April Genevieve Tucholke Books in Order (Updated March 10, 2026)

April Genevieve Tucholke writes across YA, picture books, and nonfiction, and her catalog is mostly made up of standalones. The main exception is the Between duology, which should be read in order. Everything else is best treated as separate unless noted otherwise.

If you only want the simplest rule, it is this: read Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea before Between the Spark and the Burn, and treat the rest of the books as standalones or companion-level connections.

The cleanest reading path

For most readers, this is the easiest way into her work:

1. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
2. Between the Spark and the Burn
3. Wink Poppy Midnight
4. The Boneless Mercies
5. Seven Endless Forests

That route starts with her only direct sequel pair, then moves into the strongest standalone YA titles.

Publication order

Between series

1. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (2013): A gothic YA novel set around a decaying seaside estate, where Violet White’s summer turns dangerous after the arrival of the unsettling River West.
2. Between the Spark and the Burn (2014): The direct sequel, following Violet into stranger territory as the fallout from River’s arrival spreads into new towns, new fears, and new secrets.

Best order: Read these in publication order. This is the one place in Tucholke’s catalog where sequence matters clearly and directly.

Standalone YA novels

3. Wink Poppy Midnight (2016): A slippery, voice-driven mystery built around three teens, three versions of the truth, and a story that keeps shifting under the reader.
4. The Boneless Mercies (2018): A fantasy inspired by Beowulf, following a band of female death-workers who want something larger than survival and set out to hunt a monster.
5. Seven Endless Forests (2020): A standalone companion to The Boneless Mercies, drawing on Arthurian material and sending Torvi into a quest shaped by plague, myth, rescue, and found family.

Important note: Seven Endless Forests is connected to The Boneless Mercies, but it is not a direct sequel in the same must-read-next sense as the Between books. It is better understood as a companion in the same broader story world.

Picture books

6. Beatrice Likes the Dark (2022): A picture book about sisters with opposite preferences, using a gentle gothic mood to turn difference into closeness rather than conflict.
7. Merry and Hark: A Christmas Story (2023): A seasonal picture book about a small owl’s unexpected adventure, built around wonder, homecoming, and a quieter kind of holiday warmth.
8. Rebecca the White House Raccoon (2026): A historical picture book based on the real Coolidge-era raccoon, turning presidential-pet history into a mischievous, playful story.

Adult nonfiction

9. The Secret Life of Hidden Places (2024): A nonfiction tour of hidden and unusual architectural spaces around the world, blending curiosity, atmosphere, and real-world mystery.

Edited and contributed books

These are not part of a reading-order sequence, but readers who want a complete bibliography may want them noted separately.

• Slasher Girls & Monster Boys (2015): An anthology curated by Tucholke, recommended for readers interested in her horror taste and editorial work rather than her core fiction sequence.
• Because You Love to Hate Me (2017, contributor): A multi-author anthology that includes Tucholke’s work but does not belong to any of her own series continuity.

Recommended reading orders by goal

If you want the safest first read

Start with Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea. It introduces the strongest “read book two next” hook in her catalog and gives the clearest sense of her gothic atmosphere.

If you want a standalone first

Start with Wink Poppy Midnight if you want something contemporary, strange, and unreliable. Start with The Boneless Mercies if you want fantasy, mythic scale, and a more overt quest structure.

If you want fantasy first

Read:

1. The Boneless Mercies
2. Seven Endless Forests

That pairing gives you the connected fantasy books together, while still respecting that the second is more companion than direct continuation.

If you want children’s books only

Read:

1. Beatrice Likes the Dark
2. Merry and Hark: A Christmas Story
3. Rebecca the White House Raccoon

That is the cleanest publication path through the picture books currently listed.

Do you need a chronological order?

Not really. There is no useful author-wide chronological order because almost all of these books stand apart from one another.

The only meaningful sequence question is this one:

1. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
2. Between the Spark and the Burn

And the only near-sequence after that is:

1. The Boneless Mercies
2. Seven Endless Forests

Even there, “companion” is the better label than “book two.”

Where to start with April Genevieve Tucholke

Choose based on mood rather than trying to force the whole bibliography into one path.

• Start with Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea for gothic YA and the clearest series entry.
• Start with Wink Poppy Midnight for an ambiguous, twisty standalone.
• Start with The Boneless Mercies for fantasy.
• Start with Beatrice Likes the Dark if you are here for the picture books.

Latest release status

The most recent currently published book listed on Tucholke’s official site is The Secret Life of Hidden Places among her named prose titles, with Rebecca the White House Raccoon listed as forthcoming for June 9, 2026. Her site also lists later announced children’s books beyond that, including Agnes Clover Does Not Want to Be a Bunny and Lavender and Leo.

FAQs

Is April Genevieve Tucholke a series-heavy author?

No. Most of her books are standalones. The clear exception is the Between duology.

Do I need to read Seven Endless Forests after The Boneless Mercies?

Only if you want more from that connected fantasy space. It is presented as a standalone companion, not as a strict direct sequel.

What is the best first book for most readers?

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea is the safest place to start because it is both an early signature title and the opening of her only direct sequel chain.

Are the picture books connected to the YA novels?

No. They sit in a separate part of her bibliography and should be treated independently.

Final recommendation

Start with Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea if you want the most straightforward entry into April Genevieve Tucholke’s fiction. After that, move to Between the Spark and the Burn, then branch by taste: Wink Poppy Midnight for mystery, The Boneless Mercies for fantasy, or the picture books if you are reading across age categories.