Eight top coming-of-age thrillers

Debbie Babitt left her career as the Copy Chief for a major publishing company to focus on writing fiction. A former actress, playwright, and drama critic, she now divides her time between Manhattan and Florida. Saving Grace is her debut novel.

At CrimeReads Babitt tagged eight favorite coming-of-age thrillers, including:

Megan Abbott’s novel Dare Me, set in the world of high school cheerleading, explores how devious, ruthless, and vicious girls can be when they’re training and competing against each other. Addy Hanlon has always been Beth Cassidy’s BFF and loyal lieutenant…until the team’s new coach, Colette French, comes between them. A chilling examination of the dark side of the teenage psyche, this is an unforgettable story about rivalry, ambition, the battle for power, and growing up.

Read about another entry on the list.

Dare Me is among Avery Bishop's top five novels that explore "mean girl" culture, Kelly Simmons's six books to buddy-read with your teen or twentyish daughter, Katie Lowe's top eight crime novels for angry women in an angry world, Kate Hamer's top ten teenage friendships in fiction, S.R. Masters's seven thrillers that capture some of the darker aspects of tight-knit friendship groups, Jessica Knoll's top ten thrillers, Brian Boone's fifty most essential high school stories, Julie Buntin's twelve books that totally get female friendship, L.S. Hilton's top ten female-fronted thrillers, Megan Reynolds's top ten books you must read if you loved Gone Girl, Anna Fitzpatrick's four top horror stories set in the real universe of girlhood and Adam Sternbergh's six notable crime novels that double as great literature.

--Marshal Zeringue