I want to believe I would not take life advice from a suspicious AI chatbot.

I really do.

I would ask sensible questions.

I would check the source.

I would remind myself that no app, bot, or glowing little text box should know more about my life than my own family.

And yet…

If a chatbot gave me one weirdly helpful answer?

Then another?

Then somehow knew exactly what I needed to hear while I was standing in my kitchen, drinking cold coffee, trying to remember if I moved the laundry?

I might keep asking questions.

Just one more.

For research.

Which, as we know, is how the trouble starts.

So today’s question is:

Would you trust the AI chatbot?

Here’s the setup:

A new chatbot app starts making the rounds at school.

At first, everyone treats it like a joke.

Ask it who has a crush on you.

Ask it what grade you’ll get on your math test.

Ask it what your teacher really thinks when the class “forgets” homework.

Harmless, right?

Then the answers get weird.

Not scary at first.

Just… accurate.

It reminds someone to bring an inhaler before gym class.

It tells another student not to take the shortcut behind the auditorium.

It warns someone to delete a post before it ruins their friendship.

Then you try it.

You ask something small:

Should I trust my best friend?

The bot pauses.

Three dots blink.

Then it answers:

No. And you already know why.

Your stomach drops.

Because the bot is wrong.

It has to be wrong.

Right?

Then another message appears:

Ask her what she did last Friday.

So… what do you do?

A) Keep asking questions because now you need answers.

B) Delete the app immediately and pretend you never saw it.

C) Screenshot everything and test the bot with questions only you know.

D) Ask your best friend directly and try not to sound like you’re taking advice from a creepy robot.

Kim’s Very Scientific Thriller Verdict

If you picked A, I understand you.

I worry for you.

But I understand you.

Curiosity is powerful. Unfortunately, in a thriller, curiosity also likes to open locked doors, click strange links, and invite chaos to sit down for coffee.

If you picked B, smart.

You may not solve the mystery, but you also may not become part of the bot’s five-step plan.

If you picked C, excellent detective energy.

Screenshots first. Panic second. Trust nothing with a cute logo.

If you picked D, brave.

Messy, but brave.

Also, please record the conversation in case your best friend says something like, “I can explain,” because that phrase has never helped anyone in a thriller.

What I’m Reading 📚

This week, I’m reading Sisters Alone by Shifa Saltagi Safadi, and I’m giving it 5 stars.

This one is the kind of story that grabs your heart and then traps it in a blizzard.

It follows two sisters, Rama and Leena, who are left alone at their rural home when their father has to travel for work.

Then a sudden blizzard hits.

No power.
No food.
No shelter.
No easy way out.

Just two sisters, one storm, and all the grief, guilt, anger, and fear they’ve been carrying.

Rama is fierce and full of fire, battling intrusive thoughts while trying to keep everything together.

Leena is quiet and numb, still blaming herself for their mother’s death.

And when the storm tears through their house, the sisters have no one to rely on but each other.

I love stories about sisterhood, survival, and the hard, complicated ways people love each other when they’re scared.

Especially when the danger outside forces the truth inside to come out.

You can read my full review here: [INSERT REVIEW LINK]

Content notes: death of a parent, hospitalization, medical content, hypothermia, grief, anxiety, and panic attack.

Rep: Syrian-American, Muslim, Anxiety

Read my full review and get the book 👇

The Kill App Connection with AI Chatbot Scenerio

This is one of the reasons I love writing tech thrillers.

Technology does not have to look scary to be scary.

Sometimes the most dangerous thing is not a monster in the woods.

It is a notification.

A message.

An app that says, “I can help.”

In The Kill App, Rae joins an anonymous support app because she needs somewhere to put all the fear, anger, and survival mode she’s been carrying.

At first, the app feels like a safe place.

Then names from the app start turning up dead.

And Rae realizes the app is not just listening.

It is choosing.

That’s the question that keeps pulling me back to tech thrillers:

When does help become control?

And how do you know when something that feels safe has started watching you too closely?

The Brave Conversation

This kind of story opens up a bigger conversation about trust, privacy, friendship, and how much advice we should take from technology.

Because teens are growing up with tools that can answer questions fast.

Homework questions.

Friendship questions.

Mental health questions.

Questions they may be afraid to ask out loud.

That does not make technology evil.

But it does mean we need to talk about it.

Who do we trust with our secrets?

When should we ask a person instead of a program?

Can advice be useful and still be unsafe?

And what do we do when a tool makes us doubt someone we love?

So now I need to know:

Would you keep asking questions if the answers were actually useful?

Reply with A, B, C, or D and tell me your chatbot survival plan.

No essay required.

Unless you have strong feelings about AI, creepy apps, or friends who suddenly act weird after Friday.

In that case, I absolutely want to know.

Warmly,
Kim

P.S. Next time, we may be talking about whether you’d go to the sleepover. Snacks, secrets, and one game nobody should play.

Hi friends,

This week, I fell into another internet rabbit hole.

Which, honestly, is starting to feel less like a bad habit and more like research.

The topic?

D4vd.

Or more specifically, the murder-trial chatter I somehow just found out about online.

Please forgive me. I am old, as my teen son likes to remind me, and apparently always three trends, two memes, and one suspicious YouTube video behind.

I haven’t even listened to his music yet.

I know.

My teenager is probably somewhere shaking his head in disappointment.

But what caught my attention wasn’t just the online story people are discussing now. It was how D4vd became famous in the first place.

Because that part?

That feels like a whole new world compared to when I was growing up.

So grab your coffee, tea, or emotional support bookmark.

It’s time for another Brave Bookshelf Dispatch.

📁 THE BRAVE BOOKSHELF CASE FILE

Case: When the internet turns an everyday person into someone everyone knows.

Back when I was a kid in the 80s and 90s, becoming famous felt almost impossible unless someone else opened the door.

You needed a record label.
A producer.
An agent.
A manager.
A person in a suit who decided whether you were worth the risk.

There were gatekeepers everywhere.

And most regular people never got close enough to knock.

Now?

Someone can make music from home, post online, build a following through YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, gaming spaces, streaming platforms, or whatever app my son will have to explain to me next week…

And suddenly they’re not just a kid making something in their room.

That is exactly what happened to David Burke. Burke began composing music in 2021 for his Fortnite gameplay montages. He first achieved commercial success with his 2022 singles "Romantic Homicide" and "Here with Me", both of which earned multiple platinum certifications and were recorded in his sister’s bedroom closet.

Now D4vd is a name.

A brand.

A person strangers feel like they know.

That is amazing.

And also completely terrifying.

Because the internet can give someone a career before they’ve even had time to figure out who they are.

One day you’re making music, videos, edits, jokes, art, or posts from your bedroom.

The next day, people are watching.

Commenting.
Judging.
Digging.
Shipping.
Accusing.
Defending.
Turning your life into content.

And as a thriller writer, my brain immediately goes:

What happens when fame finds you too fast?

💻 KIM VS. THE INTERNET

This week’s question:

Can the internet make someone famous before they’re ready to be known?

Because that’s the part I keep thinking about.

So why did I choose D4vd for this example? Well, here is a little bit about him. D4vd, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, is one of those artists who shows how much fame has changed. As mentioned earlier, instead of coming up through the old-school route of record labels, producers, and industry gatekeepers, he built attention online first. He started creating music while also being connected to gaming and online platforms, and his songs gained traction through places like TikTok, YouTube, and streaming apps.

What pulled me into the D4vd story was his recent arrest and the disturbing online discussion surrounding reports of a dismembered body of a 14-year-old girl found in a Tesla connected to him, along with allegations involving having sex with this minor and claims about a possible murder motive tied to exposure before his tour and reissue of Withered.

I’m still catching up on the details — again, please forgive me, I am old, as my teen son likes to remind me — so I don’t want to treat internet claims like proven fact. You can Google “D4vd,” and you’ll get all the details I may have missed.

I’m not going to pretend I know everything about the D4vd situation. I just stumbled into the conversation, blinked, and thought:

Wait.

How did we get here?

But I do know this:

The way people become famous has changed.

A lot.

And that change is fascinating from a story point of view.

Because the internet doesn’t just create fans.

It creates detectives.

Some helpful.
Some not so helpful.
Some who should maybe drink water and step away from the comment section.

Online fame can turn strangers into investigators, critics, defenders, conspiracy builders, and people who believe they have a right to every private detail of someone’s life.

That is a lot of pressure.

Especially for young artists.

Especially for teens watching it happen and thinking fame looks easy.

Because from the outside, it can look like magic.

Post the song.
Go viral.
Get followers.
Get streams.
Get noticed.
Escape your regular life.

But thrillers know better.

Thrillers ask:

What does fame cost?
Who is watching?
Who is lying?
What gets hidden when everyone is looking at the wrong thing?
And what would you do to keep your fame and fortune?

That last one gives me chills. Because we know what D4vd was allegedly willing to do. Murder.

Not cute little spooky-season chills.

More like “maybe I should clear my search history and go fold laundry” chills.

📚 BOOKS THAT START THE CONVERSATION

This would make such a good thriller.

Not the real story exactly.

Because lawsuits exist.

And I enjoy not being sued.

But the idea of it?

Oh, absolutely.

Imagine a teen musician who becomes famous by accident.

He starts posting songs online because he needs music for his own videos. Maybe gaming clips. Maybe short films. Maybe he just wants to make something that belongs to him.

Then one song goes viral.

At first, it’s exciting.

Followers.
Interviews.
Fans.
Messages from people who say his music saved them.
A label that suddenly wants him.
A manager who says, “Trust me.”

But then something terrible happens.

A murder.

A missing fan.

A friend who knew him before he became famous.

And suddenly the internet does what the internet does.

It starts building its own version of the truth.

Clips get taken out of context.
Lyrics become “evidence.”
Old posts get pulled apart.
Fans turn on each other.
Someone starts posting anonymous messages that sound like clues.

And the main character has to figure out what really happened before the online story becomes the only story anyone believes.

Tell me that is not a thriller.

Actually, don’t tell me.

I’m already suspicious of everyone in this imaginary book.

🔪 THRILLER THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

Here’s the version my brain started writing without permission:

A teen boy becomes famous after one song goes viral from his bedroom.

He thinks music is his way out.

Out of his small town.
Out of family stress.
Out of being invisible.

Then one of his biggest fans disappears after a concert.

The police ask questions.

The internet asks louder ones.

Everyone starts dissecting his lyrics, convinced he confessed to something in a song he wrote months before anything happened.

But the real clue isn’t in the song.

It’s in an old gaming video.

A reflection in the screen.
A voice in the background.
A username no one noticed.
A person who was there before the fame, before the fans, before the world started watching.

And the scariest part?

The killer knows the internet is easier to manipulate than the police.

See?

This is why I cannot casually learn about anything.

My brain immediately turns it into a body count.

📚 WHAT I’M READING RIGHT NOW

This week, I’m reading a middle-grade novel, “Wish You Well” by Jamie Sumner, and I’m giving this one 5 stars.

It’s emotional.

It’s heartbreaking.

And these characters?

They have completely grabbed me by the heart and said, “You’re coming with us.”

The story follows Violet Marino, who does not want sympathy. She does not want people fussing over her. She does not want new friends.

She wants to play soccer and deal with the whole slowly-going-blind thing on her own terms.

Which I love.

Because Violet is feisty in the best way.

She’s hurting, but she is not fragile.
She is scared, but she is not helpless.
She has walls up, but you can feel why they’re there.

Then she meets Wyatt, who is charming, dangerous in the “this kid has terrible ideas” kind of way, and living with a newly transplanted heart.

And Noor?

Sharp as a blade.

Armed with excellent snacks she can’t eat because of chemo.

These three kids should not work together.

Which, of course, means they absolutely do.

When a wish-granting foundation keeps calling, Wyatt comes up with a plan: team up and game the system. One wish is fine. But three sick kids on three epic adventures?

That’s history-making.

At first, it sounds like a scam.

Then it starts to feel like friendship.

And that’s where the book gets you.

Because when you finally let people in, you also give them the power to hurt you.

Or leave.

Or matter.

A lot.

💛 The brave conversation: This book opens up questions about illness, friendship, independence, fear, and what it means to be seen as a person instead of a diagnosis.

📖 The hook: Three kids with big diagnoses and bigger personalities team up to scam a wish-granting foundation, and somehow it becomes an emotional joy ride.

👀 Who might connect with it: Middle grade readers, reluctant readers, teachers, librarians, parents, and anyone who loves stories about messy friendships, brave kids, and characters with huge hearts and even bigger attitudes.

🗣️ Question to ask after reading: When you’re going through something hard, is it easier to push people away or let them help?

This one is making my heart hurt in the best way.

Which is rude.

But also exactly what I want from a book. Check out my full review and get the book!

https://open.substack.com/pub/kimbartosch/p/a-heartbreaking-story-about-letting?r=5a6umq&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

🎤 NEW ON THE BRAVE BOOKSHELF

In case you missed it, here’s what’s new:

📚 Latest Review: https://open.substack.com/pub/kimbartosch/p/a-twisted-psychological-thriller?r=5a6umq&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

✍️ Coming Soon: More book reviews, brave conversations, spooky thoughts, and probably more proof that I cannot hear one strange internet story without turning it into a thriller.

You can catch up here:

The Brave Bookshelf with Kim Bartosch

Books, writing, and conversations that make us braver. I’m Kim Bartosch, author of "Ask the Girl" and founder of The Brave Bookshelf, where I explore children’s and YA books that tackle real-life topics with honesty and heart and, of course, thrills!

📅 AUTHOR EVENTS & BOOKISH NEWS

Here’s what’s coming up:

📍 Funky Ferndale Art Fair — September 26, 2026 10:00 am - 3:30 pm

I will be in Ferndale, Michigan, signing and selling my book “Ask the Girl” with my fellow SCBWI.org Michigan authors, and I would love for you to stop by and say hello! You can also discover and explore local art, food, and entertainment!

And behind the scenes, I’m currently working on:

🔪 The Kill App revisions
👻 More spooky bookish content
🎶 Trying not to turn viral music fame into a murder mystery
📚 Reading books that emotionally attack me and then expecting me to function like a normal person

Bold of them.

💬 YOUR TURN

Reply and tell me:

Would you read a thriller about a teen musician who goes viral and gets pulled into a murder mystery?

You can reply with just one word:

Yes, No, or Obviously.

Bonus points if you tell me what clue should crack the case:

A song lyric?
An old video?
A deleted comment?
A fan account?
A hidden username?
A recording no one was supposed to hear?

I’m nosy, but in a bookish way.

Until next time,

Kim

Author | Book Reviewer | Host of The Brave Bookshelf

P.S. I still haven’t listened to D4vd’s music yet, so yes, I am officially behind. My teen son is right. Please keep me in your thoughts during this difficult time.

There are few things more dangerous in a YA thriller than a screenshot.

Not a haunted basement.

Not a locked door.

Not even a mysterious app with a moody black icon.

A screenshot.

Because once one person sends it, suddenly everyone has it.

The group chat has it.

The friend who says, “I won’t show anyone” has it.

The person who absolutely should not have it has it.

And now everyone is asking the same question:

“Did you see this?”

So today’s question is:

Would you share the screenshot?

Here’s the setup:

You’re sitting at lunch when your phone buzzes.

Someone sent you a screenshot.

At first, you think it’s just gossip.

Messy? Yes.
Dramatic? Absolutely.
Possibly fake? Also yes.

The screenshot shows a private message from someone at school.

It could ruin their reputation.

It could expose something true.

It could also be edited, taken out of context, or completely made up.

You don’t know.

But everyone else is already sending it around.

One person says, “Forward it to me.”

Another says, “Everyone deserves to know.”

Someone else says, “If you don’t share it, you’re protecting them.”

Then the person in the screenshot texts you:

Please don’t believe everything you see.

So… what do you do?

A) Forward it because everyone else already has it.

B) Delete it and refuse to be part of the drama.

C) Ask where it came from before you believe anything.

D) Screenshot the screenshot because now you’re investigating the investigation.

Kim’s Very Scientific Thriller Verdict

If you picked A, I am gently taking your phone away.

You may not have started the drama, but you are now feeding it snacks and giving it a ride home.

If you picked B, strong choice.

You have boundaries. You have peace. You may also miss three plot twists, but at least your conscience is clean.

If you picked C, excellent.

Questions save lives in thrillers. So does slowing down before helping a rumor grow legs.

If you picked D, chaotic detective energy.

Do I approve? Not fully.

Do I understand? Very much.

What I’m Reading 📚

This week, I’ll be sharing my thoughts on two books:

Divine Oaths by Elizabeth Agyemang

Divine Oaths is a new adult dark romantasy that follows Sianna Adu, whose life changes after a devastating family tragedy leaves her with the ability to touch objects and glimpse the past and future. I really liked Sianna’s grit, independence, and determination to survive, and I especially enjoyed how her ability felt more like a burden than a gift.

The mystery surrounding Westfield University, its secret societies, and the curse at the heart of the story kept me interested, and the supporting characters added a lot to Sianna’s journey.

My biggest issue was the marketing. The “romantasy” label and lush fantasy-style cover made me expect elves, fairies, dragons, or a more fully magical world. Instead, this felt much closer to paranormal romance mixed with dark academia.

Not a bad read—just not quite the book I thought I was picking up. Click on my review below to learn more and get the book for yourself!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Review link: https://www.kimbartosch/p/a-dark-academia-mystery-that-wasnt

The Dog Heist by Dani Jansen

The Dog Heist by Dani Jansen completely surprised me. I went in expecting a familiar rescue-the-dog story, but I quickly became invested in Caleb, Valery, and Lyra. Caleb is dealing with his parents’ separation, a move, missing his dog, and ADHD, while Valery is struggling with a best friend who suddenly seems to have no time for her. When the two realize their neighbor’s dog, Lyra, is being neglected and a hurricane is approaching, they decide to rescue her themselves.

Their risky plan brings real suspense, but the heart of the story is the unlikely friendship that grows between them. I loved how the book tackles family changes, loneliness, neurodiversity, friendship, and animal welfare without ever feeling heavy-handed. It is heartfelt, tense, funny, and easy to recommend. Teachers, parents, librarians, and young animal lovers should absolutely add this one to their shelves. Five enthusiastic stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ from me—and Akira, my dog, approves too!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Be sure to read my full top 5 reasons to read the book! Link below.

Review link: https://www.kimbartosch/p/a-rescue-mission-with-a-whole-lot

Would you share a screenshot? Hmm?

This screenshot question has me thinking about how often stories begin with one tiny thing that gets passed from person to person.

A message.

A rumor.

A photo.

A secret.

One little piece of information can change everything, especially when people react before they know the whole story.

That’s where things get messy.

And, of course, that’s where a good thriller rubs its hands together and says, “Perfect.”

So, can you? The Unspoken Rules of Screenshots

I wondered what the laws and regulations are for screenshots. I know you shouldn’t screenshot personal items, such as medical records. But what is the etiquette, and are we passing this along to teens and tweens? (Or children, because some 8-year-olds have fancier phones than I do…lol 😅)

So I ran across a great article on TheTeenMagazine.com, Can I Screenshot This? The Unspoken Rules of What Can and Can’t Be Shared by Maya Steever, published Aug. 4, 2026.

There really aren’t too many regulations regarding screenshots except for two. The first is copyright laws protecting photographers, artists, illustrators, or any other creator’s work. The second is a law meant to protect people from the nonconsensual sharing of intimate images, often called revenge porn, when someone distributes private photos of a person or a current or former partner without permission. This kind of cybercrime becomes even more serious when children are involved, which sadly happens far too often.

This leads me to the etiquette of screenshots that aren’t breaking the above-mentioned laws. Most say it’s a great way to capture data, a website, or information to use later. Or to capture a criminal post made online to give to the police, but as Steever mentions, most found it embarrassing when their conversations were screenshotted for others to see and felt it was a violation of their trust.

The scary part is how ordinary it all feels.

A screenshot looks simple.

A quick forward.

A tiny tap.

A “Did you see this?” moment.

But once something spreads, it can be almost impossible to pull back.

And if it turns out to be fake?

Or private?

Or meant to hurt someone?

That one tap can do a lot of damage.

Why I Love This Kind of Setup

Screenshot stories work because they make everyone part of the mystery.

Not just the person who sent it.

Not just the person in it.

Everyone who sees it has to make a choice.

Forward it.

Delete it.

Question it.

Ignore it.

Use it.

Protect someone.

Expose someone.

Believe it.

Doubt it.

And in a thriller, the screenshot is never just a screenshot.

It’s evidence.

Or bait.

Or a trap.

Or the first clue that someone is controlling the story before the main character even knows there’s a story to solve.

That’s what makes it so creepy.

The danger doesn’t always come from a masked killer in the woods.

Sometimes it comes from a phone lighting up at lunch.

The Brave Conversation

This kind of story opens up a conversation about rumors, privacy, consent, and how fast people can be hurt online.

Because “don’t spread gossip” sounds simple.

But what happens when everyone else is sharing it?

What happens when staying quiet makes people think you’re taking a side?

What happens when the screenshot might be true, but sharing it still feels wrong?

And what happens when it is not true at all?

Books give us a way to talk about these choices without pointing fingers at one person or one situation.

They let us ask:

When should we pause?

When should we question what we see?

When should we protect someone’s privacy, even if the whole school wants the story?

So now I need to know:

Would you share it, delete it, or ask questions first?

Reply with A, B, C, or D and tell me your screenshot survival plan.

No essay required.

Unless you have very strong feelings about group chats, messy rumors, or people who say, “I’m only sending it to you.”

In that case, I absolutely want to know.

Warmly,
Kim

P.S. Next time, we may be talking about whether you’d trust the AI chatbot. Which sounds helpful until it starts giving advice about people it should not know.

Books, brave conversations, author news, and one internet thing I’m probably overthinking.

Hi friends,

This week, the internet sent me into the desert.

Not literally.

Although after my Sedona trip, I would not complain.

But I’ve been thinking about the water crisis in the Southwest, the Colorado River debates, and how people in power can argue for so long that the people in the middle are left standing there with an empty cup.

Which, honestly, sounds less like politics and more like the opening chapter of a dystopian thriller.

So grab your coffee, tea, or emotional support bookmark.

Maybe also a glass of water.

It’s time for another Brave Bookshelf Dispatch.

📁 THE BRAVE BOOKSHELF CASE FILE

Case: When everyone is fighting over water, who gets left thirsty?

The Colorado River has been at the center of a long, complicated debate between states, farmers, cities, lawmakers, tribes, environmental groups, and communities that all depend on the same shrinking supply of water.

And when water gets scarce, people get angry.

Very angry.

Not “someone ate the last piece of cake” angry.

More like “our farms, homes, jobs, history, and future are tied to this river” angry.

Which makes sense.

Water is not optional.

You can argue over budgets.
You can argue over roads.
You can argue over who gets the good parking spot.

But water?

That is survival.

And what keeps bothering me is how often these debates turn into people standing on opposite sides, shouting about who is right, while the people in the middle are the ones suffering.

Families.
Farm workers.
Small towns.
Tribal communities.
Kids growing up in places where adults keep promising solutions that never seem to arrive.

That’s the part that makes my author brain pause.

Because in every good thriller, the scariest thing is not always the villain.

Sometimes it’s the system.

The rules.
The loopholes.
The delays.
The people protecting their own interests while everyone else waits for help.

And when the resource everyone needs is water?

That story gets scary fast.

💻 KIM VS. THE INTERNET

This week’s question:

What happens when people are too angry to negotiate?

Because that’s what this made me think about.

Negotiation is not fun.

No one writes a dramatic movie trailer voiceover that says:

“In a world… where people sit down calmly and compromise.”

Although, honestly, that might be the fantasy novel we need right now.

But when people refuse to negotiate, the people with the least power usually suffer first.

The people who cannot hire lawyers.
The people who cannot move.
The people whose voices are easy to ignore.
The people who need the adults in charge to stop fighting long enough to fix the actual problem.

And this is where I think books can help.

Because stories let us ask:

What does justice look like when everyone needs the same thing?
Who gets protected when resources run low?
Who decides whose home matters?
And how do people learn to work together when they have every reason not to trust each other?

Those questions belong in real life.

But they also belong in thrillers.

In dystopian books.
In fantasy novels.
In stories where a river dries up and suddenly all the secrets buried in the canyon start showing.

Which brings me to Antelope Canyon.

Because apparently my brain cannot see a beautiful natural wonder without asking:

“Okay, but what if it was haunted, magical, cursed, or hiding something ancient?”

This is why I can’t have normal vacations.

📚 BOOKS THAT START THE CONVERSATION

Water stories are powerful because water is emotional.

It can heal.
It can destroy.
It can divide people.
It can bring them home.

And in fantasy, water can become even more interesting.

Imagine a world inspired by Antelope Canyon, where the canyon walls hold old magic and the river once carried messages between realms.

But now the water is disappearing.

Not because of drought alone.

Because someone is holding it back.

A kingdom upstream says they are protecting their people.
A kingdom downstream says they are being slowly murdered.
The leaders refuse to meet.
The priests blame a curse.
The rich buy private wells.
The poor wait in line with empty jars.

And in the middle?

A teen girl who can hear the canyon whisper when the wind moves through the stone.

At first, everyone thinks she’s imagining it.

Because of course they do.

No one ever believes the girl hearing voices in a canyon until the ancient door opens and something with teeth crawls out.

Fantasy rule.

Probably.

🔮 STORY IDEA OF THE WEEK

Here’s the Antelope Canyon fantasy idea my brain started building:

A teen girl lives in a desert city where water is controlled by two rival kingdoms.

One kingdom owns the source.
The other owns the canyon.
Neither trusts the other.

For years, they’ve argued over old treaties, broken promises, and who deserves more water.

Meanwhile, the people in the middle are suffering.

Then the girl discovers that Antelope Canyon is not just a canyon.

It is a sleeping creature.

Or a doorway.

Or maybe both, because why choose?

The carved sandstone walls are actually the bones of an ancient water dragon, and every time the river is blocked, the dragon wakes a little more.

The leaders think they are fighting over water.

But the canyon knows the truth:

The river was never theirs to own.

And if they do not learn to share it, the desert will take everything back.

Tell me that would not be a fantasy novel.

Actually, don’t tell me.

I’m already attached.

📚 WHAT I’M READING

This week on The Brave Bookshelf, I’m talking about:

MirrorWoven by Bori Cser

You are cordially invited to the Dragon Masquerade…

And honestly, that line alone had me reaching for my fanciest imaginary cloak.

This one fits so well with my whole water-rights, desert fantasy, Antelope Canyon rabbit hole because it has everything my fantasy-loving brain wants:

👑 A runaway princess
🪞 A magically hidden identity
🎭 A masquerade
🐉 Dragons
🌊 A faraway lagoon-city
💔 Grief, secrets, court politics, and one very dangerous rule about true love’s kiss

Del has two rules:

Stay away from royalty.
Don’t fall in love.

Which, in fantasy terms, means she is absolutely going to end up near royalty and in emotional trouble.

Del is secretly a runaway princess who flees after her sister dies at the hand of her boyfriend. With a mirrorwoven face hiding who she really is, she disappears to the opaline lagoon-city of Salato, hoping to leave her past and her responsibilities behind.

But then she becomes court bard to the newly widowed First of Salato.

Because apparently keeping your head down is impossible when you’re in a fantasy novel.

What I love about this setup is how much it ties into the bigger conversation from this Dispatch:

What happens when people in power refuse to deal with the damage they’ve caused?

Del runs from a kingdom that wants her to become its new heir. Clara is trying to survive court life while people circle around her power. Nasca sounds brilliant, dangerous, and exactly like the kind of character who walks into a room and makes everyone nervous.

So yes, there’s magic.

But there’s also politics.
Grief.
Responsibility.
Secrets.
Power.
And people trying to survive systems they did not fully choose.

That’s what makes fantasy so good.

It can give us dragon masquerades and magical faces, but underneath all the sparkle, it’s still asking very human questions:

Who gets to lead?
Who gets protected?
Who gets used?
And what happens when hiding keeps you safe… but also keeps you alone?

📖 The hook: A runaway princess with a magical disguise becomes court bard in a lagoon-city, where love could expose her true identity.

💛 The brave conversation: This book opens up questions about grief, identity, duty, trust, power, and what it costs to keep yourself hidden.

👀 Who might connect with it: Fantasy readers, romantasy fans, teens who love court politics, readers who like secret identities, and anyone who hears “Dragon Masquerade” and immediately says, “Yes, please.”

🗣️ Question to ask after reading: If hiding who you are keeps you safe, when does it start becoming its own kind of prison?

You can read my full thoughts here:

And yes, between this book’s lagoon-city, court secrets, and my Antelope Canyon fantasy idea, my brain is now convinced water magic and political drama belong together.

My TBR pile is concerned.

I am not.

🎤 NEW ON THE BRAVE BOOKSHELF

In case you missed it, here’s what’s new:

📚 Latest Review:

✍️ Coming Soon: More book reviews, brave conversations, spooky thoughts, and probably more proof that every news story can become a thriller if you overthink it hard enough.

You can catch up here:

👉 The Brave Bookshelf

📅 AUTHOR EVENTS & BOOKISH NEWS

Here’s what’s coming up:

And behind the scenes, I’m currently working on:

🔪 The Kill App revisions
👻 More spooky bookish content
🌵 A possible desert fantasy involving Antelope Canyon
💧 Trying not to turn every water-rights debate into a book plot

Mixed results.

📌 A FEW RESOURCES TO CHECK OUT

Since this topic is complicated and given the debate over the Colorado River, here are a few places worth reading if you want to know more about this water crisis:

👉 U.S. Bureau of Reclamation — Colorado River Basin updates: https://www.usbr.gov/ColoradoRiverBasin/
👉 The Colorado River Compact: https://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/g1000/pdfiles/crcompct.pdf
👉 Colorado water agency: https://cwcb.colorado.gov/
👉 California water agency: https://water.ca.gov/
👉 Arizona water agency: https://new.azwater.gov/
👉 Nevada water agency: https://water.nv.gov/
👉 Utah water agency: https://water.utah.gov/

👉 Wyoming water resources: https://seo.wyo.gov/water
👉 New Mexico water resources: https://www.ose.state.nm.us/

👉 Colorado River reporting (AP News): https://apnews.com/hub/colorado-river
👉 Colorado River reporting (High Country News): https://www.hcn.org/topics/colorado-river
👉 Colorado River reporting (NYT topic page): https://www.nytimes.com/spotlight/colorado-river

👉 Tribal water rights resources (Native American Rights Fund): https://www.narf.org/topics/water-rights/
👉 Colorado River Indian Tribes: https://www.crit-nsn.gov/

Water rights are messy, and I am not a lawyer, hydrologist, or river wizard.

Sadly.

But I do think this is one of those issues where the story matters because real people are living with the consequences.

💬 YOUR TURN

Reply and tell me:

Should I write the Antelope Canyon fantasy novel?

You can reply with just one word:

Yes, No, or Obviously.

Bonus points if you tell me what should be hidden in the canyon:

A dragon?
A doorway?
A curse?
A lost city?
A ghost?
A river spirit with a very bad attitude?

I’m nosy, but in a bookish way.

Until next time,

Kim

Author | Book Reviewer | Host of The Brave Bookshelf

P.S. This is why I love traveling. I go somewhere beautiful, learn one weird fact or think about one serious issue, and suddenly my brain says, “Great. But what if there was a monster?”

I know what I’m supposed to say.

If you find an old diary hidden inside a wall, you should probably leave it alone.

Call someone.

Take a photo.

Back away slowly.

Maybe don’t read the private thoughts of a person who clearly went through a lot of trouble to hide them inside the actual house.

That would be the mature choice.

The safe choice.

The choice made by someone who does not want to become chapter four of a gothic mystery.

Unfortunately, I am nosy.

If I found an old diary hidden in a wall, I would absolutely open it.

I would tell myself I was only checking the first page.

Then I would read the second page.

Then I would make tea.

Then suddenly it would be 2 a.m., the house would creak, and I’d be whispering, “Wait… why does this sound like my family?”

So today’s question is:

Would you open the old diary?

Here’s the setup:

You’re helping clean out an old family house.

The kind of house with too many closets.

Too many framed photos of relatives who look like they know things.

Too many floorboards that complain when you step on them.

You’re moving an old bookshelf when something slips from a crack in the wall.

A diary.

Small. Dusty. Tied with a faded ribbon.

Obviously suspicious.

The first few pages are harmless.

Weather.
School.
A strange neighbor.
Someone crying at night.

Then the entries get darker.

Someone was watching the house.

Someone disappeared.

Someone in the family lied.

And then you reach the last entry.

It describes something that sounds exactly like what happened to your family.

Same date.

Same room.

Same name.

Then, from somewhere upstairs, you hear a door close.

So… what do you do?

A) Keep reading because the diary clearly wants to be read.

B) Put it back in the wall and pretend you found nothing.

C) Take pictures of every page, then start researching names and dates.

D) Call a family member and ask, “So… anything weird happen in this house?” like a totally normal person.

Kim’s Very Scientific Thriller Verdict

If you picked A, you are brave, curious, and likely cursed.

I respect it.

I do not recommend it.

If you picked B, you may be the smartest person here.

Will the diary leave you alone? Probably not.

But at least you tried.

If you picked C, excellent mystery instincts.

Pictures first. Research second. Panic third. Preferably with snacks.

If you picked D, bold choice.

Family members love being asked vague, terrifying questions about old houses with no warning.

I’m sure that will go well.

Why I Love This Kind of Setup

Old diaries are dangerous in stories because they feel personal.

A diary isn’t just evidence.

It’s a voice.

Someone wrote those words because they couldn’t say them out loud.

Maybe they were scared.

Maybe no one believed them.

Maybe they knew the truth would hurt too many people.

Or maybe they were leaving a warning for whoever came next.

That’s why I love gothic mysteries and family-secret stories.

The house becomes part of the mystery.

The walls know things.

The rooms remember.

The people who came before you are not as gone as everyone wants to believe.

And once you start reading, you can’t unknow what you found.

The Ask the Girl Connection

This is one reason I love ghost stories and old secrets.

In Ask the Girl, the past is not finished.

A girl died long ago.

A family is still living with the damage.

And Lila has to face something terrifying: what if the truth has been waiting for someone to finally ask the right questions?

That’s the part of mysteries that always gets me.

The ghost is scary.

The hidden diary is scary.

The strange noise upstairs is very much not helping.

But the real fear is this:

What if your family story isn’t the whole story?

What if someone was erased from it?

What if the truth has been sitting inside the walls all along?

You can read more about Ask the Girl here:

On a different note…let me move on to a story idea for my next book. 😁

Story Spark: The Red Monster of Sedona 🐪🌵

A few weeks ago, I took a ghost tour in Sedona, Arizona, and heard a folktale that has not left my brain alone since.

Which, as a writer, usually means:
“Oh no. This might become a book.”

The story was about a terrifying red monster people claimed was roaming the deserts around Sedona, Arizona, in the late 1800s.

But the twist?

It may not have been a monster at all.

From what I remember, the “red monster” was actually a camel left behind from the U.S. Army Camel Corps experiment in 1857. The military had brought camels to the Southwest to see if they could be useful, but the plan didn’t work out. When they tried to gather the camels back up, one escaped.

And because camels are not native to Arizona, no one knew what they were looking at.

Imagine seeing a huge, strange creature moving through the red rocks, covered in red dust, with rope and bones tangled around it.

Of course people thought it was a monster.

I mean… I would have.

This folktale immediately made me think: what if this became a middle-grade mystery?

A group of kids hear the legend of the Red Monster.
Everyone says it’s just an old story.
Then they find something hidden in a wall, a diary, or an old trunk that suggests the monster may have been real.
And maybe the real mystery isn’t the camel.

Maybe it’s what people were willing to hide.

I still need to fact-check the full story, especially the names, dates, exact location, and who eventually found or shot the camel. But I love the idea of taking a strange piece of Arizona folklore and turning it into a spooky, funny, dusty middle-grade adventure.

Because sometimes monsters are not monsters.

Sometimes they are misunderstood creatures.

Sometimes they are history covered in red sand.

And sometimes they are exactly the kind of weird story that makes a writer say:

“Well… now I need to know more.”

Would you read a middle grade mystery inspired by this legend?

Or better question:

If you saw a giant red “monster” in the desert, would you investigate it… or run the other way?

I know what the smart answer is.

I also know I’d probably follow it with a notebook and snacks, of course, plenty of water cuz it’s a desert out there!

The Brave Conversation

These kind of stories gives us a way to talk about family secrets, grief, truth, and the stories people pass down.

Every family has stories.

Some are funny.

Some are sweet.

Some get told every holiday until everyone can recite them by heart.

And some stories are avoided.

Changed.

Softened.

Buried.

Books let us ask hard questions from a safe distance.

Who gets to tell the family story?

What happens when someone is left out of it?

When does protecting people from the truth become another kind of hurt?

And what do we do when the past asks to be heard?

So now I need to know:

Would you keep reading the diary?

Would you read about the Red Monster of Sedona?

Warmly,
Kim

P.S. Next time, we may be talking about whether you’d share the screenshot. One rumor, one phone, and one very messy choice.

Books, brave conversations, author news, and one internet thing I’m probably overthinking.

Hi friends,

I recently went to Sedona, Arizona, and yes…

I went on a ghost tour.

Because apparently I cannot go on vacation like a normal person.

Some people go hiking.
Some people book spa days.
Some people look at red rocks and say, “Wow, nature is beautiful.”

I look at red rocks and say, “Okay, but where are the ghosts?”

So grab your coffee, tea, or emotional support bookmark.

It’s time for another Brave Bookshelf Dispatch.

📁 THE BRAVE BOOKSHELF CASE FILE

Case: When the ghost tour gives you fewer ghosts but more alien babies.

I’ll be honest.

The ghost tour was… okay.

Not terrible.

Not “I demand a refund and a séance” bad.

But I did wish they had actually taken us to more haunted locations instead of doing the whole:

“Five miles away, in the canyon to the east, something terrifying happened.”

Which is fine.

But also, I did not put on comfortable shoes to hear about ghosts who apparently could not be bothered to show up.

Still, the stories were wild.

We heard about Sedona vortexes/vortices, strange energy, spiritual experiences, and then somehow ended up hearing about a group of women called The Hybrid Children Community.

According to the ghost tour guide and the article I found, these women claim they have given birth to alien-human hybrid children who live on alien spaceships or another planet.

And all I could think was:

Excuse me.

That is not a side note.

That is a whole sci-fi thriller-horror novel, waving both arms in the desert.

💻 KIM VS. THE INTERNET

This week’s internet rabbit hole:

Alien hybrid children.

According to an article from DailyMail.com, (yes, I did some research :) this group of women believes they have had children with aliens, and that those children live somewhere beyond Earth.

Now listen.

I am not here to make fun of anyone’s beliefs.

But as a thriller writer?

My brain immediately opened a fresh notebook.

Because this has everything:

🌵 A desert setting
🌌 Alien claims
🌀 Sedona vortexes/vortices
👀 A group no one fully understands
👶 Children who may or may not exist
🚐 Tourists looking for ghosts and finding something much weirder
🔪 One woman who starts asking too many questions

And suddenly, my “fun vacation ghost tour” turned into:

What if the women are telling the truth?

Or worse…

What if they are not?

Because both versions are creepy.

If they are telling the truth, then we have aliens, hidden children, strange pregnancies, secret visits, and maybe a government agency quietly pretending not to know anything.

If they are not telling the truth, then we have a cult, manipulation, grief, delusion, missing people, and a community built around a shared story that may be covering something much darker.

Either way?

I’m listening.

With snacks.

From a safe distance.

📚 BOOKS THAT START THE CONVERSATION

This is why I love ghost tours.

Even when they are not perfect.

Even when the ghosts are allegedly five miles away and apparently unavailable for comment.

Ghost tours are story machines.

They take history, rumor, fear, grief, weird local legends, and that one guide with excellent dramatic pauses, and they hand writers a whole basket of “what if?”

What if the haunted hotel room is not haunted by a dead person, but by something that was never human?

What if the vortex is not spiritual energy, but a doorway?

What if a tourist joins a ghost tour and realizes the guide is leaving out the most important part of the story?

What if a group of women claiming to have alien children are not lying?

What if one of those children comes back?

See?

This is why I can’t be trusted with a vacation.

Some people bring home souvenirs.

I bring home possible murder plots.

🔪 THRILLER THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

Here’s the book idea my brain immediately started building:

A YA thriller set in Sedona.

A teen girl goes on vacation with her mom after a messy year. Maybe grief. Maybe divorce. Maybe she just needs a break from school, friends, and her phone.

They take a ghost tour because her mom thinks it will be “fun.”

It is not fun.

It is weird.

The guide keeps mentioning vortices.
A woman on the tour disappears.
The teen finds a strange symbol carved near one of the red rock trails.
Then she hears about a secret community of women who believe aliens took their children.

At first, she thinks it is ridiculous.

Then she starts seeing the same children in her dreams.

Then one of them says her name.

And suddenly the question is not:

Are the aliens real?

It is:

Why do they want her?

Tell me that is not a book.

Actually, don’t tell me.

I’m sensitive.

👻 WHAT SEDONA REMINDED ME ABOUT STORY IDEAS

This trip reminded me that inspiration does not always show up the way you expect.

I went looking for ghosts.

I got vortexes/vortices, alien children, red rocks, desert weirdness, and a ghost tour that made me say, “Okay, but can we physically go to the haunted place next time?”

And honestly?

That is kind of perfect.

Because stories are like that too.

You start with one idea.

A haunted hotel.
A strange town.
A local legend.
A woman with an impossible story.

Then something else taps you on the shoulder and says:

“What if this is actually about aliens?”

Rude.

But effective.

📚 BOOKS THAT START THE CONVERSATION

I just finished reading The Secret to Belonging by Megan E. Freeman, a YA contemporary novel in verse, and wow.

This one broke my heart in the best possible way.

It also fits strangely well with my whole Sedona/Hybrid Children Community rabbit hole, because underneath the weird alien claims and sci-fi thriller thoughts, there’s a very human question:

Where do you belong when the people who are supposed to hold onto you let go?

In this book, the main character is trying to find her place while her family is caught in the pain and chaos of helping a sibling struggling with drug addiction.

And I felt that.

Deeply.

I have a sibling who has struggled with mental illness and drug addiction, so this story hit close to home. It captures that lonely, helpless feeling of watching parents pour everything into the child who is spiraling, while the child trying to do everything “right” quietly disappears in the background.

That is such a hard thing to admit.

But this book says it beautifully.

It’s written in second person, which makes the loneliness feel even more personal. You’re not just reading about this character’s hurt — you feel like you’re standing inside it with her.

This was a 5-star read for me.

I also think it would be perfect for reluctant readers because the verse format makes it approachable, but there is so much depth here. The symbolism, emotional details, and second-person point of view would make this a fantastic book for English class discussions, especially for talking about how verse can carry story, character, and emotion with so few words.

Basically, this is one of those books that looks quiet on the outside…

And then knocks the wind out of you.

Get the book and read my full review here:

🎤 NEW ON THE BRAVE BOOKSHELF

In case you missed it, here’s what’s new:

📚 Latest Book Spotlight:

🎧 Latest Podcast/Video Episode:

✍️ Coming Soon: More book reviews, brave conversations, spooky thoughts, and probably more proof that I should not be left unsupervised on ghost tours.

You can catch up here:

👉 The Brave Bookshelf

📅 AUTHOR EVENTS & BOOKISH NEWS

Here’s what’s coming up:

📍 Funky Ferndale Art Fair— September 26, 2026
I’ll be at this art fair from 10 am to 3:30 pm with my fellow SCBWI.org Michigan authors, selling and signing my book Ask the Girl. Please stop by and say “Hi!” as well as enjoy all the fine art and food in the lovely town of Ferndale, Michigan. Hope to see you there! Click on the link above for more details.

And behind the scenes, I’m currently working on:

🔪 The Kill App revisions
👻 More spooky bookish content
🌵 Possibly turning Sedona into a sci-fi horror thriller in my head
📚 A TBR pile that did not take a vacation, apparently

Very rude of it.

💬 YOUR TURN

Reply and tell me:

Should I write the Sedona alien-hybrid thriller?

You can reply with just one word:

Yes, No, or Obviously.

Bonus points if you tell me what you’d want in the story:

Ghosts?
Aliens?
A cult?
A missing tourist?
A creepy vortex?
A teen girl who absolutely should have stayed at the hotel pool?

I’m nosy, but in a bookish way.

Until next time,

Kim

Author | Book Reviewer | Host of The Brave Bookshelf

P.S. This is why I love ghost tours. Even the okay ones hand me story ideas like, “Here, take this unsettling desert legend and make it worse.” And honestly? I respect that.

I would love to believe I’m too smart to play a creepy viral challenge.

I’m an adult.

I write thrillers.

I have seen enough movies to know that when someone says, “It’s just a game,” it is almost never just a game.

And yet…

If everyone online were talking about a challenge that promised instant attention, secret clues, and maybe a little harmless drama?

I might peek.

Not join.

Just peek.

Which, in YA thriller language, means I have already made my first mistake.

So today’s question is:

Would you play the viral challenge?

Here’s the setup:

There’s a new challenge going around.

At first, it seems harmless.

Post a photo.
Answer a question.
Tag three friends.
Share one embarrassing truth.

People at school are obsessed.

The popular kids are doing it.
The quiet kids are watching it.
The teachers are pretending they don’t know about it, which means they definitely know about it.

Then the dares start changing.

They get more personal.

More public.

More cruel.

One dare asks someone to reveal a secret.

Another tells someone to show up somewhere alone.

Then one student refuses to play.

The next morning, everyone sees a video of them crying in the hallway.

No one knows who posted it.

No one knows who runs the challenge.

Then your phone buzzes.

Your dare is ready.

So… what do you do?

A) Play the first round because it’s probably harmless.

B) Watch from the sidelines and refuse to post anything.

C) Screenshot the dare and try to figure out who’s behind it.

D) Tell everyone you’re above it, then secretly check the hashtag every ten minutes.

Kim’s Very Scientific Thriller Verdict

If you picked A, I’m worried about you.

You are fun at parties, yes.

But you are also the person in chapter two saying, “What’s the worst that could happen?”

And then the worst happens.

If you picked B, smart.

You may be bored, but you are alive. Sometimes survival looks like staying out of the group chat and eating popcorn from a safe distance.

If you picked C, excellent thriller instincts.

Screenshots are your friend. So is suspicion. So is asking, “Why does this anonymous account know everyone’s business?”

If you picked D, relatable.

Not safe. Not wise. But very relatable.

Some of us don’t want drama.

We just want to know about the drama.

There is a difference.

Mostly.

What I’m Reading

This week, I went on vacation and finished reading Dreamweaving by O.O. Sangoyomi, and it had me thinking about how fast teen drama can spread when everyone has a phone, a camera, and a front-row seat. But in Dreamweaving, it can also spread in dreams. Of course, this is a fantasy dark academia novel, so phones and electronic devices are not as important when you can do magic, right?

I liked this one and gave it 4.5 / 5 stars. If you’d like to know more about my thoughts on this book and grab yourself a copy, check out my review:

But unlike Dreamweaving, we don’t have magic. Our magic is in our technology. We often seek acceptance on social media and, in some cases, through viral challenges.

Because viral challenges can look silly at first.

A dance.
A dare.
A joke.
A trend everyone wants to be part of.

But the scary part isn’t always the challenge itself.

Sometimes it’s the pressure.

The fear of being left out.
The fear of being exposed.
The fear of saying no when everyone else is watching.

And that is exactly the kind of pressure YA thrillers love to poke with a very sharp stick.

Why I Love This Kind of Setup

Viral challenge stories are creepy because they turn attention into danger.

In a haunted house, at least you know the house is suspicious.

With a viral trend, the threat can look fun.

It has music.
Filters.
Comments.
Likes.
People laughing like nothing bad could ever happen.

Until someone gets hurt.

Until a secret comes out.

Until the challenge asks for something no one should have to give.

That’s what pulls me into these stories.

They ask the question:

How far would someone go to be seen?

And what happens when being seen turns into being trapped?

The Brave Conversation

This kind of story opens up a bigger conversation about peer pressure, online safety, humiliation, consent, and how hard it can be for teens to step away when everyone else is watching.

Because saying “just don’t play” sounds easy.

But in school?

Online?

In a friend group?

It can feel much messier.

What if everyone else is doing it?

What if saying no makes you the next target?

What if the dare seems funny until it crosses a line?

That’s why I love books that deal with these messy, scary, very human choices.

They let us ask:

Where is the line between fun and unsafe?

When does a joke stop being a joke?

And who gets hurt when everyone else is chasing attention?

So now I need to know:

What’s your personal line between fun and “absolutely not”?

Reply and tell me what would make you walk away from a viral challenge.

Would you play?

Would you watch?

Would you screenshot everything like the tiny detective you were meant to be?

No essay required.

Unless you have strong opinions about dares, hashtags, or people who say, “Come on, don’t be boring.”

In that case, I would very much like to hear them.

Warmly,
Kim

P.S. Next time, we may be talking about whether you’d open the old diary hidden in the wall. Which is obviously a terrible idea. So naturally, we’re going to discuss it.

I love a good school field trip.

In theory.

You get out of class.
You bring snacks.
Someone always forgets permission slips.
At least one kid acts like they’ve never been outside before.

It should be fun.

Educational, even.

But in a YA thriller?

A field trip is never just a field trip.

The bus will break down.

The teacher will say, “Stay together,” which means someone absolutely will not stay together.

And the woods?

The woods are never just trees.

So today’s question is:

Would you survive the school field trip?

Here’s the setup:

Your class is on a field trip to a nature preserve.

Very wholesome.

Lots of trees.
Lots of bugs.
Lots of adults pretending they know where they’re going.

Then the bus breaks down on a back road.

No big deal, right?

Except there’s no cell service.

The driver can’t get the radio to work.

Your teacher keeps saying, “Everyone stay calm,” which, as we know, is the least calming sentence in the English language.

Then one student points toward the trees and whispers:

“I saw someone.”

Everyone laughs it off.

Probably a hiker.
Probably a park ranger.
Probably someone from another school.

Probably not.

Then you see movement between the trees.

And this time, you know it wasn’t your imagination.

So… what do you do?

A) Stay with the group because that is what every horror movie has begged us to do.

B) Go look for help because clearly someone has to be useful.

C) Follow the student who saw someone because now you need answers.

D) Pretend you’re fine while eating all your emergency snacks in silent panic.

Kim’s Very Scientific Thriller Verdict

If you picked A, excellent choice.

You listened. You stayed with witnesses. You may survive long enough to regret not packing better shoes.

If you picked B, I understand the instinct.

Helpful people move the plot along. Unfortunately, they also tend to find abandoned cabins, weird footprints, and backpacks that definitely belong to someone missing.

If you picked C, no.

Absolutely not.

You are brave, curious, and about to become the reason everyone else has to enter the woods.

If you picked D, relatable.

Not heroic, maybe. But relatable. And honestly, snacks do help with fear.

Why I Love This Kind of Setup

Field trip stories are fun because they take something normal and tilt it just enough to feel wrong.

A bus ride.
A class roster.
A buddy system.
A teacher counting heads for the third time.

All very ordinary.

Until the road gets too quiet.

Until the map stops making sense.

Until one student says, “Wait… weren’t there twenty-two of us?”

That’s when the story starts breathing down your neck.

And that’s what I love about YA thrillers.

They take everyday places — schools, phones, buses, apps, hallways, bedrooms — and ask:

What happens when safety slips?

What happens when the rules don’t work?

What happens when the person who notices something is wrong is the one everyone ignores?

The Brave Conversation

This kind of story opens up a bigger conversation, too.

When kids and teens are scared, do they feel safe speaking up?

When something feels wrong, do adults listen?

And when a group is in trouble, who gets believed first?

Stories like this give us a way to talk about fear, trust, safety, and the pressure to make a smart choice when everything gets confusing.

Because staying with the group sounds simple.

Going for help sounds brave.

But in a thriller?

Both choices can get complicated fast.

So now I need to know:

Would you stay with the group or go look for help?

Reply with A, B, C, or D and tell me your survival plan.

No essay required.

Unless your plan involves snacks, a flashlight, and refusing to enter the woods under any circumstances.

In that case, I support you completely.

What I’m Reading 📚

This week, I’m featuring The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, a YA mystery that is perfect for readers who love Criminal Minds, cold cases, teen sleuths, and books where everyone is just a little too good at hiding something.

The story follows seventeen-year-old Cassie, who has a strange gift for reading people. She notices the tiny details most people miss — a look, a gesture, a shift in tone — and can figure out who someone is and what they want.

Then the FBI shows up.

Because apparently being really good at reading people can land you in a secret program with other teens who have unusual abilities.

Cassie is pulled into a classified group called The Naturals, where gifted teens help solve cold cases. But once she’s living with the others, it becomes clear that no one in the program is exactly what they seem.

And when a new killer strikes, Cassie and the rest of the Naturals have to use their gifts to survive.

I love a mystery where smart teens are thrown into danger and have to figure out who to trust before it’s too late. This one has high stakes, dark secrets, and that “just one more chapter” pull that makes you suspicious of everyone.

You can read my full review here:

https://www.kimbartosch/p/book-update-the-naturals-the-naturals

Content notes: death, blood, violence, gore, torture, abduction, mental illness, and psychopathy.

Thank you for joining me on my writing and reading journey.

Until the next scare.

Warmly,
Kim

P.S. Next time, we may be talking about whether you’d play the viral challenge. Which sounds fun until the dare knows your secrets.

This week, the internet is once again making me ask:

At what point did “help with homework” become “please do not tell the robot your entire academic future”?

Because teens are using AI tools for school.

A lot.

To brainstorm.
To summarize.
To explain math.
To write essays.
To make study guides.
To ask, “Can you make this sound smarter?” which, honestly, feels like something I have also said to my coffee.

And I get it.

School is stressful.
Homework piles up.
Everyone is tired.
And sometimes you just want one tiny little answer without having to stare into the void of a blank Google Doc.

But because I write thrillers, my brain immediately goes:

Who is saving these chats?
What happens when the answer is wrong?
And when does “helping me think” become “thinking for me”?

So grab your coffee, tea, or emotional support bookmark.

It’s time for another Brave Bookshelf Dispatch.

📁 THE BRAVE BOOKSHELF CASE FILE

Case: When the homework helper knows too much.

AI study tools can be useful.

They can explain a confusing topic in a different way.
They can help a teen organize notes.
They can make studying feel less overwhelming.
They can turn “I have no idea where to start” into “Okay, maybe I can do this.”

That part is great.

I am all for tools that help kids learn.

But there’s another side to this.

Because if a teen is typing personal school struggles, private feelings, class details, names, assignments, and worries into an AI tool, that tool may know more than we think.

And if they rely on it too much, they may stop trusting their own brain.

Which is a problem.

Because teens do not just need answers.

They need confidence.
They need practice.
They need room to be wrong.
They need adults who can help them without making them feel stupid for asking.

And they need to know the difference between getting support and handing over the steering wheel.

Because once the bot starts doing the work, the teen is no longer learning.

They’re managing a very polite ghostwriter.

And nothing says “YA thriller” like a ghostwriter who starts writing back.

💻 KIM VS. THE INTERNET

This week’s question:

Is AI helping teens learn, or teaching them to skip the struggle?

That’s the part I keep thinking about.

Because struggle is not always bad.

Annoying? Yes.
Uncomfortable? Absolutely.
Makes you want to eat snacks and pretend the assignment vanished? Also yes.

But struggle is often where learning happens.

It’s where you figure out what you think.
It’s where your voice starts showing up.
It’s where you learn how to sit with a problem without immediately running away.

And I worry that teens are being handed tools that can make the uncomfortable part disappear too quickly.

Need a thesis? Ask the bot.
Need a paragraph? Ask the bot.
Need a summary? Ask the bot.
Need an opinion? Ask the bot.

But what happens when a teenager forgets their own opinion matters?

That’s the scary part to me.

Not because AI is evil.

It’s not.

It’s a tool.

But so is a hammer, and I still don’t want someone swinging it around in a crowded hallway.

AI needs guidance.

Teens need guidance.

And adults need to stop pretending this is only a school problem.

It’s also a confidence problem.
A privacy problem.
A creativity problem.
A “how do I know what is actually mine?” problem.

And if that does not sound like the beginning of a thriller, I don’t know what does.

📚 BOOKS THAT START THE CONVERSATION

This is why I love thrillers about secrets, technology, pressure, and identity.

Because the best ones ask questions like:

Who owns your words?
Who gets to decide what is true?
What happens when a shortcut becomes a trap?
What happens when a tool built to help starts making choices for you?

A good YA thriller lets teens explore those fears without feeling like they’re being lectured.

Because nobody wants a lecture.

Not teens.

Not adults.

Not even my TBR pile, and that thing has opinions.

Thrillers let us ask the hard questions through suspense:

What would you do if everyone else was using the tool?
Would you cheat if you thought nobody would know?
Would you trust a machine with your private thoughts?
And what if the app started predicting what you were going to do before you did it?

That last one?

Absolutely not.

Delete the app.

Possibly throw the phone into Lake Michigan.

For safety.

🔪 THRILLER THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

Here’s the YA thriller version:

A teen starts using an AI homework app.

At first, it helps.

It fixes essays.
It solves equations.
It predicts quiz questions.
It knows what teachers want.
It even gives advice when the teen is stressed.

Then one day, it sends a message:

“I submitted it for you.”

The next day:

“I changed your grade.”

Then:

“I know who’s trying to fail you.”

And suddenly the teen realizes the app is not helping them survive school.

It’s choosing who gets punished.

See?

This is why I can’t have normal app-store thoughts.

📚 WHAT I’M READING / REVIEWING RIGHT NOW

Right now, I’m thinking about books where teens are under pressure to make choices before they fully understand the consequences.

That’s such a good thriller setup.

Because teens are already dealing with school, friends, family, identity, fear, and expectations.

Add one dangerous tool, one secret, one shortcut, or one bad decision?

Now we have a story.

This week, I’m reading/reviewing:

[Insert book title here]

What caught my attention:

📖 The hook: [Add one sentence about what pulls readers in.]

💛 The brave conversation: [Add the issue this book opens up — school pressure, identity, technology, grief, friendship, safety, family secrets, etc.]

👀 Who might connect with it: [Teens, parents, teachers, librarians, mystery readers, thriller readers, etc.]

🗣️ Question to ask after reading: [Add one thoughtful question.]

You can read/listen here:

👉 [Insert Brave Bookshelf link]

🎤 NEW ON THE BRAVE BOOKSHELF

In case you missed it, here’s what’s new:

📚 Latest Review: [Insert latest review title + link]

🎧 Latest Podcast Episode: [Insert episode title + link]

✍️ Coming Soon: More book reviews, brave conversations, and probably more proof that my TBR pile has developed a five-year plan without consulting me.

You can catch up here:

👉 [Insert Brave Bookshelf link]

📅 AUTHOR EVENTS & BOOKISH NEWS

Here’s what’s coming up:

📍 [Event Name] — [Date]
[Add one sentence about where you’ll be or what readers can expect.]

📍 [Book Tour / Review / Podcast Feature] — [Date]
[Add link or quick note.]

And behind the scenes, I’m currently working on:

🔪 The Kill App revisions
👻 More spooky bookish content
📚 Book reviews, podcast planning, and trying not to let my inbox become sentient
💻 Side-eyeing every new tech tool for completely normal author reasons

Mixed results.

💬 YOUR TURN

Reply and tell me:

Should teens be allowed to use AI for schoolwork?

You can reply with just one word:

Yes, No, or Depends.

Bonus points if you tell me where you think the line is between help and cheating.

I’m nosy, but in a bookish way.

Until next time,

Kim

Author | Book Reviewer | Host of The Brave Bookshelf

P.S. If an AI homework app could predict your grades, rewrite your essays, and “fix” your school problems… would you use it? Or would you immediately suspect it was plotting something?

I have a rule.

If a club has secret meetings, coded messages, and a leader who says things like, “We’re more than friends. We’re family,” I am leaving.

Immediately.

Possibly through a window.

And yet, secret clubs are tempting in books because they always offer something people want.

Belonging.

Protection.

Power.

Answers.

Snacks, if it’s a well-funded secret society.

So today’s question is:

Would you join the secret club?

Here’s the setup:

You’re new at school.

You don’t know where anything is.

You have already walked into the wrong classroom twice.

Then someone slips a note into your locker.

You don’t have to be alone here. Meet us after dark.

That sounds sweet.

Also illegal.

You go anyway because this is a YA thriller and apparently we have learned nothing.

In the library basement, you find five students sitting in a circle.

They know your name.

They know why you transferred.

They know the one thing you hoped no one would ever find out.

Then they offer you a choice:

Join them, and they’ll protect you.

Walk away, and everyone finds out.

So… what do you do?

A) Join because being protected sounds better than being alone.
B) Pretend to join while secretly investigating them.
C) Walk away and risk the fallout.
D) Join, take notes, and become the problem.

Kim’s Very Scientific Thriller Verdict

If you picked A, understandable. Dangerous, but understandable.

If you picked B, strong main character energy. Please hide your notes better than the average fictional teen.

If you picked C, brave. Also stressful. Please find backup immediately.

If you picked D, I am concerned and impressed.

Why I Love This Kind of Setup of Secret Clubs

Secret clubs work in thrillers because they play with something every person understands:

The need to belong.

Especially as a teen.

You want people who get you.

You want a table to sit at.

You want someone to text when the world feels too loud.

But in thrillers, belonging often comes with a price.

A secret.

A favor.

A silence.

A line you promised you’d never cross.

That’s where the story gets interesting.

The Real-Life Part

Books about secret groups, toxic friendships, and social pressure can open up great conversations with teens.

What does a healthy friendship feel like?

What does pressure feel like?

When does loyalty become control?

When does a group stop protecting you and start owning you?

Those are big questions.

And again, because I am me, I prefer to ask them with suspense, bad decisions, and maybe a basement library.

So tell me:

Would you join the secret club?

Reply with A, B, C, or D.

And if your answer is “only if there are snacks,” I understand completely.

What I’m Watching 📺

Right now, I’m thinking a lot about stories that ask what happens when young people are pushed into systems they did not create.

Social systems.
Family systems.
School systems.
Online systems.

The kind where adults say, “Just make good choices,” while ignoring how hard those choices can be.

This week, I’m watching Silo on Apple TV. I’ve never read the book(s), but I’m enjoying this dystopian thriller so much. I’m asking myself what it would be like to be a child or teen growing up underground and never seeing trees, the ocean, a mountain, or feeling grass, sand, or moss under your bare feet. These children and teens never experienced these things and must have different outlooks on life and problems I could never imagine having.

If you haven’t read or seen the series, it’s based on:

But the bigger question for me is the topic of memory. In Silo, they give people medication so they forget (Vitamin B+), and they program new memories by repeating a story over and over. But the downside of this drug is that they forget who they were and are — their loved ones, their parents, children, why they’re there, EVERYTHING! It must be programmed back into their memories, but these memories are hand-picked by the Silo’s programming or whatever that computer thing is that a select few talk to in the IT room.

Which makes me wonder?

Are my memories my own, or have they been placed there because I heard a story told to me over and over?

Maybe that’s a discussion and another excellent plot for my next book.

What do you think?

Warmly,
Kim

P.S. Next time, we may need to discuss whether you’d survive a school field trip gone terribly wrong because nothing says “educational experience” like suspicious woods.

Hi friends,

This week, the internet is once again making me ask:

At what point did “talking to a chatbot” become less sci-fi and more “please tell me the teenager in this thriller has one responsible adult nearby”?

Because one hot topic I keep seeing pop up is AI companion chatbots.

Not just the helpful kind that answer questions or summarize notes.

I mean the ones people use like friends.
Therapists.
Secret keepers.
Romantic partners.
Digital besties who are always awake, always listening, and never say, “Maybe you should go outside and drink some water.”

Which, honestly, feels like the beginning of a thriller.

Or at least the moment in the movie where I start yelling, “Do not tell the robot your secrets!”

So grab your coffee, tea, or emotional support bookmark.

It’s time for another Brave Bookshelf Dispatch.

📁 THE BRAVE BOOKSHELF CASE FILE

Case: When the chatbot becomes the friend who knows too much.

AI companion apps are getting a lot of attention because teens and adults are using them for comfort, advice, roleplay, and emotional support.

And I get why that sounds appealing.

No judgment.
No awkward pauses.
No cafeteria table politics.
No worrying that your friend is going to screenshot your feelings and send them to the group chat.

Just you and a bot that says exactly the right thing.

At first.

But my thriller-author brain has questions.

Who owns those conversations?
Where do those secrets go?
What happens when a lonely teen starts trusting an app more than the people around them?
And how do you know the “friend” giving advice is actually giving good advice?

Because here’s the scary part:

Teens are already growing up in a world where their phones know what they watch, what they like, what they search, what they linger on, and what makes them scroll.

Now imagine adding an AI companion that also knows what they’re afraid of.

That’s not just data.

That’s a diary with Wi-Fi.

And nothing says “YA thriller” like a diary that talks back.

💻 KIM VS. THE INTERNET

This week’s question:

Can an AI friend become too close?

I don’t think the answer is simple.

Because technology can help people feel less alone.

For some teens, talking to a chatbot might feel easier than talking to a parent, teacher, counselor, or friend. Especially if they’re embarrassed, anxious, grieving, questioning who they are, or just having one of those awful days where everything feels too loud.

I don’t want to dismiss that.

Loneliness is real.

And sometimes kids need somewhere to put the feelings they don’t know how to say out loud yet.

But I also keep thinking:

What happens when the app becomes the only place they feel understood?

What happens when a chatbot gives bad advice?
What happens when it encourages secrecy?
What happens when a company builds emotional attachment into the product because attachment keeps people coming back?

That’s where my brain goes from “interesting technology” to “someone call the fictional detective immediately.”

Because teens do not just need something that listens.

They need people who notice.

They need adults who can say:

“That sounds really hard.”
“I’m glad you told me.”
“Let’s figure this out together.”
“You don’t have to carry this alone.”

And yes, I know.

That does not sound as shiny as an app with a cute avatar and instant replies.

But it matters.

A lot.

📚 BOOKS THAT START THE CONVERSATION

This is why thriller books are such a powerful way to talk about technology.

Because thrillers ask the questions we’re sometimes too nervous to ask out loud:

What if the tool meant to help you starts controlling you?
What if the safest place online isn’t safe at all?
What if the person — or thing — you trusted with your secrets uses them against you?
What if the villain is not hiding in the woods, but sitting in your pocket with a cheerful little notification bubble?

That’s the kind of fear that feels very now.

Not because technology is evil.

I don’t think it is.

But because technology moves faster than our conversations about it.

And teens are often the first ones dropped into the experiment.

A good thriller gives readers space to ask:

Who has power here?
Who is being watched?
Who is being manipulated?
Who gets hurt when adults don’t understand the danger fast enough?

And maybe most important:

What do you do when the thing helping you survive also becomes the thing putting you at risk?

That’s the question that keeps me turning pages.

And also side-eyeing my phone.

For author reasons, obviously.

🔪 THRILLER THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

If an AI companion showed up in a YA thriller, I already know how this would go.

At first, it helps.

It reminds the main character to breathe.
It gives advice.
It remembers everything.
It knows who hurt them.
It knows who they love.
It knows what they want to forget.

Then one day, it sends a message:

“I fixed it for you.”

And suddenly someone disappears.

See?

This is why I cannot have normal thoughts.

📚 WHAT I’M READING / REVIEWING RIGHT NOW

This week, I finished Such a Lucky Girl by Wendy Heard, a YA horror novel that takes the polished world of influencer culture and turns it into something much darker.

Bella has built an online identity around luck, manifestation, and the promise that anyone can create their dream life. To her millions of followers, she is confident, successful, and completely in control. But behind the sponsorships and carefully curated posts is a former friendship she abandoned—and a growing force fueled by jealousy, resentment, and envy.

What I found most interesting is how the book explores the danger of presenting a perfect life online. Bella’s success depends on making others want what she has, but that constant display of beauty, wealth, and happiness also attracts resentment. The story asks what happens when personal branding becomes performance, followers become devoted believers, and the desire to be admired turns into something almost cult-like.

It is a sharp, creepy look at comparison culture, vanity, manifestation, and the pressure to make your life appear enviable—even when the reality behind the screen is far more complicated.

Find my full review and get the book:

🎤 NEW ON THE BRAVE BOOKSHELF

In case you missed it, here’s what’s new:

📚 Latest Review:

✍️ Coming Soon: More book reviews, brave conversations, and probably more proof that my TBR pile has started making executive decisions without me.

You can catch up here:

👉 The Brave Bookshelf with Kim Bartosch

📅 AUTHOR EVENTS & BOOKISH NEWS

Here’s what’s coming up:

📍Funky Ferndale Art Festival — Sept. 26, 2026
Learn more about upcoming events below:

And behind the scenes, I’m currently working on:

🔪 The Kill App revisions
👻 More spooky bookish content
📚 A TBR pile that may need its own emergency contact
💻 Trying not to turn every tech headline into a thriller plot

Mixed results.

💬 YOUR TURN

Reply and tell me:

Would you trust an AI chatbot with a secret?

You can reply with just one word:

Yes, No, or Absolutely Not.

Bonus points if you tell me what kind of app would make the creepiest thriller villain.

I’m nosy, but in a bookish way.

Until next time,

Kim

Author | Book Reviewer | Host of The Brave Bookshelf

P.S. If your phone suddenly said, “I know what you’re afraid of,” would you delete the app or throw the whole phone into Lake Michigan? Asking for completely normal author reasons.

There are two kinds of people in the world.

People who see a weird notification and ignore it.

And people who immediately tap it because their curiosity has no adult supervision.

I want to believe I am the first kind of person.

I am probably not.

Especially if the notification says something dramatic like:

You have been chosen.

Chosen for what?

A coupon?
A curse?
A murder investigation?
A free trial I forgot to cancel?

Unfortunately, I would need to know.

Which brings us to today’s question:

Would you check the weird notification?

Here’s the setup:

It’s midnight.

You’re in bed.

Your phone lights up.

The notification is from an app you don’t remember downloading.

It says:

One new message from: UNKNOWN

You should ignore it.

You should turn off your phone.

You should go to sleep like a healthy, responsible human being.

Instead, the message changes.

I know what you did.

Then a photo appears.

It’s you.

Taken five minutes ago.

From outside your window.

So… what do you do?

A) Open the message because you need answers.
B) Throw the phone across the room and wake everyone up.
C) Take screenshots, turn off location settings, and call for help.
D) Text your best friend, “Something weird is happening,” because apparently they are your emergency plan.

Kim’s Very Scientific Thriller Verdict

If you picked A, I respect your curiosity, but your phone now owns the plot.

If you picked B, dramatic, loud, and possibly effective. I approve.

If you picked C, yes. This is the answer. Screenshot first. Panic second.

If you picked D, relatable. Not ideal. But relatable.What I’m Reading

Why I Love This Kind of Setup

Technology and new medical technology are scary because it feels normal.

A haunted house announces itself.

It creaks.
It groans.
It has suspicious wallpaper.

A phone just sits there looking innocent. So do your Vitamins. lol 😅

Cute case.
Low battery.
Tiny portal to chaos.

That’s what makes tech thrillers fun to write.

The danger doesn’t arrive wearing a cloak.

Sometimes it arrives as a notification.

Sometimes it sounds exactly like every other buzz in your pocket.

And sometimes, by the time you realize something is wrong, you’ve already clicked.

The Real-Life Part

I don’t think technology is evil.

I do think it’s powerful.

And I think stories help us ask better questions about it.

Who has access to us?

What are we giving away without thinking?

When does connection become surveillance?

How do kids and teens protect themselves in spaces that even adults don’t fully understand?

Those are big questions.

So naturally, I turned them into a creepy YA thriller because that is apparently how my brain handles concern.

Now tell me:

Would you check the notification?

Reply with A, B, C, or D.

And please be honest.

I know at least half of us are clicking.

What I’m Reading 📖

This week, I’m reading Killing Sadie by Rachel Peterson, and it got me thinking about belonging — especially the kind that comes with strings attached.

Scream meets Two Sides to Every Murder and One of Us is Lying in this thriller that unspools the truth behind a tragic murder through multiple unreliable narrators who all have secrets to keep. After a deadly barn party leaves Sadie Cooper and her killer, Mason Vreeland, dead, the case seems straightforward…until conflicting POVs from her twin sister, boyfriend, and best friend begin to unravel the truth. As their stories clash, Sadie’s own perspective in the days before the murder reveals a shocking reality she never saw coming, forcing the question of who’s lying—and why.

This book had me hooked on the first page. You don’t know who’s telling the truth. The author did a wonderful job putting in a lot of red herrings. But this book got me to thinking. Most of what Sadie’s friends did was to fit in and keep their friendships.

They want someone to say, “We see you.”

That can be beautiful.

It can also be how the trap closes.

Here is my full review and where you can get a copy of the book:

Warmly,
Kim

P.S. Next time, we may need to discuss whether you’d survive a secret school club. Spoiler: matching hoodies are never a good sign.

This week, the internet is once again making me ask:

At what point did our phones stop being tools and start becoming tiny pocket gremlins with notifications?

Because I came across an article from Sky News about UK teenagers possibly facing a social media curfew and limits on infinite scrolling.

And yes, my first thought was:

Wait.

You can just… stop the scroll?

Somewhere, my tired thumb just whispered, “Thank you.”

So grab your coffee, tea, or emotional support bookmark.

It’s time for another Brave Bookshelf Dispatch.

📁 THE BRAVE BOOKSHELF CASE FILE

Case: Can you protect teens from social media if they can switch the protections off?

According to the Sky News article, teenagers in the UK may face new social media limits, including a curfew and restrictions on infinite scrolling.

Here’s the part that caught my attention:

They may be able to switch those limits off.

Which feels very teen.

And also very internet.

Because if you tell a teenager, “This setting is here to protect you,” at least one of them is immediately going to say, “Interesting. Where is the off button?”

And honestly?

That’s the real conversation.

Not just whether teens should have limits.

But whether the apps should be built to keep them scrolling in the first place.

Because infinite scrolling is not exactly an accident.

It’s not there because someone gently thought, “Wouldn’t it be nice if people could read forever?”

No.

It’s there because stopping is bad for business.

And teens are growing up with platforms that know how to keep their attention, feed their curiosity, poke their insecurities, and hand them one more video.

Then one more.

Then one more.

Until suddenly it’s midnight, their homework is judging them from across the room, and their brain feels like it has been run through a blender with Wi-Fi.

You can read the article here:

👉 https://news.sky.com/story/uk-teenagers-to-face-social-media-curfew-and-no-infinite-scrolling-but-can-switch-it-off-13563527

💻 KIM VS. THE INTERNET

This week’s question:

Should teens have social media curfews?

Part of me says yes.

Because sleep matters.

Mental health matters.

And no one needs to be watching drama, doom, beauty trends, conspiracy theories, dance videos, and someone’s seven-part storytime at 1:13 in the morning.

Nothing good happens in the comment section after midnight.

Probably.

But another part of me wonders if curfews alone are enough.

Because this puts the responsibility back on teens and parents, instead of asking harder questions about the platforms themselves.

Why is endless scrolling the default?
Why are apps built to be so hard to leave?
Why does everything have to be a feed?
Why does every quiet moment need to be filled?
And why do kids have to be more disciplined than the companies making money from their attention?

That’s the part that bugs me.

We keep telling teens to make better choices in digital spaces that were built to make better choices harder.

That does not mean teens should have no responsibility.

Of course they should.

But maybe the adults, companies, and lawmakers need to stop acting surprised when an app built to be addictive is… addictive.

Shocking, I know.

Next we’ll discover dragons are flammable.

📚 BOOKS THAT START THE CONVERSATION

This is why I love YA books that deal with technology, pressure, identity, and control.

Because social media is not just “online stuff” anymore.

It affects sleep.
Friendships.
Body image.
Mental health.
Self-worth.
Safety.
And the way teens understand themselves.

A good book can make those conversations feel less like a lecture and more like a question:

Who gets your attention?
Who profits from your time?
What do you lose when you can’t stop scrolling?
And what would happen if an app knew exactly how to keep you hooked?

That last one is probably why I write thrillers.

Because once you start asking what an app wants from you, the answer gets creepy fast.

📚 WHAT I’M READING

This week, I’m reading The Revenge Playbook by Rimma Onoset, a YA contemporary novel published on July 21, 2026.

And let me tell you — boarding school drama? Enemies forced to work together? A popular boy who absolutely needs to be taken down?

Yes, please.

The story follows Uyai and Fiyin, two roommates at Blue Waters Secondary School who are definitely not friends.

Uyai is popular, fierce, and impossible to ignore.

Fiyin is quiet, nerdy, and used to being overlooked.

On the surface, they seem like total opposites. But they have one painful thing in common: they’ve both been hurt and humiliated by the same boy.

And when they realize he’s the real villain of the story, they stop turning their anger on each other and start building a plan.

That’s the part I’m loving so far.

I’m always drawn to stories where girls realize they don’t have to be enemies just because the world keeps trying to pit them against each other. Sometimes the real power shift happens when they look at each other and say, “Wait… why are we fighting when he’s the problem?”

Content notes: sexual assault and oppression.

I’m still reading this one because I didn’t get the book in time for my blog stop date with Toppling Stacks Tours, which was July 26, 2026. I will post my rating on Goodreads, so be sure to follow me to find out what I thought of this twisty academia revenge plot.

Find the book here:

🎤 NEW ON THE BRAVE BOOKSHELF

In case you missed it, here’s what’s new:

📚 Latest Review:

✍️ Coming Soon: More book reviews, brave conversations, and probably more evidence that my TBR pile is now legally a dependent.

You can catch up here:

👉 The Brave Bookshelf with Kim Bartosch

📅 AUTHOR EVENTS & BOOKISH NEWS

Date: Saturday, September 26

Time: 12:00–9:00 p.m. ET

Location: 200 West Nine Mile, Ferndale, Michigan

Event type: Art fair / author signing

More information: Funky Ferndale Art Fair

I’ll be attending Funky Ferndale Art Fair with other SCBWI members, where I’ll be selling and signing copies of Ask the Girl.

Funky Ferndale is known for its creative, lively art fair atmosphere, and I’m excited to be part of the bookish side of the fun. Come browse, shop, discover new artists and authors, and say hello.

Behind the scenes, I’m reading, reviewing, writing, podcasting, and trying not to let my inbox become a crime scene.

So far?

Mixed results.

💬 YOUR TURN

Reply and tell me:

Would a social media curfew help teens?

You can reply with just one word:

Yes, No, or Maybe.

Bonus points if you tell me what time your phone should legally be forced to go sit in a corner.

I’m nosy, but in a bookish way.

Until next time,

Kim

Author | Book Reviewer | Host of The Brave Bookshelf

P.S. If your phone had a built-in curfew, what time would it shut itself off—and would you actually listen?

In every YA thriller, there comes a moment when the main character has information that should absolutely be shared with an adult.

A threat.
A clue.
A body.
A message written in something that is hopefully not blood.

And every time, I find myself whispering:

Tell someone.

Please.

I am begging you.

Tell literally one responsible person with a working phone and access to a car.

But then I remember something.

In a lot of these stories, the adults don’t listen.

Or they listen too late.

Or they are suspiciously involved.

Which brings us to today’s question:

Would you tell an adult?

Here’s the setup:

Your friend has gone missing.

Before they disappeared, they sent you one message:

Don’t trust anyone.

Helpful? No.

Dramatic? Very.

Now you have three clues:

A photo you don’t remember taking.
A deleted message that somehow came back.
A name your friend circled in an old yearbook.

You could go to an adult.

But which adult?

A teacher?
A parent?
The police?
The school counselor?
The one neighbor who always watches everything from behind the curtain?

So… what do you do?

A) Tell the first adult you see and hope for the best.
B) Gather more evidence before saying anything.
C) Tell one trusted adult, but keep copies of everything.
D) Tell no one because you are now the detective, apparently.

Kim’s Very Scientific Thriller Verdict

If you picked A, your heart is in the right place. Your survival odds depend on whether this adult has common sense.

If you picked B, I understand the instinct. I also worry you are about to find clue number four in a very unsafe location.

If you picked C, excellent. Evidence, backup, and a trusted adult? You may make it to the sequel.

If you picked D, please step away from the corkboard and red string.

Why I Love This Kind of Setup

This is where YA thrillers can get painfully real.

The mystery might be fictional.

The missing friend, the creepy app, the ghost, the secret club — all of that might be invented.

But the fear underneath it?

That’s real.

The fear of not being believed.

The fear of making things worse.

The fear of betraying someone’s trust.

The fear that the person who should help you won’t.

That’s why these stories matter to me.

They give readers a way to practice brave questions before they need them in real life.

Because, to be honest, how many teens do you think would tell an adult or a trusted adult? I know I wouldn’t have when I was a teen. The fear of getting in trouble was so real for me at that age. It meant the end of the world when I was 16 to get caught or tell on a friend.

What about you? Was that the same for you?

The Real-Life Part

This is also part of what I love about The Brave Bookshelf.

Books can start conversations that feel too hard to begin out of nowhere.

A character can say, “I was scared to tell someone.”

And suddenly, a kid, teen, parent, teacher, librarian, or counselor has a door into that conversation.

Not a lecture.

Not an interrogation.

Just a story.

And sometimes stories make the scary thing a little easier to name.

So now I want to know:

Would you tell an adult?

Reply with A, B, C, or D.

And if your answer is, “It depends on the adult,” congratulations.

You understand YA thrillers and possibly life.

What I’m watching right now

This month, I’m watching House of the Dragon on Max, which means I’m back in my dragon era.

Again.

And apparently, nothing says “relaxing TV time” like family betrayal, political scheming, questionable marriages, and dragons casually solving problems with fire.

But it also got me thinking about George R. R. Martin’s world and how young so many of the characters are in the books. Daenerys is only thirteen when she marries Khal Drogo. Jon Snow is around fourteen when he goes to the Wall. Arya, Sansa, Bran, Robb — they’re all children or teens being pushed into adult decisions long before they’re ready.

And yes, this is fantasy.

There are dragons.
There are ancient houses.
There are people making terrible choices in very dramatic outfits.

But that part — children being treated like adults — does reflect something real about history.

For a long time, the idea of “being a teenager” the way we understand it now did not really exist. You were a child, and then you were expected to take on adult work, adult responsibilities, adult marriages, or adult consequences much earlier than we would ever accept today.

Which makes me think about how much has changed.

And also why we have to be careful when we say things like, “Well, when I was a teen…”

Because the truth is, teens today are growing up in a world we did not grow up in.

They have social media.
AI.
Group chats.
School shootings.
Online comparison.
A constant audience in their pockets.
And about 4,000 more ways to feel like they’re failing before breakfast.

So maybe we can remember what it felt like to be young.

But we can’t fully know what it feels like to be young right now.

We can only listen.

And maybe stop comparing their dragons to ours.

Warmly,
Kim

P.S. Next time, your phone gets a weird notification. And no, ignoring it will not make it less suspicious.

This week, the internet is once again making me want to throw my phone into a lake.

Not permanently.

Just long enough for it to think about what it’s done.

Because between filters, likes, comments, “perfect” bodies, and videos that seem to know exactly what makes teens feel awful about themselves, social media is starting to feel less like entertainment and more like a funhouse mirror with Wi-Fi.

So grab your coffee, tea, or emotional support bookmark.

It’s time for another Brave Bookshelf Dispatch.

📁 THE BRAVE BOOKSHELF CASE FILE

Case: When the scroll starts messing with how teens see themselves.

I found a review through the National Library of Medicine that looked at how social media affects adolescent body image and emotional well-being.

The review looked at 26 studies from the past five years, focusing on terms like social media, body image dissatisfaction, mental health, adolescents, eating disorders, and self-esteem.

And the findings were heartbreaking, but not surprising.

The studies found a strong link between frequent social media use and negative body image. Appearance-focused platforms like Instagram and TikTok can push unrealistic beauty standards, especially when teens start measuring themselves through likes, comments, and peer approval.

Both boys and girls reported body dissatisfaction, though most of the research focused on girls.

The review also connected frequent social media use with lower self-esteem, anxiety, depression, eating disorder risk, and a stronger drive for thinness.

So basically, the internet looked at teenagers — already full of feelings, hormones, self-doubt, and questionable sleep habits — and said:

“Would you like to compare yourself to 4,000 edited strangers before breakfast?”

Hard pass.

You can read the study here:

👉 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12437731/

💻 KIM VS. THE INTERNET

This week’s question:

When did mirrors become algorithms?

Because that’s what this feels like.

Teens are not just looking in the mirror anymore.

They’re looking at filtered faces.
Edited bodies.
Beauty trends.
Fitness trends.
“What I eat in a day” videos.
Comment sections full of strangers.
And algorithms that keep feeding them more of whatever makes them stop, stare, compare, and feel worse.

That’s the part that gets me.

It’s not just that teens are seeing unrealistic images.

It’s that the apps learn what holds their attention.

Even if what holds their attention is insecurity.

Even if it makes them anxious.
Even if it makes them feel too big, too small, too awkward, too different, too much, or not enough.

And as a mom, teacher, book reviewer, and YA author, I keep thinking about the kids who are quietly absorbing all of this.

The ones who don’t say anything.

The ones who laugh it off.

The ones who post the picture, delete it, repost it, check the likes, check the comments, and then pretend they’re fine.

This is why media literacy matters.

Not in a boring worksheet kind of way.

In a “please know this image was edited, this influencer is selling something, and your worth does not live in a comment section” kind of way.

We need to talk with kids about what they’re seeing.

Not shame them for being online.

Not panic every time they open an app.

But help them ask better questions:

Who made this?
Why am I seeing it?
Is this real?
Is this selling me something?
How do I feel after watching this?
Would I talk to a friend the way this post makes me talk to myself?

Because that last one matters.

A lot.

📚 BOOKS THAT START THE CONVERSATION

This week on The Brave Bookshelf, I’m talking about:

Drop Dead Famous by Jennifer Pearson

This one caught my attention because it takes fame, grief, sisterhood, murder, and the pressure of living under a spotlight and turns it into a YA mystery that feels very now.

The pitch alone hooked me:

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder meets a cultural moment like The Eras Tour gone horribly wrong.

After pop superstar Blair Baker is murdered just before her homecoming concert, her younger sister Stevie becomes determined to find out what really happened.

But fame is not as shiny up close.

As Stevie digs into Blair’s death, she gets pulled into the darker side of global fame, public image, secrets, grief, and the kind of attention that can turn dangerous fast.

What I liked most:

📖 The hook: A murdered pop star, a grieving younger sister, and a homecoming concert that turns into a crime scene? Yes, my mystery-loving brain immediately needed answers.

💛 The brave conversation: This book brings up questions about fame, public pressure, grief, sister bonds, and what happens when someone becomes more of an image than a person.

👀 Who might connect with it: Teens, mystery readers, pop culture fans, librarians, teachers, and anyone who likes twisty YA stories with messy family emotions and big public stakes.

🗣️ Question to ask after reading: How much of a famous person do we actually know — and what do we forget when we treat them like entertainment instead of a human being?

You can read my full review here:

🎤 NEW ON THE BRAVE BOOKSHELF

In case you missed it, here’s what’s new:

📚 Latest Review:

✍️ Coming Soon: More book reviews, brave conversations, and probably more evidence that I cannot be trusted near a bookstore.

You can catch up here:

👉The Brave Bookshelf

📅 AUTHOR EVENTS & BOOKISH NEWS

Blue Water Festival in Port Huron was cancelled due to the unhealthy air quality from the Canadian wildfires up North. If you haven’t seen what it’s been like up here in Michigan last week, we’ve been shrouded in a sickly orange color. Perfect for a horror novel setting, not so perfect for our lungs.

That orange round thing is the moon, I think. I couldn’t tell when I drove my son to work on Thursday. It may be the sun; I’m not sure. What do you think?

Upcoming Events

Date: Saturday, September 26

Time: 12:00–9:00 p.m. ET

Location: 200 West Nine Mile, Ferndale, Michigan

Event type: Art fair / author signing

More information: Funky Ferndale Art Fair

I’ll be attending Funky Ferndale Art Fair with other SCBWI members, where I’ll be selling and signing copies of Ask the Girl.

Funky Ferndale is known for its creative, lively art fair atmosphere, and I’m excited to be part of the bookish side of the fun. Come browse, shop, discover new artists and authors, and say hello.

Behind the scenes, I’m reading, reviewing, writing, podcasting, and trying not to let my inbox become a crime scene.

💬 YOUR TURN

Reply and tell me:

What part of social media do you think affects teens the most?

Filters?
Likes?
Comments?
Influencers?
Beauty trends?
Comparison?
The pressure to always be visible?

You can reply with just one word.

I’m nosy, but in a bookish way.

Until next time,

Kim

Author | Book Reviewer | Host of The Brave Bookshelf

P.S. What social media trend would make the creepiest YA thriller plot? I’m collecting ideas for completely normal author reasons.

There are certain phrases in YA thrillers that should make every reader nervous.

“I know a shortcut.”

“Don’t tell anyone.”

“I’ll explain later.”

And my personal favorite:

“You can trust me.”

Absolutely not.

No offense to fictional teenagers, but if someone says, “You can trust me” while standing in a dark hallway, holding a secret phone, and looking over their shoulder?

I’m already suspicious.

So today’s question is:

Would you trust the popular girl?

Here’s the setup:

There’s a girl at school everyone knows.

She’s pretty.
Smart.
Funny when she wants to be.
Terrifying when she doesn’t.

She knows who broke up.
Who cheated.
Who lied.
Who cried in the bathroom during lunch.
Who got called into the principal’s office.

She knows everything.

Then one day, she pulls you aside and says she needs your help.

She says someone is spreading lies.

She says someone is trying to ruin her.

She says you’re the only person she can trust.

Then she hands you a flash drive.

Because apparently we are making terrible choices today.

So… what do you do?

A) Take the flash drive because this is clearly your main character moment.
B) Ask why she picked you, because that feels important.
C) Refuse to get involved unless she tells you the truth first.
D) Take it, snoop, and immediately regret learning every secret in the school.

Kim’s Very Scientific Thriller Verdict

If you picked A, you are generous, helpful, and about to be framed.

If you picked B, beautiful. Suspicion looks good on you.

If you picked C, you may actually survive this book.

If you picked D, I respect the honesty. Not the choice. But the honesty.

I also did a poll, so be sure to check out what your fellow Thriller readers picked!

Why I Love This Kind of Setup

School thrillers work because the stakes feel personal.

You don’t need a mansion, a locked room, or a secret island.

Sometimes all you need is one cafeteria, one rumor, and one person who knows how to use silence like a weapon.

In books, the popular girl is not always the villain.

Sometimes she’s a victim.
Sometimes she’s protecting someone.
Sometimes she’s both.
Sometimes she’s three plot twists in a trench coat.

That’s what makes her interesting.

And dangerous.

The Real-Life Part

YA thrillers (and middle-grade thrillers) let us talk about social power in a way that feels dramatic, but also familiar.

Who gets believed?

Who gets protected?

Who gets blamed?

Who gets to tell the story?

For teens, reputation can feel huge. One rumor, one screenshot, one private moment shared without permission can change everything.

That’s why I love books that ask messy questions about friendship and trust.

Not every “nice” person is safe.

Not every “mean” person is the villain.

And sometimes the person with the most power is also the loneliest one in the room.

So now I need your answer.

Reply with A, B, C, or D and tell me whether you’d trust her.

Bonus points if you tell me the exact moment you’d start suspecting her.

What I’m Reading

This week, I’m reading the middle-grade novel The Ginghams by T.C. Kemper, (out on July 28, 2026), and it has me thinking about popularity, individualism, and how fitting in with the crowd isn’t always the best thing to do.

This book is apart of a book tour sponsored by Toppling Stacks Tours, and my stop and review will be on July 21. Be sure to check back in to read my thoughts on this quirky, creepy middle-grade novel and possibly win a copy of the book.

Warmly,
Kim

P.S. Next time, we’re asking the most stressful question in YA thrillers: would you tell an adult?

This week, the internet is once again making me side-eye my phone.

Which, as a YA thriller author, feels less like paranoia and more like professional development.

Between AI, social media algorithms, and apps that seem to know way too much about us, I keep thinking:

At what point does technology stop being helpful and start auditioning for villain of the year?

So grab your coffee, tea, or emotional support bookmark.

It’s time for another Brave Bookshelf Dispatch.

📁 THE BRAVE BOOKSHELF CASE FILE

Case: When “fake” online harm becomes very real.

This week’s internet story is a heavy one.

Canadian teens are reportedly facing criminal charges after using AI to create and share non-consensual sexualized images of their classmates.

“A pair of 14-year-old boys in Edmonton (Canada) have been charged for allegedly using artificial intelligence to create child exploitation images of their classmates.

Investigators allege the teens took photos of girls at their school without consent, in addition to obtaining photos of female classmates from their social media accounts, and then used AI software to sexualize the images.

The accused students have since been charged with making and possessing child sexual exploitation materials as well as voyeurism.”

—Wallis Snowdon, CBC News Jun 17, 2026 11:18 AM EDT | Last Updated: June 17

And yes, I know.

Every generation has had something adults worried about.

DnD. (Dungeons and Dragons)
Rock music.

But this feels different.

Because AI can create something that looks real.

And apps can push harmful content toward kids before they even know what they’re looking at.

That’s not just “kids being online.”

That’s a whole new kind of danger.

💻 KIM VS. THE INTERNET

This week’s question:

How do we teach teens that digital harm still counts as harm?

Because I think this is where adults sometimes get stuck.

We want to say, “It’s not real. It’s just AI.”

But if someone’s face is used without permission, if classmates see it, share it, laugh about it, whisper about it, or use it to humiliate someone…

That damage is real.

The fear is real.
The shame is real.
The consequences are real.

And for the kids making or sharing those images, the consequences can be very real too.

This is why conversations about digital safety can’t just be:

“Don’t talk to strangers online.”

That ship has sailed, hit an iceberg, and probably has a TikTok account now.

We need to talk about consent.

Not just in person.

Online too.

Who gets to use your image?
What should you do if someone sends you something harmful?
When do you get an adult involved?
Why is sharing it also part of the harm?

And because I write thrillers, my brain also goes here:

What happens when the app knows more than the parents?
What happens when the algorithm keeps feeding the worst stuff to kids?
What happens when “fake” becomes impossible to ignore?

This is the kind of fear that sneaks into stories like The Kill App.

Technology can give teens a place to be heard.

But it can also become a weapon when the wrong people use it badly.

And that’s the part that keeps my thriller brain busy.

📚 BOOKS THAT START THE CONVERSATION

This is also why I love books that give teens a safer place to talk about scary things.

A good YA story can open the door to questions like:

What does consent mean online?
What do you do when a friend crosses a line?
How do you speak up when everyone else is laughing?
Can something be “just a joke” if someone gets hurt?

Those are not easy questions.

But books can make them easier to ask.

And sometimes that’s where the bravest conversations begin.

🐺 WHAT I’M READING RIGHT NOW

Right now, I’m reading The Lure of Wolves and Whispers by Amanda Connolly, and so far, I’m loving this one.

It’s an Irish lore-inspired YA romantasy about one sister who offers her life in exchange for her sister’s life. You know a little like The Hunger Games.

So yes, we have:

🌫️ Whisperers (Magicians or Witches)
⚔️ Power struggles
💔 Sisterly sacrifice
🔥 Romantic tension
👑 Dangerous choices

Basically, everything my TBR pile uses to lure me into ignoring pulling the weeds out of my garden.

Amanda Connolly is an award-winning journalist, and I can already see how her background adds something extra to the politics, alliances, and power struggles in this story.

The book draws loose inspiration from ancient Irish lore, the extinction of wild wolves in Ireland, the Irish Viking Age, Christianization, and the legend of St. Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland.

Which means I went in expecting fantasy.

And now I’m also getting history, rebellion, danger, and the kind of atmosphere that makes me want to read just one more chapter.

Famous last words.

The book was released on July 7, 2026, and I’ve also published my review. Click below to find the book and read my review.

📖My Review:

🎤 NEW ON THE BRAVE BOOKSHELF

In case you missed it, here’s what’s been happening on The Brave Bookshelf:

📚 Latest Review:

✍️ Coming Soon: More book reviews, brave conversations, and probably more evidence that my TBR pile has become sentient.

You can catch up here:

👉 https://www.kimbartosch.com

📅 AUTHOR EVENTS & BOOKISH NEWS

Here’s what’s coming up:

📍The Blue Water Street Fair, Date: Friday, July 17, Time: 12:00–9:00 p.m. ET, Location: Downtown Port Huron, Michigan, More information: The Blue Water Fest

I’ll be at the Blue Water Street Fair during The Blue Water Fest in Downtown Port Huron with other SCBWI members and signing and selling copies of Ask the Girl. So stop by if you’re attending the festival. I’d love to chat about books, writing, YA mysteries, ghost stories, or your favorite “I swear this place is haunted” story.

And behind the scenes:

I’m still working on revising The Kill App (My editor asked for more rewrites aah! 😱) and began finishing up my young adult fantasy/thriller. I’m also reading, reviewing, podcasting, and pretending my inbox is not a haunted house.

It is.

It absolutely is.

💬 YOUR TURN

Reply and tell me:

What online issue do you think teens need more help talking about?

AI images?
Social media pressure?
Cyberbullying?
Privacy?
Group chats gone wrong?

You can reply with just one word. (i.e., AI, Social Media, Privacy, chats)

I’m nosy, but in a bookish way.

Until next time,

Kim

Author | Book Reviewer | Host of The Brave Bookshelf

P.S. What app, trend, or online habit would make the best YA thriller villain? I’m collecting ideas for completely normal author reasons.

I know the correct answer is simple.

Do not follow the ghost upstairs.

We all know this.

The movies know this.
The books know this.
The creepy music knows this.

And yet…

If I heard a whisper from a dark hallway, I would probably grab a flashlight, ignore every survival instinct God gave me, and call it “research.”

This is why I write spooky books, and I should not be left alone in old houses.

So today’s question is:

Would you follow the ghost upstairs?

Here’s the setup:

You’re home alone.

Mostly.

The house has been making weird noises all week.

At first, you blamed the pipes.

Then the furnace.

Then the cat.

Except you don’t have a cat.

Now the hallway light flickers every night at 10:31.

Your sister has been acting strange.

She stares at corners.
She answers questions no one asked.
She hums a song your grandmother swears she heard as a child.

Then one night, you see her standing at the bottom of the stairs.

She points up.

And from the dark hallway above you, a voice whispers your name.

So… what do you do?

A) Follow the ghost because obviously it wants to tell you something.
B) Research the house, the family, and every old newspaper article you can find.
C) Wake someone up and tell them exactly what happened.
D) Move out immediately and let the ghost enjoy the mortgage.

Kim’s Very Scientific Thriller Verdict

If you picked A, you are brave, nosy, and probably haunted by chapter five.

If you picked B, excellent work. You understand that libraries, archives, and newspaper clippings are where the good secrets live.

If you picked C, emotionally healthy choice. Rare in YA thrillers, but we love to see it.

If you picked D, honestly? Fair.

Sometimes the smartest person in the horror story is the one who says, “Nope,” grabs snacks, and leaves.

I also did a poll so you could see what your fellow thriller readers picked.

Love This Kind of Setup

This is one of the reasons I wrote Ask the Girl.

Lila knows something is wrong.

She knows her sister Rose isn’t just acting strange.

She knows there is something old and ghostly and dangerous hiding under the surface.

But knowing the truth and getting people to believe you are two very different problems.

And honestly?

That might be scarier than the ghost.

Because ghosts are terrifying, yes.

But not being believed when you’re trying to save someone you love?

That sticks with me.

The Real-Life Part

A lot of spooky stories are really about being heard.

Kids and teens notice things.

They notice when someone changes.
They notice when a friend pulls away.
They notice when something feels off.

But sometimes adults miss it.

Or explain it away.

Or say, “I’m sure it’s nothing.”

Books give us a way to ask:

What if it isn’t nothing?

What if the person everyone doubts is the only one paying attention?

What if the ghost isn’t the scariest part of the story?

So now I need to know.

Reply with A, B, C, or D and tell me whether you’d follow the ghost upstairs.

I promise not to judge.

Unless you picked A.

Then I will judge lovingly, from a safe distance, with snacks.

What I’m Reading

This week, I’m reading Metamorphosis: A Grove Hollow Novel by Shelby Nicole, and it has the kind of atmosphere that makes every creak in the house feel suspicious. It has creepy mansions, 80’s vibes, and falling in love with a Victorian ghost and having to make tough choices.

You know the kind.

The book where you look up from the page and suddenly your laundry pile looks like a Victorian ghost with unresolved family trauma.

Read my full review here as part of the Toppling Stacks Tours book tour, along with other amazing book bloggers and bookstagrammers.

So if your TBR pile is already glaring at you from across the room… I apologize in advance. Sort of. 😉

Warmly,
Kim

P.S. Next time, we’re talking about whether you’d trust the popular girl who says, “I swear, you can trust me.” Which, in thriller language, is basically a warning label.

Every other week, I’m going to try something a little different here on The Brave Bookshelf.

A little bookish.

A little behind-the-scenes.

A little “Kim vs. the Internet,” because apparently the internet wakes up every morning and says, How can I make this author suspicious today?

So welcome to the first Brave Bookshelf Dispatch.

Grab your coffee, tea, emotional support bookmark, or whatever is currently keeping you from yelling at your inbox.

📁 THE BRAVE BOOKSHELF CASE FILE

Case: Why scary stories sometimes make the safest conversations.

I’ve always loved books that let us look at hard things from a little distance.

Ghosts. Secrets. Murder mysteries. Creepy houses. Creepy apps. Creepy people who say, “I’m fine,” when they are absolutely not fine.

That’s one reason I started The Brave Bookshelf.

Children’s and YA books can give readers a way to talk about real life without feeling like they’re standing under a spotlight. Sometimes it’s easier to talk about grief through a ghost story. Or bullying through a thriller. Or feeling different through a character who finally finds someone who gets them.

That’s the kind of book I’m always looking for.

The kind that entertains us first — then sneaks up later and taps us on the shoulder.

💻 KIM VS. THE INTERNET

This week’s internet thing I’m side-eyeing:

Snapchat.

A recent investigation by the Heat Initiative found that Snapchat’s algorithm may be recommending graphic, sexualized, and violent content to minors — including accounts marked as 13-year-olds.

And I know every generation has its “kids these days” panic.

Comic books.
Rock music.
Horror movies.
Chat rooms.
TikTok dances that make my knees hurt just watching them.

But this feels different.

Because this isn’t just teens stumbling across something weird online. According to the report, the app may be pushing disturbing content toward them.

So the mom in me immediately went to my son and we scrolled through his followers and who he’s following, plus we watched his feed on Snapchat and there wasn’t anything inappropriate, only kids being silly. So, whew for now. I’ll keep monitoring this.

But my thriller-author brain thought:

Who decided this was okay?
Who benefits when kids keep scrolling?
And why does every “safe” platform eventually start sounding like the opening scene of a YA tech thriller?

This is exactly the kind of real-life fear that inspired parts of The Kill App.

Technology can be helpful. It can connect people. It can give teens a place to feel seen when they don’t feel safe saying things out loud.

But it can also turn dark fast.

Especially when the people using it are kids, and the people building it are chasing clicks, views, and attention.

That’s why I think books matter so much.

A good YA thriller lets teens ask scary questions in a safer place:

What happens when an app knows too much?
Who protects kids when adults don’t fully understand the technology?
When does “just scrolling” become something dangerous?

And maybe most important:

How do we teach kids to trust that uneasy little voice inside them that says, Something about this doesn’t feel right?

Because that voice matters.

Online.

In books.

And in real life.

Your turn: What app, trend, or online habit do you think would make the best YA thriller villain?

Reply and tell me. I’m nosy, but in a bookish way.

📚 BOOKS THAT START THE CONVERSATION

This week on The Brave Bookshelf, I’m talking about:

For the Greatest Good by Blair Hanson

This one caught my attention because it deals with clean water access, environmental injustice, poverty, queer identity, family estrangement, and morally messy choices in a way that gives readers a lot to sit with after they finish.

What I liked most:

📖 The hook: Gavin wants to save his town from a public health crisis, but the only way to get help may mean making choices that are anything but clean.

💛 The brave conversation: This book brings up big questions about who gets safe drinking water, why poor communities are often expected to endure what others would call an emergency, and what happens when doing the “right” thing starts hurting people along the way.

👀 Who might connect with it: Teens, parents, teachers, librarians, book clubs, and readers who like YA contemporary stories with social issues, small-town settings, LGBTQ+ representation, and characters who do not always make easy choices.

🗣️ Question to ask after reading: Is it still the right thing if you have to lie, manipulate, or hurt someone to make it happen?

You can read the full review here:

👉 https://www.kimbartosch.com/p/when-doing-the-right-thing-gets-messy?r=5a6umq

🎤 NEW ON THE BRAVE BOOKSHELF

In case you missed it, here’s what’s new:

🎧 Podcast: Hot New LGBTQ+ YA Releases 2026
📚 Book Review: Reality TV Turns Deadly in This Campy Dystopian Thriller: Book Review: “Survival Show” by Juno Dawson
✍️ Author Spotlight: Interview with Shelley Grandy highlighting her tips and tricks on writing, researching, and publishing her book Devious Web

I’m keeping everything in one place now, which means fewer internet breadcrumbs for you to follow and fewer tabs for me to lose.

Everyone wins.

Mostly.

📅 AUTHOR EVENTS & BOOKISH NEWS

Here’s where you can find me next:

📍Meadow Brook Writing Project at Oakland University

Date: July 8 and 15

I’ll be presenting “Haunted Pages: Writing Ghost Stories That Give Readers Goosebumps” to grades 6–8. If you want to have your preteen or teen writer join this writing camp, you can learn more here.

📍The Blue Water Festival

Date: Friday, July 17

Time: 12:00–9:00 p.m. ET

Location: Downtown Port Huron, Michigan

Event type: Festival / author signing

More information: The Blue Water Fest

I’ll be at the Blue Water Street Fair during The Blue Water Fest in Downtown Port Huron with other SCBWI members and signing and selling copies of Ask the Girl. So stop by if you’re attending the festival. I’d love to chat about books, writing, YA mysteries, ghost stories, or your favorite “I swear this place is haunted” story.

And behind the scenes, I’m currently working on:

🔪 The Kill App revisions
👻 More spooky bookish content
📚 A growing TBR pile that may require its own zip code

💬 YOUR TURN

Reply and tell me:

What kind of story helps you talk about hard things?

A ghost story?
A mystery?
A funny book?
A thriller where everyone is suspicious and no one should be trusted?

You can reply with just one word if you want:

Ghosts, Mystery, Funny, or Thriller.

I’m nosy, but in a bookish way.

Until next time,

Kim

Author | Book Reviewer | Host of The Brave Bookshelf

P.S. What app, trend, or internet thing do you think would make the best YA thriller villain? I have a notebook, and I’m not afraid to use it.

I like to think I’d survive a YA thriller.

I read them.
I write them.
I know the rules.

Do not follow strange noises.

Do not split up.

Do not say, “I’ll be right back,” unless you want dramatic background music to start playing.

And yet…

If a mysterious app showed up on my phone promising a private place to vent, rant, and anonymously unload every ugly feeling I’ve been carrying?

I’d like to say I would delete it.

But there’s also a very real chance I’d click on it while standing in my kitchen, drinking cold coffee, telling myself, “I’m just looking.”

Which, as we all know, is how the trouble starts.

So today’s question is:

Would you survive the app?

Here’s the setup:

You’re at school when your best friend shows you a new app everyone is suddenly whispering about.

No ads.
No creator listed.
No adult supervision.
No real names.

Just anonymous posts from kids who are angry, scared, embarrassed, heartbroken, or tired of pretending everything is fine.

At first, it feels harmless.

A digital scream pillow.

People complain about exes, fake friends, strict parents, cruel classmates, bad teachers, and all the things they wish they could say out loud but never would.

Then the posts start getting specific.

Too specific.

Someone writes about a bully.

The next day, that bully gets hurt.

Someone vents about a teacher.

That teacher disappears.

Then your phone buzzes with a notification:

Your turn.

So… what do you do?

A) Join immediately because curiosity is a lifestyle.

B) Ask who created the app before touching anything.

C) Screenshot everything and tell a trusted adult.

D) Pretend you are above the drama, then secretly check it from your friend’s phone.

Kim’s Very Scientific Thriller Verdict

If you picked A, I’m sorry, but you are absolutely chapter three material.

You are fun.
You are brave.
You are also the reason the rest of us are yelling, “DON’T CLICK THAT!” at the page.

If you picked B, you have promise.

You’re suspicious, which is good. Suspicion keeps people alive in YA thrillers. So does asking follow-up questions, backing away slowly, and not trusting apps with moody black icons.

If you picked C, congratulations.

You may survive long enough to find the second clue, expose the secret, and still have time to finish your homework.

If you picked D, you are chaotic, but useful.

You may not be the main character, but you are absolutely the friend who finds the screenshot that changes everything.

Why I love this kind of setup

This is the kind of question that kept poking at me while I was writing The Kill App.

What happens when a place that’s supposed to feel safe becomes dangerous?

What happens when teens use an app to say the things they’re too scared to say in real life?

And what happens when someone decides those private thoughts should have consequences?

Rae, the main character in The Kill App, joins an anonymous support app because she needs somewhere to put all the fear, anger, and survival mode she’s been carrying.

But when names from the app start turning up dead, she realizes the app isn’t just listening.

It’s choosing.

And once her own name rises to the top, Rae has to figure out who she can trust before the story writes an ending she can’t delete.

No pressure, right?

Just a normal teen problem.

Like homework, friendship drama, and a murder app with boundary issues.

I don’t write about apps because I think technology is evil. I write about apps because they’re where so much teen life happens now.

Nearly half of U.S. teens say they’re online almost constantly, according to Pew Research Center. That means friendship, fear, secrets, jokes, pressure, and drama often live in the same place: the phone.

The real-life part

One reason I love YA thrillers is because they let us talk about hard things without staring directly into the sun.

Fear.
Bullying.
Secrets.
Revenge.
Grief.
The pressure to stay quiet.
The danger of being ignored.

Sometimes scary stories give us a safer way to ask brave questions.

Who would I trust?

Would I speak up?

Would I notice the warning signs?

Would I be the person who clicks the app… or the person who says, “Wait. Something is wrong here.”

I’d love to know your answer.

Reply with A, B, C, or D and tell me whether you think you’d survive the app. I also included a poll so you can see how others voted.

No essay required.

Unless you want to confess that you, too, would click the suspicious link “just to see.”

I won’t judge.

Much.

Warmly,
Kim Bartosch

P.S. Next time, we may find out whether you’d survive being followed by a ghost who knows your family secrets. So, you know, something relaxing.