THE DARKNESS GREETED HER

A teenager heads to a summer camp for a “therapy program and wellness retreat” that turns into a waking nightmare filled with her fears and buried memories.

In the wake of her abusive father’s death, Penny Davidson’s mental health has plummeted. She struggles with Harm OCD, and her head is a minefield of intrusive thoughts that greatly affect her everyday life. At Camp Whitewood, Penny joins a small group of girls, all of whom are seeking intensive therapy. The campers soon realize that the isolation of the Appalachian Mountains setting puts them uncomfortably close to a shadowy figure that emerges in the night, but hallucinations make them question what’s real. Ultimately, they’ll have to face their demons if they hope to save themselves. The gory horror is complete with gruesome deaths described in detail, and readers will truly feel the plaguing persistence of Penny’s innermost thoughts as she wrestles with her OCD, trauma, and tenuous grip on reality. Unfortunately, aside from flashbacks to the campers’ traumatic pasts, there isn’t enough meaningful character development to fully differentiate them. This debut is overwhelmingly dark and heavy, although small moments of lightness emerge from an appealing queer romance as Penny’s budding relationship with fellow camper Harper unfolds. Penny and Harper read white, and there’s racial diversity among the supporting cast.

A metaphor for coping with mental health issues and trauma, this book reads like a hair-raising horror film.