August Young Adult and Middle Grade Roundup
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Our latest Young Adult and Middle Grade for August 2022 features nine new or relatively recently published titles. This time out we feature Lindsay Currie for the second month on the bounce with What Lives in the Woods, a terrific Middle Grade slow-burner, and you never know Lindsay may well return next month with another book. Finbar Hawkins also impressed me greatly with his second novel Stone (we also reviewed his great debut Witch) in an earthy tale of grief and magic which bridges Middle Grade and YA. It was also great to read a novel with a boy as a main character as they truly are becoming endangered species and this is the only one of these nine books reviewed to have a male narrative, which is a fairly shocking statistic but a definite trend in newly published YA fiction, which we have highlighted in previous roundups. 

Tag You’re Dead is the third enjoyable page-turning thriller on the bounce from Kathryn Foxfield and Rebecca Barrow’s Bad Things Happen Here is in the same ballpark. I love discovering new authors and devoured Go Hunt Me by Kelly Devos, an outstanding horror thriller with lots of cool nods to horror films. Kelly has another couple of books I am definitely going to read and so she is sure to reappear in future roundups. 

I have read most of Melinda Salisbury’s novels and her latest Her Dark Wings is a strange spin on the Persephone myth set on a remote island, with its own weird traditions and beliefs, close to the Underworld. The last two books have been out for a while and I was delighted to catch up with Our Crooked Hearts by Melissa Albert, we reviewed her debut The Hazel Wood a few years ago and was another impressive dark fantasy about modern day witches, grudges and cross-generational curses. Only a Monster was the impressive dark time travel urban fantasy debut from Vanessa Len when a teenage girl realises her family are monsters and that the ‘hero’ of the hero is out to get her, but by sucking the life force of others is able to jump through time and hide. Bring on the sequel! 

We will be back with another roundup in September. Meantime, if you have anything you think we might like get in touch. The books are presented in alphabetical order. 
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Rebecca Barrow’s dark thriller/drama Bad Things Happen Here dropped over the summer with a fair bit of hype, with Amazon labelling it “this summer’s hottest thriller.” Although it was a perfectly decent read ultimately it failed to match its publicity and was populated by spoilt rich characters which failed to add any spark to the island setting of Parris. The novel is seen from the point of view of Luca Laine Thomas, who has struggled to get over the death of her best friend Polly Stern several years earlier. Luca believes there is a curse on the island and that there have been too many unsolved deaths of teenage girls, including Polly. If I’m frank, this part of the story was weak and presented rather half-heartedly and somewhat forced, as if the author felt obliged to throw in a potential supernatural story thread, which in the end was a dead end. If you read this expecting a spicy supernatural thriller you will be sorely disappointed as nobody really believes in the curse except young kids and Luca. 

Early in the novel Luca’s older sister Whitney dies (that pesky curse again!) and Luca begins her own investigation into whether this is connected to the earlier deaths. Meanwhile, Naomi moves into the house which was once owned by Polly’s family and the two girls become friends. Along the way there is a prominent LGBTQIA+ storyline and the fact that Luca is mixed-race also has a part to play. Ultimately the story is about broken friendships, secrets, betrayals and half-truths which blend into a murder mystery, but by the time events moved to the end I was not that involved in the big reveal in discovering who killed Whitney. However, I’m sure genuine teen readers will have a lot of fun with this book with the boozy parties and sexual tension. It was also nice to read a modern novel which did not have the characters having their noses in social media 24/7.
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AGE RANGE 13/14+ ​

It was hard to tell who The Art of Being Haunted was aimed at as not enough genuinely happened to engage a YA readership and although it was not a long book I found it a slog to finish. The main character (Cassie) is struggling to get over the death of her boyfriend, as she was driving the car in which he died. Her family have since relocated and she is struggling to settle at school whilst in her senior year. Her parents have sent her to a therapist and believe she should shake off the tragedy, but she finds the guilt overwhelming and struggles to cope. But soon things begin to look up when she meets Melissa, whom she shares an art class with. Melissa is a goth, has an interest in the supernatural, and particularly Cassie’s house which she believes to be haunted.
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As haunted house/supernatural stories go this was very uninspiring stuff. Cassie believes she sees the ghost of an old man and then weird stuff begins to happen in the house and even stranger she begins to draw gruesome pictures whilst asleep, as if possessed. Everything was telegraphed where the plot was heading and the book had absolutely zero scares and little atmosphere. It was so obvious the ghost was trying to tell Cassie (and Melissa) a story, to solve a mystery, you might think you were in an episode of Scooby Doo. This book was just too bland, lacked pace, thrills and had little in the way of suspense. Not one I would recommend. AGE RANGE 13/14+ 
Tony Jones

In our latest roundup we have eight new books for you, five of which are YA and three MG. On this occasion the Middle Grade titles were strong, with Lindsay Currie’ Scritch Scratch and Lora Senf’s The Clackity both making lasting impressions on me. Currie really caught my eye and was a major find, so much so I already have another of her titles read for my next roundup! A couple of the YA titles featured did not make such an impression on me, but I was a fan of Helene Dunbar’s The Promise of Lost Things and the wild debut Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White.

The books are presented in alphabetically and remember to get in touch should you have something you would like to see reviewed.
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The debut of Sarah Daniels The Stranded has had advance hype with Amazon calling it “The unmissable YA debut of 2022” a quote which is distinctly over the top. However, The Stranded is a perfectly decent dystopian thriller which is reminiscent of many other books published since The Hunger Games first appeared way back when. In the fifteen years since Katniss picked up her bow and arrow YA fiction has suffered from every possible type of dystopia, from plague to nuclear war, via alien invasions and environmental catastrophes. The Stranded mixes a few of the tried and tested story lines, puts them in a 1984 inspired George Orwell blender and sets her dystopia on an ocean liner which has been at sea for years and due to a supposed virus cannot go ashore and the only world every character knows is on the ship. However, how do they know the narrative they are being fed is the truth?

The Arcadia has been at shore for forty years and many have lived and died on the water, following the rules of the regime as it tightens down on freedom whenever there is any sign of rebellion, such as reading in public! As is often the way with these books the two main characters are real contrasts, Esther is a loyal citizen, working flat-out for a rare chance to live a life on land as she trains as a medic, but is pulled into the dangerous world of the underground. The other is Nik, who is a rebel, intent on liberating the Arcadia once and for all and soon things begin to kick off when an illegal leaflet drop suggests the passengers are being lied to. In some ways this was an interesting refugee story, but it took a long time to get going and as all of the action took place on the boat I found much of it dragged as I counted the hallmarks of dystopian fiction all these books seem to have. It is also the first book in a series and could have done with more resolution, instead of setting up for the second, which I was not engaged enough to bother with. However, it was a solid debut and fans of Suzanne Collins and Malorie Blackman may well enjoy it. AGE RANGE 12/13+
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Katherine Webber makes a fascinating change of direction with her fourth novel, The Revelry, her first foray into the supernatural after three convincing YA dramas. Her trademark great characterisation and realistic teen situations remain, but this time there is a beautifully undiagnosed otherworldly feel to proceedings, with Ember Grove being a terrific setting where things are a little bit different. One of the great strengths of The Revelry is that it uses restraint and through its clever subtleties never overtly specifies why this town is different. The novel is built around a weird event which nobody ever openly talks about called ‘The Revelry’ which is a once-a-year event all school leavers are secretly invited to. It is shrouded in mystery and nobody ever gossips about it afterwards, except in the odd hushed whisper and is seen as a once-in-a-lifetime coming of age occurrence which the participants remember for the rest of their lives. What goes on at The Revelry? Another great strength of the novel is the fact that Catherine Webber keeps the reader on the hook for most of the story, dropping the odd hint or flashback whilst sneakily dancing around the subject.
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The Revelry is also a cool novel about friendship, with besties for a decade Bitsy Clark and Amy absolutely pitch perfect and beautifully captured sixteen-year-olds. Seen from the point of view of Bitsy, who is happy to be in the shadow of the more naturally outgoing Amy until things take a darker turn. The plot was exceptionally clever and was built around the pairs obsession with The Revelry and what happens after they sneak entry into one of the events two years before their time. The novel concerns the fallout and the contrasting circumstances which follows the girls, including a string of bad luck for Bitsy, all of which puts an incredible strain on their friendship. The supernatural elements were beautifully balanced with the teen drama, friendship issues, blending together into an absolutely first-rate supernatural drama (which could be equally enjoyed by teens who don’t like otherworldly stuff). AGE RANGE 12/13+    
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I loved Josh Winning’s stylish debut The Shadow Glass and although it is an adult novel is accessible to confident teen readers and features nothing more objectionable than a few f-bombs or adults with hangovers. Even though it is more dark fantasy than horror, it is top heavy with eye catching scenes and is a lovely homage (without getting too cheesy) to the decade of the eighties. The author is also a film reviewer and even though the numerous references are much more likely to be picked up and appreciated by adult readers, there is still plenty of fun to be had for teens. In a roundabout sort of way, it explores what makes a ‘cult’ film? Why does a film which is a flop upon release pick up a new audience as the years go by? ‘The Shadow Glass’ directed by the recently deceased film director Bob Corman is such a film which used pioneering puppetry and introduced the fantasy world of ‘Iri’ which was populated with warring creatures, magical objects and quests. 
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The novel opens with the son of Bob, Jack Corman returning to his deceased father’s house after being estranged for many years. The house is full of puppet and film memorabilia, some of which he intends to sell as he is short of cash and down on his luck. Before long Jack is on his very own quest, accompanied by a geeky fan Toby and his grabbing cousin Amelia, after the puppets in the attic come alive. It would be quite easy for such a novel to become twee but it sidesteps these pitfalls and I loved the way the Toby used his geek knowledge of the series spinoffs to their advantage. At the heart of the novel is Jack’s disintegrated relationship with his father and how the nostalgia fans feel for the film is vastly different to his own personal memories which have been soured by his drunken father. The novel is also populated with terrific extracts from film interviews and other fan pieces connected to Bob Corman. This was a quirky, flamboyant, and highly enjoyable read. AGE RANGE 13/14+  
Tony Jones

Catherine Barter – We Played With Fire
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Jennifer Killick is fast becoming the uncrowned queen of Middle Grade horror with her third terrific read on the bounce. Dread Wood follows hot on the heels of Crater Lake (2020) and sequel Crater Lake Evolution (2021) with a similar vibe and likable group of young characters. Like in Crater Lake a group of kids aged around 11-12 find themselves isolated and being hunted after picking up a Saturday detention. The setting is their secondary school, which backs into a large forest, the Dread Wood of the title, and after their teacher Mr Canton disappears they realise something dodgy is going on. The only other adults in the local vicinity is the caretaker Mr Latchitt and his wife who repeatedly hum the old nursery rhythm ‘Incy Wincy Spider’ which gives you a good idea of what is in store for the four kids.   
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Whilst out and about the four kids spy on Mrs Latchitt throwing a live chicken down a well and become suspicious for what has become of the poor bird, whilst they also worry about their teacher The four kids Angelo, Hattie, Gustav were all very believable characters who are all in detention for different reasons, secrets which are revealed over the course of the story. Although this was a horror novel, it also realistically touched upon real issues such as child food poverty and disabilities. The school setting was terrific, with the plot cleverly reversing what should have been a place of safety to one of great danger, shadows and chills. Dread Wood was a terrific fast paced read and would be perfect for both reluctant readers and as a gateway novel to more mature horror fiction. I was delighted to hear there is a sequel The Fear Ground already in the pipeline. Bring it on! AGE RANGE 9-12
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Burn Down, Rise Up is a fascinating debut from Vincent Tirado set in the Bronx area of New York which nicely puts Black and Latino characters front and centre. It also has a convincing LGBTQ+ vibe with a gay lead character who has a crush on one of her oldest friends. The problem is her best friend (Aaron) also has a thing for the same girl, Charlize. The first half of the novel sets the teen scene and in the second things go full-blown supernatural. When the novel kicks off there have been a spate of disappearances which have been connected to a mysterious urban legend, a challenge called the Echo Game which soon sucks sixteen-year-old Raquel, Aaron and Charlize into its orbit, connecting to an alternative version of the Bronx from the 1970s.

A cousin of Charlize was also rumoured to have been playing the Echo Game, which leads to a mysterious Illness which Raquel’s mother catches. Looking for a cure and answers they have to play the game themselves, taking them to a sinister world beneath the city connected to a dark chapter in New York’s past. Raquel was a great central character and teen readers will have fun following her on her dangerous adventures in taking on the Slumlord, a nasty character who lurks in the shadows of the book. AGE RANGE 13/14+

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
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​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
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​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
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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​

​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​

​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
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​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​

​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
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 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
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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.
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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+   


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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.
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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+
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Tony Jones

1st. RL Boyle – The Book of the Baku
2nd. Erica Waters – The River has Teeth
3rd. Tori Bovalino​ – The Devil Makes Three

Diana Rodriguez Wallach – Small Town Monsters
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Small Town Monsters was an outstanding read and the split chapter narratives between ‘Vera’ and ‘Max’ was perfectly balanced, engaging and played a big part in creating a convincing horror novel which should be attractive to both boys and girls. Vera is the daughter of a family who have supernatural powers and operate as exorcists however, the ‘gift’ seems to have jumped a generation and Vera is seemingly just a normal teenager. Max has his own problems, and his mother is a recovering alcoholic who is very disconnected, and he is worried that she might hurt his little sister. Max’s dad died in a fire a few years earlier and has had to grow up fast, working in the family restaurant and dealing with his immature school friends.

The setting of the novel is outstanding and bad things routinely occur in the town of Roaring Creek, with Max also suspecting something supernatural is wrong with his mother, approaches Vera for help. The problem is the two have been in the same classes since primary school but have never ever spoken to each other and the developing dynamics between the two teens is a real strength of the novel. I loved both characters and their contrasts, Vera was an outsider and Max was popular, but leads a complicated life because of his family. There is more than one angle to the supernatural which has a real Latin American feel to it, taking in Santa Muerte (Saint Death), aspects of exorcisms, demon possession and a sinister cult which begins to infiltrate the people of the town. Small Town Monsters was a terrific blend of horror, thriller, spooky small-town secrets and a convincing slow burning romance. Highly recommended. AGE RANGE 12+

Sara Walters - The Violent Season

There are many bleak YA novels around at the moment and The Violent Season, the debut novel of Sara Walters is as dark as it gets. It starts dark and by the time you reach the end it is pitch-black, potentially too uncompromising so for many teen readers. The action is set in a small town called Wolf Ridge where every November there are unexplained acts of horrific violence. Is there something in this or is it merely an urban myth? However, the context in which this curse (or urge for violence) is framed was a real strength of the story, with a teenage girl trying to come to terms with the unexplained and unsolved murder of her mother by connecting it to this weird phenomenon.

The story picks up a year after the murder with daughter Wyatt Green in a toxic friendship with Cash and a second boy Porter, who also have history with each other. In the background there is the longing to escape the small town and the sadness of Wyatt feels with the ghost of her mother in the house. For a teen novel it was quite explicit, edgy and had a fair bit of drug use in it, with characters who appear to be okay in the outside but are in turmoil on the inside. Social media is playing an increasingly greater part in YA dark fiction as it can lead to horrors which are significantly nastier than the monster which lurks under the bed and is there anything worse than having photos taken (naked) and drunk which are then shared on online? Overall, the book was a fascinating blend of teen drama which nails the challenges of toxic friendships, with an unspecified supernatural feeling lurking in the background, with a lot of pain and anxieties thrown in. This was a challenging, bleak, but ultimately rewarding read for older teens. But watch out for that ending. AGE RANGE 14+

Erica Waters – The River Has Teeth

Erica Waters follows the terrific Ghost Wood Song with another belter. Both of Erica’s novels feature bisexual female teenage characters who financially struggle and might be described as coming from the wrong side of the tracks and she convincingly gives these marginalised teens a voice. 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 area of land where they live and cultivate for the potions they create and make a living from. However, Della believes the magic has gone bad and this has turned her mother into a creature when night comes (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+
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​Other top tips (in alphabetical order) I enjoyed and are also worth a closer look:
Georgia Bowers – Mark of the Wicked (A teen witch begins to lose control of her power).
Ryan Douglass – The Taking of Jake Livingstone (A gay teen who can see dead people is haunted by the person responsible for a local high school shooting).
Kat Ellis – Wicked Little Deeds (Welcome to Burden Falls, a creepy small-town dripping with superstition, where murder is never far away).
Yvette Fielding - The House in the Woods (Ghost Hunter Chronicles book 1) (Kids play around with a Ouija board and soon regret it).
Kathryn Foxfield - It's Behind You (An online horror TV show spends the night in a haunted cave). 
Naomi Gibson – Every Line Of You (A teen creates a powerful AI which becomes much more than a friend). 
Daka Hermon - Hide and Seeker (Children are stalked by a supernatural creature which likes to play games).
Sarah Glenn Marsh – The Girls Are Never Gone (A teen podcaster interns at a haunted house looking for her next story).
Cynthia Murphy – Last One to Die (An Irish teen visits London for summer drama experience and is stalked by a supernatural presence). 
Stephanie Perkins - The Woods Are Always Watching (Hillbilly horror for teens. Nasty!)
Krystal Sutherland – House of Hollow (When they were small the three Hollow sisters disappeared for a month, with the story being picked up some years later).
Gaby Triana – Moon Child (A teen girl visits her half-sister and finds an abandoned mansion and a new group of friends with special powers). 


Tony Jones

SM Pope – The Haunting of Lindy Pennyworth

SM Pope impressed me greatly with her debut The Haunting of Lindy Pennyworth which focuses on a girl called Lindy who suffers from Trichotillomania, a condition similar to self-harming which leads to her pulling her hair out. Early in the novel she starts wearing a beanie hat as she is beginning to have large bald patches and her psychological problems begin to heighten as the story moves on. However, Pope cleverly keeps the reigns pulled in as the novel cleverly pitches itself between horror, ghost story, thriller and contemporary teen thriller. The action is set around a sixth form college where Lindy escapes to the toilets to pull hair out, giving her a similar release, to which comes from self-harming. Lindy believes she is being haunted by dead relatives, who believe their family is cursed, which contact her via an object she finds in her house and it is hard to establish what is true as we know from the outset that Lindy has been committed to a psychiatric ward. She is a classic unreliable narrator, but at the same time her voice is so genuine readers will want to believe her.

The story is also populated with heavy family drama, loaded with guilt, with Lindy having a very difficult relationship with her mother after the death of her father. In some ways I found the compelling family and friendship more compelling and emotionally convincing that the supernatural element of the book.  The touch issues of grief, self-harming and mental health are very sensitively handled and Lindy was such a spiky and troubled character I was really rooting for her to see some sunlight at the end of the story. As the book is seen from Lindy’s point of view the author keeps it nicely shrouded right until the very end for the reader figuring out what was real and what was not. This was a fascinating supernatural drama which deserves to find a teen audience. AGE RANGE 14+

Anica Mrose Rissi – Hide and Don’t Seek and Other Very Scary Stories

If you are after a collection of spooky stories aimed at the top end of primary school or the start of secondary then Hide and Don’t Seek has much to admire and a wide variety of tales which come thick and fast. Very few of the twenty inclusions are more than ten pages and so there is plenty to hold the attention and if one fails to hit the mark then there are many others to sample. Considering the shortish length of the stories many would also be ideal for reading aloud or suitable for bedtime stories for older kids. Most of them were not scary and parents need not worry too much about their kids unless they are particularly sensitive. The author explores popular tropes in supernatural stories including the game of hide-and-seek, creepy dolls, talent shows, summer camps, sinister teachers, invisible friends and the chills of moving into a new house. Adult readers will be familiar with this type of content, but the majority will come across as fresh and edgy to your average ten-year-old.

The author also plays around with the format, with a number of the stories presented as poems, which I found to be the least interesting, however, they might work well being read around. Other formats include letters, playscripts and an online text exchange. My favourite story was probably Two Wishes, which was an entertaining spin on the classic Monkey’s Paw (WW Jacobs) with a little boy trying to take a peek at his sister’s diary with horrific consequences, told with a sly sense of humour.  The Friend was another highlight, when Anna Luiza arrives to look after one of her younger cousins she realises her invisible friend is very real. Hide and Don’t Seek crams a lot into 213 pages and for kids who are struggling to finish longer novels, or have short attention spans, the lovingly created bite size terrors in this book might be the perfect antidote. AGE RANGE 8-11

Sara Walters - The Violent Season

There are many bleak YA novels around at the moment and The Violent Season, the debut novel of Sara Walters is as dark as it gets. It starts dark and by the time you reach the end it is pitch-black, potentially too uncompromising so for many teen readers. I often regard the Kevin Brooks masterpiece The Bunker Diary as nihilistic as it comes, but this novel is not far behind and is certainly in the same ballpark. The action is set in a small town called Wolf Ridge where every November there are unexplained acts of horrific violence. Is there something in this or is it merely an urban myth? You’ll have to read it yourself to find out whether this aspect of the story is dealt with adequately, but it did remind me of Moira Fowley-Doyle’s The Accident Season, which has a very similar plot where a family believe they are cursed by accidents every October. However, the context in which this curse (or urge for violence) is framed was a real strength of the story, with a teenage girl trying to come to terms with the unexplained and unsolved murder of her mother by connecting it to this weird phenomenon.

The story picks up the year following the murder with daughter Wyatt Green and much of the action unfolding as a toxic teen drama and eventually an edgy romantic triangle between Wyatt, Cash (who she has a long-term and sometimes unhealthy co-dependent friendship with) and Porter, who has history with Cash, with a combined school project bringing further clashes between the pair. In the background there is the longing to leave or escape the small town and the sadness of Wyatt feeling the ghost of her mother in the house. For a teen novel it was quite explicit, edgy and had a fair bit of drug use in it, with characters who appear to be okay in the outside but are in turmoil on the inside. Social media is playing an increasingly greater part in YA dark fiction as it can lead to horrors which are significantly nastier than the monster which lurks under the bed and is there anything worse than having photos taken (naked) and drunk which are then shared on online? Overall, the book was a fascinating blend of teen drama, with an unspecified supernatural feeling lurking in the background, and a lot of pain. A very challenging, bleak, but ultimately rewarding read. But watch out for that ending. AGE RANGE 14+

JUSTIN from Hide and Seeker by Daka Hermon

Hide and Seeker adds a strange twist to the traditional game of hide and seek which results in a rash of disappearances in the close-knit, mainly Black, neighbourhood where the story is set. It has some good chills, nice character developments and solid pace which will have kids turning the pages quickly. Those who like a spooky story are going to speed through Hide and Seeker in no time at all. 


Hide and Seeker has an outstanding opening, main character Justin has not seen his best friend Zee for over a year. He disappeared, but now upon his return Justin and other local kids have been invited to Zee’s house for a welcome home party. Nobody knows where he has been. However, things do not go as planned as Zee is not the same boy who vanished and soon a harmless game of hide and seek be the cause of the abduction of another child? Before long, the disappearances are traced to what happened to Zee and Justin and his motley band of friends find themselves going up against a boogieman type creature called ‘The Seeker’. The ten-year-old version of myself would have loved this book. AGE RANGE 10-12


JULIAN from Nine by Zach Hines

Nine is set in an alternate universe (which is an almost identical version of our world) except for the fact that everybody has nine lives. Most people plan their own death, even making an event out of it before they return in their next incarnation. This process is incredibly well described and visualised; the government encourage their population not to spent too long on each of the nine stages (or sections) of their life before moving onto the next. If you are on the initial stage, you are known as a ‘one’ and the next stage is a ‘two’ and so on. Most older teenagers are already onto ‘three’ and also, when you return in your new body, you might be older, but your new ‘model’ will have lost any excess fat or other imperfections it might have picked up, there might also be other enhancements.


The very clever story revolves around teenager Julian, who is the only ‘one’ in his school, this does not bother him, but others laugh at him and even his family find this vaguely uncomfortable as a certain negative stigma is attached to it. This is obviously the weirdest kind of peer pressure.  As the story moves on it develops into a complex mystery thriller, but also has much to say about sexuality and there are many (often funny and serious) metaphors thrown into the mix were losing your ‘two’ or ‘three’ might be compared to something else. Julian’s journey is a very strange one, but it is highly worthwhile joining him.  AGE RANGE 13+


THOMAS CALE from The Left Hand of God Quartet by Paul Hoffman

The Left Hand of God is an outstanding fantasy series and a very challenging read which could be read by adults as well as teenagers. The story is set in the Sanctuary of the Redeemer, which is similar to a monastery for trainee monks or orphans, who are treated horribly by their masters, the Lord Redeemers. Everybody serves in the name of the One True Faith, the religion of the land. The story focusses upon a boy called Thomas Cale who becomes strongly connected to an ancient prophecy whilst the Lord Redeemers plan to use his for their own purposes. Fantasy fiction does not get much better than this, soaked in atmosphere, intrigue and the fear that the prophecies might be real. Thomas Cale is a highly complex character and as the plot moves on he grows and begins to dominate the book in more ways than one. It’s also set in an exceptionally well-developed world, which is very like ours, but not quite. AGE RANGE 13+


GABRIEL AND ERIC from The Outrage by William Hussey
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Whilst The Outrage is not strictly a horror novel, its author is fast becoming a very distinctive literary voice in the LGBTQ+ movement. The Outrage continues this exploration with a single-sex relationship in a sinister and scarily dystopian version of the UK. In this society gay relationships are banned and the government, the Protectorate, once seen as a loony fringe party enforce the ‘Public Good’. This means that women must keep their hair from being too short, films which show positive gay relationships are banned and those who are gay have to keep it hidden, otherwise they will end up in a prison camp for reconditioning.


The story focusses on two gay teenagers Gabriel and Eric and tells their story in tandem, ‘before’ and ‘after’ whilst they try to live in a society where being homosexual is a crime. Both are outstanding and individualistic voices. Things are made worse by the fact that Eric is the son of the chief inspector at Degenerate Investigations and Gabriel is a natural rebel who enjoys rocking against the system. There were so many things I loved about this book; the beautiful unapologetic relationship, the background characters who were secretly in the rebellion and the references to the Underground Railroad, which helped slaves escape the southern states of America in the 19th Cenuury. The scariest thing about the book was how real if felt, with some sections feeling eerily familiar, or still practiced in many countries. AGE RANGE 13+  ​

​DAN CRAWFORD from Asylum by Madeleine Roux

Ayslum, first published in 2013, has since spawned two sequels and three novellas, including a prequel and follows in the footsteps of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by using atmospheric black and white photography.  This engaging and documentary style adds both tension and ambiguity to a fast-paced thriller set in an old building which was once a mental asylum before being converted for summer college courses. It has not been modernised too much and some of the original trappings of the old hospital are still visible, including vintage photographs which have the habit of turning up in odd places. 


Sixteen-year-old Dan Crawford has been accepted for the summer program at the New Hampshire College Prep and is looking forward to spending time with other intellectually minded kids. He quickly makes friends with Abby and Jordan, but a weird photo left in his bedside table throws him off his game and he begins to snoop into the history of the asylum. He soon uncovers the startling fact that it was once the last stop for the criminally insane. For the most part the story is quite restrained and slowly they realise that they all have connections to the hospital. It is a relatively easy and undemanding read with Dan and his friends being pulled out of their comfort zones with some clever twists and turns in the final third. AGE RANGE 12+


GRUBBS GRADY from Lord Loss and the Demonata Series by Darren Shan

The Demonata is a stunning ten book horror series which begins with Lord Loss and concludes with Hell’s Heroes and along the way make sure you check out the awesome Slawter (book three) and Bec (book four), of just do yourself a favour and read them all. I have been a fan of Darren Shan for over twenty years and whilst many authors have tried their hands at writing female characters, Darren just about always concentrates on the male point of view. This series effortlessly blends fantasy with wild gory horror and although they are standalone novels, they are best read in sequence.


The first few pages of Lord Loss let you know what you’re in for when Grubbs Grady witnesses his family being very violently murdered by demons, part of the mystery is why. I’ll never forget the first time I read this, and one character is ripped in half, incredibly bloody for a kid’s book! I later heard the author speak at an event and he read this scene aloud to about 500 kids, you could hear a pin drop. Darren Shan could really work the room! After the family massacre Grubbs goes to live with his uncle, but the demons are never far away as we realise the Grady family is well and truly cursed and is a theme throughout the series. I also loved the recurring chess theme that pops up here and there across the series and after a few books you will be hoping that book old Grubbs catches a break! AGE RANGE 11/12+


DARREN SHAN from The Saga of Darren Shan by Darren Shan

Between 2005 and 2005 we were blessed with the awesome twelve book Saga of Darren Shan series in which a teenager sells his soul to save a friend after he is bitten by a spider at a dodgy circus in the first novel Cirque Du Freak. Over twelve books, you will be totally captivated by Darren’s terrifying journey from human to half-vampire to Vampire Prince. And what an astonishing ride! Make sure you read the books in the correct order, which are broken down into loosely connected trilogies as Darren struggles to hold onto his humanity as larger than life characters such as Mr Crepsley are forever pulling him into darker and darker territory. The Saga of Darren Shan ranks as one of the high points of post 2000 YA horror literature, it is atmospheric, funny, realistic, moving and terrifying. All twelve are short and incredibly punchy, perfect for the any horror or fantasy reluctant readers in your life. AGE RANGE 11+


ALEX SAWYER from the Furnace Series by Alexander Gordon Smith 
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Sadly, these days few kids are aware of the exploits of the legendary Steve McQueen in The Great Escape and his attempts to escape from a German POW camp, however, the Escape from Furnace series has a teenager with a similar character, Alex Sawyer. After ending up in the clink the boy is forever dreaming of escaping from Furnace Penitentiary which is buried deep underground. Convicted of a crime he did not commit Alex vows to escape otherwise only death lies ahead as the life, in more ways than one, is slowly sucked from the convicts. 


However, in Furnace there are worse things than death and soon Alex discovers that the prison is a place of pure evil, where inhuman creatures in gas masks stalk the corridors at night and giants in black suits drag screaming inmates into the shadows. Behind everything is the mysterious, all-powerful warden, a great character who lurks in the shadows pulling the strings. As the series develops, Alex starts to uncover the truth about Furnace's deeper, darker purpose and his actions grow ever more dangerous, risking everything to expose this nightmare that's hidden from the eyes of the world. A very cool fusion of adventure, action and horror as Alex battles to escape in a series which gets darker with every book with his humanity in increasing pearl. AGE RANGE 11+

CALLUM from A Hunter’s Moon by Danny Weston

Set in 18th Century Scotland, Danny Weston’s A Hunter’s Moon is a fast-paced supernatural thriller which is top-loaded with local folklore and historical intrigue. Teenager Callum’s life is turned upside down when his father loses a pile of money at cards. As a result, he ends up working as a servant/slave to Frazer McCloud as payment for his father’s debt and McCloud is a tough master. Early in the novel the pair are hired to kill a wolf which is terrorising a local community some miles away. Once they arrive they realise the local farmers believe that the killer is not a wolf, but a creature from Scottish mythology called Cù Sìth. What follows is a very entertaining thriller in which Callum and Frazer realise that the Colonel who hired them has not told them the full story and something very nasty lurks in the encroaching forests and is hungry. 


I particularly enjoyed the interactions between the characters in A Hunter’s Moon. Initially McCloud is painted as a real bad guy, but he grows on the reader as the plot moves along. Likewise, the developing friendship between Callum and local girl Mhairi, the innkeeper’s daughter, came across as authentic, particularly as she has a strange air about her. I enjoy fiction which has a convincing folklore spin and A Hunter’s Moon had me checking Wikipedia a few times, all of which is blended into a convincing Scottish setting. Young horror and thriller fans will get quickly sucked into this engaging plot, especially as the body count increases, and even those readers who do not read much historical fiction will easily tap into this engaging novel populated with believable characters. AGE RANGE 10-13  


WILL HENRY from The Monstrumologist Series by Rick Yancey

This atmospheric gothic series has it all: monsters, corpses, spooky catacombs, atmosphere and loads of great scares, not to mention three bloody sequels which are top heavy with formidable creatures. Will Henry is an apprentice to Dr. Pellinore Warthrop and telling the wildest of stories, in diary format, revealing the darkest secrets of the world’s most famous Monstrumologist and his dodgy experiments. The ‘mad scientist’ may well remind you of a crazy version of Sherlock Holmes and although Will does not genuinely like Warthrop, he is loyal and loves the excitement and unpredictability of working with the scientist. 


Set in the Victorian era, the atmosphere is outstanding, and for a children’s book is incredibly gory. In The Terror Beneath (the first book) a group of monsters from any person's worst nightmare begin to wreak havoc on the sleepy New England town of New Jerusalem and Will has to swing into action to save the day. If I had read this as an eleven-year-old I would have been blown away and given anything to be Will! AGE RANGE 11+


MACKIE from The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff
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Brenna Yovanoff’s debut The Replacement is an entertaining teen riff on the popular folklore changeling story in which a fairy child replaces a human child stolen by the fairies. The setting for the novel is the very superstitious small town of Gentry which has very old connections to the fairy world and because of that, strange occurrences are quite normal. I really liked the fact that main character, sixteen-year-old Mackie, is fully aware he is a changeling right from the start. He also bucks the stereotypes of most teenage boys and is neither strong, a sports star or popular with the girls, he would rather fade into the background and has complex health issues due to his true nature.  


Gentry is subject to the subtle rule of the fairy world who demand a blood tithe every seven years in exchange for the town's prosperity. Blended into Mackie's story is that of his friend and potential love interest Tate which helps develop a convincing balance of supernatural story with a teenager who has obvious identity issues. Eventually the story takes us to the underworld of Gentry and the home of the fey, where Mackie must decide if he belongs. This was a great tale of Celtic mythology blended into a contemporary American setting. AGE RANGE 12+


Tony Jones

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 enough read, it was rather one paced and the author tried too hard to shoehorn an unconvincing supernatural angle into the plot. The story was inspired by real life murders and the true crime feel it had worked better than the misfiring attempt of convincing 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, what utter rubbish. 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. It had its moments, but I feel many teens will find this a rather frustrating and underwhelming read. AGE RANGE 13+  ​

​In the UK Yvette Fielding is a popular television personality best known for her Most Haunted series which has run for almost two decades and over three hundred episodes, as well as a host of other documentaries and programmes with a supernatural theme. If the endnotes Fielding notes having many genuine run-ins with ghosts and the supernatural, should this be the case then it’s a pity her debut children’s novel The House in the Woods does not feature some of these scares. However, it was a very solid and readable debut, but considering it was written by somebody connected with the supernatural for so many years it came across as safe, with a very familiar story. In a nutshell, three best friends mess around with a Ouija board on Halloween night and then something bad comes knocking. Interestingly, Amazon lists this as an 11+ book, I would pitch it a bit lower and it should not be mistaken for YA horror and would be good for children at the top end of primary and is a solid Middle Grade read.
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The blurb notes “Stranger Things meets Point Horror” but this is an easier read than most of those and I would pitch it slightly above the Goosebumps series. I enjoyed the fact that the story was set in East London, with a nicely diverse group of three best friends, Clovis, Eve and Tom, who are all very different but stick together. Eve lost her parents the previous year and lives with her uncle, Clovis comes from a Caribbean family, whilst Tom is very sporty but does not get on with his dad. Combined the three characters carry the story nicely, ably supported by the eccentric inventor uncle and a dog called Boris which farts all the time. After fooling around with the board, the kids quickly realise whatever they summoned has followed them home and there were some nice poltergeist style scenes when they realise something is trying to contact them from the other side which is both distressed and determined, perhaps not necessarily trying to harm them.  This novel is being billed as the Ghost Hunter Chronicles book 1 and I would suggest that if it is going to succeed then Yvette Fielding needs to ramp up the fear factor and draw upon all those real hauntings. Children enjoy being scared and although this was an enjoyable first effort from the “First Lady of the Paranormal” older kids might find it slightly mild, but the story moves along at a nice pace and catches the imagination. Scare us Yvette; I dare you! AGE RANGE 10-12.

​Stephanie Perkins is best known for the bestselling Anna and the French Kiss trilogy published between 2010 and 2014, however in 2017 made a fascinating diversion into YA horror with There's Someone Inside Your House. This was an excellent slasher high school read which we have featured on Ginger Nuts in the past and is currently being developed by Netflix. Stephanie is a fine addition to the YA horror scene, and I was delighted to hear she was sticking with horror with The Woods Are Always Watching. Like its predecessor, this latest novel is a non-supernatural story with a plot which is more akin to adult horror, rather than YA. If this were an adult novel it would undoubtedly fit into the ‘Hillbilly Horror’ subgenre, something we rarely come across in YA. It really was a book of two halves, the first intricately sets the scene with clever and convincing character development and the second half ramps up the horror, which includes some truly bone-crunching scenes, with real menace and gore. Some of these sequences would not have been out of place in an eighties backwater horror movie where the victims are picked off one by one.

This does not exactly happen in The Woods Are Always Watching as there are only two major characters, Neema and Josie who are going on a three-day hike deep into the woods of the Pisgah National Forest, which is part of the Appalachian mountain range which stretches through numerous American states, with the action taking place in North Carolina. The girls are inexperienced walkers, slightly naive, and are looking for an exciting trip to mark the end of high school. In a horror setting the pair have ‘victim’ targets on their backs. In the background there is tension in the air as one of the pair will be leaving to attend college and this is the last opportunity for the two high school outsiders to bond before moving on with their lives. Things do not pan out that way and the characters, who are obviously not the outdoor type, struggle with the terrain and begin to find problems with each other as stress levels increase. The two halves truly were widely different, and I struggled to decide who to pitch this novel at: the first part was harmless teen survival fun, the second features the threat of rape, murder and rather cliched killers, characters which could have been lifted straight out of a thousand ‘Hillbilly Horror’ films. However, the girls fight for survival was very realistic and, if anything, Perkins was perhaps too cruel on one of the characters who were naive beyond belief. Riveting stuff and young teens who tackle this must surely be ready to make the jump to adult horror. AGE RANGE 13+

Billed as “The Conjuring meets The Vow!” was an interesting by-line for a YA horror novel, as I’m not sure how many thirteen or fourteen-year-olds would know either of those productions. To be honest, even I had to look The Vow up and although I can see the relevance the blurb really needs to be more teen friendly to attract those who like cults, the supernatural and exorcisms. Small Town Monsters was an outstanding read and the split chapter narratives between ‘Vera’ and ‘Max’ was perfectly balanced, engaging and played a big part in creating a convincing horror novel which should be attractive to both boys and girls. Vera is the daughter of a family who have supernatural powers and operate as exorcists however, the ‘gift’ seems to have jumped a generation and Vera is just a normal teenager. Max has his own problems, and his mother is a recovering alcoholic who is very disconnected, and he is worried that she might hurt his little sister. Max’s dad died in a fire a few years earlier and he has had to grow up fast, working in the family restaurant and dealing with his school friends, who lack his maturity.

The setting of the novel is terrific and lots of bad things routinely happen in the town of Roaring Creek, with Max suspecting something supernatural is wrong with his mother, approaches Vera for help. The problem is the two have been in the same classes since primary school but have never ever spoken to each other and the developing dynamics between the two teens is a real strength of the novel. I loved both characters and their contrasts, Vera was an outsider and Max was popular, but leads a complicated life because of his family.  There is more than one angle to the supernatural which has a real Latin American feel to it, taking in Santa Muerte (Saint Death), aspects of exorcisms, demon possession and a sinister cult which begins to infiltrate the people of the town.  Small Town Monsters was a terrific blend of horror, thriller, spooky small-town secrets and a convincing slow burning romance. Highly recommended. AGE RANGE 12+