My love for horror may not be as obvious my love for romance and cozy mystery, but I do enjoy it very much. In the last few months especially, I have found myself drawn to it increasingly. I’m not exactly sure why—maybe it is just the idea that as wild as the world is, at least I’m not dealing with supernatural baddies.
Well, not yet at least.
Whatever the reason, I am happy to start off the spooky book season early. I have been gravitating more towards YA horror since there are so many new options there. When I was growing up, those book were very white. I mean no disrespect to the books of that era, the nostalgia is very real. I still enjoy the occasional R.L. Stine or Point Horror, but I never saw someone like me in those books that wasn’t the token best friend and/or hapless victim. It is very important for young impressionable readers to see themselves in books, something I have touched on before.
Nowadays young horror fans have it much better in terms of diversity. I’m constantly amazed at the variety that is available there across multiple genres. Here are a few that a younger me would have loved to see at her book fair.
I am always on the hunt for more horror, YA or otherwise. Let us know over on social media some of your favorites. Whether you’re young or young at heart, help me scare myself even more. Don’t worry about contributing to my lack of sleep; it’s already minimal at best!
One thing I really enjoy in this series is that you see the story from the main Jumbie’s point of view. It’s an interesting take since that doesn’t happen very often in YA, and it helped to put a new perspective on the story and its ending. She’s still very much the villain of the story, but you understand the why. I really enjoyed the story and look forward to reading more about Corinne and the Jumbies.
I remember reading an especially violent moment early on in the book and just sitting there in a bit of a shock that it went that far that soon. Once I read that, I knew that this book was going to stick out for me and stand out among other ghost stories I’ve read. I am not sure that a book this explicit in its violence would have been well received in the era that I grew up in. As morbid as it sounds, I’m glad it is around to enjoy now.
There were so many parts of this book that sent up chills up my spine and had me making sure all my curtains were drawn, lest I look out and see ghost eyes staring back at me. On top of being a good read, it also opens the door to have good conversations with the youth about the importance of remembering our history and how everyone contributes to the world as a whole in some way.
The next day she gets a message in the mirror: “five days.” From there it is a race against the clock to find out whatever it is this supernatural being wants her to discover. With the help of her friends Naya and Caine, will she be able to solve the mystery before her time is up? This kept me on the edge of my seat and the ending gave me pause. I wholeheartedly recommend this for the spooky season.
But his friends notice that there is something different about him, a concern that is compounded when Zee freaks out at a seemingly innocent game of hide and seek. After the game, all the participants receive a weird mark on their wrist and then go missing. They have been pulled into the Nowhere and must band together to defeat the Seeker, a being who is their worst nightmares personified.
