 This year’s Preliminary Ballot for the YA category is an absolute cracker and the HWA committee responsible for these high-quality selections should be congratulated for their keen eye. All ten books reviewed in this feature article are worthy of the Final Ballot and the fact that the majority of the authors are relatively newbies (five debuts, two sophomores) show that YA horror is in very safe hands. I have been a school librarian since 1994 and am forever on the hunt for YA horror titles to recommend to my pupils and hope that my Young Blood column for the Ginger Nuts of Horror help others with this task. However, historically speaking the YA Stoker Award has often failed in this regard with weak shortlists where excellent books are ignored and mediocre or terrible titles have been nominated and even won the award. This is not a good advert for either the HWA or YA horror in general, but hopefully this year’s ultra-strong list signifies that the days of substandard nominations are a thing of the past. If there was a poster for this excellent list I would happily promote it in my school library and am already actively recommending all these titles, which are all stocked by my library. Many of which I am delighted to say are on loan! Ranking these books was incredibly difficult (nearly impossible actually) with the authors coming from globally much further afield than usual. RL Boyle is the only British author featured and I hope I don’t jinx Rosanna by saying that it is rare for British authors to get anywhere in the YA Stoker category! Boyle (half English/Italian) deserves to break this duck with her brilliant debut, The Book of the Baku, a stunner GNOH has been championing since it was first published. Australian, Krystal Sutherland, is the second non-American featured on the list for The House of Hollow and Kendare Blake keeps the South Korean flag flying with All These Bodies. Young Blood, the YA section of the site, had previously reviewed five of the ten books and so we hope the HWA committee has been keeping an eye on what we feature across the year. Women continue to dominate YA horror, and so it is no particular surprise that that there is only one man featured on the list, Aden Polydoros with The City Beautiful. Over the last few years there has also been a serious lack of male narratives in YA horror, so having three within this list is a pretty good return (All These Bodies, The Book of the Baku and The City Beautiful). Regarding diversity the Preliminary Ballot was also convincing with a strong range of gay characters (To Break a Covenant, The Dead and the Dark, The City Beautiful and The River Has Teeth). It was also terrific to see a disabled lead character in The Book of the Baku, Black characters in Bad Witch Burning and a story based around Jewish culture/folklore (The Beautiful City) which does not feature in YA fiction too often. Overall, you are unlikely to see a better celebration of YA horror than this list. So, if you are a voting member of the HWA make sure you spend some time on this category. It is well worth your time and you will not be disappointed. If any of these books takes your fancy please click on teh title or image to purchase a copy 10/10 - RL Boyle: The Book of the Baku Publisher : Titan Books (UK) (15 Jun. 2021) Language : English Paperback : 320 pages ISBN-10 : 178909660X ISBN-13 : 978-1789096606  RL Boyle’s debut The Book of the Baku is one of the outstanding novels of the year (any category) and it is a shame her publisher Titan have not specifically targeted the YA market with this awesome tale. For the most part it was astonishingly bleak for a kid’s novel and although the blurb calls it “A Monster Calls meets The Shining” I would amend that to “A Monster Calls meets The Babadook” which suits it slightly better. This highly unsettling story is very much its own beast and does not lean on any other fiction for its inspiration, instead it builds upon the pain of broken families, isolation, guilt, tragedy and is ultimately a very moving experience. If you think this sounds too heavy, do not let that put you off, Sean is a brilliant leading character who deserves your empathy and time. It was also fantastic to read a horror novel with a boy as a central character, in modern YA fiction boys have been relegated to the side-lines, and one who struggles bravely with a disability, whose cause is revealed in tragic flashback. The Book of the Baku plays out in two ‘before’ and ‘after’ narratives, but it is unclear what happened to Sean’s mother when he arrives at his estranged grandfather’s house. A family tragedy has led to him developing a Conversion Order, which means he cannot talk, but he also has a serious leg disability which hampers his mobility and has been bullied because of it. In the past his grandad was a writer who wrote a collection of short stories about a mythical creature, called the ‘Baku’, which feeds on the dreams of children. As Sean reads the terrifying collection, he begins to lose touch with reality and the stories from the book blend into his every-day world, with some real Bababook style moments. This was one of those books where you just will the main character to confront their internal demons, and I was quite literally cheering out loud when some glimmers of light appeared in the darkness of the tunnel. In many ways the life Sean left behind was considerably more harrowing than anything the Baku could do to him and it was brilliantly written into the big reveals which come later in the plot. The Book of the Baku was one of the bravest and most impressive horror novels I have read in a good while and deserves to be read incredibly widely. RL Boyle is a star in the making. AGE RANGE 12+ 9.75/10 - Erica Waters: The River Has Teeth Publisher : HarperTeen (19 Aug. 2021) Language : English Hardcover : 400 pages ISBN-10 : 0062894250 ISBN-13 : 978-0062894250  Erica Waters follows the terrific Ghost Wood Song which also made the Final Ballot of the Bram Stoker Award last year with another belter. Two novels of such quality on the bounce surely announce the arrival of a major new talent in YA horror. Both of Erica’s novels feature bisexual female teenage characters who financially struggle and come from the wrong side of the tracks. Waters convincingly gives these marginalised teens passionate and believable voices. The action takes place in a small town in Tennessee where young girls have been disappearing and seventeen-year-old Della believes her mother to be the culprit. Della’s families are what we would probably term ‘hillbillies’ and live in a ramshackle house outside of town and make ends meet by selling remedies and potions to superstitious locals. Della is the youngest of a long family line of witches whose magic is connected to the land where they cultivate the potions they make a living from. However, Della believes the magic has gone bad and when night comes transforms her mother into a creature (don’t worry it’s not a vampire or werewolf) and as the police and others come snooping what can the teenager do to protect her dangerous mother? The story is told via a split first-person narrative, between Della and Natasha, whose sister is one of the disappeared girls. Natasha comes from a rich family but has her own problems from being adopted and accepting she is bisexual. After the police draw a blank Natasha comes to Della for help and after an initial personality clash the novel documents their developing friendship, secrets, and more. The River has Teeth was convincing on several levels and although magic never dominated the novel, it had an earthy type of feel to it and within the constraints of the book and the way the family operated was excellent. The conflict between the two teenagers, and developing friendship, was also a pleasure to read, both having their own problems, issues and clashes. The way in which everything came together was top notch writing, and I enjoyed the fact that the killer was not the most obvious character (or the second most obvious) helping build a very satisfying finish. Both novels by Erica Waters have specialised in giving the reader terrific outsider characters and I cannot wait to see what this she gives us next. AGE RANGE 13+ 9.5 - Alison Ames: To Break a Covenant Publisher : Page Street Kids (26 Oct. 2021) Language : English Hardcover : 320 pages ISBN-10 : 1645672069 ISBN-13 : 978-1645672067  I went into To Break a Covenant expecting yet another supernatural thriller about teenage witches. A trope which has been truly flogged to death over the years, but this absolute cracker of a debut totally broke that particular mould and was so much more. When you see the word ‘covenant’ in the title you automatically think of witches, but the four teenage girls in this novel were bound to a covenant of friendship, as much as anything else. The dynamics of the four, initially Clem (the narrator) and Nina, who later welcome Lisey into their group, before finally Piper whose arrival is the driving force behind this very clever, but beautifully restrained, supernatural thriller. Clem narrates the action as the girls approach the end of high school, she is gay, but her sexuality does not play a major part in the story as her friendship group expands from two to four. There was a certain innocence to the group and I found the friendship part of the story very convincing, with the supernatural angle about a haunted mine, which has made their town Moon Basin a tourist centre for ghost hunters a fascinating backdrop. The spooky side of the story was never over the top and I loved the casual acceptance the locals have for the fact that something otherworldly may live in the mines, which because of underground fires can no longer be visited, except for the regions close to the surface. The setting of Moon Basin was superb, a small town which physically upped sticks and moved its location to a safer distance slightly further away from the mine which spews out coal dust due to the underground burning fires. The main story kicks off when Piper arrives, her father is an engineer who is going to be working stabalising the mine, but after a while begins to act weird. The three other girls have seen this type of behaviour before and realise the inhabitants (who or whatever they are) of the mine have got their hands into him. This was a terrific blend of supernatural and convincing teen drama, which climaxes with a bleak, but superb and moving ending. This was a winner all the way. AGE RANGE 12+ 9/10 Erin A Craig - Small Favors Publisher : Random House Inc; 1st edition (27 July 2021) Language : English Paperback : 480 pages ISBN-10 : 0593425626 ISBN-13 : 978-0593425626  Erin Craig follows her promising debut House of Salt and Sorrows with an absolute cracker, Small Favors, which is a considerably stronger and more rounded novel. This beautifully constructed story is framed around an incredibly isolated tiny farming village which is separated from the outside world by a large forest, in which supplies are brought in and out by seasonal wagon train or trading and trapping. The exact location of Amity Falls is never disclosed, but it felt like frontier land America, with the town having its own peculiar ways of doing things regarding the law, which is enforced by a council of the oldest families. The setting was a major plus point of Small Favors and the hustle and bustle of farm life, the limited opportunities of women and the risk of hardship should crops fail is vividly and brilliantly brought to life. Weighing in at 450-pages this tale is aimed at older readers, as even though it is not violent, it is slow but atmospherically paced with the town gradually unravelling as it runs out of luck and begins to turn on itself. Eighteen-year-old Ellerie Downing tells the story which has a strong, but vaguely undiagnosed supernatural or otherworldly twang to proceedings. After a supply run fails there are rumours of creatures of old in the forest and the council must decide whether to send backup or tighten their belts and see out the winter without resupplying. Ellerie lives a contented life, with her twin brother Samuel and two younger sisters, tending the family beehives until further disasters strike. On one level Small Favours feels like an old fairy tale with human desires being met, but the consequences of what this debt might cost being overlooked with terrifying or unpredictable costs. Although everything came together very cleverly, I could not help thinking resolution was achieved slightly too neatly and it was incredibly obvious who was the cause of the mischief from the moment he was introduced into the plot, but it was still a great read. The action also took in an engaging romantic story and the inner voice of Ellerie was very convincing as she struggled to hold her family together when things turned dark. A thoughtful and highly entertaining read. AGE RANGE 14+ 9/10 - Kate Alice Marshall: Our Last Echoes Publisher : Viking Books for Young Readers (1 Jan. 1900) Language : English Hardcover : 416 pages ISBN-10 : 0593113624 ISBN-13 : 978-0593113622  Kate Alice Marshall is fast becoming one of those authors I keep a keen eye out for new fiction from, as both Thirteens (2020) and Rules For Vanishing (2019) were real beauties. Marshall has the rare ability of effortlessly moving between Middle Grade and YA, with Rules for Vanishing deservedly making the Bram Stoker YA Final Ballot a couple of years ago. I am amazed this great author is not better known in the horror world as she certainly deserves to be. Her latest, Our Last Echoes, is written in the same style as Vanishing, with parts of the story being presented via interviews, video recordings and other media spanning a couple of decades. Of all the books on the list this year, this is the one which headed in the most unexpected of directions, which was a million miles from what I anticipated, taking in a wildly original mashup of horror, fantasy and science fiction. Some of which was so offbeat it may well be too strange for kids who are expecting a more ABC style supernatural mystery. The trick is to expect the unexpected and you will still be taken aback. Eighteen-year-old Sophia heads to the remote northern island of Bitter Rock to study birds, or that is at least the official reason. The real purpose is to investigate what happened to her mother who vanished without trace from the island fifteen years earlier. It turns out Bitter Rock has a long history for Bermuda Triangle style disappearances, with people vanishing in the thick mist, including an incident in 1973 when 31 residents were never seen again. Sophia feels she has a deeper connection with Bitter Rock (key to the story) than is possible and when she begins to dig into the mystery hold onto your hat for the direction it takes and it is a bit more than déjà vu. Having completed the book I realised there were plenty of clues dropped here and there and it was packaged into a well-developed mystery which morphs into full blown horror as events develop. A clue into what lies ahead is in the title and the different perspectives through the interviews and jumps back to 2003 helped strengthen a complex and rewarding genre-bending thriller. AGE RANGE 13+ 9/10 - Aden Polydoros: The City Beautiful Publisher : Inkyard Press; Original ed. edition (11 Nov. 2021) Language : English Hardcover : 384 pages ISBN-10 : 1335402500 ISBN-13 : 978-1335402509  The City Beautiful was a fascinating read and a supreme blend of historical and horror fiction, with a vividly drawn and immersive setting. Alter Rosen is a Romanian Jewish immigrant living in Chicago, 1893 whilst his mother and sisters are still in his homeland. His English language skills are limited, works as a runner for a newspaper, and sticks predominately to the familiar large Jewish community. The novel quickly absorbs the reader into a world of Jewish culture which rarely gets much coverage in YA fiction unless it concerns the Holocaust. This was a very mature YA novel and younger readers may struggle with the level of detail, but for those looking for a challenge there was much to admire in an incredibly assured debut novel. Aden Polydoros makes it clear that the persecution of Jews goes way beyond the Holocaust and this theme lurks in the background with Alter Rosen too poor to attend the famous World’s Fair which was in the city and attracting tourists from all over the country. Thankfully The Beautiful City has a glossary as many Jewish words are used and I found myself enjoying the immersion of cultural facts dropped by the author which added another very convincing level to the story. The horror element of the story also has a strong connection in Jewish culture or folklore. After the murder of Alter’s friend Yakov, he agrees to watch the body, as their faith dictates, but believing he saw it move touches the corpse. This breaks a burial custom which leads him to believe he is possessed by a spirit called a ‘dybbuk’ which is connected to the dead man. This leads to a complex horror thriller in which they try to solve the murder before the spirit takes over Alter completely. The story also takes in sexuality, as Alter is gay, which he is obviously kept quiet and when an old friend reappears proceedings get even more complex. The Beautiful City was a multi-faceted and very clever tale which adults could read without genuinely realising was aimed at teens. The blend of the Jewish story, the supernatural and sexuality were perfectly pitched and dropped into a superb 19th century setting which shimmered with realism and vibrancy. AGE RANGE 14+ 8/10 - Jessica Lewis: Bad Witch Burning Publisher : Ember (11 July 2023) Language : English Paperback : 368 pages ISBN-10 : 059317741X ISBN-13 : 978-0593177419  Considering Bad Witch Burning is narrated by an often-unlikable main character it remained an engaging and rather quirky read. It was also refreshing to read a YA horror novel with a lead Black character which was not built around race or racism. In recent years school librarians have been desperate for books such as this and, thankfully, diversity in YA fiction has improved significantly and continues to do so. The fact that Katrell is tricky to like needs to be balanced against her troubling home circumstances, with the sixteen-year-old working a thirty hour a week job to support her unemployed mother and loser hanger on boyfriend. However, she has another very peculiar way of supporting her deeply unpleasant family; by writing short letters Katrell has the ability to communicate with the dead. She keeps this lowkey and makes a few extra Dollars here and there to pay the family rent whilst the school guidance councillor is on her tail. Sadly, she has already accepted that before long she will drop out of school. The novel really kicks off when the teen realises she has the power to raise the dead after a horrific incident with her mother’s boyfriend and her beloved dog. Instead of making twenty or thirty Dollars there is the possibility of much more is she is able to pitch her ability at families who have suffered bereavements. We’ve all read Pet Semetary and although things do not pan out that way, Jessica Lewis puts a very clever and original spin on how the resurrected are and specifically how they interact with Katrell and the families who paid thousands of Dollars to have them back. Interestingly, there is zero insight into how the magic worked and I felt Katrell lacked compassion for those she brought back and struggled to see beyond the immediate financial gain. However, as is the way in YA novels lessons are learned and supported by her best (and only) friend there is growth and some emotional scenes regarding her beloved dog near the end. AGE RANGE 13+ 8/10 - Krystal Sutherland: House of Hollow Publisher : Hot Key Books; 1st edition (6 April 2021) Language : English Paperback : 304 pages ISBN-10 : 1471409899 ISBN-13 : 978-1471409899  I always enjoy authors moving around the genres and Krystal Sutherland’s third novel House of Hollow is a convincing example of this. A few years ago, I read her debut Chemical Hearts, which was an entertaining YA romantic drama, but her latest offering retains the convincing teenage voice of her debut, but this time effortlessly blending in the supernatural. One of the great strengths of the novel was that the reader was, for most of the time, unsure whether there was something otherworldly going on or not. It was obvious from the outset that the family the story revolved around was peculiar, but the contemporary private school setting in Hampstead north London, grounded the action in the world of today. The novel is narrated by the youngest of three sisters Iris (the others being Vivi and Grey) and even she admits that odd things can happen around them, but kind of shrugs it off as the biproduct of being a ‘Hollow Sister’. Whether Iris Hollow has special powers or is just plain weird is for the reader to find out, however, as a narrator she seriously crackles and gives House of Hollow a very authentic teenage voice which I am sure many teen readers will tap straight into. The reason the sisters are ‘special’ is because ten years earlier the three vanished into thin air, only to reappear a month later, with no memory of where they had been. Over the following years, even if the media interest eventually died down, both elder sisters Vivi and Grey led very different lives in a rock band and as a super model. However, even if the sister bond is very tight (and a great strength of the novel) it is Iris who is left behind. Early in the novel the story takes a fascinating direction when, once again, Grey disappears, but leaves clues to where she might be only her sisters can decipher. The story then moves into the realms of dark fairy tales and folklore, without ever playing to the stereotypes you often get in this brand of YA novel. Make sure you hang in there for a terrific ending. AGE RANGE 13+ 7/10 - Courtney Gould: The Dead and the Dark Publisher : Wednesday Books (3 Aug. 2021) Language : English Hardcover : 384 pages ISBN-10 : 1250762014 ISBN-13 : 978-1250762016  The Dead and the Dark was a quirky combination of horror, dark thriller with a twist of teen romance thrown into the mix. The action takes place in the small Oregon town of Snakebite, where several teenagers have disappeared. Now attracting media attention, a team of ghosthunters from a popular TV show hit the town looking for answers and a big story, much of the novel revolves around Logan, who is the daughter of the presenter of ParaSpectors and is used to being dragged from place to place and fake haunting to haunting. But this time it is different as the investigators realise they not dealing with the usual hoaxes or cheesy fake ghost stories. Quite early in the action we realise that this is one of those towns where weird things happen (and in YA fiction there are plenty of them about!) the weather is unpredictable, ghosts are real and that the town in buried in a layer of secrets which are difficult to unearth. Beyond the secrets, there is something in the darkness and the town is the target or perhaps part of the problem. Although the book had plenty of engaging characters, in particular Logan, I quickly found myself feeling I had been around this block before and found The Dead and the Dark offered little which was new, covering similar ground to To Break A Covenant. However, it was a solid debut, features decent twists, has lots of quirky characters and a supernatural feeling which darkens as the novel progresses. For young teens who are looking for a blend of thriller and horror it is worth a look. AGE RANGE 13+ 7/10 - Kendare Blake: All These Bodies Publisher : Macmillan Children's Books; Main Market edition (21 Sept. 2021) Language : English Paperback : 304 pages ISBN-10 : 1529052890 ISBN-13 : 978-1529052893  All These Bodies is an interesting change of direction for Kendare Blake, taking us back to the late 1950s Minnesota Midwest of America, with a story which has a true crime feel to it. Blake is best known for her terrific horror novel Anna Dressed in Blood and dark fantasy titles such as the Three Dark Crowns series. The main character is schoolboy, and aspiring journalist, Michael Jensen who dreams of escaping the small-town life of Black Deer Falls, go to college, meet a girl, and find excitement in the wider world. He has had the same friends his entire life and his father is the local sheriff. Nothing new ever happens, until a series of graphic murders, which the newspapers brand the ‘Bloodless Murders,’ seem to be heading in their direction. After multiple killings, where the victims are drained of blood, there is indeed a killing in their town. As Michael’s father is the sheriff, he finds himself in close proximity to the action and even closer to the only suspect, fifteen-year-old Marie Catherine Hale. Although All These Bodies was a solid read, it was rather one paced and the author struggled slightly to shoehorn a supernatural angle into the plot. The story was inspired by real life murders and the true crime feel it had worked better than the attempts to convince the reader there were vampires on the loose. Also, the way in which the author inserts the YA angle into the story lacked credibility: here we have is a woman implicated in 12-14 murders, but the only person she will speak to is a seventeen-year-old boy. Yeah, right, I found that impossible to swallow. Although proceedings felt like an authentic 1950s America and the attention to detail was convincing, I felt that the story lacked suspense, as we were being repeatedly told (from Marie to Michael) after the fact what went on and after a while, I began to lose interest in who the anonymous killer truly was, human or something else. AGE RANGE 13+ TODAY ON THE GINGER NUTS OF HORROR WEBSITE
The heart and soul of Ya Horror fiction Welcome to 2022 and our first roundup of the year. The books here are predominately titles published last year I have caught up on over the Christmas holidays. There is a nice mix of fantasy, thriller and horror, including a couple of older books I recently came across. They are listed alphabetically. Please get in touch if you have anything we might like to review.  Laura Bates – The Trial The Burning (2019) was one of my favourite YA novels of recent years, with a similar feminist theme which is also a feature of the non-fiction writings of Laura Bates, including Girl Up (2016) and Men Who Hate Woman (2020). The Trial is her first novel since The Burning which sees seven teenagers (the only survivors) crash on a remote island, the group is made up of three basketball players and four cheerleaders who were heading home after basketball playoffs in a private plane, whilst the rest of the squad were in another craft. What follows is a highly entertaining page-turner which is both concerns their ongoing survival and a party which got out of hand before they exited the competition, which is revealed in flashback. On one level The Trial is a tight and very readable thriller, but it also tackles other issues including sexual consent, assault, privilege, toxic masculinity, misogyny, and gender without ever getting particularly preachy about it. The group quickly realise to survive they have to work together to find food and shelter, whilst tempers fray and anger rises there is mistrust in the group and perhaps somebody is looking for their own special revenge which circles back to The Trial of the title. This is YA fiction at its best, clever, sassy and spiky which carries a powerful message which is delivered in the harshest of environments. AGE RANGE 13+ Jessie Burton – Medusa Dabbling in YA for the first time Jessie Burton continues the recent trend of humanising the creatures of Greek and Roman mythology and retellings them from a female or feminist point of view. The final product is a beautiful and profound vision which is backed up by striking illustrations and at times it is the artwork (Olivia Lomenech Gill) which reminds the reader that Medusa is a teenage girl rather than a monster who has the power to turn those who gaze upon her into stone. The story is framed around the exiled Medusa and her solitary life on a remote island until Perseus arrives. Although she cannot allow the boy to see her, she falls in love with him from a distance through their intimate conversations, but as this is Greek mythology betrayal is never far away. The story captures the angst of the teenager and delves into the backstory into the unfortunate circumstances which turned the young beauty into a monster. Medusa brings to life the girl behind the legend, humanises her, explores her relationship with her snakes and is loaded with thought provoking gems. It is not a long book and breathes new life into a much-maligned mythological character and is perfect for reluctant readers bringing a YA feel to an age-old story for today’s generation. AGE RANGE 12+ Kayla Cottingham - My Dearest Darkest Although Kayla Cottingham’s debut had its moments My Dearest Darkest failed to convince 100%, but perhaps I have read too many YA novels sat in posh boarding schools? Even though boys were present, they were mere wallpaper and this was yet another YA horror novel solely seen a female perspective and there was nothing to distinguish it many other similar novels. Proceedings open with Finch Chamberlin auditioning for a place in prestigious arts school Ulalume Academy, on the way home there is a crash and both her parents drown after seeing a ghostly stag on the road. Finch survives, (or does she?) and when she later takes up her place at the school is very pale, has an irregular heartbeat, and has a weird supernatural connection to an entity which lurks in the caves under the buildings and seems to have the ability of granting wishes (but at what cost?) The supernatural story failed to convince me and the balance between this and the ‘mean girl’ style situations did not always work. The second narrative takes in Selena St. Clair, who is one of the most popular and bitchy girls on campus, after a music project pairs them together the two slowly click and a romance develops. Considering the two girls were very different, I was surprised that the bisexual Selena was attracted to the mousy and quiet Finch. There was a fair bit of sexual angst and tension thrown into the story, underage drinking, partying with the supernatural story bubbling in the background. AGE RANGE 13+ Jacqui Dempster – PJ and the Paranormal Pursuers, The Mackenzie Poltergeist I struggled to get through PJ and the Paranormal Pursuers, finding it a rather clunky slog. After the death of his mother American teenager PJ is forced to relocate to Edinburgh to live with his elderly aunt Katie and initially desperately wants to return to New York. Struggling to settle and come to terms with his loss he attends a bereavement counselling group where he makes new friends who help him make a fresh start, he also discovers a shared interest in the supernatural which leads from the belief that the spirit of his dead mother remains close to him. Led by PJ, the group (Freya, Sunny and Shuggie) try to prove that there is life after death and that their loved ones are still with them. The following investigation failed to convince, was rather uninspiring, was not remotely scary and the supernatural scenes were ham-fisted and failed to get the pulses racing. I would be surprised if many kids took to this book, which was populated with unconvincing dialogue with a cliched feel good ending aiming for a sequel which I will most definitely avoid if it ever appears. One to avoid. AGE RANGE 12+  Tara Goedjen - No Beauties or Monsters If you are seeking a dark fantasy thriller twister then look to further than No Beauties or Monsters which was a complex and entertaining novel. It is aimed at strong YA readers as the story takes its time and is convoluted, which less confident readers might find frustrating. However, for high-concept thriller fans this is a great read which is set in the small town of Twentynine Palms, in the Mojave Desert, which was a vividly drawn location. Seventeen-year-old Rylie and her family (brother, stepbrother, mother and newish stepfather) returns to live in the town after four years away. Rylie dreads this return, as it resurrects memories of her father and other personal difficulties which are slowly dropped into the story. The teenager is a very fragile central character with a whiff of unreliable narrator and reader can feel her anxiety and angst when she begins to see things which are not there. Early in the novel she believes her car has run a boy, but when she looks nothing is there. What is going on? For large parts of the novel, including a spell when she disappears and blacks out, it is very hard to tell and that is part of the fun. Nothing is what it seems and although she looks forward to catching up with her old friends Nathan and Lily, she soon realises that Lily has disappeared. Things then begin to get more complex, there is a potential killer on the loose and the plot circles around her late grandfather who had a bad relationship with the rest of the family. Throw is a Stranger Things or X-Files vibe, weird creatures in the desert, shifts in reality, memory problems and trauma connected to the events of four years earlier and you have a heady mix. Loaded with strong twists, great atmosphere and the end result is a wildly creative and original novel which is highly recommended. AGE RANGE 13+ Finbar Hawkins – Witch Witch (2020), the debut of Finbar Hawkins was nominated for both the prestigious Carnegie Medal and Branford Boase (for debut novelists) awards and is a fascinating look at the power of women, witchcraft and revenge in the 17th century. The story cleverly dances around traditional folk horror tropes, mixing in the church, revenge, countryside, the rules of historical Britain and the persecution of witches. It lacks the depth of the Celia Rees masterpiece Witch Child (2000) but nevertheless is a highly impressive debut and I looking forward to Stone (more dark fiction) which is published later this year. The story is a deceptively simple one: after witnessing the brutal murder of her mother by witch-hunters, Evey vows to avenge her and track down the killers whilst keeping her little sister Dill safe. The narrative is absolutely beautiful, the eye on historical detail is superb, and the raw emotions connected to revenge are so vivid the reader can almost touch them. Witch does not pull any punches or shy away from a very troubling period in history and creates a captivating story which many young teens should enjoy. AGE RANGE 12+ Phil Hickes – Aveline Jones Series, books one and two I really enjoyed The Haunting of Aveline Jones (2020) by Phil Hickes so much so that I bounced straight onto its sequel The Bewitching of Aveline Jones (2021)! If you’ve after a non-too threatening or scary blend of mystery and spooky goings on then these books are absolutely perfect for the top end of primary or lower secondary. In book one ghost story loving book worm Aveline finds herself on half-term holidays with her mum when she discovers a spooky book in a second-hand bookshop. She finds out the fascinating item once belonged to a girl who mysteriously vanished some years earlier and even though there was a wide search she never reappeared. Intrigued, Aveline decides to investigate Primrose's disappearance, with some help from her new friend, Harold and the mystery is off and running. I loved one of the quotes which go with the book: “where mysteries are always solved, spirits are always laid to rest, and everybody gets to bed on time” and I guarantee kids are going to enjoy spending time with Aveline and her sidekick Harold, who also returns in the second novel which is based around another half-term holiday in which their rental home encroaches a haunted stone circle. These were wonderfully constructed stories, with vivid settings, strong characters and the perfect balance of supernatural and thriller. For a ten-year-old gateway spooky stories do not get much more engaging than this. AGE RANGE 9-11 Richard Lambert – Shadow Town Richard Lambert’s second YA novel Shadow Town is more dark fantasy than horror and is perfect for kids looking for some gentle escapism. The prologue introduces a shadow which infiltrates our world and ends up sleeping in the front garden of main character, thirteen-year-old Toby. He is a very well- drawn, but rather sad character who lacks friends, is a bit young for his age and is caught between his feuding parents who are heading for a separation. Toby’s ‘real’ world is very convincing, however, once he heads down a dark shadowy tunnel he reappears in another world which have some weird similarities to our own, as well as some striking differences. Accompanied by his cat Albert and new friends he makes along the way Toby goes on a coming-of-age voyage of discovery to find a way home back to his family home. The fantasy land nicely blends magical realism with gothic elements in a land where dreamers (such as him) can turn dreams into reality which remind Toby of the failed novel his dad has been working on for as long as he can remember. Although it lacks the edge of darker fantasies Shadow Town has a big heart and sometimes a soften narrative can also hit that literary sweet spot. AGE RANGE 11+  Lorien Lawrence – Fright Watch 2 – The Collectors Ginger Nuts of Horror previously reviewed The Stitchers (2020) which was the debut novel of Lorien Lawrence and the first book in the excellent Fright Watch series which is perfect for Middle Grade readers. I was delighted to hear that after defeating the ‘Oldies’ in their previous supernatural mystery Quinn and Mike were back up to their old snooping tricks in a brand-new spooky mystery. When I reviewed the first entry I noted: “The Stitchers main strength are the two main characters and their interactions with each other (and growing attraction) as the plot develops” and the same could be said of this sequel, with the strong central characters and friendship dynamics nicely balanced against a mystery story which slowly edges into the realms of the supernatural when new neighbours move into Goodie Lane. The arrivals own an interior design firm and although they charm some of the kids, Quinn and Mike wonder why Abigail, Eleanor, Jade, Brea, and Cami seem to always be together, dressed completely white. As in its predecessor the duo begins to investigate and get involved in a fun and spooky mystery which had a few chills but was not scary enough to trouble older kids. Parents or teachers could give this book to younger kids and feel reassured that it’s a great story but not have to worry about the appropriateness of the content. AGE RANGE 9/10+ Cynthia Murphy - Win Lose Kill Die Cynthia Murphy follows her breakout YA hit Last One To Die (2021) with another quality blend of page-turning horror and thriller, Win Lose Die Kill. In her latest outing the dangerous streets of London (and the supernatural) are abandoned in favour of exclusive boarding school Morton Academy, a remote countryside establishment which only the most intelligent teenagers attend. The action begins at the start of the new school year and the memorial of Morgan, who was to be the new Head Girl, but lost her life in a boating tragedy over the summer holidays. Within a few chapters the replacement Head Girl is also dead and so we realise someone is targeting pupils in high office. The story is told in the first person by Liz, who by some of her classmates standards, is a quiet member of the year group, a hard worker, and is happy to fade into the background. In the spirit of the nineties Point Horror novels bodies soon begin to mount (the police are totally absent or useless) and you’ll have fun trying to guess who the killer in as a few red herrings are thrown into the mix. At various points the narrative switches to the point of view of the gloating murderer and you may well wonder why the pupils hardly ever seem to be in class or do any work or studying! This was great escapism for a few hours, it was fast-moving fun, none-too-deep and unless you were on the killer’s hit list might find yourself wanting to attend Morton Academy yourself. An excellent read for both thriller and horror fans which I have already seen featured in the WH Smith the bestseller shelves. If you have a reluctant teen reader this novel might help them turn the corner. AGE RANGE 12+ Neal & Jarrod Shusterman - Roxy Down the years Neal Shusterman has written some incredibly creative YA dark fiction and whilst Roxy is very clever, does falls short of his best work which is probably the Unwind series or the incredible Arc of a Scythe trilogy. For an author who is so prolific I am amazed he is so constantly creative and Roxy is another example of his catchy high concept fiction, which is often built around one very clever idea (often a dystopian expansion of a real-world issue) and in this case the over medication of teens by prescription drugs. If you choose to read this, make sure you take the opening slowly as it is very easy to get confused by the character narratives, two of which are teenagers (Isaac and Ivy Ramey) and the other pair are drugs (Roxy and Addison). So ‘addiction’ effectively morphs into characters in this very quirky novel, in which the two drugs have a bet to see which of the two teenagers they are connected to can get addicted to drugs quicker. Roxy (oxycodone – Isaac’s pain relief) and Addison (Adderall – Ivy’s medication to treat her ADHD) soon begin to take hold in a story which is partially presented as a mythical battle between two (manufactured) gods trying to lure their victims to even stronger drugs or possibly death. Shusterman’s novels often have neat subliminal messages (body farming or overcrowding for example) and Roxy is no different and this oddball take on drug addiction will give teen readers much to ponder once they get their head around the far-out concept. AGE RANGE 13+ Angharad Walker – The Ash House Billing a debut novel as “Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children meets Lord of the Flies” is an ambitious move and although this quote was slightly misleading I found The Ash House to be an intriguing read. This rather beguiling tale has much to offer readers who show patience for what becomes a very thoughtful and odd piece of fiction. A new boy arrives at Ash House, which is a cross between an orphanage and a boarding school, there are no adults and the kids seem to self-police the premise. The child cannot remember his name, so is given the name Sol and soon finds himself joining the motley gang of children living in the shadows of the secretive and very secluded house. Inquisitive readers will have fun trying to figure out the location which seems to exist outside of time. It takes a long time for all the pieces to fall into place and as you proceed lots of questions (where was the Headmaster for example?) will spring to mind in a story which has elements of magical realism and an isolated setting which was top heavy with brooding atmosphere. The plot had many memorable scenes, with the children waiting for the telephone to ring (maybe the Headmaster again?) or ‘school’ being pre-recorded lessons! This was a very ambitious and original dark fantasy debut aimed at stronger readers. AGE RANGE 11+ Tony Jones TODAY ON THE GINGER NUTS OF HORROR WEBSITE PAPERBACKS FROM HELL: GWEN, IN GREEN BY HUGH ZACHARYTHIS IS WHERE THE FAMILY TREE MEETS THE FAMILY PLOT. THIS IS BLOODLINES. (BOOK REVIEW) the heart and soul of ya and mg horror fiction |
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