I just bought a new kindle and this sampler was still on my cloud. Somehow, I’ve not read any of the books included, but I plan to now! The sampler includes just enough of the book to get interested. I specifically want to read How to Survive Your Murder.

Love these samplers because I get to get a taste of many different books before they come out so I can know what ones to add to my tbr. Keep making these please!

This "preview" was a variable assortment of horror/Fantasy/LGBTQIA+/and a myriad of other genres. The different novel concepts were different from what I've read in the past and I enjoyed the change from the usual. Lesbian vampires, boarding school secrets, such different plots/storylines. I've added them all to my TBR and will be reading them each in their entirety!

This was a fun sample pack, I did find some of the stories lagged but they’re great for getting a taste and figuring out if you should add them to your tbr when they’re officially released!

Interesting ideas... however the execution of them was a little too childish for me. I think it's time to accept that I've aged out of YA. I'm sure many others will enjoy though.

Perfect for anyone wanting to sample new genres. Also a nice way to decide on what to read next. Thank you netgalley for the ARC.

I love these samplers! It's so nice to be able to get a taste of these books and see if I'd want to read more. These all sound really interesting, and I'm particularly looking forward to How to Survive Your Murder and How to Succeed in Witchcraft.

Thank you for the opportunity to check out these excerpts!

I really enjoy these samplers. They are perfect for helping to decide what to read next! They help to set the tone and showcase the writing style for each individual book. I'm definitely adding a lot of these titles to my TBR!

A bunch of fun starting chapters for new some spooky and / or monster books!

How To Survive Your Murder
I liked how this started with action, but the narrative quickly lost me as it transitioned to a few hours before. I'm a bit curious about the pacing and timeline of the narrative. Is most of the story going to be action? Or is there going to be a significant amount of buildup before getting back to the first scene? As it was, I wasn't really drawn into the story or any mystery with these first few scenes. I might read the full thing, but I'd probably defer to other reviews before picking up.

The Counselors
This looks like the start a very fun camp mystery-thriller! I like how this seems to be split between "now" and "then," and hopefully the two narratives connect in a clever way. The idea of this camp seems cool, and I'll probably check out the full version of this!


How to Succeed in Witchcraft
Interesting start to a magical school book! I've read a lot of magical school books, and I couldn't get a sense from these couple of chapters how this stands out to the other books out there with magical kids attending magical school. Nothing really drew me in from the first two chapters, so I'm not sure if I'll read the full version of this yet.

Secrets Deep
I'm intrigued. I didn't read the blurb for thos one, so I have zero idea the direction this is supposed to be going, but I am intrigued. Very interesting start with a mysterious atmosphere that drew me in right away. I'll be interested to see what happens next!

A Line In the Dark
Interesting start, but nothing really pulled me in from the first two chapters. Even the prologue, which was intended to set up the action, didn't really set up that interesting of a mystery-how-do-we-get-here moment, so I'm not sure if I'll read this one.

Youngblood
I love vampire books, and this looks like it'll be a fun vampire boarding school book that doesn't take itself too seriously. I'm already super interested in the vampire lore from just a couple of chapters, so I'd be interested in seeing the direction it goes!

Thought all of the characters in these samplers are teens, there is a lot of variety in the stories...

How to Survive Your Murder - This seems like a book not served by being sampled because there are several short scenes and time jumps in the early pages as the story is being set up. Chloe, the main character, is coming off as demanding and unlikeable.

The Counselors - An intriguing story is told as a flashback (though in present tense?) with a main character working as a counselor at an expensive summer camp. Something tragic has happened during the school year and because she's the lone counselor who is local, she is dreading the other counselors finding out about it.

How to Succeed in Witchcraft - A magnet school for magic! The society commentary is a bit too obvious, but this sis geared towards a younger audience, so it is understandable.

Secrets So Deep - Avril Vincent is in a summer program for the arts on the coast of Connecticut and is dealing with memories of her dead mother. "Every theater has a ghost story" seems like a pivotal line in this sampler.

A Line in the Dark - Another book told in flashback. You can feel the angst of unrequited love immediately. The main character is quiet and her narration is almost deadpan. I hope there's a little more personality in the rest of the book!

Youngblood - Vampires in this alternate reality have adapted to using a synthetic blood because a significate portion of the human population has a clotting factor in their blood that will kill vampires. The main character has applied to go to a private school just for vampires so she isn't constantly hiding her identity at school and work. Her mother is reluctant to let her go on the full ride provided by an anonymous donation.

I love anthologies and samplers. I just love how quickly I can get through them, and how intrigued I am after such a short time. And horror/thriller stories= :::chef's kiss:::. I definitely found some stories that I am going to check out further. I didn't love every single one, but there were definitely a few I can't wait to read the entire thing.

Well, here's the thing: I always get excited to see the Samplers because I get excited to see what's coming up and get a taste of everything. What I didn't realize is I have read most of these books - woops! Either way, I read the sampler to give feedback on this little collection overall!

The Penguin Teen Wicked Reads 2022 Sampler highlights 6 upcoming books: How to Succeed in Witchcraft, Secrets So Deep, The Counselors, Youngblood, How to Survive Your Murder, and A Like in the Dark. These all fit wonderfully together in this collection, each offering something "wicked" which I am loving is becoming more and more popular this year!

These all have a lot to offer - my personal ranking:
1. How to Survive Your Murder (uh hello? Scream meets Happy Death Day SOLD)
2. The Counselors - Jessica Goodman does no wrong, you cannot change my mind.
3. Youngblood - a lesbian vampire YA with the boarding school trope? YES PLEASE.
4. How to succeed in witchcraft - This covers a lot of HARD topics, racism among them, so it can be a bit heavier, but so good!
5. Secrets So Deep - ghosts and a unsolved missing persons? YAS.
6. A Line in the Dark - Melinda Lo's writing is beautiful, so being last here doesn't say much, I just wasn't as drawn to this particular story and this was a hard batch to compete against.

**Having read the majority of these books I can confidently say you can pick any of them up and have a winner**

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin for this ARC of sneak peaks into six new, eerie, young adult fiction releases! As someone who enjoys classic gothic works such as Frankenstein and Dracula, it's always very interesting to see these modern-day takes on the horror/gothic genre. I especially enjoyed the excerpts from Youngblood and How to Succeed in Witchcraft, and look forward to reading the full novels.

Penguin Teen Wicked Reads 2022 Sampler by Various Authors - 4 stars.

I love a book that can give you a sneak peek into a book that allows you to truly see if it is something you are interested in reading because at times the blurb isn't always enough to make that conclusion.

A few excerpts that caught my attention and I will be adding them to me To Be Read list are
1. Secrets So Deep by Ginny Myers Sain
2. How to Survive Your Murder by Danielle Vega
3. A Line in the Dark by Malinda Lo
4. How to Succeed in Witchcraft by Aislinn Brophy

The other excerpts were great, and I will have to circle back to them in the future.

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for the ARC sampler.

I just can’t get enough of these book samplers! I literally love them so much!! And my TBR list just continues to grow endless because of them.

I really enjoyed the Penguin Teen Wicked Reads 2022 sampler! I am particularly looking forward to reading A Line in the Dark, by: Malinda Lo. I will read anything she writes!This was my first time hearing about How to Succeed in Witchcraft and How to Survive Your Murder. I’m looking forward to reading them both! I was interested in The Counselors before and feel even more so now. It was fantastic to get a sneak peek of so many upcoming great books and have added them all to my TBR. Thank you to all the authors, Penguin Group, and Netgalley for a free digital sampler in exchange for honest feedback.

These samplers all sound so good, I'm most excited for The Counselors by Jessica Goodman. At the end of the sampler there's a graphic about Wicked Reads scary meter books. Stephanie Perkins has two books at the top of the scary list and I personally hated both of their books. I'm really hoping these samplers are nothing like their books.

This sampler highlights 6 upcoming books. My overall thoughts is I love how the supernatural genre is really picking up again with young adults. These stories feel fresh and youthful, except for an odd 2 out.

These 3 were the ones I was most interested in reading after previewing them. I especially liked the voice in How to Succeed in Witchcraft and I think several students might enjoy it as an addition on our YA shelf. I was disappointed by the POV changes in Youngblood, but I like the premise.
1. YOUNGBLOOD by Sasha Laurens
2. HOW TO SUCCEED IN WITCHCRAFT by Aislinn Brophy
3. THE COUNSELORS by Jessica Goodman

I found Vega’s preview to be underwhelming with too much going on.
4. HOW TO SURVIVE YOUR MURDER by Danielle Vega

Finally, these two were absolutely boring and felt like a chore to read:
5. A LINE IN THE DARK by Malinda Lo
6. SECRETS SO DEEP by Ginny Myers Sain

Love getting a little taster for books before going out to purchase them. This one was all about spooky reads from murder mysteries to vampires and I was quite intrigued by all of them. I do wish the formatting was better as the writing was all over the place.

I am a fan of YA books, especially if they are also fantasy or thriller so this sampler is perfect for me!
I immediately added the 6 books to the TBR after I finished reading the first 3 chapters of each.
I will definitely read first: How to Survive your Murder, How to Succeed in Witchcraft and Youngblood.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group for this sampler!