Teen – Page 42 – Mom Read It

Blog Tour Promo: SUPERSTITION

Posted on September 3, 2015August 24, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Superstition
by Lucy Fenton
Release Date: 08/03/15

Summary from Goodreads:
What happens when your childhood nightmares of being bitten by strange creatures in a dark wood aren’t just dreams?

Sixteen-year-old Arden St. John’s life takes a strange turn when she finds an unusual animal injured near her new house on the south east coast of Australia. When she takes it to the local vet, a terrible truth is inadvertently exposed to her.

She discovers a secret underworld, where witches are commonplace and trolls masquerade as queen bees, terrorising the other students with impunity. A world where vampires traffic in the lives of children, draining their bodies once they reach maturity. Where adults auction their own children to extend their lives.

Arden finds out she’s one of those kids, her life traded by the mother she never knew. Now she’s caught up in this ancient and corrupt economy operating just below the surface of modern society. She’s a hot commodity, and it’s only a matter of time before the vampire who bought her comes to claim his prize.

But Arden’s not going down without a fight.

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Buy Links: Amazon

EXCERPT

The further into the bush she went, the more anxious Arden felt. If something happened to me, how long would it be before Dad noticed? I could be dead for days before someone found me, Arden thought, unhappily. The compulsion to turn around and seek out others grew stronger and her footsteps slowed.

And then through the trees, she saw something. Curiosity overcoming her disquiet, at first she thought it was a rocky outcrop and moved towards it, trying to see what was veiled by the leaves of the trees. The flash of sunlight whitened out her vision as she stepped out of the shade into the clearing. Blinded, she waited for her eyes to adjust. Squinting, the blurred shapes gradually resolved into the ruins of a stone building. The roof was gone and the walls stuck up like the blunt teeth of a fallen giant. Arden walked around what had once been a large structure that had been left to crumble back into the earth. It was built on a headland, the view of the ocean clear on the far side. A lone gum tree clung to the edge of the cliff, roots visible where the earth had crumbled away. Dead, its bare branches stood out starkly white against the dark clouds forming over the ocean. There was a storm coming in, but it was still a way out to sea. Catching sight of a marking on the stone, she moved towards it to examine it more closely. It was weathered almost flat, but tracing the rough gritty surface with her finger, she made out the distinctive shape of a convict arrow.

Amazed, she walked in through a doorway, trying to work out what type of building it had been. There had been a large central room with many tiny rooms opening from it. They were small, storerooms perhaps? Exploring deeper into the ruins, there was a room that had been more protected at the rear and the purpose became apparent. The stubbed remains of bars were still embedded in the stone in one section and in the corner of the room were cross hatched markings on the walls, counting off the days. She was standing in a convict gaol.

About the Author
L. C. Fenton lives in Sydney, Australia with her husband and two children. In addition to her cake- making business, she works as a freelance copywriter and pens occasional articles for various online magazines.
Not being one of those people who had a burning desire to be anything in particular, L. C. worked her way alphabetically backwards through the available degrees at Sydney University. Surprisingly, given the amount of fun she had at school, L.C. finally managed to graduate with a completely unemployable degree in Philosophy. A Law degree soon followed, however, simply to make it possible for some organization to hire her.

After ten soul-destroying years wandering aimlessly in the corporate wilderness, L. C. threw it all in and reassessed. Deciding to bring the “one day I will write a book” idea to the present, she started and hasn’t stopped. As a huge fan of the romance genre, she writes the kinds of books that she enjoys to read.

In her spare time, L. C. Fenton…actually she has no spare time. She sleeps or reads copious amounts of romance novels instead of sleeping.

Author Links:

Website│Goodreads│Twitter│Facebook

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Book Blitz Organized by: YA Bound Book Tours

Fiction, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

I Crawl Through It: Surrealist YA fiction about teens under pressure

Posted on September 2, 2015September 2, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

I Crawl Through It, by A.S. King (Sept. 2015, Little Brown), $18, ISBN: 9780316334099

Recommended for ages 14+

This surrealist novel follows the lives of four teens under pressure, ready to explode. School and testing stress, past trauma, and loss have taken them all to their limits and no one seems to see them. One turns herself inside out; one splits in two; one tells lies, and one builds an invisible helicopter that will fly far away.

Using four narratives, we get the story, piece by piece, slowly gaining clarity but never quite fully grasping it. I Crawl Through It is an indictment of the society we’ve left to our kids; focusing on ourselves, testing, and our children’s accomplishments and how they’re perceived more than seeing them for who they are and what they need.

This isn’t an easy novel to read, but it is an important one. Who hasn’t wanted to become something – someone else to deal with high school? Who hasn’t wanted to fly away from all the stress in life? When teens, who are supposed to be enjoying themselves at this stage of life want to run away and disappear, though, we need a book like I Crawl Through It to give us a sense of the disjointed, upended feelings we may be missing.

Many teens will see themselves in this novel. More adults should be reading this book to get a handle on what our adolescents are up against.

Author A.S. King received a Printz Honor for Please Ignore Vera Dietz. Her “official hideout” on the web offers educator resources, links to her blog, information about her books and author visits, and links to social media.

iBooks has selected I Crawl Through It as one of their 25 Best Books of September!

Teen, Tween Reads

Sourcebooks Fire Spotlight on Allan Stratton’s The Dogs!

Posted on September 1, 2015August 6, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Dogs
By Allan Stratton
September 1, 2015; ISBN 9781492609384
Book Info:
Title: The Dogs
Author: Allan Stratton
Release Date: September 1, 2015
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Praise for The Dogs:

“Stratton masterfully constructs a creepy gothic setting…A monstrous, stalking father, unhinging nightmares, a ghostly boy, wild dogs, and a moldy basement add creepy deliciousness to a murder mystery and tale of a boy who, in trying to solve a mystery, may just discover what a loving family might be. An engrossing blend of murder mystery and family story.” –Kirkus STARRED Review
“There’s fear aplenty in Allan Stratton’s The Dogs and a tantalizingly uncertain element of the supernatural… refreshingly like an old-fashioned mystery, but the passion and terror underlying (our hero’s) own family give it emotional complexity and suspense.” – Toronto Star

“A real page-turner… [The Dogs] stayed with me for days, author Allan Stratton having created an unsettled aura the likes of which Alfred Hitchcock and Stephen King routinely built into their work, too… Stratton’s depiction of setting and characters is masterful, and his ability to create tension and keep readers on edge is equally strong.” – Montreal Gazette

“A chilling tale of a mother and son on the run, from the author of the award-winning Chanda’s Secrets…Written in accessible prose, The Dogs manages to thrill while exploring the mindset of the victim in ways that are both insightful and affecting, artfully portraying permanent state of dread and a creeping self-doubt. This is an accomplished, gripping and thoughtful story, whose dramatic ending delivers on every level.” –The Guardian

“Brilliant, page-turning, and eerie. Had me guessing to the very end.” –Joseph Delaney, author of The Last Apprentice series.

“An Agatha Christie mystery novel on cocaine” –SLJ Teen Newsletter

Summary:
Constantly on the run from a dangerous father, Cameron’s used to pushing away the trauma of his past. But when his mother moves them to an old farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, he discovers that there are some things you can’t escape.

His new schoolmates taunt him about the bloodthirsty dogs that supposedly haunt the farm, and Cameron soon stumbles upon a child’s drawings in the cellar that depict a violent history. The line between reality and nightmare begins to blur as the house’s horrifying secrets mix with fragments of Cameron’s own memories—some best left forgotten.

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25496559-the-dogs

Buy Links:
Amazon- http://ow.ly/Psemx
Barnes&Noble- http://ow.ly/PseQv
Books A Million- http://ow.ly/Psf07
iBooks- http://ow.ly/Psn2L
!ndigo- http://ow.ly/Psn9l
Indiebound- http://ow.ly/PsnfJ

About the Author:
Allan Stratton is an internationally published playwright and author. His awards include a Michael L. Printz Honor Award, multiple ALA picks and the Independent Publisher Book Award. Check out his website at http://www.allanstratton.com/.

Excerpt from The Dogs:
I go up to my bedroom. It’s at the top of the living-¬room stairs, next to a small bathroom and near the big room over the kitchen. That’s the room Mom thought I’d pick, and I would have, except for the trapdoor in the ceiling. It’s sealed up with nails and paint. When I saw it, I asked Mom what she thought was up there.

“An attic.”

“Yeah, but what’s in it?” I pictured a dried-up body, half eaten by mice. I mean, who seals up an empty attic? Anyway, that’s why I didn’t choose the big room. If I don’t see the hatch, it’s easier not to think about what’s on the other side.

The bedroom I picked came with an oak desk, a wooden chair, a night table with a lamp, and a metal-frame bed. The mattress is new, unlike the wallpaper, which is stained and peeling along the seams near the window. Under the peels are layers of older wallpaper, one with little orange canaries on it.

The window over my desk is the one good thing about my room. Looking out, I can see the barn with the fields all around and the woods in the distance. At night, the stars and the glow of the porch-¬lamp light up bits of the barn and the first row of cornstalks.

I start to do my homework. Pretty soon, though, I’m looking out the window, watching the stars come out and trying to forget my life. I wonder who all are staring up at the moon right now. Are they wondering the same thing?

Out of the corner of my eye, I catch something moving by the barn. When I look, it disappears. Wait. There it is again at the cornfield. Some movement, some thing.

I count to twenty. Nothing. I relax. Then—¬did that stalk move? I turn off my light so whatever’s out there can’t see in.

It’s probably just a breeze.

Or Mr. Sinclair. Or Cody and his gang.

Don’t be nuts. If it’s anything, it’s an animal. A coyote or a dog.

The dogs. I close my curtains. If I don’t look out, whatever’s there will go away. But I can’t not look. I sneak a peek. Nothing. Wait. By the barn. Is that a boy?

I blink. The boy is gone.

My eyes scan the barn. There’s a missing board up in the loft area. The more I stare, the more I think I see the boy staring back at me from the shadows behind the hole. He’s maybe ten, very pale, and he’s wearing one of those old Davy Crockett hats with the raccoon tail hanging from the back. Are those freckles on his cheeks?

Don’t be crazy. The barn’s too far away to see stuff like that.

The face disappears. I stare till I see double. The face swims back into view.

This is too weird. I close my eyes and try to clear my head by thinking about the bus and the Cheerios between Benjie’s teeth. When I open my eyes, everything’s normal. There’s no face.

Nothing. Just the night.

And that’s how it stays.

I close my curtains, get ready for bed, and crawl under the covers. I hate the way I scare myself. It’s always the same and it’s always stupid. And the scared-¬er I get, the more I talk to myself, which is even stupider.

Besides, even if there was a boy in the barn, what’s scary about that? Maybe he just likes exploring places like I do. Still, it’s weird he’s on our property, especially so late. I wonder where he lives.

Who says he lives anywhere? Who says he’s real? What parents let a kid that young wander around at night?

Mom knocks on my door. “Cameron?”

“Yeah?”

“May I come in?”

“Sure.”

I know she wants to give me a good-night hug, but I told her to stop it when I was twelve, so she just stands in the doorway. “I know you didn’t mean anything. You’ve had a hard day. I’m sorry I overreacted.”

I hate it when she’s all understanding. It makes me feel like an even bigger jerk. “That’s okay. Mom, I really am sorry.”

“I know.” She pauses. “’Night, then. I love you.”

I want to say the l-word back, but I feel dumb, so I just say, “You too.”

Mom closes the door. I go to turn off my lamp and get flashes of Mr. Sinclair and the dogs and the kid I maybe saw in the barn. What’s out there in the dark, circling the house when we’re asleep? What could be out there?

I leave the light on.

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Fiction, Teen, Tween Reads, Uncategorized

The Dogs is a gripping YA thriller with a touch of the paranormal!

Posted on August 27, 2015August 5, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Dogs, by Allan Stratton (Sept. 2015, SourcebooksFire), $16.99, ISBN: 9781492609384

Recommended for ages 12+

“Mom and I have been on the run for years. Every time he catches up with us, we move to a new place and start over. But this place is different. This place is full of secrets. And they won’t leave me alone.”

Cameron and his mother are on the run from his abusive father. They make their way to their latest home, a broken-down farm with a history that no one wants to talk about. Their next door neighbor/landlord has secrets of his own, and he’s bullied by the kids at school who taunt him about the dogs they say haunt the farm. Tired of pulling up stakes at a moment’s notice and living an invisible life, Cameron is drawn to Jacky, a young boy he sees on his property. The thing is, Jacky isn’t there – or is he? Is Cameron imagining things, or is he talking to a ghost? What are the mysteries surrounding the house and the dogs, and are Cameron’s memories about his own past able to be trusted?

I love a good thriller, and The Dogs is one of the best ones I’ve read this year. Cameron, as an unreliable narrator, keeps the readers on their toes as he shifts between memory, imagination, and reality. The plot and subplots are woven together beautifully to give readers a creepy, often chilling, adventure that left me with a clenched jaw and the cold sweats. Stratton takes the mental and emotional toll that domestic violence takes on a family; the constant fear that a mother on the run deals with, and weaves them into a murder mystery, adding a dash of ghost story to the mix. There’s something for everyone here, and I can’t wait to get this book into my teen patrons’ hands. There are so many great topics for discussion here; I’m thinking of featuring this as a kickoff selection to a Teen Reads book club I want to begin this Fall.

Fantasy, Fiction, Teen, Uncategorized, Young Adult/New Adult

The Scorpion Rules: War Becomes Personal

Posted on August 26, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Scorpion Rules, by Erin Bow (Sept. 2015, Simon & Schuster), $17.99, ISBN: 9781481442718

Recommended for ages 13+

It’s a new world and it comes with a new age of warfare. When environmental cataclysm led to widespread war, an AI gained sentience and decided to end things his way: start bombing until everyone quieted down. Years later, under the Talis – the ruling AI – war is decidedly more personal: the children of the ruling parties are all held hostage, in a location called the Precepture, until the age of 18. If nations decide to go to war, the children of those nation’s leaders, known as the Children of Peace, are killed.

Greta is a Princess of the Pan Polar Confederacy, the superpower formed from the ashes of what we currently know as Canada. She and her co-hostages witness the arrival of a new hostage, Elian, who rebels with everything he has and endures painful punishments because of it. Elian’s parents are farmers, not diplomats, but his grandmother is a different story. Through Elian’s eyes, Greta begins seeing things very differently. Elian’s and Greta’s countries stand on the brink of war and the very real consequences stare them in the face, but things really swing into action when Elian’s grandmother takes things a step further and invades the Precepture, igniting Talis’ fury. A lot of people stand to die unless Greta can think of a solution that will save everyone.

This is an interesting concept – avoid war by making it more personal. Sadly, the AI seems to forget that world leaders want what they want, and sometimes, you can’t make an omelette without breaking some eggs. Children die in this story, don’t think for a moment that this is a benevolent dictatorship to keep the peace. Talis is an AI that’s got way too much emotion, and while parents feel really bad about being responsible for killing off their kids via third person, it happens.

Greta is an interesting character, taking in everything she sees. She’s not a victim and she’s not a martyr, but she’s not entirely a hero, either. She’s flawed, Elian’s is obnoxiously valiant, and the co-hostages are all doing what they can to survive. While Elian is tortured because he tries to rebel and refuses to accept his circumstances, comparing himself to Spartacus, Greta endures the brunt of the brutality to come with resignation.

The story is a near-unputdownable read, with solid character development and world-building, layered with plot twists and some truly cringe-worthy characters you’ll love to hate. You’ll rage inwardly at the world these children exist in, and I know I’ll never look at HAL from 2001 in the same way again (that’s the voice I ascribed to Talis). There’s a brilliantly diverse cast, and the real jewel in the novel is the relationship that develops between Greta and fellow hostage, Xie. The awakening and confirmation of their feelings for one another is portrayed beautifully and with tremendous respect, and it was a bright spot among the dark places in the story.

The Scorpion Rules should be a popular Fall read, and would be a great enhancement to a social studies class on world relations. I’m going to see if I can foist it upon my own 16 year-old, as well as the teens at my library. Off to create discussion questions!

Fiction, Humor, Middle School, Teen, Tween Reads

Friends for Life – where friends can save lives

Posted on August 26, 2015August 25, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Friends for Life, by Andrew Norriss (Aug. 2015, David Fickling Books), $17.99, ISBN: 9780545851862

Recommended for ages 12+

Francis is a middle schooler that isn’t very popular. He’s teased because he has a passionate interest in – and talent for – fashion, and tends to eat lunch by himself every day. Until Jessica wanders into the schoolyard and is amazed that he can see her, speak to her.

You see, Jessica’s a ghost. She died a year ago.

Francis and Jessica become fast friends. She models his designs for him, being able to think herself into a new outfit on a whim; he’s the only person that she’s been able to talk to in an entire year. They go places together, do things together, and Francis’ outlook changes; so much, that they end up meeting two more tweens that have a hard time of it in school. Together, the four become a tight unit – to all their parents’ surprise and joy. During one of their group discussions, they learn how Jessica became a ghost – how she died – and that touches off an incredibly deep and tender look at depression and suicide.

Jessica and Francis are like a balm for the soul. Their friendship sets off a positive chain reaction that resonates through the entire book. As someone who first suffered depression in my tweens, this story really touched me. Too often, young people suffer in silence when what they really need is to start talking. Jessica only appears to certain people – you’ll discover that in the book – and thus creates a safe nucleus for these tweens, giving them a focal point to gather around.

Much of the background characters are idealized in this story – the principal who has zero tolerance for bullying, the parents who listen to other kids to find out how best to help their own – but this is a glimpse into what could be, if only people would act instead of talk about how to act.

Put this book in guidance counselors’ offices, classrooms, and libraries. Make it available. The middle school and high school years are tough – this is a book that’s here to help.

Horror, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

The Asylum Series, Volume 3: Catacomb

Posted on August 26, 2015August 24, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Catacomb, by Madeleine Roux (Sept. 2015, HarperCollins), $17.99, ISBN: 9780062364050

Recommended for ages 12+

Here we are, the third volume in Madeleine Roux’s Asylum series. For this one, we head to one of the most paranormal-friendly cities in America: New Orleans. Abby, Dan, and Jordan are taking one more road trip; this time, relocating Jordan to his Uncle Steve in Nawlins, where he’ll be living and attending Tulane University.

Everyone has their own agenda, though. Abby’s pretty sure she’s taking a year off from college to pursue her art and photography; she’s investigating a famous criminal who has a history in the South. Dan has leads on his parents – his birth parents, not Paul and Sandy, the adoptive parents who adore him. He wants to understand more about why he was abandoned to the foster care system and hopes to find answers; he’s got some clues he found in the paperwork from Sanctum.

The action starts quickly enough. While on the road, the teens discover they’re being watched, even photographed. And then, Dan starts receiving Facebook messages. From Micah. Who really isn’t anywhere near a reliable Wi-Fi reception, so this presents a huge problem. They find themselves stuck in another mystery, involving another secret society, but this time, Dan’s directly in their sights.

There’s a lot of revelation happening in this book, and the paranormal aspect is back. We’ve got a secret society that’s truly chilling, tied into voudou and grave robbing. The big bad is pretty obvious from the get-go, but he’s supposed to be; the big twist is waiting for you closer to the end. The biggest question I had going in was how the heck do Dan’s parents keep letting him go away on these trips? He comes back beaten, stabbed, and traumatized each time; I’d never let my kid out of the house again.

I enjoyed Catacomb and think it brings all the storylines to a satisfying close. The Brookline connection felt a little forced, so I’m glad it was a piece that Ms. Roux touched on, and let be. The photos are mostly from Abby’s point of view this time, which adds a nice connection with the character and her point of view.

If you’re in the mood for a good, creepy trilogy, the Asylum trilogy is for you. I’m looking forward to reading more from Madeleine Roux!

Fiction, Horror, Teen, Uncategorized, Young Adult/New Adult

The Asylum series, Volumes 1 and 2: Asylum and Sanctum

Posted on August 25, 2015August 24, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

About two years ago, I picked up Madeleine Roux’s Asylum, because I was in the mood for a good haunted house type story and the cover looked wonderfully creepy. I was not disappointed.

Dan Crawford is a 16 year-old who heads to a New Hampshire College Prep program. When he arrives, he learns that the summer housing is closed, and students are staying in the ramshackle Brookline Dorm, which happens to be a former psychiatric hospital. Shortly after arriving, Dan starts seeing some weird things. With his new friends, Abby – whose aunt was once a patient at Brookline – and Jordan, he starts trying to explore and learn more about Brookline’s secrets, but there are some things he probably shouldn’t look into.

I loved Asylum. Loaded with creepy photographs that enhance the hair-raising mood of the book, the old haunted mental hospital story never fails here. There is solid character development, and some unexpected twists that will keep you riveted to the book until you finish. For anyone who loves a good, creepy haunting story, this is your book. Fans of the Miss Peregrine series will enjoy this series – you’ve got the past interacting with the present and the photographs to enhance the mood, with a twist of horror.

The story continues in Sanctum, which picks up shortly after the events of Asylum. Dan, Abby, and Jordan are all back home and still in touch, each coping with the events that took place in Asylum. Each of the teens receives odd messages that send them back to Brookline for more answers. They arrive under the guise of prospective students for an open-house weekend, where they meet Micah and Cal, two student hosts. This time around, we delve into secret societies and ghostly messages that send the teens on a hunt for answers around the town and at a creepy, old-time carnival taking place over the weekend.

Sanctum had a bit of sophomore slump for me. We got a little bit away from the ghost story and delved more into secret societies, mind-altering drugs and brainwashing, and cult violence. It was still a good story with some bits of horror present throughout, but parts of the book fell flat for me and I found myself really getting annoyed with Dan, who enters Harry Potter/Order of the Phoenix levels of self-centeredness.

There are still fantastically creepy photos, this time of Brookline and a creepy carnival, so that alone is worth the price of admission if you’re an old-timey horror fan like I am. Abandoned buildings, haunted houses, creepy circus stuff – I’m here for all of it.

The third volume in the Asylum series, Catacomb, hits stores on September 1st. Review coming shortly!

Asylum, by Madeleine Roux
ISBN: 9780062220967
HarperCollins, 8/13
$17.99

Sanctum by Madeleine Roux
ISBN: 9780062220998
HarperCollins, 8/14
$17.99

Recommended for ages 12+

Science Fiction, Steampunk, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

YA Book Blitz: The Viper and The Urchin!

Posted on August 25, 2015August 25, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Viper and the Urchin
by Celine Jeanjean
Release Date: July 27th 2015

Summary from Goodreads:

Being Damsport’s most elegant assassin is hard work. There’s tailoring to consider, devilish poisons to concoct, secret identities to maintain… But most importantly, Longinus has to keep his fear of blood hidden or his reputation will be ruined. So, when a scrawny urchin girl threatens to expose his phobia unless he teaches her swordsmanship, he has no choice but to comply.

It doesn’t take long for Rory to realise that her new trainer has more eccentricities than she has fleas. But she’ll put up with anything, no matter how frustrating, to become a swordswoman like her childhood hero.

What she’s not prepared for is a copycat assassin who seeks to replace Longinus, and who hires Rory’s old partner in crime to do away with her, as well. Rory and Longinus must set their differences aside and try to work together if they’re to stop the copycat. But darker forces than they realise are at play, and with time running out, the unlikely duo find themselves the last line of defence against a powerful enemy who seeks to bring Damsport to its knees.

Buy Links:

Amazon│Barnes & Noble

About the Author

Celine Jeanjean is French, grew up in the UK and now lives in Hong Kong. That makes her a tad confused about where she is from. During her time in Asia she’s watched the sun rise over Angkor Wat, lost her shoes in Vietnam, and fallen off a bamboo raft in China. Celine writes stories that feature quirky characters and misfits, and her books are a mixture of steampunk, fantasy and humour.

Author Links:

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Horror, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Spotlight Tour: Rin Chupeco’s The Suffering!

Posted on August 19, 2015July 23, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

I just finished reading Rin Chupeco’s The Suffering – the sequel to last year’s The Girl from the Well – and you are in for a treat. Well, you’re in for an even bigger treat, because Sourcebooks Fire has a Rafflecopter giveaway for you, along with an excerpt from The Suffering!

The Suffering
By Rin Chupeco
September 1, 2015; Hardcover ISBN 9781492629832; Trade Paper ISBN 9781492629849
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Praise for the Suffering:

“Rin Chupeco’s The Suffering is a horror lover’s dream: murders, possessed dolls, and desiccated corpses. I cringed. I grimaced. You won’t soon forget this exorcist and his vengeful water ghost.”
–Kendare Blake, author of Anna Dressed in Blood

“Chupeco deftly combines ancient mysticism with contemporary dilemmas that teens face, immersing readers in horrors both supernatural and manmade. The Suffering is a chilling swim through the murky waters of morality.”
–Carly Anne West, author of The Bargaining and The Murmuring

Summary:

Breathtaking and haunting, Rin Chupeco’s second novel is a chilling companion to her debut, The Girl from the Well.

The darkness will find you.

Seventeen-year-old Tark knows what it is to be powerless. But Okiku changed that. A restless spirit who ended life as a victim and started death as an avenger, she’s groomed Tark to destroy the wicked. But when darkness pulls them deep into Aokigahara, known as Japan’s suicide forest, Okiku’s justice becomes blurred, and Tark is the one who will pay the price…

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24789796-the-suffering?from_search=true&search_version=service_impr

Buy Links:
Amazon- http://ow.ly/PrKxL

Barnes&Noble- http://ow.ly/PrKLh

Books A Million- http://ow.ly/PrL7j

iBooks- http://ow.ly/PrLCI

!ndigo- http://ow.ly/PrLOZ

Indiebound- http://ow.ly/PrLXu

About the Author:
Despite uncanny resemblances to Japanese revenants, Rin Chupeco has always maintained her sense of humor. Raised in Manila, Philippines, she keeps four pets: a dog, two birds, and a husband. She’s been a technical writer and travel blogger, but now makes things up for a living. Connect with Rin at www.rinchupeco.com.

Social Networking Links:
Website: http://www.rinchupeco.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RinChupeco

Excerpt from The Suffering:
It’s still early morning when our group is given clearance to enter. Aokigahara is a deceptive forest. It has all the hallmarks of a popular tourist destination: narrow but well-maintained hiking trails with a surprising amount of litter, not to mention strips of tape and ribbon wrapped around tree trunks. The leader explains that hikers use them as markers to maintain their bearings. Later on, one of the other volunteers whispers to us that some of the tapes were left by those who came here to kill themselves, in case they decided to change their minds. The revelation horrifies Callie.

A few miles into our hike, anything resembling civilization disappears. Roots crawl across the hard forest floor, and it’s easy to trip if you’re not constantly looking down. We’re outside, but the trees make it feel claustrophobic. They reach hungrily toward the sun, fighting each other for drops of light, and this selfishness grows with the darkness as we move deeper into the woods.

It’s quiet. The silence is broken by the scuffling of feet or snapping of dry twigs as we walk. Every so often, volunteers call back and forth to each other, and rescue dogs exploring the same vicinity that we are will bark. But there are no bird calls, no sounds of scampering squirrels. We’re told that there is very little wildlife in Jukai. Nothing seems to flourish here but trees.

This deep into the woods, any roads and cleared paths are gone. At times, we’re forced to climb to a higher ledge or slide down steep slopes to proceed, and there’s always some root or rock hiding to twist an ankle.

And yet-the forest is beautiful. I like myself too much to seriously think about suicide, even during my old bouts of depression, but I can understand why people would choose to die here. There is something noble and enduring and magnificent about the forest.

That sense of wonder disappears though, the instant I see them. There are spirits here. And the ghosts mar the peacefulness for me. They hang from branches and loiter at the base of tree trunks. Their eyes are open and their skin is gray, and they watch me as I pass. I don’t know what kind of people they were in life, but they seem faded and insignificant in death.

Okiku watches them but takes no action. These are not the people she hunts. They don’t attack us because they’re not that kind of ghosts. Most of them, I intuit, aren’t violent. The only lives they had ever been capable of taking were their own.

I’m not afraid, despite their bloated faces, contorted from the ropes they use to hang themselves or the overdose of sleeping pills they’ve taken. If anything, I feel lingering sadness. I can sympathize with their helpless anguish. These people took their own lives, hoping to find some meaning in death when they couldn’t find it in life. But there’s nothing here but regret and longing.

And there’s that tickle again, so light it is nearly imperceptible. Something in this forest attracts these deaths. It lures its unhappy victims with its strange siren’s call and then, having taken what it needs, leaves their spirits to rot. A Venus flytrap for human souls.

Something is wrong here, and suddenly, the forest no longer looks as enticing or majestic as when we arrived.

New in Paperback from this Author: The Girl From The Well

Praise for The Girl From The Well:

“[A] Stephen King-like horror story.” -Kirkus Reviews

“Told in a marvelously disjointed fashion.” -Publishers Weekly STARRED Review

“This gorgeously written story reads like poetry.” -Brazos Bookstore

“Darkly mesmerizing.” -The Boston Globe

“A superior creep factor that is pervasive in every lyrical word.” -Booklist

Summary:
The Ring meets The Exorcist in this haunting and lyrical reimagining of the Japanese fable.

Okiku has wandered the world for hundreds of years, setting free the spirits of murdered children. Wherever there’s a monster hurting a child, her spirit is there to deliver punishment. Such is her existence, until the day she discovers a troubled American teenager named Tark and the dangerous demon that writhes beneath his skin, trapped by a series of intricate tattoos. Tark needs to be freed, but there is one problem-if the demon dies, so does its host.

With the vigilante spirit Okiku as his guide, Tark is drawn deep into a dark world of sinister doll rituals and Shinto exorcisms that will take him far from American suburbia to the remote valleys and shrines of Japan. Can Okiku protect him from the demon within or will her presence bring more harm? The answer lies in the depths of a long-forgotten well.

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25263927-the-girl-from-the-well

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