​If you believe in faeries, you should read this book as everything you thought about truth and the fierce beauty of that in-between world will be confirmed. If you don’t believe, you should even more so read this book so that you can experience that twilight world where dreams can be real and faerie “makings” encompass everything from transfiguration to keys made of poems and dance.
Clare is 14 and returned to Ireland and the domed underground house of her birth and the yew tree that grows within.  She is the latest of the tree’s guardians; her dead mother and all those grandmothers before her are a legacy.
Within the tree’s between place, she meets Finn, a boy part fairy, part human who she knew as a toddler.  Together they embark on quest to save the two worlds from forever closing which would cut the human world off from the ability to dream and create and the fairies from the ability to love.
Finn’s father Balor is a hideously fierce and unfeeling opponent to be faced and bound before he can destroy the gateway for ever. Here be true magic, both bright and dark. Gorgeous, haunting and wonderfully strange.  Dare to enter this world.


​Tessa's Picks, 5th-8th grade, Fairy tales, Fantasy, Supernatural

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

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 World War III ravaged the world a small group managed to survive in the remote Alaskan wilderness.  Juneau is one of the children of these survivors and has learned how to live off the land and tap into the heart of nature to work magic. When her tribe is taken while she's out hunting she ventures out of the safe zone for the first time and what she discovers shakes her to the very core: a whole city, completely untouched.  Is everything she was ever told a lie?  But her tribe is still missing and she must find them.  Now she has to survive in an environment she is completely unprepared for in a world where she has no idea whom to trust.

This story is told in the alternating perspectives of Juneau and Miles, the son of a pharmaceutical exec who wants to find Juneau to unlock the secret of why the adults in her tribe never age.  The pacing is quick and fans of Katniss will enjoy the capable Juneau.  Fans of supernatural stories will enjoy Juneau’s nature-based magic and animal lovers will enjoy Juneau's pets (dogs and a bird.)  

After the End by Amy Plum


Erica's Picks
7th & 8th Grade
Tags: Fast Paced, People of Color, Supernatural, Survivor

Hikaru was just a normal kid until he discovered a haunted Go board. Now he is possessed by the spirit of an ancient Go master named Sai. At first, Hikaru tries to ignore Sai and go on with his life like normal.  If anyone ever found out that he was possessed he'd be called a liar or freak or worse.  But Sai won't be ignored. So Hikaru seeks out Go matches to calm the angry spirit. 

The characters and plots in this comic are interesting and the rules to Go (a strategy game like chess) are explained slowly and clearly. The games are illustrated like epic battle scenes. Fans of Pokemon, chess, and of course Go will enjoy this tale of a kid training for tournament battles. 

Hiraku no Go by Yumi Hotta & Takeshi Obata

Erica's Picks
3rd - 6th Grade
Tags: Comics, Humor, People of Color, School Stories, Supernatural

Ghosts stories gather in areas filled with sadness. Perhaps that is why there are so many tales of the supernatural in Calcutta. Siraj knows all of them. He researches them for the other members of the Chowbar society: Isobel the fearless actress, Roshan who used to live on the streets, Michael the quiet artist, Seth the scholar, Ben the mercurial leader of the group, and Ian the one destined to escape and tell the tale. The group is bound together by misery, all residents of the local orphanage, and in the absence of family they swore to protect each other. But they never imagined how much those loyalties would be tested or that one of Siraj's ghost stories would came to life and stalk them. 

Zafon has a wonderful way with words and does an excellent job creating a spooky atmosphere and establishing a good sense of place. The characters and the relationships among them are fascinating.  I'd give this to fans of supernatural tales and books about close groups of friends and secret societies.

The Midnight Palace by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Erica's Picks
7th - 8th Grade
Tags: Fast-Paced, Friendship, Historical Fiction, Horror, Mystery, People of Color, Supernatural

Victor was determined to discover all the secret passages in the Frankenstein estate, but some secrets are best left in darkness. When he stumbled across the Dark Library it almost killed him.  Yet Victor felt its strange allure as he scanned the forbidden titles. Even as he promised his father he'd never return, he doubted he'd be able to resist them. Now his twin brother is sick and all the doctors and science that his parents enlist cannot cure him. But there is a recipe for an elixir in one of the alchemical titles that might. Gathering the ingredients will be dangerous and there's no guarantee the potion will work. Would you stand by and hope for the best--or would you risk it all on a long shot? For Victor, the answer is clear.

The atmosphere is deliciously gothic and the pacing relentless. The cast woks wonderfully together and has individual voices that are allowed to shine. Henry had me cracking up with his various phobias and his poetic spirit while I admired Elizabeth's strong will, wit, and courage. Polidori is an excellent creepy alchemist with a great feline familiar. Konrad is the ultimate hero: intelligent, athletic, level-headed, kind.  But the story is really about his twin: the infamous Victor Frankenstein.  It was interesting to read about how this famous horror character might have been as a teenager. I'd give this to readers looking for a good gothic tale or just a fast-paced story with supernatural undercurrents.

This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel

Erica's Picks
6th - 8th Grade
Tags: Fast-Paced, Horror, Retellings, Supernatural

"It is the first day of November and so, today, someone will die." It's time for the annual Scorpio Races where riders race on horses that came from the sea and long to return there. Some horses may be overcome with this desire and run back to the surf, drowning their riders in the process. Some may simply eat or trample their riders, making the sea red with blood. The races may kill several people, but they all ride anyway because no matter how likely it is that some will die at least one person is guaranteed to win. So they race for all that they're worth--for fortune, for fame, for glory, and for their lives. 

The story alternates between two characters and each have a distinct voice and background. Both are orphans, but on an island plagued by carnivorous horses that isn't rare. The island is full of interesting characters and the tension remains high throughout as they train for the races that may give them their heart's desire or kill them.   I’d give this to readers looking for a gritty story with supernatural creatures or an unconventional romance.

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Erica's Picks
7th-8th Grade
Tags: Animals, Character Driven, Romance, Supernatural