Skeleton Creek comes out in February, but he’s got a great website leading up to the book’s launch. How much is real and how much is fiction?
Archive for the ‘Horror’ category
Patrick Carman’s Spooky New Project
December 7th, 2008Barnaby Grimes: Curse of the Night Wolf
November 5th, 2008From the creators of the Edge Chronicles, Paul Stewart and and Chris Riddell, comes the story of Barnaby Grimes. In book one, Curse of the Night Wolf, we follow a pseudo-Victorian Gothic horror hero through the rooftops of a dark city.
It’s got the same great names/descriptions as the Edge books as well as the detailed illustrations. These add to the feel and accentuate just how ridiculous high society can look and a hint how horrifying werewolves can get. It’s a little bit of an edgier (sorry…had to do it) story than the other series, but I liked it.
My only complaint was that it was too short. I know that there’s book two scheduled for release in February and that in the UK they’re already at book three. Definitely excited for the next books. I started and finished this one on election day.
Generation Dead by Daniel Waters
September 24th, 2008The book cover. That’s the big draw for Generation Dead by Daniel Waters. Even author P. J. Haarsma’s attention was grabbed by the cover when it was on display at my school. Many students saw me reading the book and kept hounding me to finish it.
This is Waters’s first YA book and I’m excited for more. The concept is that teenagers who have died recently are starting to come back. Where it branches from the horror norm is that these “biotically different” (zombie not being politically correct) teens want equal rights.
It’s a great allegory where readers are challenged without knowing it. Sure, we want Tommy (one of the living-impaired kids) to be allowed to try out for the football team, but wasn’t it spring of 2007 when Turner County High finally had a prom where races were integrated? There’s still work to be done in real life that Generation Dead may inspire.
There’s actually some spooky sections mixed in with the humor. The high school is surrounded by a forest and not everyone who goes in comes back out. Also, Pete Martinsburg is now one of the best villains I’ve read this year. He’s the perfect antagonist to Adam. Both are football stars: Adam learning self-control and respect over the summer, Pete harboring hatred and betrayal since his girlfriend wasn’t able to come back from the dead.
It’s a great plotline that moves at a decent pace to keep you engaged over the 400+ pages. (Definitely a connection for your Twilight fans.)
TIM: Defender of the Earth
August 11th, 2008Sometimes you just want to read about a giant dinosaur fighting a robot.
TIM: Defender of the Earth by Sam Enthoven is that book.
This is a fun read, especially if you liked Cloverfield or any Godzilla movie. The story focuses on mainly the mad scientist and the giant dinosaur’s perspectives. (Yep. You get to jump into the mind of a rampaging reptile as it swats helicopters and jets.)
It reads like a movie. I made a new rule. If you promise to be a monster book, some part of the city needs to get stepped on by page 30. By page 30, that hope was fulfilled.
I Heart You, You Haunt Me
April 23rd, 2008Great verse book by Lisa Schroeder. If students like Sonya Sones and Kelly Bingham, this is the next book that they need to read. It’s a different twist on the whole mourning/ghost story-type book.
Unwind by Neal Shusterman
January 16th, 2008“It’s nothing to worry about.”
It has been a while since I have read a book that has creeped me out SO much. Actual, physical chills. Unwind. If you’re not familiar with the book, it’s the near future (although they sell iPods at the antique store) and parents are now given the option to “unwind” their kids from ages 13-18. (“Unwinding” is donating body parts to people who would better use them.)
Bright Outlook
- Shusterman provides yet another great sci-fi/thriller/horror story. I personally think this is his best because of the challenging perspective on modern politics. Do we truly value life in the United States? How can we best demonstrate the issues with teen pregnancy so people will listen?
- Amidst all of the ethics, the action jumps out at you like a movie. Characters in the beginning are walking along and then BOOM you have cars crashing and people being kidnapped on the highway.
- There are some dry comments that will slide past you if you don’t know what to look for. (But they are well worth it.) Here is one of my favorites (the Heartland War was a giant civil war in modern history):
“How much do you know about the Heartland War?”Connor shrugs. “It was the last chapter in our history textbook, but we had state testing, so we never got to it.”
Bleak Future
- Because it deals with life ethics in a pretty in-your-face way, it’s not for younger libraries. But there is little language issue (cleaner than TV) and no hot/steamy scenes.
- It switches narrators quite a bit, so on chapters like “63. Guard” you have to realize that it’s from the guard’s perspective. This might trick some struggling readers.
I booktalked this book today. We already have 15 holds for this book and I think it’s gonna get bigger. This is a perfect introduction to books like Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World, Slaughterhouse-Five, and 1984.
“When pride comes, then comes disgrace; but with humility comes wisdom.”
Chronicles of Vladimir Tod
January 14th, 2008This is the next big book, a la Lightning Thief and Ranger’s Apprentice. Vladimir is an 8th grade vampire searching for more information about his vampire dad and human mom.Very much alive
- This book has a crazy mix of humor and suspense. One minute an ancient evil is stalking a jogger, the next Vladimir is delivering one-liners. His guardian greets him one morning with, “Morning, sunshine.” and he replies, “Morning, sulfuric acid.” (Because of the whole ‘dissolve in light’ thing vampires do.)
- Vlad still deals with 8th grade struggles of fitting in, but now has more complications added – “…which just goes to prove that parents and guardians don’t care if they’re sending you to face bloodthirsty monsters, so long as you get a B in English” (Brewer 134).
- Vlad’s substitute teacher is a vampire hunter and presents some funny situations, including the fact that the sub shows up dressed in a top hat and spectacles and no one makes a comment.
- Vlad refuses to hunt humans. The author then has to get creative.
The Undead
- Squeamish readers may be turned off by the blood-filled Twinkies.
- Some of the “Well, vampires are cool and have invented stuff!” may put the book too far towards a comic mood – like vampires inventing PlayStation.
- If you are tired of “Son, you are the chosen one and who you think is your ally is really your enemy and enemy a friend” plotlines, you may need to give this one some time.
Not only are vampire books becoming more popular, this book would stand on its own, even if it wasn’t trendy to fear sunlight.
