet starlet.But when she breaks down and posts a video confessing she’s been living a lie—that she isn’t the happy, in love, inspirational online personality she’s been trying so hard to portray—it goes viral and she receives a major backlash.To get away from it all, she makes an impulsive decision: to hike the entire John Muir Trail. Mari and her late cousin Bri were supposed to do it together, to celebrate their shared eighteenth birthday. But that was before Mari got so wrapped up in her online world that she shut anyone out who questioned its worth—like Bri.With Bri’s boots and trail diary, a heart full of regret, and a group of strangers that she meets along the way, Mari tries to navigate the difficult terrain of the hike. But the true challenge lies within, as she searches for the way back from to the girl she fears may be too lost to find: herself.

Surviving a few weeks at the world's most lethal boarding school was one thing. But now comes the real test: Can November Adley find her missing father before her enemies find her? Subterfuge is the name of the game in this thrilling sequel to Killing November, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of How to Hang a Witch.After surviving a crash course in espionage at the mysterious Academy Absconditi, November has only one purpose: finding her missing father. Along with fellow student (and heartthrob) Ash, November follows the clues that her father left, embarking on the deadliest treasure hunt of her life. The first clue is in her hometown, where old friends beckon and unexpected enemies lurk around every corner. The second clue is in Europe, where revelations about her family's history will plunge her into an international web of deception, lies, and intrigue. The third clue is deep in enemy territory, surrounded by the most skilled assassins and master strategists, and where everyone wants her and her father dead. Can one girl with limited training infiltrate a centuries-old organization that is powerful enough to topple empires? November only knows that she'll do whatever it takes to save her father . . . or die trying.

An instant New York Times, USA Today, and Indie bestseller!From New York Times bestselling author Susan Dennard comes The Executioners Three, a mystery filled with rivalry, romance, best friends, and a gruesome curse that dates back centuries.*This beautiful hardcover edition includes designed printed edges and special endpapers.*Freddie Gellar didn't mean to get half the rival high school arrested. She’d simply heard shrieks coming from the woods, so she’d called the cops like any good human would do. How was she supposed to know it was just kids partying?Except the next day, a body is found. And while the local sheriff might call it suicide, Freddie's instincts tell her otherwise. So, like the aspiring sleuth (and true X-Files aficionado) she is, Freddie sets out to prove there's a murderer at large.But her investigation is quickly disrupted by the rivalry between her school and the school of the partying teens she got arrested. For over twenty years, the two student bodies have had an ongoing prank war, and Freddie's failed attempt at Good Samaritanism has upped the ante. Worse, the clever—and gorgeous—leader of the rival prank squad has set his sights on Freddie.As more pranks unfurl, more bodies also start piling up in the forest. But it's the supernatural warning signs around town, each plucked straight from an old forgotten poem called "The Executioners Three," that worry Freddie the most. She knows the poem and its blood curse can’t be real, but she's quickly running out of time to prove it.Because the murderer—or executioners?—knows she's onto them now, and their next target just might be Freddie."An irresistible blend of small-town murder mystery and spine-tingling supernatural elements."—Karen M. McManus, #1 New York Times bestselling author of One of Us Is LyingAlso by Susan DennardThe Luminaries trilogyThe LuminariesThe Hunting MoonThe Whispering NightThe Witchlands seriesTruthwitchWindwitchSightwitch (novella)BloodwitchWitchshadowWitchlight

From Dan Wells, author of the New York Times bestselling Partials Sequence, comes the third installment in a thrilling sci-fi noir series set in 2050 Los Angeles. Even in a world where technology connects everyone’s minds, it would seem that some secrets can still remain hidden. For all the mysteries teen hacker Marisa Carneseca has solved, one has always eluded her: When she was two years old, she was in a car accident in which she lost her arm and a mob boss’s wife, Zenaida de Maldonado, lost her life. No one can tell her what she was doing in that car, or how it led to the feud between the Carnesecas and the Maldonados. The secrets from the past rise violently to the surface when Zenaida's freshly severed hand shows up at the scene of a gangland shooting. If Zenaida is—or was—still alive, it means there’s even more about Marisa’s past that she doesn’t know. And when everyone from Los Angeles gangs to the world’s largest genetic engineering firms becomes involved in the case, it’s clear there’s more happening under the surface than anyone cares to admit. The truth is out there, and Marisa will have to thread together lost friends, corporate assassins, a gang lord’s digital brain, and what might be a literal ghost from the past in order to find it.

Can you live a life of lies? That's exactly what Geneva finds herself doing to protect everyone she loves. While Geneva and her friends embark on a dangerous mission to fulfill her destiny, the dark forces that seek her powers are closing in, putting everyone she cares about at risk. Geneva must lie about who she is, what she knows and her true feelings. Are all these lies worth it or will she go too far and lose everything she's been fighting for?

A twisty, creepy follow up to Thirteens, for fans of Stranger Things.Last Halloween, Eleanor, Pip, and Otto narrowly escaped the clutches of the evil January Society and their leader. But life in the too-quiet Eden Eld isn’t safe just yet: according to the bargain they made with Mr. January, it’s now his sister’s turn to hunt the three of them. And her methods are a bit more…treacherous. When their friends and neighbors begin disappearing, abducted by strange, mud-drenched monsters, Eleanor and her two best friends must race to uncover their enemy’s secrets. If they fail, their families will be next.Stalked by the relentless mud beasts, they have to find a way to escape using their trusty book of twisted fairytales, their wits, and their friendship. But they quickly learn that the power of the stories they’ve turned to for help has a stronger hold on them—and their futures—than they realized. Even if Eleanor and her friends survive, they won’t end this journey the same people.

Sequel to the New York Times bestseller STRANDED, seen The Today Show, Rachael Ray, and Kelly and Michael. From the multi-Emmy Award winning host of Survivor and the New York Times bestselling co-author of Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life comes a fantastic new middle grade adventure series! They thought it couldn't get any worse. They were wrong. Being shipwrecked on a jungle island in the middle of the South Pacific was bad enough. But now that Carter, Vanessa, Buzz and Jane have lost their boat--and almost everything on board--to another violent storm, it's like starting over. That means finding food and shelter, making fire for the first time, dealing with the wild boars that roam the island--and of course, figuring out how to get along (and not kill each other in the process). Survival is no individual sport in a place like this, but there's only one way to learn that. The hard way.Books in the original Stranded series:Stranded (Book 1)Trial By Fire (Book 2)Survivors (Book 3) Books in the Stranded, Shadow Island seriesForbidden Passage (Book 4)Sabotage (Book 5)Desperate Measures (Book 6)  

Oceans Eight meets Six of Crows in this YA fantasy heist novel about a teenage con artist and her ragtag crew teaming up for their toughest job yet: stealing a soul from the Afterlife.Elle Fields comes from a long line of thieves who specialize in breaking into the Afterlife to steal secrets—and magic—from the dead. But after her parents’ disappearance and her brother’s death, Elle is left adrift, without even her crew to rely on.Until a mysterious stranger offers her a job she can’t refuse: stealing a soul from the Afterlife. If Elle can get it done, it could be the key to restoring the life she lost.The only problem is getting her crew back together. Oh, and the fact that the job’s impossible—but Elle is confident that she’ll be able to work it all out.After all, how hard could it be to raise the dead?

Since their dangerous game of truth or dare began, Tenley Reed, Sydney Morgan, and Emerson Cunningham have lost almost everything. Closely guarded secrets, romantic relationships, and sought-after spots at the top of their school's social hierarchy-all gone in the blink of an eye. Now the darer has upped the stakes, leaving another body behind in the girls' isolated beach town of Echo Bay. And if they can't untangle the twisted web leading to whoever is behind the mysterious deaths, one of them could be next. But what happens when the trail leads to those they trusted, those they loved? Filled with intoxicating twists and shocking betrayals, the final installment in the Truth or Dare trilogy will keep readers guessing until the very end.