horror – Page 4 – Mom Read It

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

Of Monsters and Madness – Alternate Historical Fiction, starring Edgar Allan Poe

Posted on May 20, 2014May 20, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Of Monsters and Madness, by Jessica Verday, (Egmont USA) 2014. $17.99, ISBN: 9781606844632

Recommended for ages 14+

Horror and gothic fans will love this book! Annabel Lee – yes, for all intents and purposes of this book, this character is THE Annabel Lee of Edgar Allan Poe fame is a teenage girl, who finds herself moving from Siam to Philadelphia when her mother dies, and she must live with the father she’s never known. Unfamiliar with life and customs in the 1820s United States and confronted with a cold father who keeps her at a distance, Annabel feels left out and pines for her mother and her life in Siam. Her father, once a brilliant surgeon and scientist, now spends most of his time in his laboratory, assisted by Edgar, who unnerves Annabel – yet bears an uncanny resemblance to his cousin, Allan, who Annabel finds herself falling for. Annabel is living in a house full of secrets; when a rash of murders breaks out in Philadelphia, and her father’s strange behavior becomes more erratic, Annabel is determined to unravel the mysteries that consume her life. But finding out answers could put her life in danger.

I loved this book. The idea of making Edgar Allan Poe a character in a gothic mystery, taking place in the United States, is such a great idea – how did no one think of this sooner? We get glimpses of Poe’s writing – he tortures himself over writing The Raven, and bits of The Tell-Tale Heart make an appearance – and the toll that such dark ideas takes on the man. There are some key plot twists that will leave readers staying up all night to finish the book, and then – like me – demand a sequel. Ms. Verday is a New York Times bestselling author, and she knows how to construct a well-paced thriller with smart characters. I’m looking forward to this book hitting shelves in September, and I would recommend it for adults as well as teens.

Fiction, Horror, Teen

Amity is a chilling YA tale of haunted house horror.

Posted on April 18, 2014April 18, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Amity, by Micol Ostow. Egmont USA (2014), $17.99, 9781606841563

Pub Date: September 2014

Recommended for ages 14+

Told in parallel narratives, 10 years apart, Amity is a creepy, horrifying tale of a home, rotten to its core, and the effect it has on two families. We have two narrators, both in their late teens – around 17: Connor and Gwen – who provide readers with first-hand accounts of their descents into madness, and Amity’s history, which appears to lead them to it.

Connor and Gwen each have siblings they are close to, seemingly keeping them rooted in some sort of reality, at first. Connor is a sociopath with an anger management problem and far deeper, darker issues roiling under his surface. His twin sister, Jules, is the only thing in the world he has any feeling toward. He and his family arrive at Amity when his father – a shady businessman and an abusive drunk – attempts to escape yet another bad series of business deals.

Gwen’s family arrives at Amity looking for respite. Gwen has recently been hospitalized for a psychotic break, and the family just wants to start over. When Amity reveals herself to Gwen, her brother, Luke, attempts to stem the tide of what he initially believes is her breakdown, returning. Gwen’s Aunt Ro knows better, though. She may be portrayed at first as some sort of new age free spirit, we see Amity set to work on her, too.

Amity is alive, and she feeds on her occupants. She starts slowly, insidiously, but once she has her claws in you, you can’t escape.

There may be parallels drawn between Amity and the Amityville Horror – haunted house, violent history, even the eye-shaped windows of the home – but Amity stands very much on her own. Ms. Ostow builds a layered, compulsive tale – I couldn’t stop reading it – of growing horror with a shattering conclusion. Teens who grew up on the shock horror of films like Hostel and Saw need to sit down and read a good, old-fashioned, scare-the-pants-off-you haunted house story. Amity is that story.

Horror, Post-apocalyptic/Dystopian, Teen

Book Review: Ex-Heroes, by Peter Clines (2012, Crown)

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Recommended for ages 16+

Peter Clines’ Ex series, beginning with Ex-Heroes, is one of those series created for adults but easily crosses over into the teen readers’ market. It provides an interesting new take on the zombie apocalypse, with this universe offering superheroes who continue protecting humanity by creating a haven in an abandoned Hollywood movie lot for survivors.

As with the best post-apocalyptic/zombie tales, the interplay between people facing the end of the world is what makes Ex-Heroes compelling reading. You not only have survivors, The survivors are split into those inside the sanctuary and those outside – inside the sanctuary, we have the superheroes – metahumans – and “regular” people. Outside, there are predatory gangs that have turned the surrounding areas into their kingdom. They try to infiltrate or sabotage the heroes’ camp and supply runs, but have been largely unsuccessful until they find themselves with a terrifying advantage that could destroy everything the heroes have striven to build. Add in the fact that within the sanctuary, there’s dissension in the ranks as more and more people find themselves uneasy about being governed by superpowered individuals, and you have a the makings of a compelling post-apocalyptic saga.

The best zombie stories are not so much about the undead, but about the survivors and how people break down – or endure – life at the end of the world as they know it. Here, Ex-Heroes shines. The relationships between heroes is complex to begin with, and the stress of the situations around them, added to the fact that there are now superpowered undead to compound the situation, amp up the action and the desperation. We get origin stories and back stories for the major heroes: Stealth. Gorgon. Regenerator. Cerberus. Zzzap. and The Mighty Dragon, and the action shifts pretty seamlessly from past to present, giving us a full picture.

While written for adults, Ex-Heroes is an accessible book for teen audiences who enjoy horror/post-apocalypse fiction. The violence is not gratuitous and while there are allusions to sex and some language and overall content, I see no reason why a mature teen would not be able to read and enjoy this book.

Ex-Heroes is the first book in Peter Clines’ Ex series, which also includes Ex-Patriots, Ex-Communication, and Ex-Purgatory.

Horror, Tween Reads

Book Review: Goosebumps: The Beast from the East, by R.L. Stine (Scholastic, 1996)

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Recommended for ages 9-12

R.L. Stine is the Stephen King of kid’s horror. His Goosebumps series has been scaring the daylights out of kids for almost 20 years now, and he has branched out into other Goosebumps series (Horror Land, Hall of Horrors) and a television series based on the novels.

The Beast from the East is like reading a demented version of the old nursery song, Teddy Bear’s Picnic(also referenced in the story). Twelve year-old Ginger, her ten year-old twin brothers Nat and Pat, and their parents go on a camping trip one summer. While their father sets up the campsite, Ginger and her brothers go exploring and end up getting lost in the woods, where they come upon a group of big, blue, furry bearlike beasts that want to play a game where the winners get to live, but the losers get eaten. There are a lot of rules – can they figure them all out and get back to their parents, or will they end up as dinner?

Stine’s stories are short, creepy fun, and end with a macabre twist every time. There isn’t a lot of character development here, but there doesn’t need to be – you learn what you need to know to get through the story, because it’s really the situation that makes the book. Stine is great at describing panic and fear, giving readers the good scare they want in the safety of their own space. The twist is one last parting shot to keep you thinking after the book’s end, or until you pick up the next book.

Several books from the series have won Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards and is one of the best-selling children’s series of all time. Scholastic has an official Goosebumps site.