"EVERYONE DIES" and other plot summaries of scary books.

We like to be scared.  We like suspense, and chills, and spine tingling trips down dark staircases.  We like ghost stories, and murder mysteries, and twist endings.  We like to watch a movie between our fingers as they are pressed against our faces saying "tell me when to look."  We also like reading a book with all the lights on, heart racing, turning pages quickly to see what happens next.  

When I talk about scary books or movies, I might be a little tame for you hard core slasher freaks.  I swear on one of my dead cat's graves that I will never watch a Saw movie (while sober).

I remember a time when I lived with my older sister during the summer before I turned 14.  We loved scary movies, so we spent almost every night watching one.  Now don't get ahead of me, you need to remember I'm an incredible wuss.  I just recently got enough courage to watch Carrie...the old one...and will never watch Silence of the Lambs, and hit my husband very hard after he made me watch Seven.  So the movies my sister and I watched were pretty tame to today's standards.  They might even have been old Hitchcock stuff...like The Birds, and Psycho.  However, after that week my beloved brother-in-law was kicked out of bed and I slept with big sis.  For a more current example, after a recent viewing of Paranormal Activity  I slept with the lights on.  I know what you are thinking, that lady is really brave and I would totally want her with me in times of danger.  Here's my number 1-800-HELLNAH.



In books I have a few hairs-on-the-back-of-the-head-sticking-up favorites...Down a Dark Hall by Lois Duncan freaked the crap out of me.  I remember it being twisted and dark and intense.  I just heard that they are making a movie out of it which could be very cool.  Another horribly scary read was The Ruins by Scott Smith (also a movie).  O...M...G I remember finishing it late at night (so smart), jumping from the couch to the stairs, running into bed and grabbing hubby so hard.  It sounds so simple...vacation turned missing brother turned expedition into the jungle turned EVERYONE DIES.  I couldn't bring myself to go to the movie.  No one needs to see a grown librarian sobbing.

So for this edition of my book reviews we will look at two recent books I read that try to surprise the reader with gruesome death scenes and plot twists, but are both pretty tame.

First is Ten by Gretchen McNeil
What I love about this book is its easy read format, good main character, and plot twist that I really didn't see coming.  This story is about Meg and Minnie, best friends about to be parted by college.  They get an interesting invite from the most popular girl in school...
"Shhhh! 
Don't spread the word! Three-day weekend. House party.
White Rock House on Henry Island. You do not want to miss it." 

And they don't, but what happens is not the last "best time they ever had in high school," but a deadly encounter with someone out for revenge.  The death scenes are awesome and sometimes brutal, the characters, typical high school stereotypes, are still enjoyable to follow as they meet their untimely deaths.


Next is The Farm by Emily McKay
I wanted this to be so much better...the idea of a disease that attacks and turns humans into a zombie/ vampire hybrid...a disease that devastates the US and forces people into apocalyptic scenarios...a disease that focuses on teenagers so they round them all up and imprison them onto old university campuses.  All the pieces were there, and it is a good read.  But it could have been a great read if the author hadn't focused on how much the main character Lily was in love (but of course wouldn't admit it because she was too strong and had to take care of her sister, and why would someone so handsome like her).  Just hold the guy's damn hand and kiss him, then move on and save the world together.  I understand tension is important to the story, but I believe the constant chase from the Ticks and battle scenes provided that story element.  It's good, but be warned there is an inevitable sequel.  However, I will say the ending had a twist I didn't see coming which redeemed its many sappy parts.

So try some of these to get your blood pumping...or there are many others I could recommend...Project 17, The Forest of Hands and Teeth, The Enemy, Odd Thomas...

What's your favorite scary book?

Because Matthew would want me to write this...

I'm still in shock over the horrific ending to Downton Abbey so I may have to pause in my writing to scream while throwing my fist in the air.  I was one of those that did not see it coming, and had not read any spoilers, so I was sucker punched.  And if you don't know what I'm talking about, get Netflix, or borrow Downton from the library, for it is a soap opera set in England early 1900s, for those who say they hate soap operas.

I want to share two books with you today...two completely different books.  One Pulitzer Prize winning of brilliance, the other...meh.  I mean it's good, but for my students.  It's one for librarians to suggest to those who love realistic fantasy and romance.

First the YA book for those who either deal with the trade of YA books, or are in fact a young adult or one at heart.
Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown is a fantasy book that delves into the world of mermaids/ mermen.  This is not a common theme among YA lit, but it has seen some good stuff (see this list from Good Reads.)  This one is good, not great, good.  What I like about it is the main character is a boy.  Really not something you see in this type of fiction.  Not only a boy, but one out for revenge and justice for a mother killed by humans.  There is much more than just justice and revenge.  His sisters are awesomely evil and siren like, and the human girl he obviously falls in love with is actually cool and strong.  I like the strong female roles in this one, and I also liked the twist ending (no spoilers here).  Could it have been better and more sophisticated, yes.  Was it predictable, yes, but still surprising.  I would definitely recommend it.

We ate our desert first, for now I serve you the main course, the meat.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz.  I must warn you some love, LOVE this book, while others hate this book with a passion I have not seen since Star Wars was murdered by Jar Jar Binks.  I was a lover.  A deep lover that wanted desperately for Oscar to win that kiss, win that love he so wanted.  And in the end I believe he did, just not in the way most heroes win.  This book, although the title suggest otherwise, has many main characters.  Oscar's sister, Oscar's mother, Oscar's adopted grandmother, the narrator, and the Dominican Republic.  For that country is as much a character as Oscar.  But if you see from above, each main character is just a piece of Oscar, each one telling you about the family curse and how it finally beat Oscar.

This is the story of a loser.  However much you hate labels and stereotypes, Oscar is a loser.  But not because he is a loner, a nerd, and Dungeons and Dragons Master, but because he believes he is a loser.  So when he does try, when he holds on with a death grip to his one chance at love even when we all see it will end with a literal bullet to the head we still want him to try. I was equal parts infuriated, in love, depressed and glad this book was over when I finished the last page.

Mother, don't read this one. xo

November Reads Part 1...

Occasionally I will post book reviews of things I have read.  This of course won't be everything I have read, but some of the highlights.  Enjoy concise, meandering summaries of some YA good reads...

Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey
This book starts with a bang as Charlie is pulled out of bed in the middle of the night by Jasper Jones.  Jones is the town bad boy, always blamed for anything the town deems as juvenile delinquency.  This time Jasper is in serious trouble.  He brings Charlie to a secret spot, where he sees something so hideous, so terrifying it changes him forever.  This book is equal parts thrilling, mysterious, funny, and touching as Charlie finds that truth is harder to take when it's surrounded in lies.

Why I gave it
4 stars=too much cricket.  This is such an American thing to say, but I have never watched and do not understand a thing about cricket.  So instead of completely negating the beauty of this book about a boy caught in a hideous string of events, I just skipped over the cricket pieces.  Well until the best friend made a legendary debut.

4 stars=the banter was lengthy.  I loved and laughed out loud during the banter between the main character, Charles, and his wonderful side kick, Jeffrey.  Yet at some points I thought it went long.

4 stars=everything was so packed together.  Can all of this shit happen within such a short amount of time?  The boyfriend gets there minutes too late, the sister...the mother...the estranged grandfather...the racists...the garden, etc.  That's one hell of a month.

Yet this book is a raw, page turning beauty that I did not put down until I had figured out what happened to Laura.  This could be an amazing movie.