Looking for an unforgettable collection of books you’ll devour if you liked Rules for Vanishing by Kate Alice Marshall? As an award-winning author and blogger, I know the magic of a book so engrossing it keeps you up at night. Here are my top three recommendations:
Junior Missing by Khristina Chess - A seductive and chilling thriller about a runaway teen, drawn into an intoxicating relationship with an older man who takes her in—and won’t let her go!
Missing by Kelly Armstrong - A plucky heroine solves the mystery of the missing teens in her town, even at great personal danger to herself.
Sadie by Courtney Summers - a girl leaves home and goes on a journey to seek justice against her sister’s killer.
You’ll find detailed reviews of these and many other favorites below.
So which books similar to Rules for Vanishing should you read next? Discover your next great read for National Reading Month in this roundup. If you’re looking for more mysteries about missing teens, I’m confident you’ll love these novels.
Junior Missing by Khristina Chess
“When we went out together in public, I always imagined people were watching us. Did they notice something was a little odd? Did they disapprove of a twenty-two-year-old guy dating a sixteen-year-old girl? Or maybe they recognized me. My picture had been plastered all over TV. Two months ago, I vanished from my home. I was missing.”― Khristina Chess, quote from Junior Missing
Wow! Readers who love the intense chemistry and unsettling seduction of a dark romance won’t be able to put Junior Missing down. What makes Junior Missing so special is the slow-boil depiction of how Grace’s forbidden attraction turns into a trap set by an older man who takes her in—and won’t let her go!
The story starts as sixteen-year-old Grace Keegan, darling of the child pageant world with a bright future, is missing. At first, police assume she ran away. But when they find her abandoned phone along the highway, the truth becomes far more terrifying.
No one knows about Quentin Brock—the musician she met online. He’s charming, funny, and perfect.
Until he isn’t. Until she’s trapped in another state with no way out.
She doesn’t even have shoes.
If you devoured mysterious The Rules for Vanishing, I recommend this mesmerizing, authentic novel that depicts how someone can so easily be manipulated and hurt in a toxic relationship. Junior Missing will stay with you after the final page. Worth the read!
In fact, Khristina Chess is on my list of Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited because she has so many suspenseful novels.
Missing by Kelly Armstrong
“Reeve’s End is the kind of town every kid can’t wait to escape. Each summer, a dozen kids leave and at least a quarter never come back. I don’t blame them—I’ll do the same in another year. We thought it was just something that happened in towns like ours. We were wrong.”― Kelley Armstrong, quote from Missing
Winter Crane’s sister is missing.
In missing-person cases, police only have so much time to find victims before their chance of returning home safe diminishes, and in this instance, the timeline for how long Winter’s sister has been missing happened to her—and other missing kids—is tied to an invisible clock like a heartbeat. It creates suspense is already unclear. As the mystery quickly unfolds, the urgency to find out what might have and raises the stakes. The tension increases with each turn of the page because we believe the situation is life-or-death. The hero spends a lot of time literally running from one place to another, trying to beat the clock.
I thoroughly enjoyed the plucky heroine and her determination to get to the bottom of the mystery of the missing teens, even at increasingly dangerous personal cost to herself. The West Virginia setting seemed vibrant and real without being cliched or overdone. The killer was gruesome, creepy, and sinister.
If you liked Rules for Vanishing, you won’t want to miss this thrilling story about missing teens and the search for what has happened to them.
Sadie by Courtney Summers
“How do you forgive the people who are supposed to protect you? Sometimes, I don't know what I miss more; everything I've lost or everything I never had.” ― Courtney Summers, quote from Sadie
Sadie knows who killed her younger sister.
She leaves home and goes on a journey to seek justice against her sister’s killer. She has plenty of personal reasons to hate him, and he deserves to die for his crimes.
This novel alternates between young Sadie, who is a missing teen, and a podcast show, where details of her disappearance are told through a series of interviews. I think I would have loved this book even more in audio format than paperback
Still, Sadie is a great read. The pacing increases as the story unfolds and Sadie gets closer and closer to her target. The conclusion to her quest for justice is a surprise. This YA book about teen runaways that will stay with you long after the last page.
If you liked Rules for Vanishing and are looking for something similar, add this one to your TBR pile.
This Is Not a Love Letter by Kim Purcell
Chris is missing.
While he’s gone, his girlfriend Jessie decides to write letters to him, so the entire book is a series of scenes narrated to Chris. The mystery of his disappearance deepens as more of the bullying that Chris had endured unfolds.
Heartbreaking, beautiful, and powerful, Jessie’s letters are her way of coming to terms with the fact that the boy she loved went running one night but never came home again.
Check out this hard-hitting YA book about depression and racism. It’s a great third-person look at the impact of depression on those who love the person and feel helpless to ease their suffering. Fans of Rules for Vanishing will also enjoy this one.
Other YA Books Similar to Rules for Vanishing
If you are looking other books similar to Rules for Vanishing, check out the Books Similar to Rules for Vanishing, Runaway Books, and Runaways in YA and Middle Grade Fiction lists on Goodreads. You might also be interested in my post, Other Good Reads, which has a comprehensive list of reviews of YA books by type of tough topic.
Khristina Chess is an award-winning author of a dozen young adult novels, including The Cutting Edge of Friendship, The Delinquent Hero, and Junior Missing. Hollow Beauty, her book about eating disorders, was named a finalist in the Next Generation India Book Awards. She tackles tough teen topics and writes binge-worthy books across multiple genres, including contemporary, thriller, mystery, and adventure.