Pleasingly creepy, these titles should satisfy students who have moved on from Goosebumps but who don't want to read something as long as the regular R.L. Stine books. I've read reviews of these that are scarier than the books themselves, though-- I'm not a fan of horror fiction, and I didn't find them that frightening. Most of the stories have nice twists to them, and have enough suspense and ick-factor to make them highly readable. I only bought four titles, but will purchase the others next year. The big surprise: my son sat down and zipped through one, and this is not at all the sort of thing that he normally reads. The titles are as follows; there really is no order.
Blood and sand, The Cat Lady, Deadly Catch, End Game, I Can See You, Liar, Shut Your Mouth, Voices
Has some disappointments last night. Could not wade through Snyder's Gib Rides Home or And Condors Danced (they've been in my pile to read literally since September), so they are on their ways to better homes. Keaney's The Hollow People started out to be a promising, dystopian fantasy, but just didn't go anywhere. Enjoyed Ostow's 30 Guys in 30 Days because of the college setting, but there was some alcohol drinking and a very, very fleeting mention of other inappropriate activities. Elizabeth Speare's The Bronze Bow slid right through my brain, so I will have to look at it again later, since I enjoyed her The Witch of Blackbird Pond.
You may already know about this, but I thought I'd mention the School Library Journal's "Best Books of 2007".
ReplyDeleteAny selections you agree with? Disagree? Want to read now?