YA DARK FICTION ROUND-UP FOR AUGUST 2020

Today we feature eleven novels which have caught my eye over the last couple of months. They are presented alphabetically and are a range of dark and genre fiction, rather than straight horror which seem to be in short supply. Some are traditional Young Adult (YA) fiction aimed at kids aimed 12/13 or older, whilst a few are aimed at younger children, at the top end of primary school, or Middle Grade in the USA.

Courtney Alameda & Valynne E Maetani – Seven Deadly Shadows

I am a massive fan of Courtney Alameda and would highly recommend both her previous novels Shutter and Pitch Dark which are beautiful blends of horror and science fiction, both are reviewed elsewhere on the site. This latest effort, co-written with Valynne E Maetani, changes direction beautifully in a supernatural story set in Japan which is partly inspired by Kurosawa’s The Seven Samurai. Who knows how many teens of 2020 (zero possibly!) will be aware of that masterpiece, but it remains a very cool source to tap into for inspiration. In Shutter, ghosts are visible to everybody and in Seven Deadly Shadows the premise is slightly similar, in that some people can see ghosts and spirits. The novel is very top heavy with Japanese culture and references and you will find yourself using the word glossary at the back of the book, hopefully teen readers do not find the introduction to so many new words and vast culture differences too overwhelming. 
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The story revolves around seventeen-year-old Kira Fujikawa who is one of those who can see the ghosts, called ‘yokai’ and soon discovers that a powerful demon will rise imminently and to counteract it she summons seven other death gods (hence the Seven Samurai reference) to help in the fight to save Japan and also the world. The authors obviously put a huge amount of research into this book and if you are a fan of Japanese mythology it is truly unmissable. It was so cool seeing the main character going from bullied schoolgirl to a powerful type of sorceress who struggles (and wins) to maintain control over the wildly different creatures she summons but comes of age while doing do. This novel is aimed at very strong readers, as it is complex and takes time finding its feet but is worth it. AGE 13/14+

Tara Altebrando – Take Me With You

Tara Altebrando is a popular Middle Grade and YA author who is much better known in the USA than the UK, however, The Leaving and The Possible did pick up some attention and are terrific thrillers which are well worth closer investigation. Take Me With You is in the same ballpark and is a smart page turner  which plays upon the fears our digital footprints might leave through information gathering online and is told through four teenage voices who find themselves in the same classroom, bogusly called together. Upon arrival the teenagers find a small cube sitting on a desk and soon take a closer too. Its sides light up with rules for them for follow: “Do not tell anyone about the device. Never leave the device unattended. And then, Take me with you . . . or else.” Their troubles are just beginning.

The teens think this is some sort of prank or perhaps a school social experiment until they realise that the box is very powerful and in its own way very needy or runs via a weird type of artificial intelligence. If you are a fan of tecky related thrillers, social media, freaky apps balanced with varied teenage characters this was a very entertaining page-turner, even if slightly far-fetched. AGE 13+ 

Nicholas Bowling – Alpha Omega

Alpha Omega is a fascinating change of direction for an author who is known for writing historical fiction, with a supernatural twang who I met at a book event not too long ago. I have read both his previous novelss and am delighted to see Titan releasing a YA novel which is clearly set in a British school (NutriStart Skills Academy), which uses UK terminology and avoids the American mannerisms you often get with this sort of fiction. I love seeing authors doing something different or unpredictable and Nicholas Bowling certainly does that here.

Part of its effectively is the fact it is set in a very convincing 'near' future, 95% of things are the same, but the story is built around the 5% which if different, particularly the stuff surrounding the school. I think the author works as a teacher, it shows, because the school scenes were incredibly convincing.  The action opens with the discovery of a human skull on the fringes of the school, children displaying symptoms of a bloody, unfamiliar contagion, and a catastrophic malfunction in the site’s security system, the NSA is about to experience a week that no amount of rebranding can conceal. The story takes in both teachers and pupils as everything escalates and the school spirals out of control, with the AV game being increasingly influential. Alpha Omega is high quality speculative fiction, which has much to say about social media, mental health, and the impact of digital technology on teenagers. Well worth checking out and I have already bought it for my library. AGE 12+

Lisa Brown – The Phantom Twin

Isabel and Jane are conjoined twins who share a leg and an arm in this very moving graphic novel, which is probably set in 1950s America. Most of the story takes place in a travelling carnival, which among its attractions has a freak-show which includes the twin girls. Early in the story we are told they were sadly sold to the carnival owner as they were unwanted to their parents. The girls are very different and Jane dreams of being separated and leading her own life. Jane is also the more dominant of the pair and after they meet a doctor who is certain he can separate them the story really kicks off. I found this to be a thought-provoking story which authentically recreates carnival fairground life and even includes a glossary of ‘Carny’ terms at the end of the book.

You will be able to tell from the title The Phantom Twin that Jane does not survive the operation and poor Isabel is left with only one leg and one arm. Her dead twin also returns as a ghost, or is she a recreation of her phantom leg? The story then centres upon Isabel trying to make her way in life, she gets help, returns to the carnival, but in many ways no longer belongs there. Thankfully this sad story has an uplifting ending and there is nothing in the story to stop younger children reading the book, which might bring up interesting conversations with their parents also, as old fashioned freak-show carnies are surely now a thing of the past. The artwork is also both beautiful and effective. AGE 11+

​Polly Ho-Yen – Boy in the Tower

The Boy in the Tower is a lovely juvenile (threatening, but not too scary) twist on the Day of the Triffids story, but in this version the strange plants which begin appearing start attacking the foundations of all the buildings in the south London housing estate where the action takes place. It is called the Boy in the Tower at the main character, Ade who is in his final year of primary school, lives in the last building left standing in the local area, which there is a specific reason for, revealed later in the novel. As a certain point his best friend (who is partially deaf) disappears and as the buildings collapse one after the other Ade becomes more and more isolated, stuck with his sick mother in the flat, scared that his building will be the next to collapse. As hunger pangs set in, some of the inhabitants start catching pigeons for food giving an added level of realism.

The story is split into a ‘then’ and ‘now’ narrative which takes the action before and after the arrival of the nasty plants. The leading character is lovely and very easy to connect with, and this would be a beautiful book to read to a 7 to 9 year-old as a bedtime story as the narrative is perfect for a child at the top end of primary school. It is slightly too easy for secondary school kids, but might still suitable for 11-12-year-olds not ready for anything too challenging.  AGE 9+

Chelsea Ichaso – Little Creeping Things

I do enjoy dark YA thrillers, loaded with twists, which keeps the readers on their toes until the end and there have been plenty of examples in recent months to choose from. Chelsea Ichaso's debut Little Creeping Things is one to watch out for, led by a fine unreliable narrator who may be hiding something, or then again, perhaps not. The main character Cassidy accidently started a serious fire when she was a child which resulted in the death of a neighbour. Although she cannot remember the incident, she has never been able to move on, and even as a teenager is bullied because of it and is even called a murderer for something which happened a decade earlier. Or so we are told.

One of the main bullies disappears and the mystery thickens, written in such a way in which the reader is never quite sure of Cassidy's involvement, which is complicated by the appearance of mysterious text messages. Cassidy sets out to solve the mystery, and perhaps unlock the secrets of her past, so make sure you hang in there for a very clever ending. There was alot of enjoy in this edgy thriller, which is an excellent read particularly for teenage girls who are the likely target audience. AGE 13+

CS James & Sean Elwood - Fright Filter (Twisted Books to Leave You Shook Book 1)

When you read books like Fright Filter you need to climb into the shoes of your ten-year-old self, and I am certain the junior version of Tony would have lapped this story up! The action opens with twelve-year-old Nicole in school and being peer-pressured into (almost) posting a picture of her classmate Patty on social media, with her face morphed into that of a pig. The teacher, Ms Crawford, catches Nicole in the act and confiscates the mobile phone just before the picture goes live. Fright Filter handles the tween friendship and bullying part of the story with confidence, balancing it with a developing supernatural edge which is introduced quite slowly. As with most fiction aimed at children of this age, it does have a morale message which is delivers without getting too patronizing or heavy handed.

Nicole ends up turning into a monster, then an old lady, due to a dodgy filter on her phone and although she reaches out to her best friend Rebecca, it is eventually Patty who comes to her aid. In some sections it is played it for slight laughs, with Nicole doing her best to avoid her mother and little brother, when she should have been more horrified in being turning into a monster. The final sections make some big plot jumps and as a result the ending felt a little rushed, but overall blended the horror with family drama nicely. Along the way there were parental issues (a recently dead father) and some back and forth with Nicole’s annoying little brother and stressed mother. A solid debut to a promising new series. AGE 8+

Alexandra Monir – The Final Six

The Final Six is more dystopian, environmentally tinged science fiction than horror, which already has a sequel, The Life Below. The sequel is the curse in YA fiction and this book is another perfect example, all the good stuff is being kept for the second instalment and teenage readers may well feel cheated by what is effectively half-a-book. However, it is still a decent enough story, with two engaging lead characters, but I would still question whether there is enough going on to split it into two books. If you remember the old 1980s Disney film Space Camp, this novel is a YA environmental themed updating of it, except for the outer space element, which is being saved for book two. Unless book two is a genuine killer, it might have been wiser to cut a lot of the padding in The Final Six and give the reader a very strong single volume. 

Set slightly in the future, the planet has been destroyed by global warming and mankind is looking to explore other planets for a way to salvation. The International Space Training Camp come up with a list of 22 potential astronauts, of which six will be chosen to be sent on a mission one of Jupiter’s moons. That is the whole plot and although Leo and Naomi are engaging central characters there was not quite enough going on to carry the story as those chosen become minor celebrities through intense media speculation. However, some of the background character development was eye-catching; Leo was a champion swimmer who plundered art masterpieces which were now underwater in Rome and Naomi was a teen science genius. As the new hope of salvation picks up speed, the new-found celebrities are slowly whittled down from twenty-two to six. AGE 12+

Patrick Ness – Burn

Patrick Ness is one of the most awarded and distinguished YA authors in the UK and I always look forward to seeing what he produces next and Burn is probably his best novel for a few years. It has a genuinely fascinating premise; being set in 1957 with the Cold War rumbling in the background, however, in this alternate history, dragons live in tandem with mankind. In the distant past there were wars between the two species, but as things currently stand men pay dragons to carry out farming work and other jobs and a vaguely uneasy alliance exists. Along the way we find out that most of the dragons live in a part of Canada which is uninhabited by man who do not really know what goes on in these areas. The story revolves around a teenage girl whose father hires a 50 foot (considered to be small) blue dragon called Kazimer to clean out his fields.

This is one of the Ness novels which is aimed at older pupils as it has several complex storylines which are connected to both an ancient prophecy and various Cold War related plots and conspiracies. I thought the dragon stole the show, he was both vaguely unsettling and in turn amusing, with the relationship he develops with Sarah. The stories tie in together and although it is technically a fantasy novel, it is undoubtedly the least showy dragon book you are ever likely to read. Forget Pete’s Dragon! The level of world building, both authentically connected to the genuine Cold War era, and how the dragons fit into this alternative universe was superb. Burn was not an easy read and was more of a drama than a page-turner which I would happily recommend to strong teen readers who will find it captivating. AGE 13+

Steve Stred - The Boy Whose Room Was Outside

Steve Stred is a prolific adult horror writer, check out The One That Knows No Fear as a great example of his recent work, who turns his hand to children’s fantasy horror with The Boy Whose Room Was Outside. Amazon mentions this is YA, however, it is aimed at younger kids, probably around eight to ten. It is quite a gentle and non-threatening fantasy novel, which older kids might find a bit unchallenging, so stick with the younger age group. The story revolves around a young boy who when he falls asleep wakes up in a fantasy and magical world where he meets lots of different animals who can talk. Whilst he is in this other world, he is also being watched by a dark presence which draws closer to him as the story progresses. This dark force does not want him in the forest, but we do not know why.

This was a very easy read which might fire the imagination of younger children but considering the depth of excellent fantasy novels on the market a story needs more strings to its bow than talking animals to genuinely hold the attention. Peter repeatedly goes backwards and forwards to the other land and after a while it got repetitive as too many of the journeys were similar, where not that much happened. However, there were many nice touches, including his relationship with his parents, his dad attempting to get to the other world, Peter’s understanding mother and the fact that his parents couldn’t figure out where he learned to swim! The giant was a lovely character, but in the end of the day the ‘dark’ character did not do much apart from lurk in the background and so the story lacked a strong villain. Having said that, not all stories have to be truly dark and Peter’s journey was a nice, gentle, and easy to read coming-of-age story aimed at younger children. AGE 8/9+

Teri Terry – Dark Blue Rising

I have been a fan of Teri Terry since her arrival on the YA scene with the excellent Slated in 2012 which developed into one of the best dystopian series of the last decade and have read most of her subsequent books and she has been incredibly popular in my school library. Although Dark Blue Rising is a very solid very enjoyable read, it lacks the sinister edge which Slated possessed and the end-of-the-world scenario in the virus driven Contagion trilogy. However, Dark Blue Rising is still very good YA, albeit a gentler, character driven read, which crosses between drama and thriller and for the most part is tricky to figure out exactly where the book is heading. It also suffers the current YA curse: it finishes for a sequel and lacks enough resolution at the end of this first book.
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Sixteen-year-old Tabby lives with her mum Cate, she does not go to school, and they travel around gypsy and traveller camps and seem to be living a transient lifestyle. Cate is suspicious of everything any might be on the run, but from who or what? After a bullying incident leaves Tabby with a broken arm her life begins to seriously unravel and when the police become involved a major revelation is dropped on her which turns her life upside down. In the background we realise Tabby is an amazing swimmer and can hold her breathe underwater for an incredibly long period and has a weird attraction to the sea. A potential conspiracy bounces nicely with Tabby trying to start a new life, until she realises Cate might have kept her hidden for a reason. But that is for book two, which some readers might find frustrating. AGE 12+

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