Tag: horror

Posted in Historical Fiction, Horror, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

The Divah takes New York!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

divahDivah, by Susannah Appelbaum (March 2016, Sky Pony Press), $17.99, ISBN: 9781634506748

Recommended for ages 12+

Itzy Nash is not looking forward to this summer vacation. Her dad is sending her off to her stuffy aunt, who doesn’t even like kids, while he goes off to Paris to do some research. But when Itzy arrives at New York’s elite Carlyle Hotel, she gets the strange feeling that something’s not right – for starters, Aunt Maude isn’t around, either; she’s left word that she’s hired a governess to keep an eye on Itzy. Plus, there’s a weird sound coming from one of the closets, and there are tons of flies. And that’s just the beginning.

Itzy learns that the Queen of the Damned – the Divah – is at the Carlyle, and she’s trying to open the gates of Hell itself. With the help of a fallen angel that she may or may not be able to trust, an aging star, and a host of colorful New Yorkers, Itzy also discovers that it’s up to her to save New York – and the world – from the Divah and her minions. Better hope she’s up to the task.

I loved this book. There’s a bit of historical fiction with a twist, some horror, and through it all, a fantastically witty thread of the darkest humor. It’s a sendup of high New York society and celebrity, a thrill ride in a book, with an End of Days bent. There are well-developed characters and a backstory that comes to fruition over the centuries. Ms. Appelbaum takes pop culture and weaves it into her story’s history to establish the ubiquity of demon and demon hunter culture in our world, from Evian water to Hermès scarves.

Add this to collections where YA thrillers/paranormal fiction is popular. Booktalk New York touchstones like the Carlyle Hotel in New York, particularly the Bemelmans Bar within the hotel; show art from the Madeline books to link the readers to Bemelmans’ work. For teens, booktalk Ira Levin’s Rosemary’s Baby, for similar New York-based horror.

Posted in Fiction, Horror, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Return to the Dark House… If you DARE.

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Return-to-the-Dark-House-Laurie-Faria-StolarzReturn to the Dark House, by Laurie Faria Stolarz (July 2015, Hyperion), $17.99, ISBN: 978-142318173-6

Recommended for ages 12+

There’s always a sequel. Survivor Girl has to come back.

In last year’s Welcome to the Dark House, we met a group of contestants that agreed to appear on a reality show in the hopes of getting their big break in horror. Well, they did… sort of.  In Return to the Dark House, we meet Ivy – the Survivor Girl – who’s still tormented by the events that took place at the Dark House, Parker, who she left behind, and more importantly, what the killer knew about her life.

But the killer’s not done with Ivy yet. He wants his sequel.

Ivy’s frustrated with what she sees as a lack of interest in her case by the police and even her guardian parents, Apple and Core. When messages and texts start showing up, Ivy decides to take matters into her own hands, joining forces with Taylor: the girl who ran away from the Dark House before it all began. But can she trust Taylor? Can she trust anyone?

I LOVED Welcome to the Dark House. It blended the ’80s slasher flicks that I grew up with into a reality TV environment that kids today have grown up with. Return to the Dark House reminds me a bit of the Scream movie series, with its meta-references to horror tropes and scream queens, and I LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT. Never humorous like Scream, Return to the Dark House is straight-up skin-crawling as we follow Ivy’s narrative and see her putting the pieces of her shattered life together. Taylor is one of those characters you kind of want to thump on the head, asking, “can someone be that vapid?” and then you remember from other books and movies that yes, yes someone can. Feelings for Taylor will start out sympathetic only to plummet into frustration and suspicion, and that’s exactly how it’s supposed to play out.

If you love horror, and haven’t read this book already, make this part of your Halloween season reading. It’s a worthy sequel that makes you hope for the almighty horror trilogy.

Posted in Horror, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

The Asylum Series, Volume 3: Catacomb

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

catacombCatacomb, 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!

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

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

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

asylumAbout 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 sactumhome 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+

Posted in Horror, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Spotlight Tour: Rin Chupeco’s The Suffering!

Posted on 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!

sufferingThe 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

 

chupecoAbout 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.

 

18509623New 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

Buy Links:

Amazon- http://ow.ly/PrQwE

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

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

iBooks- http://ow.ly/PrR6c

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

Indiebound- http://ow.ly/PrQp2

 

Click here for a Rafflecopter giveaway!

 

Posted in Horror, Humor, Teen, Tween Reads

After Dark: There’s something very creepy going on in this town…

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

after dark After Dark, by James Leck (Aug. 2015, Kids Can Press), $16.95, ISBN: 9781771381109

Recommended for ages 11-14

Charlie Harker is not having a great day. He’s in trouble on his last day of school; his mom met him to tell him there’s no more money left – their absentee dad spent them all into debt, and she’s putting Charlie, his sister, Lillith, and his brother, Johnny, to work over the summer to renovate his grandfather’s old inn in the boring town of Rolling Hills. The only excitement seems to come from local conspiracy nut, Miles Van Helsing.

Charlie realizes, pretty quickly, that there may be something to Miles’ ramblings. People are acting weird, and Charlie decides to help Miles investigate further. There’s definitely something going on in Rolling Hills, but will Charlie and Miles be the next victims?

This is a fun humor/horror story; think of Invasion of the Body Snatchers meets old-school Fright Night. There are some nice nods to horror history, including references to George Romero and The Lost Boys, not to mention the obvious Dracula references in the boys’ last names. The ending leaves the possibility for a sequel. It’s a good end-of-summer read, and readers who shy away from gore and horror may be drawn in by the sarcastic narration and overall humor.

Posted in Horror, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

The Girl from the Well brings Japanese folktales to America YA horror

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

18509623

The Girl from the Well, by Rin Chupeco (Aug 2014, Sourcebooks), $16.99, ISBN: 978-1402292187

Recommended for ages 13+

Okiku is an avenging spirit – the restless ghost of a young girl betrayed and murdered long ago. She stalks child murderers and strikes without mercy, without pity, and releases the innocent souls held prisoner by their killers, watching them turn into fireflies as they finally know peace. She can never join them; her restless, agitated soul cannot find the peace she seeks. And then, Tarquin comes into her… well, afterlife.

Tarquin, or Tark, for short, is a teen with some baggage. His mother had him tattooed at the age of 5, something he tries desperately to hide from curious eyes. She’s locked away in a mental hospital and Tark’s father, a businessman always on the go, is raising him as best he can. Strange things have followed Tark his whole life – birds smashing into windows around him, accidents happening to kids around him, and even more terrifying, his own mother trying to kill him whenever he comes near her. Okiku sees Tark for the good kid that he is, but she also sees the terrifying spirit attached to the boy – and decides, for the first time, to reach out to him and help.

Anyone familiar with the Japanese horror movie, Ringu – or its American counterpart, The Ring – will have a strong idea of what this book is about. Japanese folklore and J-horror are both strong influences on this story, and will appeal to fans of both. There’s a strong story here, multilayered with a major plot and two subplots that the author weaves together to give readers an unsettling, creepy read.

I got a kick out of Tark. He battles the chaos around him with sarcasm and wisecracks. He does his best to keep the reality of his situation from his father, who really wouldn’t understand, no matter how much he loves his son and tries to be an involved dad. Okiku is a tragic figure, yet her anger and her strength make her a force to be reckoned with – you may feel for the circumstances that brought Okiku to where she is, but you will never pity her.

There are some disturbing things happening here, including depictions of sexual abuse and murder, so easily triggered or upset readers should seek their thrills elsewhere.

Posted in Horror, Post-apocalyptic/Dystopian, Science Fiction, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Scott Sigler’s Alive is a tense mix of speculative fiction, mystery, and horror. Read it!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

cover61560-mediumAlive, by Scott Sigler (Jul 2015, Del Rey/Spectra), $18, ISBN: 9780553393101

Recommended for ages 13+

“I open my eyes to darkness. Total darkness. I hear my own breathing, but nothing else. I lift my head . . . it thumps against something solid and unmoving. There is a board right in front of my face. No, not a board . . . a lid.”

A teenage girl wakes up in what she perceives to be a coffin. She breaks out, and liberates the other kids from their coffins- but not everyone is alive. No one has any memory of who they are, where they come from, or how they got where they are. The only clue to anything about them lies in the engraved names at the end of each coffin: an initial and last name. M. Savage, the first girl to wake up, finds herself leading a group of teens through the unknown environment, in search of answers and freedom, but can they survive the horrors they witness… or one another?

If you’ve never read Scott Sigler before, you are in for a treat, my friends. I discovered his book, Infected, years ago thanks to a horror podcast I used to listen to. This is the first YA by Sigler I’ve read, and trust me – you’re going to need to grit your teeth and brace yourself for this ride.

What I love about Scott Sigler is his masterful way of taking a group of people and showing conflict. It’s set off by one thing, but it’s never really about that one thing, is it? You throw a group of hormonal teenagers into the insanity of waking up with no memory and no clue as to where they are, you’ve got some interesting issues on your hands. Sigler’s your man. I can’t go into too much of the story, because I really don’t want spoilers in any way, shape, or form to put you off of this book, but think about the kids in your life, and then imagine tossing them into the craziest situation you can imagine. You’ve got layers and layers of issues, personalities, and conflicts that will come to the fore. The best horror lies not with the monsters under your bed, but the horror we inflict on one another, and we all know and remember that children can be pretty cruel.

Alive needs to be on your teen space bookshelves, and MAN, the stories that can come out of a book talk featuring this book are legion. The book hits stores on July 14th, but there’s a serialized podcast to get you all riled up until then.

Check out Scott Sigler’s author website for more information about his books, including the Infected trilogy.

Posted in Fiction, Horror, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Welcome to the Dark House: where reality turns deadly!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

darkhouseWelcome to the Dark House, by Laurie Stolarz (Hyperion, July 2014). $16.99, ISBN: 9781423181729

Recommended for ages 14+

Imagine your favorite horror movie director emails you about a contest – where YOU can be in his next movie. All you have to do is tell him about your worst nightmare. For six winning contestants, it’s the chance of a lifetime. For the seventh – a girl named Ivy Parker – it’s the chance to finally rid herself of a real-life nightmare that’s haunted her since she was a child.

Seven fans of horror director Justin Blake find themselves part of his next movie, based on his Nightmare Elf series. They all have secrets – some darker than others. That’s the price of admission. But shortly after settling in and getting to know one another, the group starts experiencing strange things – one member has gone missing. There are strange messages and bloodstains showing up. This is all part of the movie, right?

I loved this book. It’s a great, old-school slasher movie brought to YA, updated with a splash of reality show drama. We get a good backstory for each of the characters (within reason – read the book to see what I mean) – their personalities, their motivations, their secrets – and their interactions with other characters. These folks don’t gel together and become instant BFFs; there are personality clashes and internal issues that affect their actions and interactions. Set within the larger-scale story of Justin Blake’s contest, it’s a great character-driven story. Not all the characters are likable or even sympathetic. I appreciated that.

The book is a horror novel, so expect violence and mind games. If you’re a horror fan, you’ll love this book. If you’re an old school slasher movie fan like I am, you’ll recognize a lot of the tropes that make those movies (and the experience of watching them) so much fun. The book’s ending will hopefully leave you like it did me – wondering when we’ll find out more.

Posted in Fantasy, Fiction, Tween Reads, Uncategorized

The Demon Notebook: The Craft, for middle-graders

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

demonnotebookThe Demon Notebook, by Erika McGann (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 2014). $6.99, ISBN: 9781402295386

Recommended for ages 10-14

Grace and her friends, Una, Jenny, Rachel, and Adie want to be witches – well, they want some wishes to come true, and figured magic would be the best way to make it happen. Their spells have failed, but when they use a Ouija board, something happens – the notebook where they wrote their spells has a strange message, all of their spells are coming true – and it’s not always great to get what you think you want – and Una is acting… strange. Worst of all, one of the spells is something awful, made while one of the girls was angry – the girls have to stop the magic before that last spell runs its course, AND figure out what’s wrong with Una and how to fix her. They’re going to need some help to face this.

This was  a fun book with some genuinely creepy moments. It reminded me of a middle school version of the ’90s movie, The Craft – will any middle graders even know that movie if I mention it to them? I really enjoyed Mrs. Quinlan and Ms. Lemon, the two adult characters the author introduces into the story; it was gratifying to a) see the girls realize that they needed help and actually ask for it, and b) have two adults that weren’t completely incompetent or dismissive of the girls.

This book has a June 1 pub date, making it a perfect summer reading choice for tweens. Obviously, there’s magic and talk of demons, so for those audiences and parents that are sensitive to that subject matter, this isn’t your book. For anyone else who wants a good read about friendship and sticking together through thick and thin, with some good, old-fashioned creepiness, check this one out.