The Recommended Reading Path for Dana Mele
If you are new to Dana Mele's psychological and supernatural young adult fiction, the best place to begin is with her smash-hit debut, People Like Us (2018). It is the perfect introduction to her signature style: morally gray characters, high-stakes boarding school secrets, and prominent queer representation. From there, you can branch out into her supernatural thrillers or her graphic novel work.
Because Dana Mele’s books are either standalone novels or self-contained graphic novel series, you do not have to worry about a complex, overarching chronological continuity. Reading her works in order of publication is the most natural way to watch her style evolve from grounded boarding school suspense into eerie supernatural horror and graphic novel scriptwriting.
Dana Mele's Novels in Publication Order
For readers who prefer to experience a writer's bibliography in the order it was introduced to the world, here is the chronological publication list of Dana Mele's prose novels:
- People Like Us (2018) - Mele's breakout psychological thriller set at an elite boarding school.
- Summer’s Edge (2022) - A haunting, atmospheric thriller blending grief and supernatural ghost story elements at a lakeside reunion.
- The Beast You Let In (2026) - A chilling YA horror novel centering on a possession mystery, a missing twin, and a local town legend. (Note: During its development and in early catalog listings, this book was known under the working title or project name Veronica).
A Closer Look at the Standalone Novels
People Like Us (2018)
Set at the prestigious Bates Academy, this debut novel follows Kay Donovan, a soccer star who has successfully hidden her past to secure a place among the school's elite clique. When the body of a classmate is discovered in the campus lake, Kay becomes the target of a coded scavenger hunt left by the deceased girl. As Kay is forced to unravel the hunt, she must implicate her own friends, exposing a web of blackmail, betrayal, and dark secrets. Frequently compared to a modern-day crossover between Mean Girls and Donna Tartt’s dark academia classic The Secret History, this thriller was shortlisted for the 2019 ITW Thriller Award and earned a spot on the ALA Rainbow List.
Summer’s Edge (2022)
Shifting from boarding school corridors to an isolated lake house, this novel follows a group of five estranged friends who reunite on the anniversary of a fire that killed their friend Emily. The reunion is charged with tension, and it soon becomes clear that the house is haunted by Emily’s ghost—or perhaps by the secrets the survivors are keeping about the night she died. Featuring an innovative dual-narrator structure and lyrical prose, this book is a deep dive into trauma, friendship, and the ghost stories we tell ourselves. It was selected as a Barnes & Noble YA Book Club pick and named one of the New York Public Library's Best Books for Teens.
The Beast You Let In (2026)
Set in the rural town of Ashling, this horror novel explores the frayed bond between twin sisters Hazel and Beth. The town is haunted by the legend of Veronica Green, a girl murdered in the woods years earlier. When Beth disappears during a party and returns the next day claiming to be Veronica, Hazel is thrust into a terrifying search for the truth. Hazel must figure out if her sister is truly possessed by a vengeful ghost or if something else is going on. This book showcases Mele's evolution into full-throttle supernatural horror while retaining her focus on complex, intense relationships.
The Tragic Graphic Novels: A Queer Hamlet Retelling
In addition to her traditional prose novels, Dana Mele entered the comic world with Tragic, a graphic novel series published by Legendary Comics and illustrated by artist Valentina Pinti. This project is a modern, queer reimagining of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, told from the perspective of a teenage girl named Harper Hayes.
In the local database and some distributor listings, the story is cataloged across multiple releases:
- Tragic Volume 1 (2022) - Introduces Harper Hayes as she begins investigating the suspicious death of her father, Hamilton, who was a prominent theatre director.
- Tragic Volume 2 (2023) - Concludes the dark, moody investigation as Harper's sanity is pushed to the brink by familial betrayal and romantic entanglements.
Reader's Note: While libraries and catalog registries split the graphic novel into Volume 1 and Volume 2 (or a combined edition), it is intended to be read sequentially as a single continuous story. The graphic novel features Harper navigating her relationships with her girlfriend Talia and her ex-boyfriend, all while trying to determine if her uncle Claudius is responsible for her father's death.
What to Know Before You Start
Before diving into Dana Mele's work, here are a few practical tips to help you get the most out of your reading experience:
- Heavy Themes and Trigger Warnings: Mele’s thrillers do not shy away from heavy topics. Her books frequently deal with grief, mental health struggles, toxic friendships, murder, and the supernatural. If you are sensitive to these themes, check the author's official website or publisher guidelines for specific trigger warnings.
- Queer Representation: A hallmark of Mele's writing is the inclusion of LGBTQ+ main characters. From Kay's relationships in People Like Us to Harper's romance in Tragic, queer dynamics are central to the narratives rather than sidelined.
- Standalone Nature: You do not need to read the novels in any specific order to understand the plots. People Like Us, Summer's Edge, and The Beast You Let In are entirely separate universes with different characters and settings. You can pick up whichever premise sounds most intriguing to you.