Summerween Book Recs: Last Gasp – Disappearances, Monsters & Final Choices

The air is heavy. The days are numbered. And the horror is far from over.

We’re closing out Summerween with three stories where the danger is personal, and the endings hit hard. Whether you’re surviving a supernatural plague, unraveling a summer mystery, or chasing ghosts to find your missing sister, these books ask what it means to hold on…and what it takes to let go.

If We Survive This

by Racquel Marie
Published by: Feiwel and Friends
on June 17, 2025
Genres: Horror, LGBTQIA+, Young Adult
Bookshop
Goodreads

The Walking Dead meets Yellowjackets in If We Survive This, a tense and emotional young adult horror novel from award-winning author Racquel Marie about a teen girl leading a group of survivors on a perilous journey during the apocalypse.

Flora Braddock Paz is not the girl who survives. A colorful creative who spends as much time fearing death as she does trying to hide that fear from her loved ones, she’s always considered herself weak. But half a year into the global outbreak of a rabies mutation that transforms people into violent, zombielike "rabids," she and her older brother Cain are still alive. With their mom dead, their dad missing, and their LA suburb left desolate, they form a new plan to venture out to the secluded Northern California cabin they vacationed in growing up―their best chance at a safe haven and maybe even seeing their dad again.

The dangers of the world have changed, but so has Flora. Still, their journey up the state is complicated by encounters with familiar faces, new allies, hidden truths, and painful memories of the family’s final time making this trip last year. And for Flora, one thing inevitably remains: No matter how far you run, death is never far behind.

If We Survive This by Racquel Marie

A rabies mutation has turned the world into a nightmare, and Flora Braddock Paz has no idea how she’s still alive. With her brother Cain, she sets out on a dangerous journey through a decimated California, hoping to find their dad (and maybe safety) at an old family cabin. But survival means facing more than just the zombie like rabids…it means confronting grief, memory, and who you’re becoming in the face of the end.

Tense, bloody, and beautifully written, this one’s for fans of The Walking Dead, Yellowjackets, and sad girls with knives.

Tropes: sibling bond, apocalyptic road trip, zombie horror, queer heroine
Pair it with: Cold canned soup and your most emotionally devastating playlist.

Blood in the Water by Tiffany D. Jackson

Murder, sharks, and Martha’s Vineyard? This is the creepy beach read of the summer. When Brooklyn girl Kaylani is sent to stay with family friends on the Vineyard, she expects boredom, not a suspicious drowning that sends shockwaves through the community. With her curiosity sparked and danger closing in, Kaylani is determined to solve the mystery, even if it means uncovering secrets no one wants revealed.

It’s JAWS meets Harriet the Spy, with a side of Black history and Tiffany D. Jackson’s signature twisty brilliance, this time for middle grade readers.

Tropes: fish-out-of-water sleuth, small-town secrets, beachside horror
Pair it with: Melty ice cream and your toes off the waterline.

A Little Too Haunted by Justine Pucella Winans

Luna Catalano is used to her moms pretending to be ghost hunters for their influencer business, what she’s not used to is a house that might actually be haunted. When the strange events turn real (and dangerous), Luna teams up with her new neighbors, a mysterious woman, and a girl she may or may not be crushing on to uncover the ghost’s story, and survive it.

This is cozy-but-creepy queer middle grade horror with big heart, clever twists, and just the right amount of scares.

Tropes: fake ghost hunters, haunted house, found community, baby queer crush
Pair it with: A flashlight under the covers and your favorite Halloween cereal.