Daniel's grandmother is always warning about spirits that take children away, especially if they go out in the snow. Nevertheless, Daniel and Iris sneak out on the night of the first snowfall. When they see a ghost and discover they've been accidentally playing in an abandoned graveyard, they run back home. But even in her warm room, the cold doesn't leave Iris entirely. Ever since that night, strange things have been happening. She has the overwhelming urge to go back, into the dark and the cold and find the ghost again.

This is a spooky story about forgotten histories. Daniel and Iris start to research the graveyard and discover that it was an African-American cemetery from when the town was segregated. They try to discover more about the ghost of the girl that's haunting them, but the forgotten spirit has plans of its own. Strongly recommended.

The Forgotten Girl by India Hill Brown
Erica's Picks
3rd - 6th
​Tags: family life, friendship, horror, people of color, school stories, supernatural

 Nine students. Three bloodsports. One deadly weekend.
Creepy, seriously creepy. With a British accent. Greer MacDonald, scholarship student, does not fit into the exclusive atmosphere of St. Aidan’s boarding school for the elite. She knows this and tries to keep a low profile. Then she receives a mysterious invitation with three words embossed upon on it: huntin' shootin' fishin'. It refers to a weekend at the country manor of Henry de Warlencourt, the most popular and wealthy boy at S.T.A.G.S.
Arriving at Henry’s ancestral home, Greer realizes the only adults are the servants who do Henry’s bidding. The other guests are Henry’s clique known as “The Medievals” as they distain all modern technology calling it “savage.” Two other outsiders have been invited along with Greer; Shafeen Jadeja (“Punjabi playboy”) and Chanel Ashford (“Carphone Chanel”).
 Each day is to be devoted to one of the three blood sports on the invitation. As each becomes progressively dark and twisted, Greer realizes that she and the other misfits have become the prey. 
This is a top notch psychological thriller. Murder, mayhem and madness! You won’t be able to put it down. Warning…not for the faint of heart!

Tessa's Picks

7-8th grade, Contemporary fiction, Fast paced, Horror

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Fighting vampires is in Micheline's blood. It's been the family business ever since Van Helsing fought Dracula, and her bloodline gives her a distinct advantage: the ability to see the aura of the undead. For her, exorcising ghosts and shooting vampires is just another day in the office. Micheline and her crew respond to emergency calls armed to the teeth with weapons both mundane and specialized, including a modified camera that can capture the spiritual energy of ghosts. But for Micheline a bad day at the office doesn't mean a paper jam. It results in her and her crew getting infected with a soulchain that will kill them in a week or less, unless they can exorcise the ghost that cursed them. With new purpose and higher stakes than ever before, Micheline does what her family has been doing for centuries: she hunts.

This is a fantastic horror story. It pays homage to Dracula while creating its own world. The explanations of the science behind the supernatural elements is satisfyingly detailed.  The horror elements are truly terrifying and the plot fast-paced, except for a few passages of backstory. I particularly enjoyed that it's set in the SF Bay Area.

Shutter by Courtney Alameda

Erica's Picks
8th grade
Tags: fast-paced, horror, retellings, supernatural

Hoodoo Hatcher was born into a family with a tradition of practicing folk magic: hoodoo; using potions and charms to evade evil and bring good luck. A mysterious Stranger comes to town bringing evil shadows and dark nightmares. He wants something from Hoodoo and threatens the entire town to get his ends.  Everybody says that the little heart shaped birthmark under Hoodoo's eye is a sign.  Can he find the courage, the magic and most of all the heart to save those he loves and himself?  Hoodoo learns that  "Having heart is being brave, even when everything looks dark as night....Having heart is believing in yourself, if you didn't know."




Tessa's Picks, 4th grade, Horror, 3rd&4th summer 2016, People of Color.

Imagine a vampire outbreak occurs: what would you do? Hunt them down? Stock-pile canned goods? Or would you wall them all up in cities and turn them into fodder for reality TV? It's hard for the camera or the public to resist vampires' unnaturally good looks and outlandish antics. At first when vampires were revealed to society it was terrifying, but now people are used to them. Many are rabid fans of the live streams from cold towns where the vampires live. Tana knows more about the dangers of vampires than most of her peers: her mother was turned years ago and the disease caused her to attack her own daughter. Tana still bears the scars. But it isn't extra caution just pure, dumb luck that keeps Tana alive when she wakes up after a party to find all her friends slaughtered. She doesn't know how the vampires got in, but her ex-boyfriend is the only other person still alive, and he has been infected. She saves him with help from the most unlikely source and together they venture to the nearest cold town knowing they may never come back out again.

The characterization was great even for characters with minor roles. The way vampirism is handled in the novel is interesting from the way people turn to more philosophical questions of whether it changes a person's nature or simply exaggerates it. There's a lot of action and narrow escapes but the characters never lose their sense of humor. I'd give this to anyone looking for a new twist on vampire stories.

Erica's Picks
8th Grade
Tags: Character Driven, Horror, LGBTQ, Romance, Supernatural,

 When Kara was six, her mother was executed for practicing witchcraft.  Kara can still remember that terrible day.  Now her father is a shadow of the man he was, and her family is ostracized by the community for the taint of sin upon them.  They can just barely scrape by in their miserable lives.  Then Kara follows a bird into the Thickety and she discovers a book of magic. The book could give her the power to make all their lives better, but if she is caught she'll suffer the same fate as her mother. 

The basic concept of a witch being persecuted by a religious community is pretty well-trod, but the setting and the style of magic in this novel are completely original.  The Thickety is an ominous presence full of unknown dangers and Kara's feelings of excitement and foreboding as she discovers her power are palpable. I'd give this to students looking for a fantasy adventure novel with strong characterization. 



Erica's Picks
Grade 5 - 8
Tags: Character driven, fantasy, horror

Bogles are good at hiding. The only hint of one might be that children keep disappearing.  There are those as don't believe in bogles, but Birdie knows better.  She's been a bogler's apprentice for quite some time and she's helped her master to catch many monsters.  Bogles love children, so they make excellent bait.  All Birdie has to do is stand in a circle of salt and sing.  What could be simpler than that?  It's a lot better than many of the other jobs orphans take.  Except of course that a moment's hesitation or a stumble could mean that her apprenticeship will come to a swift and deadly end.

Birdie is strong-willed and independent as she fights to be recognized for the hero she is despite people constantly underestimating her.  The other characters are fun to read about as well from the dodger-like Ned to the impressive Miss Eames.  The bogle-catching episodes provide plenty of suspense while the bigger story provides a mystery to be solved.  Jinks, as usual, finds ways to slip humor in throughout the story.

How to Catch a Bogle by Catherine Jinks

Erica's Picks
4th - 6th Grade
Tags: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Horror, Humor, Mystery