Not every story is good, or even scary, but the ones that are scary good will haunt readers long after closing the book, and...
“What scares you?” So begins Maberry’s introduction to this anthology of poetry and short stories by 22 authors, all members of the Horror Writers Association.
To answer this question, the anthology addresses a wide range of fears. Almost every story features a female protagonist, and Brenna Yovanoff’s “The Doomsday Glass,” Rachel Tafoya’s “The Invisible Girl,” and Kendare Blake’s “Chlorine-Damaged Hair, and Other Pool Hazards” speak to current fears about the vulnerability of young women and the sometimes-horrific repercussions of body shaming in a patriarchal society. For readers seeking more traditional ghost stories with a hint of melancholy, Rachel Caine’s “Corazón Oscuro,” Ilsa J. Bick’s “Bearwalker,” and Josh Malerman’s “Danny”—a few highlights of the anthology—employ restless, malevolent spirits. And for old-school horror fans, Steve Rasnic’s “The Boyfriend” and Christopher Golden’s “What Happens When the Heart Just Stops” contain nightmarish monsters, both literal and figurative, while R.L. Stine’s “The Old Radio” and Tim Waggoner’s “The Whisper-Whisper Men” are reminiscent of Twilight Zone episodes. The relevancy and scope of the themes presented are noteworthy and give the anthology broad appeal. However, the relative lack of diversity among main characters is both discouraging and outdated, depressingly representative of the current state of horror writing.
Not every story is good, or even scary, but the ones that are scary good will haunt readers long after closing the book, and at a whopping 498 pages, most readers will surely find something grisly to enjoy. (Anthology/horror. 13 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-5070-6
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter.
After a Nigerian British girl goes off to an exclusive boarding school that seems to prey on less-privileged students, she discovers there might be some truth behind an urban legend.
Ife Adebola joins the Urban Achievers scholarship program at pricey, high-pressure Nithercott School, arriving shortly after a student called Leon mysteriously disappeared. Gossip says he’s a victim of the glowing-eyed Changing Man who targets the lonely, leaving them changed. Ife doesn’t believe in the myth, but amid the stresses of Nithercott’s competitive, privileged, majority-white environment, where she is constantly reminded of her state school background, she does miss her friends and family. When Malika, a fellow Black scholarship student, disappears and then returns, acting strangely devoid of personality, Ife worries the Changing Man is real—and that she’s next. Ife joins forces with classmate Bijal and Benny, Leon’s younger brother, to uncover the truth about who the Changing Man is and what he wants. Culminating in a detailed, gory, and extended climactic battle, this verbose thriller tempts readers with a nefarious mystery involving racial and class-based violence but never quite lives up to its potential and peters out thematically by its explosive finale. However, this debut offers highly visually evocative and eerie descriptions of characters and events and will appeal to fans of creature horror, social commentary, and dark academia.
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250868138
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
A gripping tribute to resilience.
A girl with amnesia and a boy suspected of harming his girlfriend overcome adversity to find the answers they seek.
A 17-year-old girl wakes up in a ditch, disoriented and with no memory of who she is or what happened. Found by the Alton, Oregon, police, she is brought to the station. Soon after, Wayne Boone, a man claiming to be her father, shows up. He has photos of her on his phone and her high school ID card, with the name Mary Boone. Wayne convinces the police to release Mary into his custody. The more time Mary spends with Wayne, however, the weirder things get: He’s unaware of her food allergy, and as her memories start to return, they don’t conform with Wayne’s versions of her life. In the town of Washington City, across the Willamette River, Drew is in a bad place. His girlfriend, Lola, has disappeared, and Drew was the last person to see her. His adoptive dads and cousin are the only ones who support him; everyone else, including the sheriff, thinks he’s responsible for Lola’s disappearance. Intent on finding Lola, Drew finds help in an unlikely ally, Lola’s best friend, Autumn, who is the sheriff’s daughter. But will they find Lola in time? The two immersive storylines bring to life the trials and frustrations each main character faces in this debut, which is a thrilling delight right up to the unexpected and bittersweet conclusion. Most characters are cued white; one of Drew’s dads is Guatemalan.
A gripping tribute to resilience. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Dec. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781728270111
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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