YA ROUND UP MARCH/APRIL 2020TEN DARK FICTION TITLES WORTH A CLOSER LOOK

6/5/2020

YA Round Up March/April 2020 Ten dark fiction titles worth a closer look

It’s time for a whistle-stop tour of the latest YA and kid’s dark fiction titles to darken my door since the new year. We have a fine mixture of zombies, witches, dystopias and some very cool dark fantasy. Sadly, as with previous roundups, which I have highlighted in other articles, there is a continued lack of boys as lead characters. Thanks to Tim Major and Darren Charlton for giving us some great teenage boys to get behind! I am not surprised statistics show boys are abandoning YA horror fiction when 90% of the books only feature female voices. Boys make up 50% of the population and it is a great shame there are so few male characters for them to connect with.
Most of these books have been published in the last few months and are presented alphabetically. If you have something you would like to see featured on the site, contact GNOH.

KR Alexander – The Collector

If you’re looking to introduce a primary school aged kid to horror, then KR Alexander’s The Collector is a fine place to start. It’s telegraphed to the adult reader, but for those aged eight to eleven this is great page-turning stuff with loads of creepy scenes, nice characterisation and a solid plot. Josie, her little sister Anna and their mum go to live with their grandmother as she is beginning to suffer from dementia. Upon arrival the granny warns the girls not to do three things: leave their windows open after dark, bring dolls into the house and not to go anywhere near the big house in the nearby forest. Both girls struggle to settle and make friends at their new school, but soon Josie meets Vanessa and things begin to pick up. At the same time, she receives strange warnings in her school locker telling her to avoid her new best friend Vanessa.

There is something about creepy dolls that puts kids on edge and this very entertaining story has them in spades. Soon Josie and Anna are on edge, bad dreams kick in, the granny gets even more erratic and they break the golden rule by visiting the house in the forest. This great little book is going to have your freaked out eight-year-old looking under their bed for a month. This has been published by Scholastic, who have published a lot of kid’s horror in the past, let’s hope there are many more to follow. AGE 8+

Darren Charlton – Wranglestone

Whilst zombies dominated the adult horror market a few years ago, they were a mere blip on the YA landscape where never amounted to much. It has also become trendy to write zombie novels without the dreaded ‘Z’ word and in Darren Charlton’s excellent Wranglstone we have another, instead the Zs are referred to as the ‘Restless Dead’. It might be a zombie yarn, but at heart its also a love story between two boys who find each other in a novel which has its own clever take on the zombie mythology, with a few nods to Warm Bodies along the way. The ‘Wranglestone’ of the title is an excellent location for what is effectively a survival story set a generation or so after a zombie holocaust. Most people are dead and the story focusses upon a group of survivors who live on an island and follow very strict rules and regulations to survive and, for example, do not accept newcomers. Early in the story everybody is edgy as when winter comes in the lake will freeze and that could bring the Restless Dead to their doorsteps.

You could argue that Wranglestone is not a horror novel, for long periods the zombies are in the background, and the novel is more about Peter and Cooper and specifically how Peter fits into the community they live in. Cooper, on the other hand, is more outgoing and has more of a role as a hunter and defender, showing Peter the ropes in how they go about defending their home. I thought the story had excellent world-building, a credible backstory and was a fresh take on the zombie yarn. Adult connoisseurs on the ‘Z’ subject will undoubtedly have come across most of the ideas elsewhere, but for a teenage reader it was excellent stuff and the final third throws some very entertaining curveballs and decent twists about the darker side and origins of Wranglestone. It was also nice to read about a teenager who knew he was gay from the outset, there was no questioning or ambiguity, he was attracted to Cooper and that was that. AGE 12+

Sara Holland – HavenFall

Sara Holland follows the top-notch fantasy duology Everless with another very cleverly drawn fantasy novel, HavenFall, which is a strong entry in what promises to be another successful new series. The action takes place in a remote hotel (HavenFall) in the Rocky Mountains which is a magical gateway between three (often feuding) worlds. The hotel is the only place where there is a permanent truce, effectively safe grounds for parley and trade, between Byrn, Fiordenkill and Solaria. When HavenFall begins there are delegates from the different worlds for a big yearly event, however, there is also long-standing bad blood between various different factions and in particular, the shape-shifting, Solarians who have been cut out of recent negotiations because of a previous war. This was an intriguing set-up for the novel but unfortunately, we never visit any of the other worlds, which is probably being saved for a later novel.

The story is seen from the point of view of sixteen-year-old Maddie who is the niece of the InnKeeper, Marcus, which is a very important position. To the public at large he appears as a hotel manager, but to the magical world of HavenFall he is the peacemaker and go-between those who visit from the other worlds. Maddie arrives for the summer just as the big parley is beginning and is sucked into a web of political intrigue after something happens to her uncle. With him indisposed the running of HavenFall falls on her, which brings a whole load of pressures, stresses and dodgy dealings as others try to gain control of this magical gateway between the worlds. As with Everless Sara Holland develops a very believable fantasy land lurking within the shadows of our own world. Maddie is a very likable heroine as she discovers her own destiny, a smattering of romance is thrown in and although I saw all the twists coming this is a very engaging read for teenagers who enjoy fantasy. More please. AGE 12+

Justina Ireland – Deathless Divide (Dread Nation 2)

Dread Nation was one of the best YA horror novels of the last few years, sadly Deathless Divide falls well short of its predecessor lacking its freshness, originality and hampered by a huge page-count and rambling central storyline. To recap the original; during the American Civil War Battle of Gettysburg, the dead begin to walk and both sides of the bloody conflict realise there is a new enemy and temporarily put their differences aside. Dread Nation picks up the action fifteen years later when the ‘Thirteenth Amendment’ ensures there is still no equality between races. A new law, the ‘Negro and Native Re-education Act’ forces young black women to be taught a mixture of fighting skills and house etiquette and are the first line of defence against any ‘shamblers’ (zombies) which might attack the walled settlements. They are entirely expendable, but it is still seen as a better life for poor black people.

Deathless Divide picks up the stories of the same characters from the previous book and is alternatively seen from the first-person point of view of Jane and Katherine who were former members of ‘Miss Preston’s School of Combat for Negro Girls’. The early action concerns the fallout of the ‘hoard’ which invaded the town of Summerland at the end of book one, as the group head to another town, Nicodemus, which is rumoured to have lots of Negro inhabitants. Weighing in at a huge 565 pages Deathless Divide was way too long and not enough happened in plot that might have been lifted from The Walking Dead, many YA readers might struggle to connect with. The internal ‘voices’ of Katherine and Jane were too similar, and the themes of revenge and discovering a zombie antidote, were not strong enough to carry the story. Sadly, this book was a real trudge and did little to develop the original, even though it did have a strong plot-twist at the mid-point. AGE 13+

E. Latimer – Witches of Ash and Ruin

E. Latimer’s Witches of Ash and Ruin is set in rural Ireland and central character seventeen-year-old Dayna is training to be a witch. She is part of a local witch’s coven, who effectively hide in plain sight, and her religiously strict father has no idea of her hidden life. The story is told in five different voices, the others being her ex-boyfriend Samuel and two other young trainee witches from another coven, Meiner and Cora. The two covens band together, with a lot of distrust and friction, whilst attempting to solve the murder of another local witch, with the killer being the fifth narrative. Dayna is also coming to terms with the fact she is bisexual, and sparks begin to fly when there is obvious attraction between her and Meiner. Some readers might find that the relationship, a bit of a soap opera, dominates the supernatural story which often took a frustrating backseat.

Everything moved along at a decent pace and is connected to a serial killer who may have murdered many times in the past. YA readers should find this a solid, if undemanding read, which will undoubtedly remind them of lots of other fantasy novels. I also found the gender balance misfired slightly and potential male readers may be disappointed to find that the only teenage boy, for the most part plays second fiddle to the witch girls. If you don’t dig too deep Witches of Ash and Ruin is a solid mythological fantasy novel which should appeal to teenage girls, few boys will read this, but when you look below the surface it was not quite so convincing. AGE 13+

Leslie Karen Lutz - Fractured Tide

Fractured Tide action kicks off with Sia on a scuba-diving trip; her mother owns a boat and together they entertain tourist on day excursions. Whilst on a dive around a popular ship-wreck site with a large group of teenagers they think they are being stalked by a shark, but quickly realise this is something much nastier lurking in the water which quickly claims its first victim. From that point on, which is still quite early in the novel, expect the unexpected. Monsters, time-travel, Bermuda Triangle style shenanigans, weird sinkholes, time repeating itself and all sorts of outlandish stuff are thrown into a convoluted mix. I’m not going to go into any details about any of this part of Fractured Tide, just don’t expect it to make much sense, as it is as much X-Files as thriller.

Fractured Tide has an odd narrative style which some readers might find both frustrating and a tension killer. The whole story is told in the first person, present tense, by seventeen-year-old Sia in the form of journal entries written to her absent father. As Sia has a lot of swimming and diving experience the others look at her for leadership as events continue to get more outlandish and she holds things together admirably due to the lack of adult leadership. Her mother appears in patches and she also must watch out for her little brother Felix. Fractured Tide might have had a broader YA appeal if there had been more than one POV. Ben is underutilised and there is a lack of strong male teen characters in current YA horror fiction and this novel is yet another in which girls run the show. Some of the reveals were handled very nicely and Fractured Tide keeps the reader guessing until the bitter end, which is no surprise as the story is wild. Even if you pick a few holes in the outlandish plot it was still very good fun. AGE 12+

Tim Major – Machineries of Mercy (watch out for republication later in 2020)

Machineries of Mercy was originally published in 2018 on CHITEEN, the YA section of the troubled CHIZINE publishing house. There problems have been well documented elsewhere, so if you are interested in this quirky dystopian thriller, perhaps consider waiting until it is republished on a new label later this year. I don’t know how fashionable the computer game SIMS is with kids today, but my fourteen-year-daughter remains an avid fan and there is an element of that system in this novel, there is also a large slice of Orwell’s 1984, John Wyndham’s Midwich Cuckoos and other novels of this type will probably spring to mind. Told through a double-narrative, Lex and Ethan, are involved in a break into a powerful company Mercy HQ and after he is caught, and imprisoned, things go from bad to worse. The story takes its time revealing what is going on and being set slightly in the future an Orwellian style world is chillingly mapped out in a Wyndham style village. Lex and Ethan are railing against the system created by the all-powerful Mercy HQ, but ‘the man’ is big and very powerful.

Once caught Ethan is not sent to a prison, he is sent to a virtual reality village called Touchstone, adult readers will quickly realise this is very similar to Westworld. However, this is a freaky place and is incredibly well drawn out by the author. There are loads of glitches in the system, the ‘prisoners’ so to school and many are avatars mixed in amongst the real prisoners who band together. Like 1984, the objective is brainwashing and breaking the spirits of the inmates. In one great scene Ethan runs in a long-distance race and is doing well, but eventually finishes last, as he is an avatar, the system is rigged for him to lose. Whilst he fights to survive in the virtual reality world Lex tries to solve the mystery of where he disappeared to. Things might fit together a bit too easily in the end, but for teens who like computer games and YA dystopian novels it was very entertaining. AGE 12+

saundra Mitchell – All the Things We Do in the Dark

You are not going to read many braver books than Saundra Mitchell’s edgy mystery All the Things We Do in the Dark which deals with the long-term fallout of a teenage girl who was raped as a nine-year-old. Picking up the story several years later Ava continues to deal with PTSD type symptoms, and few know about her ordeal except her family and her best friend. The assault also left her with a badly damaged face and the first-person narrative helps creative a very emotional and personal story which was very convincing. This is not a subject which is easy to write about, and is only revisited through flashbacks, but remains very powerful.

The plot features a touch of magical realism, after an argument with her best friend Ava is walking home in the forest and discovers a dead body. Instead of reporting it to the police, she keeps the body a secret, calls her “Jane” and later begins to see what she things is her ghost before attempting to solver her murder. This seventeen-year-old is a great central character and is easily triggered and uses things like secret tattoos to compartmentalise her feelings. It was a tough book to read and this sort of YA fiction rarely existed twenty-years-ago, and it is fantastic that we have brave novels that can lead to discussions on the long term psychological effects of rape, guilt, and the perception that a woman can be ‘asking for it.’ Highly recommended. AGE 13+

rhonda Parrish - Hollow

There was much going on in Rhonda Parrish’s YA debut Hollow, which takes its time revealing its supernatural story, around 30% before anything much happened. That is not to say what went before was not interesting to read, as we are introduced to sixteen-year-old Morgan who has a difficult home life. Her mother is in a wheelchair and suffers from depression and her little brother died in the same accident, as a result Morgan looks after her little sister. She is also bullied at school by an ex-boyfriend who spreads nasty rumours about her, something she really struggles with. Her only form of escape is with her best friend and through her hobby, running. This was all very easy to read, with snappy engaging dialogue, with Morgan an easy character to spend time with.

The story takes a turn for the supernatural when she discovers an old camera in an abandoned hospital, which has strange qualities which seem to suck the goodness from people if they are snapped. Morgan’s first photo is of a squirrel, which quickly goes mental in a very cool scene. It picks up the pace in the second half, but I liked the balance of school stuff, the new love interest and the teenager trying to do the best for her family. It takes its time revealing what happened with the ex-boyfriend, in the form of a sexual assault, but it fits well into the wider story. Much of it is very reminiscent of the famous Point Horror novels of the 1990s and I think lots of teens might enjoy this. AGE 13+

Suzanne Young – Girls with Sharp Sticks

I was a huge fan of Suzanne Young’s Program series and was interested in seeing what she was going to produce next and Girls with Sharp Sticks, which promises to be the start of a new sequence, does not disappoint. Reading this as an adult the plot is telegraphed and fairly predictable from the numerous clues dropped, however, if you put yourself into the shoes of a 12-15 year-old-girl, it is an entertaining tale of friendship, identity in the oppressive atmosphere of the Girls of Innovations Academy. In the opening sequences we’re introduced to main-character Mena and it looks like she attends some sort of old-fashioned finishing school where girls are taught manners, obedience and other society rules. However, lots of hints are dropped very slowly and you’ll have fun figuring out the big picture about the true motives of the school. When Mena is out on a day trip, she meets a boy, who the girls are not allowed to fraternise with, and things develop further.

These beautiful (all are perfect) girls are taught not to ask questions, but when one of Mena’s classmates disappears the cracks begin to show. This novel has many similarities to Louise O’Neill’s Only Ever Yours, which asks the same ethical questions as this thoughtful novel, albeit in a more dystopian setting. AGE 12+