YA and Middle Grade Horror Roundup, February 2024 THE YOUNG BLOOD LIBRARY .jpg

YA and Middle Grade Horror Roundup, February 2024

YA and Middle Grade Horror Roundup, February 2024

In our second Young Adult (YA) and Middle Grade (MG) Roundup of 2024 we have eight new books for you to investigate further. 

We will start with the two MG titles and I had a great time with Gabriel Dylan’s Shiver Point 2: A Tap At The Window, this second in the series tops the original and as Dylan previously wrote the outstanding YA horror Whiteout, shows he has ability to write confidently for both age groups, which is never easy. Phil Hickes follows his superb Aveline Jones trilogy with Shadowhall Academy: The Whispering Walls, which is surely the first of a new series of supernatural mysteries set in a spooky boarding school. Fans of Aveline Jones will jump with joy as the novels have some cool character connections a generation apart. 

I am a huge fan of Tori Bovalino and have reviewed both her previous two novels, her latest My Throat an Open Grave is a step into the realms of Folk Horror and is a dark brooding supernatural drama dealing with trauma, loss, guilt and longing. Wendy Cross’s Then There Was One heads deep into outer space with a group of teenagers being conned into appearing on a popular television show, but nothing is what it seems. Aden Polydoros’s Wrath Becomes Her heads to Lithuania during the Second World War with a Jewish themed story of revenge and Golems. 

The final three books are all male driven narratives with LGBTQIA+ themes, all were decent but on the other hand none knocked me out. Kosoko Jackson’s The Forest Demands Its Due is the story of a Black gay teen sucked into a Dark Academia style supernatural mystery as a prestigious boarding school, where he is one of the few Black kids. Ryan La Sala’s Beholder is a supernatural thriller with weird goings on in the glitzy New York art world and Adam Sass’s Your Lonely Nights Are Over was a funny, deliberately camp, thriller about a serial killer targeting their Queer Club. 

The books are presented A-Z by author. 

Tori Bovalino – My Throat an Open Grave

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Titan Books

Tori Bovalino – My Throat an Open Grave
YA and Middle Grade Horror Roundup, February 2024

I have been a fan of Tori Bovalino since her fascinating debut The Devil Makes Three (2021) a supernatural tale in an exclusive school which has a cool library with occult leanings. Tori backed that up with another captivating read, inspired by Christina Rossetti’s Goblin Market, her second novel Not Good For Maidens sent a teenage girl from a family of witches into the supernatural dimensions below the ancient city of York. Before her third novel My Throat an Open Grave arrived, Tori edited the superb The Gathering Dark: An Anthology of Folk Horror (which we reviewed last month) although I am unsure of the timeline of when these two books were written and edited, her latest novel leans towards the general area of Folk Horror, so perhaps in some way they influenced each other. As with all her previous fiction, My Throat an Open Grave is mature YA, aimed at older more thoughtful teenagers as it is rather slow and there is little action for long periods. That is not to say it is boring, but those looking for a more gripping in-your-face horror read might find the long sequences set in the Lord of the Wood’s domain slightly tedious and somewhat of an anti-climax after the early buildup. 

The initial setting, the small town of Winston, Pennsylvania, was terrific and it could be argued it held more intrigue that the forest. This is a very religious, near puritanical (did anybody say cult?) community, which although seemingly Christian has this weird relationship with the Lord of the Wood, an entity which according to legend steal unattended babies, leaving enigmatic tokens of wood and bone in their place. When the novel opens no children have disappeared for many years, but early in proceedings the baby brother of main character Leah Jones is snatched. The town erupt in outrage and Leah is blamed and shamed, with this being one of the strongest parts of the story, also the complex relationship with her mother which has a big traumatic twist near the end (I figured it out after fifty pages). Leah heads across the river (is not really given a choice) to trade with the Lord of the Woods in retrieving her younger brother, where most of the book is set. Too much of the novel is set there and not enough happens, which is dark, brooding and romantic as more about Leah’s past is revealed, connected to shame, trauma and the lengths that the village will go to any lengths to ensure its maidens stay good and pure. My Throat an Open Grave picks up in the final fifty pages for a big finish and Leah’s return to town, but it took too long getting there. AGE RANGE 13/14+

Wendy Cross – Then There Was One

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin

Wendy Cross – Then There Was One
YA and Middle Grade Horror Roundup, February 2024

How many books have been hyped as the “next” Hunger Games? I’ve lost count and do not believe comparing debut or unknown authors against iconic all-time smashes does them much good. Wendy Cross’s Then There Was One was an enjoyable science fiction thriller with echoes of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, which I hope does well, but I doubt it has enough standout features to rise above the pack in a very crowded dystopian marketplace. The premise of the novel was eye-catching; ten teenagers, from different planets and wildly varying social conditions, find themselves participating in The Pinnacle, the Galaxy’s number one reality TV show, consisting of physical and mental challenges, located in a remote and unknown location that changes every year and with a huge cash prize for the winner. If you read this expecting something as brutal and visceral as Koushun Takami’s Battle Royale you are going to be disappointed, as some of the contestants were pretty wet, but there was still plenty of fun to be had. 

Although there are ten characters only three have point of view narratives, Bex, Zane, and Raya. Bex comes from a position of great privilege, who dreams of escaping her dysfunctional family. Zane is the son of a dead politician, who needs the money to aid his mother. And finally there is Raya, a miner who lives on The Moons in miserable conditions and wants to win to escape her life of hard labour. The book is built around the fact that the ten have been conned into entering the so-called competition and although a battle for survival awaits it is not what they think and there are plenty of solid twists along the way. The story develops around the teen dynamics, and very different characters who must team up to survive, and it was enjoyable even if none of them genuinely grabbed me. I saw the end coming, but it remained a decent plot shift. AGE RANGE 12/13+

Gabriel Dylan – Shiver Point 2: A Tap At The Window

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Piccadilly Press 

Gabriel Dylan - Shiver Point 2: A Tap At The Window
YA and Middle Grade Horror Roundup, February 2024

I have been a fan of Gabriel Dylan since I read his YA monster horror survival epic Whiteout a few years back and was intrigued by his switch to Middle Grade with the first in the Shiver Point series last year. I enjoyed It Came from the Woods, but I am delighted to reveal that book two A Tap at the Window is significantly stronger than its predecessor, it probably has the same level of scares, but the mystery, background and the interactions with the child characters is more developed and it is clear this series is going places. In the original a small group of (almost) misfits band together to battle sluglike alien invasion in their small town of Shiver Point. In A Tap at the Window the same kids, who have formed their own version of the Scooby Gang (the Shiver Squad), vowing to protect their town from anything dodgy.

When the action kicks off the kids are bored as not much has happened around town since they scuppered the slug invasion and they are even excited by the prospect of a tour around the local newspaper office! However, things soon pick up when one of the gang spots a group of other kids sneaking away from the abandoned Darkraven Farm, which has a sinister reputation around town. Soon strange things happen with Alex, Oli, Sophia, Mo and Riley sucked into a new mystery which also gets them into hot water at school. I loved the full range of the five characters which complement and amplify each other from very timid Mo to the usually perfect Sophia taking one for the team at the cost of losing all her hard-earned school badges. Riley’s cool science project robot was also great and I enjoyed seeing how that filtered into a story which was slightly more complex than its predecessor. The mystery also allows the kids to do some research into the darker history of Shiver Point and it was lovely to see them visit the local library. This was an engaging sequel and is perfect for the top end of primary/lower secondary school and parents can be rest assured it isn’t too scary (unless you really are creeped out by scarecrows). AGE RANGE 9-12 

Phil Hickes – Shadowhall Academy: The Whispering Walls

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Usborne Publishing Ltd 

Phil Hickes - Shadowhall Academy: The Whispering Walls
YA and Middle Grade Horror Roundup, February 2024

Phil Hickes follows his excellent spooky Middle Grade Aveline Jones trilogy (2020-22) with Shadowhall Academy: The Whispering Walls, which is aimed at the same age group, or could even be read by slightly younger kids. In Aveline Jones a young girl (and her new best friend) gets wrapped up in supernatural mysteries whenever she is on holiday with her mum, Shadowhall Academy does not stray too far from that successful blueprint, instead this time moving the action to a creepy old girls’ boarding school, centring on a new girl nervous and desperate to make friends. As soon as I realised the main character was another ‘Jones’ I immediately realised this eighties set novel was a prequel to Aveline Jones, as main character Lilian is the aunt in the other series. Aunt Lilian always seemed to be a believer in the supernatural and now we know why! Coming in at around 200-pages Phil Hickes ensures the supernatural story dominates the plot from the very early stages which prevents the ‘dramas’ (bullying, struggling with homework etc) from having any hold on the plot. It was also quite old-fashioned, with eccentric doddery teachers and the young girls creeping around after lights out trying to solve an engaging mystery.

Lilian is a first-time boarder at Shadowhall Academy and after meeting her three roommates (Marian, Serena and Angela), becomes interested in finding out more about the school’s reputation for being haunted, especially after fellow new girl, the very nervous Angela, hears tapping through the wall near her bed. Lilian that opens up the panelling to find a little more than she bargained for and the mystery is off and running.  It’s a wonderful setting with atmosphere, terrible food and drafty corridors with the story’s strength being the developing friendship of the girls which compliments the mystery nicely. The story is paced very well and it was great to see the friendly school librarian pop up on a few occasions! It is not so scary to prevent sleep and is perfect for Year 5 and above. AGE RANGE 8-12

Kosoko Jackson – The Forest Demands Its Due

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Magpie

Kosoko Jackson – The Forest Demands Its Due YA Horror February
YA and Middle Grade Horror Roundup, February 2024

The Forest Demands Its Due is Kosoko Jackson’s sixth novel since 2019 and this is the first time I have read him, writing a mixture of fantasy and romance fiction, often with LGBTQIA+ themes and Black central characters. This latest novel follows the same pattern by sending a Black gay teenager into a prestigious American boarding school, which has a dark history. Some promotional material has called the book Dark Academia, but as seventeen-year-old Douglas Jones does not get too involved in school activities it is more of a dark supernatural fantasy. The fact that there are so few Black kids in the school, Douglas’s mother is the school nurse, racism and white privilege does play a part and Douglas is an angry teenager who refuses to back down to anybody. Weighing in at over 400-pages this book was just too long and it dragged, lacking any secondary plot or many interesting support characters. As the narrative was entirely written in the first-person Douglas tested my patience and the middle of the book became repetitive and dull. Considering the action is set in a huge school there were surprisingly few characters and because of this it was totally telegraphed who was behind the conspiracy Douglas is sucked into. 

The opening concept was very clever, a student is murdered and, for some reason, by the next day no one remembers him having ever existed, except for Douglas and the groundskeeper’s son, Everett Everley. Douglas discovers that the school has an ancient connection to the creatures living in the forest and is tasked with breaking a centuries old curse which connects the oldest school families to the forest. These vengeful monsters want blood as payment for a debt more than 300 years in the making and the headmaster sucks Douglas into his plan, with the reasons revealed as the plot moves on. Not enough time was spent in the forest and when it was, the events were underwhelming and the ending equally flat with it being very easy to figure out who the ‘surprise’ bad characters were. The LGBTQIA+ romance was nicely handled as a support story; the female ghost character added some flair and even though Douglas was a strong character I found it difficult to feel much sympathy for him. AGE RANGE 13+

Aden Polydoros – Wrath Becomes Her

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Inkyard Press

Aden Polydoros – Wrath Becomes Her YA Horror February
YA and Middle Grade Horror Roundup, February 2024

Back in 2021 we reviewed The City Beautiful, which was one of the best YA horror novels of the year, set in Chicago and steeped in nineteenth century Jewish culture. To an extent Wrath Becomes Her tries the same trick but, even though it has its moments and is a highly original story, failed to grab the imagination in the same way as The City Beautiful did. The story is set in Lithuania, with the Second World War raging in the background, although it never dominates the story which also involves the struggles of everyday people trying to survive. After a Jewish man’s daughter is killed by Nazis, he uses ancient, cursed magic to create a golem in her image. Vera awakens with some of Chaya’s memories and feelings but is quickly told she is not a real human and that she only has one purpose, revenge and kill those who murdered her creator’s daughter. Discovering she has great strength, sets out to fulfil her purpose and as she is made of clay is invincible, discovers that others may be trying to harness the dark powers that created her.

Even though Wrath Becomes Her was an ambitious novel with a curious storyline it lacked a certain spark, perhaps it was because Vera the Golem had limited emotion and the story did not dig too much into the origins of golems beyond telling the reader they are created from mud using old blood magic. She killed a few Nazis, sought revenge on those who killed Chaya, but beyond that not that much happened and the story lacked something. It was great to read a novel about the Jewish culture which did not have the Holocaust as a theme, even if persecution was rumbling in the background. The Lithuanian setting, and the struggles of the ordinary people was vividly portrayed, but it needed something more than Vera the Golem wandering around the countryside, seeking revenge and going on a voyage of Golem self-discovery. The use of the Jewish based occult magic was fascinating and I would have loved to see that play a greater part in the novel also. AGE RANGE 13+ 

Ryan La Sala – Beholder

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Scholastic; 1st edition

Ryan La Sala – Beholder YA Horror February
YA and Middle Grade Horror Roundup, February 2024

Back in 2022 we reviewed Ryan La Sala’s excellent The Honeys, a fascinating LGBTQIA+ themed supernatural mystery set in an exclusive summer camp loaded with secrets. In his latest Beholder abandons remote summer camps for the big city and a very contemporary novel about art, obsession and the gaze that peers back at us from behind our reflections and what lurks within mirrors. Beholder is not as accessible as The Honeys and even though it has a great opening it took some time to get going and unless you focus on the narrative 100% it is very easy to lose the thread of what was a rather dense plot which I struggled to engage with. It was also very mature for a YA novel and is aimed at the top end of that age group as the main character Athanasios “Athan” Bakirtzis behaved more like an adult than a teen. 

In parts the story was strange, messy in other sections and at various times I struggled to concentrate on the narrative and feel genuine teen readers would have the same problems. Athan is invited to a mysterious penthouse soiree for New York City’s artsy elite and when he is in the bathroom hears a scream. Outside the door, the party descends into chaos and when he finally emerges, he discovers a massacre where the corpses appear to have arranged themselves into a disturbingly elegant sculpture and as the only survivor he becomes the primary suspect. Athan is then swept up in a supernatural mystery, one of secret occult societies, ancient horrors and the evil hiding behind his reflection. This novel also has a strong LGBTQIA+ vibe as Athan is pansexual and after befriending Dom the story has a gay energy but the mystery lacked thrills and it was fairly obvious who the murderer was. AGE RANGE 13+

Adam Sass – Your Lonely Nights Are Over

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Viking Books for Young Readers 

Adam Sass – Your Lonely Nights Are Over YA Horror February
YA and Middle Grade Horror Roundup, February 2024

Adam Sass’s Your Lonely Nights Are Over is an over-the-top and joyous LGBTQIA+ celebration with a slasher horror vibe in which two gay teen best friends find their friendship tested when a serial killer starts targeting their school’s Queer Club. The novel is camp, chatty, uses lots of queer lingo with both Dearie and Cole (they both have their own narratives) engaging central characters. It was very nice to read a novel with a LGBTQIA+ vibe which wasn’t about ‘coming out’ as both Dearie and Cole were openly gay when the novel opens and as their role in the Queer Clubs shows, proud of it. The weakness of the story was its connection to a long since forgotten serial killer coming out of retirement to target their club, which seemed ridiculous and held limited credibility. Fifty years had passed and the killer would have needed a Zimmer-frame! Of course, there was no surprise in the big reveal and whether it truly was connected to the notorious ‘Mr Sandman’ returning to claim more victims. 

Although Your Lonely Nights Are Over is played for laughs, there are enough deaths for it to be read by thriller fans also, even if it touches on serious subjects such as queer loneliness it might still be too light for many readers. Parts of the novel coincide with a docuseries about the original Mr Sandman murders and as the bodies pile up Dearie and Cole become suspects and bubbling in the background is the prejudices against them because they are gay. Although this is primary a murder mystery about gay friendships it also touches on many other subjects such as abusive relationships, racism, homophobia, gaslighting and emotional manipulation. Cole is also Latino and has to deal with being a person of colour in a predominately white high school. It was also great that the story was not really about a romance as the two were not destined to be together and if you are a fan of nineties slasher films then there is a lot of fun to be had. It is unlikely you will get too invested in who the murderer is (almost incidental) enjoy the chaos and banter instead. AGE RANGE 13+

Tony Jones

The Heart and Soul of YA and MG Horror Books

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  • The Heart and Soul of Horror Review Websites YA and Middle Grade Horror Roundup, February 2024

    Tony Jones has been a school librarian for thirty years and a horror fanatic for much longer. In 2014 he co-authored a history book called The Greatest Scrum That Ever Was, which took almost ten years to research and write. Not long after that mammoth job was complete, he began reviewing horror novels for fun and has never looked back. He also writes for Horror DNA, occasionally Ink Heist, and in the past Horror Novel Reviews. He curates Young Blood, the YA section of the Ginger Nuts of Horror. Which is a very popular worldwide resource for children’s horror used by school librarians and educationalists internationally.

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