I teach high school and am shocked often by the cruelty and meanness teens brutally heap on each other. There are obviously plenty of great, kindhearted kids out there and books usually show this side too.
“Lord of the Flies” is an obvious example. What else you got?
by mzingg3
11 Comments
Let’s Go Play at the Adams is pretty horrific
While it’s not the main premise, The Troop by Nick Cutter and It by Stephen King both have very good examples of psychopathic kids
There’s a short story by Roald Dahl called ‘The Swan’, collected in *The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More*. It’s the tale of two bullies picking on a smaller, weaker child. As incredibly ugly and horrible as it is, there’s also something incredibly beautiful too. Highly recommended.
While it would absolutely not be appropriate for use in high school – you haven’t specified whether you plan to use it for that – *Let’s Go Play at the Adams’* by Mendal W. Johnson gives you children at the extremes of poor behaviour. What begins as a game where they tie up the babysitter goes right off the rails. Very disturbing. The same applies for the very similar – but less devastating – *The Girl Next Door* by Jack Ketchum.
Hope these help!
Niccolò Ammaniti, *I’m Not Scared*.
Fantasticland by Mike Bockoven is often compared to stories like Lord of the Flies. It focuses more on young adults and teenagers though.
If we’re counting teenagers as kids, then I suggest *Battle Royale* by Koushun Takami.
Baby Teeth, a psychological horror novel by Zoje Stage, is genuinely so disturbing I had to pace myself to read it 😂
Carrie!
We Need to Talk About Kevin
Accelerando by Charles Stross has this, but not until towards the end.
The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks is a classic about a kid who murders other kids.
Not a book, but a well-known short story by Graham Greene, “The Destructors”.
Maybe FantasticLand. It’s about a bunch of kids and teens that got stuck at a theme park in Florida due to natural disasters and quickly turned into a bloody turb. It’s a very interesting book.