How would you feel if you meandered into a tale and suddenly found it leading you up a twisted path of intrigue and evil? Life is made up of light and shade. Just when you feel that things are in your control, the darkness moves in and edges the light out. That is when the shadows follow, creating an atmosphere of disquiet. The stories in this anthology do just that. They keep you wondering where they are leading you till the shadows catch up with you.
Blend in. Stay quiet. Survive. Fallon Blake is starting her senior year in a new town with the goal of sliding through to graduation unseen. Despite her attempts to lay low, she makes a snap decision to act when the king of Cherry Creek High School, Jesse Callaway, gets jumped at a party. Now, fearing Fallon needs protection from the mess she threw herself into, Jesse refuses to let her recede back into the shadows. Little does he know, with each lingering glance, or brush of his hand, he is reigniting a fire within Fallon that burns her to the core. Every gentle touch scorches the scars on her fragile heart. As sparks fly between them, Fallon fights to snuff them out. How can she trust her own judgment when it failed her horrifically before? But when the past catches up with her, Fallon is left with two options. Confide in Jesse... or run. Will Fallon break the vicious cycle of the past by taking a chance on the future? Or will fear torch any chance she and Jesse could have had?
"This is absorbing, headlong reading, a play on classic horror with an inventiveness of its own... As with all the best illusions, you are left feeling not tricked, but full of wonder." – The New York Times The haunting new thriller from Alex North, author of the New York Times bestseller The Whisper Man You knew a teenager like Charlie Crabtree. A dark imagination, a sinister smile--always on the outside of the group. Some part of you suspected he might be capable of doing something awful. Twenty-five years ago, Crabtree did just that, committing a murder so shocking that it’s attracted that strange kind of infamy that only exists on the darkest corners of the internet--and inspired more than one copycat. Paul Adams remembers the case all too well: Crabtree--and his victim--were Paul’s friends. Paul has slowly put his life back together. But now his mother, old and suffering from dementia, has taken a turn for the worse. Though every inch of him resists, it is time to come home. It's not long before things start to go wrong. Paul learns that Detective Amanda Beck is investigating another copycat that has struck in the nearby town of Featherbank. His mother is distressed, insistent that there's something in the house. And someone is following him. Which reminds him of the most unsettling thing about that awful day twenty-five years ago. It wasn't just the murder. It was the fact that afterward, Charlie Crabtree was never seen again...
A chilling darkness is spreading, turning the very shadows of the world into killers. Caleb Draven has already lost everything to the mysterious plague—his family, his peace, and his hope. Now, as society crumbles, he watches in horror as the shadows of ordinary people twist into malevolent beings, hungry for blood. But when Caleb’s shadow starts to rebel, he realizes there’s something far worse at play. Joined by Selene Thorn, a determined scholar, and Marcus Hale, a reluctant skeptic, Caleb embarks on a desperate journey to uncover the truth behind the curse. Their search leads them to an ancient war between humans and shadow-dwellers—and the revelation of a long-buried secret that could save or destroy them all. As the shadows close in, Caleb must confront not only the deadly beings hunting them but also the darkness within himself. The final battle will demand the ultimate sacrifice. Will he face the truth, or will he succumb to the shadows? The Plague of Shadows is a gripping dark fantasy horror novel filled with eerie tension, complex characters, and relentless suspense. Fans of Stephen King and atmospheric, psychological horror will find themselves captivated by this story of survival, sacrifice, and the terrifying forces lurking just beyond the light.
The exquisite sequel to The Monsters of Rookhaven, following the half-human and half-monster Mirabelle on a mission to protect the only home she's ever known from a sinister new threat bent on eradicating her family, perfect for fans of Christian McKay Heidicker, Robert Beatty, and Victoria Schwab. Shadows are gathering over Rookhaven Village, and no human—or monster—is safe . . . In the wake of the shocking revelation that Mirabelle is part human and part monster, our heroine feels like an outsider, both at home and in the greater human world. She isn't quite like the rest of the monsters who raised her at Rookhaven Manor, but she also doesn't recognize herself in humanity, especially after witnessing the terrifying damage left by The Blitz. But as the Great Configuration, a once in a hundred years event, descends upon Rookhaven Village, there's barely enough time to think of herself. Humans and monsters are gathering from all over the country to take part in the festivities. Though, amid the guests is an insidious interloper: A young boy named Billy, who is desperate to protect his own, is working for someone who wants to destroy Mirabelle's family. When Billy steals something precious to Mirabelle, there's more than just her family at stake. Billy is being used for an experiment that could incite a disaster that will affect humans and monsters alike. With the fate of the world on her shoulders, Mirabelle must risk everything and everyone to save the people she loves most. A stunning gothic fantasy with a beating heart, The Shadows of Rookhaven concludes Pádraig Kenny's duology with a masterful ending that reveals the crucial truth that family is much more than just a place—it's the people you love and the home you find within yourself.
For fans of Small Spaces, Coraline, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and James Howe's Bunnicula classics comes the first book in the award-winning, New York Times bestselling Books of Elsewhere series. This house is keeping secrets . . . When eleven-year-old Olive and her parents move into the crumbling mansion on Linden Street and find it filled with mysterious paintings, Olive knows the place is creepy—but it isn’t until she encounters its three talking cats that she realizes there’s something darkly magical afoot. Then Olive finds a pair of antique spectacles in a dusty drawer and discovers the most peculiar thing yet: She can travel inside the house’s spooky paintings to a world that’s strangely quiet . . . and eerily sinister. But in entering Elsewhere, Olive has been ensnared in a mystery darker and more dangerous than she could have imagined, confronting a power that wants to be rid of her by any means necessary. With only the cats and an unusual boy she meets in Elsewhere on her side, it’s up to Olive to save the house from the shadows, before the lights go out for good.
Science starts with a question in this fascinating compendium for curious kids. The team behind the acclaimed Why Don’t Cars Run on Apple Juice? is back to tackle more kid questions like “Are birds really dinosaurs?” and “Why do we have butts?” With help from science center experts, Kira Vermond packs mind-boggling facts into answers that encourage further inquiry, covering topics over five sections: animals, the human body, planet Earth, tech and innovation, and outer space. From glowing scorpions and prehistoric sharks to stem cells and Mars missions, Suharu Ogawa’s colorful, zesty illustrations enhance Vermond’s lively tone.
#1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout returns with book one of the all-new, compelling Flesh and Fire series—set in the beloved Blood and Ash world. Born shrouded in the veil of the Primals, a Maiden as the Fates promised, Seraphena Mierel’s future has never been hers. Chosen before birth to uphold the desperate deal her ancestor struck to save his people, Sera must leave behind her life and offer herself to the Primal of Death as his Consort. However, Sera’s real destiny is the most closely guarded secret in all of Lasania—she’s not the well protected Maiden but an assassin with one mission—one target. Make the Primal of Death fall in love, become his weakness, and then…end him. If she fails, she dooms her kingdom to a slow demise at the hands of the Rot. Sera has always known what she is. Chosen. Consort. Assassin. Weapon. A specter never fully formed yet drenched in blood. A monster. Until him. Until the Primal of Death’s unexpected words and deeds chase away the darkness gathering inside her. And his seductive touch ignites a passion she’s never allowed herself to feel and cannot feel for him. But Sera has never had a choice. Either way, her life is forfeit—it always has been, as she has been forever touched by Life and Death.
