FINISHED: 
Smith, Ronald L. (2017). The Mesmerist. New York: Clarion/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

[In Victorian England, 13-year-old, white Jessamine helps her mother in swindling those who wish to contact the dead, and comes to discover that her parents were members of the League of Ravens, a group of folk with special abilities who protected England from an evil necromancer named Mephisto.  When Jess figures out that she, too, has an ability (to read people’s memories) she goes to live with Balthazar, the old head of the League of Ravens, and two other young people with special powers, and the three of them take it upon themselves to banish Mephisto forever when it appears that he has returned and is spreading disease throughout London.  Smith’s follow up to his eerie Hoodoo (Clarion, 2015) is equally creepy, dripping with mood and a heavy sense of foreboding, with tense, claustrophobic battle sequences against ghouls in the newly constructed London Underground, and the repeated use of the rhyme/song “Ring Around the Rosie” that will elicit chills.  When London becomes overrun by a mysterious disease (caused by Mephisto) and townspeople look for a scapegoat, ultimately settling on immigrants (“Foreigners out of our England!”), one can’t help but call to mind Brexit, the “Muslim Ban”, and other similar events in the current tide of nationalism.  This is one that more mature scary story fans should thoroughly enjoy.]

STARTED:
Wolk, Lauren. (2017). Beyond the Bright Sea. New York: Dutton/Penguin Random House.

[Newbery buzz...]

*

FINISHED: 
Avi. (2016). School of the Dead. New York: HarperCollins.

[Tony and his family move to San Francisco so that he can attend the alma mater, The Penda School, of his afterlife-believing, recently deceased Uncle Charlie.  Upon starting seventh grade at his new school, Tony not only begins to see the ghost of his dead Uncle, but also that of a long dead student, while finding out that over the life of the school, students have been mysteriously disappearing every seven years.  Avi’s latest has its moments where the reader will be fooled by some red herrings, as Tony eventually finds himself caught between a ghost who needs his help, a group of students called the Weird History Club who investigate the odd goings on at the school, and teachers who advise Tony to stay away from the Weird History Club… thus putting him in a position where he’s not sure who to believe has his best interest at heart, and wondering if there is anyone that he can trust.  This aside, the story being set in San Francisco seems inconsequential, and rather than building real tension, this is a standard ghost story with few real scares that feels padded and overlong (not helped by the lack of chapter designations), giving the impression that it could’ve made a much more effective short story.]

STARTED:
Springstubb, Tricia. (2016). Every Single Second. New York: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins.

[Rereading before writing a formal review for ACL.  As previously mentioned (and seen by the author!), MOONPENNY ISLAND, from last year, was one of my ABSOLUTE FAVORITES, so I'm trying this one again to solidify my feelings.]

*

FINISHED:
Stroud, Jonathan. (2013). The screaming staircase (Lockwood & Co.: Book 1). New York: Disney/Hyperion.


[.]


STARTED:
Blackwood, Sage. (2013). Jinx. New York: HarperCollins.


[.]

*

FINISHED:
Schlitz, Laura Amy. (2012). Splendors and glooms. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.


[Review forthcoming...]

STARTED:
Eichler, Glen. (2011). Mush!:  Sled dogs with issues. New York: First Second.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Smith, Cynthia Leitich. (2011). Tantalize: Kieren's story. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

[Quincie and her uncle are reopening their family restaurant as Sanguini’s, an Italian restaurant that will cater to “predators” and “prey”… vampires and humans. When the head chef, Vaggio, is found murdered in the kitchen, Quincie’s on again/off again boyfriend, Kieren, a human/werewolf hybrid, is accused of the brutal killing. This sets Kieren off on an investigation to not only find out who really murdered Vaggio, but also to find out what may have happened to all of the high school students that have recently gone missing, eventually discovering that the new head chef of the restaurant is using it as a device to create new vampires. Based on her own 2007 dark fantasy novel Tantalize (Candlewick, 2007), though with the focus shifted from the female protagonist to her hybrid (human/werewolf) boyfriend, this graphic novelization ends up being more boring than violent: there’s one scene where the vice principal of Quincie and Kieren’s school gets his head chopped off, but, otherwise it’s Kieren driving around town trying to find Quincie for the majority of the story. Being based off of a novel, there are definite moments where it seems like there is jump in the storyline/action, and some of the illustrated panels are so busy and muddy that it is difficult to figure out what we are being shown. That said, though the werewolf/vampire craze may be waning, this will find a definite audience – albeit one that may be disappointed in the lack of blood and gore. A brief Author’s Note discusses the literary and setting inspirations for the original novel. [Review based on ARC.]]

STARTED:
Brosgol, Vera. (2011). Anya's ghost. New York: First Second/Roaring Brook.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Scieszka, Jon [ed.]. (2011). Guys read: Thriller. New York: Walden Pond/HarperCollins.

[.]

STARTED:
Skye, Obert. (2011). Wonkenstein: the creature from my closet. New York: Christy Ottaviano/Henry Holt.

[Reviewing for ACL...]

*

FINISHED:
Anderson, M.T. (2010). The suburb beyond the stars. New York: Scholastic.

[.]

STARTED:
Choldenko, Gennifer. (2011). No passengers beyond this point. New York: Dial/Penguin.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Hahn, Mary Downing. (2010). The ghost of Crutchfield Hall. New York: Clarion/Houghton Mifflin.

[My official ACL review:

Orphan Florence is pulled from the orphanage where she’s been living for the past seven years and whisked away to Crutchfield Hall, a rural gothic mansion where a well-to-do aunt and uncle reside. Florence quickly realizes that all is not well, however, when she discovers that her recently deceased cousin, Sophia, seems to be lingering and has it out for Florence’s ailing cousin James. What’s worse, Sophia’s “death day” is approaching (it’s been a full year since she died) and her influence on Florence is strengthening while Florence finds it harder and harder to resist Sophia’s pull. This is a vivid, if typical, Victorian ghost story steeped in rich language and descriptive passages which give a strong sense of place and mood and, at a brisk 150 pages, would be perfect for those ready to graduate from collections of shorter scary stories. [Reviewed from ARC.]]

STARTED:
Berlin, Eric. (2007). The puzzling world of Winston Breen. New York: Puffin/Penguin.

[Heard it's fun.]

*

FINISHED:
Shan, Darren. (2010). The thin executioner. New York: Little, Brown & Co.

[After being publicly humiliated for his perceived weakness by his executioner father, Jebel embarks on a mythic quest to ask a fire god for invincibility in hopes of being able to return to his home and win a competition to be the new town executioner. Accompanying Jebel is a slave, Tel Hesani, whom he knows he will eventually need to sacrifice in order to appease the god, though along the way Jebel learns tolerance and the fact that it’s the journey, not what’s at the end of the road, that really matters. Shan, author of the popular vampire series Cirque du Freak (Little, Brown, 2001) has penned a (trademark) gory homage to Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn which includes cons, cannibals, and involuntary graverobbing. Most characters are a bit one-dimensional and the quest story is nothing new, but Jebel’s paradigm shift in regard to what he has always learned is traditionally “right” or “normal”, and the examination of religious differences (though somewhat heavy-handed) are important lessons. Plenty of blood is shed through realistic human-on-human stabbings, slicings and beheadings which should satisfy young adult horror fans [Reviewed from ARC.].]

STARTED:
Houtman, Jacqueline. (2010). The reinvention of Edison Thomas. Honesdale, PA: Front Street/Boyds Mills.

[Reviewing for ACL.]

*

FINISHED:
West, Jacqueline. (2010). The books of Elsewhere: The shadows. New York: Dial.

[My review for ACL:

Olive, perpetual new student, and her nomadic, mathmetician, computer screen-glued parents move into a dusty old house still full of the previous occupants’ Victorian-era belongings. One of the first things that Olive notices is the abundance of paintings (which seem permanently attached to the walls) whose images, when viewed through a pair of found antique reading glasses, begin to move. Ever the curious explorer, Olive discovers that she is able to climb into these paintings and, while wandering around in one, comes across a frightened little boy in an old nightshirt who claims to have been stolen from the real world and imprisoned in the painting by a malevolent, ever-watching shadow. West’s debut novel, the first in an assumed series, is briskly paced and, for the most part, engaging, with a spunky outcast for a protagonist in whom avid readers of the genre will recognize shades of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline (HarperCollins, 2002). A trio of talking cats add comedy and a bit of confusion: aside from the occasional difficulty of keeping them straight, their motives are unclear as they seem genuinely helpful but appear to be “working for” the shadowy force. Thorough, vivid physical description provides a definite sense of environment and the premise is intriguing enough to attract young fantasy beginners. (Reviewed from ARC.)]

STARTED:
Connor, Leslie. (2010). Crunch. New York: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins.

[Reading for ACL.]

*

FINISHED:

Coville, Bruce. (2008). Oddest of all. Orlando, FL: Harcourt.

[Here's my review for ACL:

In a spooky house on a rainy night, Chris and Nine help a woman to make amends with her dead mother who has been haunting her; Harley Burton finds himself in the possession of a creepy mask that looks suspiciously like a young man who has been missing for 50 years; Dennis comes to find out, after being pulled down into a pond, that he is part frog and is enlisted to speak for frogs who are victims of toxic waste dumping; in a “Tiger or the Lady” tale, humankind must decide whether they believe the good intentions of aliens who say they would like to help rid Earth of it’s problems. These, and five other tales of the twisted and fantastic are told in Coville’s latest short story collection, each tale being his own take on certain “scary story” standards. Coville hits on many different genres here, including science fiction, gothic horror, ghost, fantasy, and realism (13-year-old Murphy is recruited by the girl of his dreams to take part in a skit, written by, and opposite her, titled Debbie and the Doofus), and each is deftly set apart by it’s own language apropos to the genre. There are some nice chills and genuine creepiness here sure to appease hungry young fans of scary stories. It should be noted that there is a reference to marijuana in one of the tales, and that many of these stories have appeared, albeit in slightly different forms, in previously published short story collections.]

STARTED:
Pfeffer, Susan Beth. (2008). The dead and the gone. Orlando, FL: Harcourt.

[Reading and reviewing for ACL.]

*