Interesting Trend in y.a. Fiction

For years I thought about a YA story along the lines of “Deliverance meets Stand By Me, with girls.”

Now, my YA contemporary novel, Sudden Sisters (under submission), fits with what Jen Ryland calls “a strong trend” of YA books of just that kind: books about survival in the wilderness, since 2020, or survivalist YA, and books with themes like “survival in the wilderness” or “human vs nature.”
[see: https://www.jenryland.com/ya-books-about-survival-in-the-wilderness/]

Some relevant YA titles include:

THE WOODS ARE ALWAYS WATCHING, BY STEPHANIE PERKINS

When two best friends go on a hiking trip, they feel like someone’s watching them.

LIES LIKE WILDFIRE, BY JENNIFER LYNN ALVAREZ

Hannah, the daughter of a sheriff, and her friends accidentally start a wildfire.

THE DISTANCE BETWEEN LOST AND FOUND, BY KATHRYN HOLMES

Bullied over rumors, Hallie gets separated from the group on her church trip and has to survive in the wilderness.

BE NOT FAR FROM ME, BY MINDY MCGINNIS

When a girl finds her boyfriend is cheating on an outdoors trip, she flees the group and finds herself in dire danger.

WHEN I AM THROUGH WITH YOU, BY STEPHANIE KUEHN

A gripping story of survival and the razor's-edge difference between perfect cruelty and perfect love.

I Am Still Alive, by Kate Alice Marshall

Jess moves to her survivalist father’s cabin to get to know him, but is stranded there after he dies.

SWITCHBACK, BY DANIKA STONE

Two students get separated from the group during a class overnight in the wilderness.

SURVIVE, BY ALEX MOREL

Jane is flying to a treatment clinic (and contemplating suicide). When the plane crashes, she will have to re-evaluate how much she wants to live.

THE WILD, BY OWEN LAUKKANEN

A girl is sent to a wilderness boot camp where things go terribly wrong.

WILD BIRD, BY WENDELIN VAN DRAANEN

A girl is sent to a survivalist wilderness camp by her family.