By mid-September, summer vacation might feel like a distant memory, but school provides plenty of inspiring material for novelists: friendship highs and lows, romantic entanglements, personal growth, extracurricular challenges…even murder (fortunately in fiction, for the most part). The following titles capture all the teen drama, in and out of the classroom.

Perfect Little Monsters by Cindy R.X. He (Sourcebooks Fire, May 7): If twisty thrillers are your thing, look no further. After queen bee cheerleading captain Ella is poisoned, readers learn why so many people who attended her party might have wanted her dead. The chapters alternate between storylines set in the past and present, among different characters’ first- and third-person points of view, laying bare the teens’ complicated histories and relationships.

Louder Than Words by Ashley Woodfolk and Lexi Underwood (Scholastic, June 4): Transferring in your junior year brings myriad challenges, and dealing with nasty social dynamics can be especially brutal. After being expelled from her private school, Jordyn hoped for a fresh start—but when she’s targeted by the person running an anonymous gossip podcast at her new public school, she feels vulnerable all over again. This story explores activism and friendship while keeping readers guessing.

Rules for Camouflage by Kirstin Cronn-Mills (Little, Brown, June 18): It’s unlikely that anyone would say navigating high school is easy, but when you’re neurodivergent and your biology teacher is a rigid bully who threatens to stop you from graduating, it’s even harder. For Minnesota senior Evvie, volunteering at the zoo with Aretha the octopus is a highlight of her life. Fortunately, she also has accepting allies at school in this heartfelt and beautifully inclusive story.

Under the Surface by Diana Urban (Putnam, Aug. 13): In this nail-biter, an American teen seeking novel content for her YouTube channel gets more than she bargained for during a trip to Paris with her French class. Readers will tear through the story, desperate to find out what happens after Ruby follows her best friend into the suffocating, mazelike Paris catacombs. They and two other classmates end up lost and in fear for their lives.

The Sticky Note Manifesto of Aisha Agarwal by Ambika Vohra (Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins, Aug. 27): In this refreshingly funny and relatable story, Aisha, a girl who’s been trying her best to do everything right, meets an unexpected challenge in the form of an essay prompt from her dream college: “Share a time you left your comfort zone.” Thrown for a loop, Aisha embarks on a quest to expand her horizons, one that brings her a new sense of self—and a sweet romance, too.

Class Act by Kelsey Rodkey (Harper/HarperCollins, Oct. 1): A protective sibling bond lies at the heart of this engaging body-positive fake-dating romance. Ella has always looked out for her younger sister, Connie, and if that means taking on the obnoxious class president after he deliberately shames Connie on the first day of school, she’s up for it. In the process, Ella challenges the status quo, finds love, and negotiates healthier family relationships.

Laura Simeon is a young readers’ editor.