Showing posts with label horror. Show all posts
Showing posts with label horror. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

"It Came From the Library:" Creepy books and thrillers to read in October


Bad Girls Don't Die by Katie Alender
When fifteen-year-old Lexi's younger sister Kasey begins behaving strangely and their old Victorian house seems to take on a life of its own, Lexi investigates and discovers some frightening facts about previous occupants of the house, leading her to believe that many lives are in danger.

Long Lankin by Lindsey Barraclough
When Cora and her younger sister, Mimi, are sent to stay with their great Auntie Ida in an isolated village in 1958, they discover that they are in danger from a centuries-old evil and, along with village boys Roger and Peter, strive to uncover the horrifying truth before it is too late.

The Infects by Sean Beaudoin
Seventeen-year-old Nero is stuck in the wilderness with a bunch of other juvenile delinquents on an "Inward Trek." As if that weren't bad enough, his counselors have turned into flesh-eating maniacs overnight and are now chowing down on his fellow miscreants. These kids have seen zombie movies. They know the rules. Unfortunately, knowing the rules isn't going to be enough.

Ashes by Ilsa Bick
Alex, a resourceful seventeen-year-old running from her incurable brain tumor, Tom, who has left the war in Afghanistan, and Ellie, an angry eight-year-old, join forces after an electromagnetic pulse sweeps through the sky and kills most of the world's population, turning some of those who remain into zombies and giving the others superhuman senses. More in this series: Shadows, Monsters

Through the Woods by Emily Carroll (new)
A collection of five spine-tingling short stories.

Fear: 13 Stories of Suspense and Horror edited by R.L. Stine
A collection of thirteen scary stories by bestselling and award-winning authors.

Darkwater by Catherine Fisher
Sixteen-year-old Sarah sells her soul to reclaim her family's estate and is given 100 years to atone for their sins, but as the bargain nears its end, modern-day Tom, yearning to attend the private school that Darkwater Hall has become, gets caught up in the bargain.

The Poisoned House by Michael Ford
As the widowed master of an elegant house in Victorian-era London slips slowly into madness and his tyrannical housekeeper takes on more power, a ghostly presence distracts a teenaged maidservant with clues to a deadly secret.


The Enemy by Charlie Higson
As a disease turns everyone over sixteen into brainless, decomposing, flesh-eating creatures, a group of teenagers head to London. Ed, Jack, Bam and the other students at Rowhurst School learn more about the Disaster, and meet an adult who seems to be immune to the disease. Read more in this series: The Dead, The Fear, The Sacrifice, The Fallen

Scowler by Daniel Kraus
In the midst of a 1981 meteor shower in Iowa, a homicidal maniac escapes from prison and returns to the farm where his nineteen-year-old son, Ry, must summon three childhood toys--Mr. Furrington, Jesus Christ, and Scowler--to protect himself, his eleven-year-old sister, Sarah, and their mother.

Extremities: Stories of Death, Murder, and Revenge by David Lubar
A group of high school girls takes revenge on their sadistic gym teacher in the most fitting way possible. Two stowaways find themselves on a ship for the dead. An ancient predator stalks the wrong victim. Here are thirteen tales of death, murder, and revenge.

I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga
Seventeen-year-old Jazz learned all about being a serial killer from his notorious "Dear Old Dad," but believes he has a conscience that will help fight his own urges and right some of his father's wrongs, so he secretly helps the police apprehend the town's newest murderer, "The Impressionist." Read more in this series: Game

Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry
In a post-apocalyptic world where fences and border patrols guard the few people left from the zombies that have overtaken civilization, fifteen-year-old Benny Imura is finally convinced that he must follow in his older brother's footsteps and become a bounty hunter. Read more in this series: Dust and Decay, Flesh and Bone, Fire and Ash

The End Games by T. Michael Martin
In the rural mountains of West Virginia, seventeen-year-old Michael Faris tries to protect his fragile younger brother from the horrors of the zombie apocalypse.

Amity by Micol Ostow (new)
Two teens narrate the terrifying days and nights they spend living in a house of horrors.

Witch World by Christopher Pike
On a high school graduation road trip to Las Vegas, Jessie, still in love with ex-boyfriend Jimmy, discovers that she possesses extraordinary powers and the ability to exist in both the real world and an alternate one.

The Turning by Francine Prose
A teen boy becomes the babysitter for two very peculiar children on a haunted island in this modern retelling of The Turn of the Screw.

Dreams of the Dead by Thomas Randall
After her mother dies, sixteen-year-old Kara and her father move to Japan, where he teaches and she attends school, but she is haunted by a series of frightening nightmares and deaths that might be revenge--or something worse. Read more in this series: Spirits of the Noh

The Midnight Palace by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
When a mysterious threat reenters the lives of twins Ben and Sheere, separated as babies and reunited as teenagers in 1930s Calcutta, the siblings must confront an unspeakable terror, with the help of their secret society of fellow orphans.

The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd
Dr. Moreau's daughter, Juliet, travels to her estranged father's island, only to encounter murder, medical horrors, and a love triangle. Read more in this series: Her Dark Curiosity

The Waking Dark by Robin Wasserman
After a series of suicide-killings and a deadly storm, the residents of the town of Oleander, Kansas, start acting even more strangely than would be expected. Only the five witnesses of the murders retain their sound minds, and must band together to save the town from whatever has come over it.

The Uninvited by Tim Wynne-Jones
After a disturbing freshman year at New York University, Mimi is happy to get away to her father's remote Canadian cottage only to discover a stranger living there who has never heard of her or her father and who is convinced that Mimi is responsible for leaving sinister tokens around the property.

Friday, October 25, 2013

Beware! Read these books if you dare

If you enjoy a good scare and can't get enough zombies, check out our Beware! book display in the teen area.

Find books by Carrie Ryan, Darren Shan, Brenna Yovanoff, Sean Beaudoin, and more. Several popular horror series are included in the display: The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan, Zom-B by Darren Shan, Ashes by Ilsa Bick, and the Saga of Larten Crepsley by Darren Shan, just to name a few.




For more creepy and zombie-filled reads, download these reading lists (PDF format):
Are You Afraid of the Dark? Books That Will Creep You Out (part 1)
Are You Afraid of the Dark? Books That Will Creep You Out (part 2)
Zombies

These book lists are also accessible on our catalog BiblioCommons:
Creepy Reads for Teens
Creepy Reads for Teens part 2
Zombie Books for Teens

After reading The Walking Dead comics and watching the TV show, I often wonder if I'd be able to handle a zombie apocalypse. Because we all can't be Rick Grimes, Daryl Dixon, or Michonne, here's a book that will come in handy, The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks:

Does anything on the display or book lists look interesting? I 'd really like to read The End Games by T. Michael Martin, which is about a boy who protects his brother from the zombie apocalypse by telling him they are playing a videogame.


Happy (horrifying) reading!

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

In the novella The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner Stephenie Meyer writes from the point of view of Bree, a newborn vampire. This book is a companion to the novel Eclipse, in which the vampire Victoria has Riley recruit vampires for an army to fight the Edward and the Cullens to avenge death of her mate, James. Because Eclipse is told from the point of view of Bella, we do not see much of the newborn vampires except during the fight with the Cullens and the werewolves. Bree is the only vampire in the fight who surrenders.

Riley attempts to keep the group of twenty or so young vampires in line and decides when each vampire is able to leave the house to hunt. He acts on the orders of Victoria, who the newborn vampires never see (they don't even know her name). Most of the vampires also have no idea why they have been made vampires and brought together. I found it interesting to discover how little the newborns know about being a vampire. For one, the vampires think that sunlight will kill them; during the day they remain in cramped quarters in a basement. Also, the newborns have no clue about the wider vampire world --they do not know about the Volturri, and can hardly fathom the idea of living or befriending humans instead of feeding from and killing them. Furthermore, they do not even know that they are considered "newborns;" they know how strong they are and figure that will help them prevail in any fight. Riley keeps information from the vampires in order to keep them under his control, but at the same time this lack of knowledge hurts them later on when they do go to fight.

Bree follows Riley's rules, such as only feeding on the "dregs" of society, and also keeps her distance from the other newborn vampires, several of whom often pursue confrontations, going so far as to kill within the group. Most of the newborn vampires are very immature. They go out to hunt and make a huge scene with destroyed property and dead bodies but don't clean up their mess. But Bree does find makes friends with Diego, who is someone she can actually talk to. She also finds a friend in Fred, who repels everyone; Bree hides behind him to allow her to remain unnoticed.

This is a short read, and I thought the change in point-of-view was a refreshing addition to the Twilight series, in that this part of the story has nothing to do with Edward-Bella-Jacob love triangle. You are also able to see how out-of-control newborn vampires actually are. The Cullens seem tame and domesticated compared to the red-eyed vampires under Riley's control. Even Bree, who avoids fighting at the end of the book, doesn't think twice when she goes out to hunt and kills people. Definitely pick up this book if you have already read the Twilight series. Bree, Diego, and Fred are welcome and intriguing additions to the Twilight series. Even though I knew what was going happen to Bree, I still rooted for her as I read the book. I would like to see Stephenie Meyer write other novellas that explicate the Twilight mythology even further-- Edward's first years as a vampire, Carlisle's time with the Volturri, etc.

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer
TEEN MEYER
Find it in the catalog!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Book release dates for readers of vampire fiction

March 16, 2010
The Return: Shadow Souls by L.J. Smith
book 6 in the Vampire Diaries series

April 27, 2010
Burned by P.C. Cast
book 7 in House of Night series

May 4, 2010
Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris
book 11 in the Sookie Stackhouse mystery series

May 18, 2010
Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead
book 5 in the Vampire Academy series

June 5, 2010
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer
Companion novella to the Twilight series

June 29, 2010
Keys to the Repository by Melissa De La Cruz
Companion novel to the Blue Bloods series

September 21, 2010
Twelfth Grade Kills by Heather Brewer
book 5 in the Chronicles of Vladimir Tod series

October 5, 2010
Misguided Angel by Melissa De La Cruz
book 5 in the Blue Bloods series

December 14, 2010
Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead
book 6 in the Vampire Academy series