Hello again dear reader or listener, do you fancy reading some YA horror? Perhaps with a dark romance, a teeny dash of eat the rich, but mostly an awful lot of body horror and supernatural phenomena of the eldritch variety?
Well, curtesy of the lovely folk over at Scholastic Press, I have just the thing for you!
Body Horror
Review: The Unkillable Frank Lightning by Josh Rountree
Synopsis: Catherine Coldbridge is a complicated woman: a doctor, an occultist, and briefly, a widow. In 1879, her husband, Private Frank Humble, was killed in a Sioux attack. Consumed by grief, Catherine used her formidable skills to resurrect her husband. But after the reanimation, Frank lost his soul, becoming a vicious undead monster. Unable to […]
Review: Violent Faculties by Charlene Elsby
Synopsis: Violent Faculties follows a philosophy professor influenced by Sade and Bataille. She is ejected by university administrators aiming to impose business strategies in the interest of profit over knowledge. She designs a series of experiments to demonstrate the value of philosophy as a discipline, not because of its potential for financial benefit, but because of […]
Review: The Divine Flesh by Drew Huff
Synopsis: Jennifer Plummer and the Divine Flesh have exactly three things in common: 1) they’re trapped inside Jennifer’s body; 2) they despise each other; and 3) they’re in love with Daryl Plummer, Jennifer’s ex-husband. But when Jennifer takes an experimental wonder drug to free herself from the Divine Flesh’s control, it only makes things worse. […]
Review: Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix
I can confidently say that this is the first book I’ve read where I’ve felt physically unwell reading a birth scene. There’s one in particular where the girl is referred to as a ‘patient’ and it’s meant to feel detached from reality, but the body horror and detail Hendrix included made me flush hot and cold. I genuinely felt like I was going to pass out. And I think that’s a sign of some truly incredible writing.
Review: This Wretched Valley by Jenny Kiefer
Synopsis: This trip is going to be Dylan’s big break. Her geologist friend Clay has discovered an untouched cliff face in the Kentucky wilderness, and she is going to be the first person to climb it. Together with Clay, his research assistant Sylvia, and Dylan’s boyfriend Luke, Dylan is going to document her achievement on […]
Review: The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones
Synopsis: A diary, written in 1912 by a Lutheran pastor is discovered within a wall. What it unveils is a slow massacre, a chain of events that go back to 217 Blackfeet dead in the snow. Told in transcribed interviews by a Blackfeet named Good Stab, who shares the narrative of his peculiar life over […]
Review: Rose of Jericho by Alex Grecian
Synopsis: Something wicked is going on in the village of Ascension. A mother wasting away from cancer is suddenly up and about. A boy trampled by a milk cart walks away from the accident. A hanged man can still speak, broken neck and all. The dead are not dying. When Rabbit and Sadie Grace accompany […]
Review: Thrum by Meg Smitherman
Synopsis Ami awakes from years in stasis to find she’s at the edges of deep space, and the only surviving member of her crew. Utterly alone and unable to contact Earth, she sends out a distress beacon, not expecting a response. When she gets one from a being who calls himself Dorian, she’s welcomed onto […]
Review: Bloom by Delilah S. Dawson
I recently decided that I want to explore the horror genre a bit more after being too nervous to do so for years. Sadie Hartmann’s horror rec book put many books onto my TBR but this one has been on my radar for a bit longer so I decided to close out the year with […]
Review: The Thing in Christmas Town by Iseult Murphy
Synopsis Welcome to Christmas Town, where it is Christmas every day!Visit the town where your wishes come true. Recapture the magic of your youth. Find love and happiness.You’ll never want to leave. Christmas was once Diane’s favourite holiday, but she can’t face it after the tragic accident that took her husband’s life shortly before the […]
Review: Our Winter Monster by Dennis Mahoney
Synopsis: For the last year, Holly and Brian have been out of sync. Neither can forget what happened that one winter evening; neither can forgive what’s happened since. Tonight, Holly and Brian race toward Pinebuck, New York, trying to outrun a blizzard on their way to the ski village getaway they hope will save their […]