Well look at that! The sun is coming out! Could we have some good cat magic going on?
Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone
Sunday, October 31, 2021
As Good As Dead
As Good As Dead
"...Another dead pigeon. Pip approached it slowly, steps
careful and silent, as though not to wake it up, bring it crashing
back to life. Her fingers fizzed with adrenaline as she towered over
the pigeon, expecting to see herself again reflected in its glassy,
dead eyes. But she wasn't there. Because there were no dead eyes.
Because there was no head."
Creepy, huh?
Are you a fan of Holly Jackson's A Good Girl's Guide to Murder
and Good Girl, Bad Blood? Have you been waiting anxiously for the
final volume in this trilogy? Your wait is over. As Good As Dead is
here. It will will easily live up to your high expectations.
Here's some back story for those who haven't discovered the
previous volumes. Pip, Jackson's protagonist, is an amateur
detective, uncovering the dark secrets of her town, truths some of its
residents have gone to great lengths to scare her away from finding
out. Someone even killed her beloved dog. And she's come pretty darn
close to losing her own life. Her podcasts, based on her exploits,
have earned her quite a few death threats too.
Now a new threat is emerging. She's been getting tweets and
emails with a menacing message: Who will look for you when you're the
one who disappears? Then there are headless chalk figures scrawled on
her driveway, moving closer and closer to her house. Two dead pigeons
are left there also, about a week apart, the second one decapitated.
The next message bears a postscript: Remember to always kill two birds
with one stone.
When Pip follows her boyfriend, Ravi's advice to go to the
police the officer she speaks to basically discredits her.
Neighborhood kids could have drawn the pictures. The pigeons could
have been the victims of a cat. Menacing messages come with the
territory for Internet public figures. He thinks she's reacting to
trauma, seeing a nonexistent pattern to unrelated events.
Pip knows that the author of the messages has become a very
dangerous stalker who knows where she lives. She and Ravi, searching
online for other stalking incidents involving headless chalk figures
and dead birds, are led to the murder of Julia Hunter by the man
nicknamed the DT (duct tape) Killer, a serial murderer...
...Only he's in prison. Looks like a dead end...
...Except his mother believes he was coerced into confessing.
When she sends a transcript of his interrogation Pip is inclined to
agree.
So is the wrong person in prison? Could the real DT Killer be
on the loose and coming after Pip?
Will she be able to get out of yet another potential brush with
death?
Who else among the memorable characters in her town may be
implicated?
Of the three books As Good As Dead is by far the most spine
chilling. Read it if you dare. If you haven't read the two previous
books, take them in order. You gotta work your way up to the
terrifying grand finale.
On a purrrsonal note, well Halloween is getting off to an umpromising
start. It's been pouring rain since I woke up a few hours ago. But
the local news meteorologist and my smartphone are well in agreement
that the weather will clear up in time for trick or treating. Let's
hope so. Last year the kids missed out. And this year Dr. Fauci has
given it his stamp of approval.
This review makes the (Yikes!) 26th book I've shared in my lead up to
Halloween. I hope you've enjoyed some of these books yourself. I've
done my best to include a range of ages and degrees and sources of
scariness. Hope you've enjoyed it. Maybe this is the start of an
every year tradition. (Jules)
Well I don't need a costume. Cats are a prime Halloween icon. I've
been promised cat candy. Party on! (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to you, our readers, with best wishes
for a safe and happy Halloween!
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
"...Another dead pigeon. Pip approached it slowly, steps
careful and silent, as though not to wake it up, bring it crashing
back to life. Her fingers fizzed with adrenaline as she towered over
the pigeon, expecting to see herself again reflected in its glassy,
dead eyes. But she wasn't there. Because there were no dead eyes.
Because there was no head."
Creepy, huh?
Are you a fan of Holly Jackson's A Good Girl's Guide to Murder
and Good Girl, Bad Blood? Have you been waiting anxiously for the
final volume in this trilogy? Your wait is over. As Good As Dead is
here. It will will easily live up to your high expectations.
Here's some back story for those who haven't discovered the
previous volumes. Pip, Jackson's protagonist, is an amateur
detective, uncovering the dark secrets of her town, truths some of its
residents have gone to great lengths to scare her away from finding
out. Someone even killed her beloved dog. And she's come pretty darn
close to losing her own life. Her podcasts, based on her exploits,
have earned her quite a few death threats too.
Now a new threat is emerging. She's been getting tweets and
emails with a menacing message: Who will look for you when you're the
one who disappears? Then there are headless chalk figures scrawled on
her driveway, moving closer and closer to her house. Two dead pigeons
are left there also, about a week apart, the second one decapitated.
The next message bears a postscript: Remember to always kill two birds
with one stone.
When Pip follows her boyfriend, Ravi's advice to go to the
police the officer she speaks to basically discredits her.
Neighborhood kids could have drawn the pictures. The pigeons could
have been the victims of a cat. Menacing messages come with the
territory for Internet public figures. He thinks she's reacting to
trauma, seeing a nonexistent pattern to unrelated events.
Pip knows that the author of the messages has become a very
dangerous stalker who knows where she lives. She and Ravi, searching
online for other stalking incidents involving headless chalk figures
and dead birds, are led to the murder of Julia Hunter by the man
nicknamed the DT (duct tape) Killer, a serial murderer...
...Only he's in prison. Looks like a dead end...
...Except his mother believes he was coerced into confessing.
When she sends a transcript of his interrogation Pip is inclined to
agree.
So is the wrong person in prison? Could the real DT Killer be
on the loose and coming after Pip?
Will she be able to get out of yet another potential brush with
death?
Who else among the memorable characters in her town may be
implicated?
Of the three books As Good As Dead is by far the most spine
chilling. Read it if you dare. If you haven't read the two previous
books, take them in order. You gotta work your way up to the
terrifying grand finale.
On a purrrsonal note, well Halloween is getting off to an umpromising
start. It's been pouring rain since I woke up a few hours ago. But
the local news meteorologist and my smartphone are well in agreement
that the weather will clear up in time for trick or treating. Let's
hope so. Last year the kids missed out. And this year Dr. Fauci has
given it his stamp of approval.
This review makes the (Yikes!) 26th book I've shared in my lead up to
Halloween. I hope you've enjoyed some of these books yourself. I've
done my best to include a range of ages and degrees and sources of
scariness. Hope you've enjoyed it. Maybe this is the start of an
every year tradition. (Jules)
Well I don't need a costume. Cats are a prime Halloween icon. I've
been promised cat candy. Party on! (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to you, our readers, with best wishes
for a safe and happy Halloween!
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Saturday, October 30, 2021
Haunting The Deep
Haunting The Deep
YA chiller
"'A ghost noise or a people noise?' Mrs. Meriwether asks.
My dad stiffens at the word 'ghost.' Mrs. Meriwether and Jaxon
know I saw Elijah, but he's one of those details I never mentioned to
my dad. How would I even start? Hey, Dad. I fell in love with this
dead guy from the sixteen hundreds who was stubborn and beautiful..."
Sam(antha), protagonist of Adriana Mather's Haunting The Deep,
is not that far removed from surviving a spell related nightmare. Her
stepmother didn't succeed in killing her. Her father is out of the
coma in which he was imprisoned. Her classmates aren't shunning her.
What she wants most of life is for this new normal to continue.
As if.
One day at breakfast Sam is the only one who can see a little
ghost girl dressed in vintage garments.
That morning at school the Spring Fling theme is announced: The
Titanic. This proves to be quite a controversial choice. It hadn't
even been in the running. But it's also a big deal. The history
faculty has altered their curriculum to teach about that ill fated
ship in depth.
That same morning Sam gets an urgent message from the
Descendants. (They're classmates descended from the alleged witches
killed in Salem--where they live--while Sam's infamous ancestor is
Cotton Mather, whose sinners in the hands of an angry God style
preaching started up that whole mess). She needs to join forces with
them to prevent something very bad from happening.
Pretty soon Sam is living la vida Titanic: seeing ghosts,
getting objects related to the ship that seem to have magical powers,
dreaming about the ship, and having experiences seemingly on board it
that soon seem as real as her twenty-first century life.
Then there's a cryptic warning from a woman named Redd that the
course she and the Descendants have embarked on could lead to death--
possibly hers.
Complications keep arising. Her best friend, Jaxon, becomes
seemingly bewitched and unwilling to help Sam. Her father, concerned
for her well being, wants to move from Salem to New York City.
Can Sam and her friends prevent the dire consequences they've
been warned about? Is the Titanic about to set sail in a new and
terrifying way?
There's one chilling and totally engaging way to find out.
On a purrrsonal note, since Wells will be closed on Halloween, we
celebrated early yesterday. I asked management about a costume
wearing option and they readily agreed. Also I had prepared bags of
candy for the classified (non student) workers. They have to work so
hard because of our being constantly short staffed. It all went
really well. We who wore costumes (I was a goth) had fun and just
about everyone else enjoyed our costumes. The classified employees
really appreciated their candy. Now I've started thinking on what to
do right before Thanksgiving to show they how thankful people are for
them. (Jules).
Our friend Emily from church dropped off a goodie bag for Jules and
me. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to the Wells classified employees and
management. And of course to Emily.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
YA chiller
"'A ghost noise or a people noise?' Mrs. Meriwether asks.
My dad stiffens at the word 'ghost.' Mrs. Meriwether and Jaxon
know I saw Elijah, but he's one of those details I never mentioned to
my dad. How would I even start? Hey, Dad. I fell in love with this
dead guy from the sixteen hundreds who was stubborn and beautiful..."
Sam(antha), protagonist of Adriana Mather's Haunting The Deep,
is not that far removed from surviving a spell related nightmare. Her
stepmother didn't succeed in killing her. Her father is out of the
coma in which he was imprisoned. Her classmates aren't shunning her.
What she wants most of life is for this new normal to continue.
As if.
One day at breakfast Sam is the only one who can see a little
ghost girl dressed in vintage garments.
That morning at school the Spring Fling theme is announced: The
Titanic. This proves to be quite a controversial choice. It hadn't
even been in the running. But it's also a big deal. The history
faculty has altered their curriculum to teach about that ill fated
ship in depth.
That same morning Sam gets an urgent message from the
Descendants. (They're classmates descended from the alleged witches
killed in Salem--where they live--while Sam's infamous ancestor is
Cotton Mather, whose sinners in the hands of an angry God style
preaching started up that whole mess). She needs to join forces with
them to prevent something very bad from happening.
Pretty soon Sam is living la vida Titanic: seeing ghosts,
getting objects related to the ship that seem to have magical powers,
dreaming about the ship, and having experiences seemingly on board it
that soon seem as real as her twenty-first century life.
Then there's a cryptic warning from a woman named Redd that the
course she and the Descendants have embarked on could lead to death--
possibly hers.
Complications keep arising. Her best friend, Jaxon, becomes
seemingly bewitched and unwilling to help Sam. Her father, concerned
for her well being, wants to move from Salem to New York City.
Can Sam and her friends prevent the dire consequences they've
been warned about? Is the Titanic about to set sail in a new and
terrifying way?
There's one chilling and totally engaging way to find out.
On a purrrsonal note, since Wells will be closed on Halloween, we
celebrated early yesterday. I asked management about a costume
wearing option and they readily agreed. Also I had prepared bags of
candy for the classified (non student) workers. They have to work so
hard because of our being constantly short staffed. It all went
really well. We who wore costumes (I was a goth) had fun and just
about everyone else enjoyed our costumes. The classified employees
really appreciated their candy. Now I've started thinking on what to
do right before Thanksgiving to show they how thankful people are for
them. (Jules).
Our friend Emily from church dropped off a goodie bag for Jules and
me. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to the Wells classified employees and
management. And of course to Emily.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Wednesday, October 27, 2021
The Wicked Deep
The Wicked Deep
YA chiller
"But the townspeople of Sparrow found the sisters to be much
more: They believed them to be witches, casting spells on the men to
make them unfaithful.
And so at the end of June, when the moon was nothing but a thin
shard in the overcast sky, stones were tied to the sisters' ankles,
and they were dropped into the ocean just beyond the cape, where they
sank to the bottom and drowned. Just like the ship they arrived on."
Fortuitously central Maine entered a grey sky, soggy, drizzly
weather stretch just as I picked up Amber's third scary book choice:
Shea Ernshaw's The Wicked Deep. The ambiance added to the spell cast
by the author's well chosen words. But even on the sunniest of days I
would have found myself captivated and chilled.
Penny, Ernshaw's narrator, describes her seaside town of
Sparrow, Oregon as "sheltered from the outside world, trapped in
time." They lack chain restaurants (Imagine a place without even a
Dunkin Donuts!), movie theaters and malls.
Sparrow is known for one thing. For two centuries the drowned
sisters have come back to wreak vengeance. Each year at the beginning
of June they take over the bodies of three living teenage girls. For
the next three weeks the possessed girls lure boys into the ocean and
drown them as the townspeople frantically seek them to preemptively
kill the allegedly chosen ones. They accept the idea that even if
they do so the sisters will be back the next year.
The town has a bizarre relationship with its long standing
curse. They celebrate it. The three weeks called the Swan season are
book ended with massive night parties
featuring bonfires. The time between has a carnival aura. It's
their biggest tourist season. In fact all the town's three bed and
breakfasts get booked well in advance.
Penny lives on an island with a lighthouse off the coast,
navigating her skiff around the sunken skeletons of drowned ships on
her commute to and from school. Her father left the island three
years earlier, never to be heard from again. Since then her mother
has dwindled to a shadow of her former self. Unlike her classmates,
she has no plans to escape Sparrow after high school graduation. How
would her mom cope without her?
Penny has just completed her junior year. She has no plans to
attend the opening of the season Swan party.
"...It's a booze-fueled celebration that is mix of excitement to
be free of classes and teachers and pop quizes, blended with the
approaching dread of the Swan season. Typically, people get way too
smashed and no one remembers any of it."
This year for the first time ever Penny's best friend, Rose, is
able to talk her into going. There something happens that she never
could have predicted. When a local bully tries to push her into the
ocean she's rescued by a newcomer, Bo, a boy about her age who is
planning on sleeping on the beach. On an impulse she invites him to
stay on a cottage on the island and help tend the lighthouse.
For the first time in her life Penny begins to fall in love.
She becomes desperate to protect Bo from the sisters the weeks he is
in danger.
But is this even possible since he seems to have caught the
alluring eye of one of the sisters?
And is Penny keeping some pretty major secrets from Rose and Bo?
If you're a true chiller fan you won't want to miss out on The
Wicked Deep. Save it for a grey and at least drizzly day. You'll be
glad you did.
I love a short paragraph that comes near the end of the book.
"They have eternity. Or even if it's just one life, one long,
singular life--that's enough."
It makes me realize how rich and wonderful the life Eugene and I
share (thirty-two years of marriage and two of courtship) is and how
blessed we were to have found each other.
On a purrrsonal note: Monday I came in to find the blow up Halloween
creatures had arrived at the UMaine union. I always so look forward
to their arrival. (Jules)
They include a cat. I approve. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to the people who set up the Halloween
critters.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
YA chiller
"But the townspeople of Sparrow found the sisters to be much
more: They believed them to be witches, casting spells on the men to
make them unfaithful.
And so at the end of June, when the moon was nothing but a thin
shard in the overcast sky, stones were tied to the sisters' ankles,
and they were dropped into the ocean just beyond the cape, where they
sank to the bottom and drowned. Just like the ship they arrived on."
Fortuitously central Maine entered a grey sky, soggy, drizzly
weather stretch just as I picked up Amber's third scary book choice:
Shea Ernshaw's The Wicked Deep. The ambiance added to the spell cast
by the author's well chosen words. But even on the sunniest of days I
would have found myself captivated and chilled.
Penny, Ernshaw's narrator, describes her seaside town of
Sparrow, Oregon as "sheltered from the outside world, trapped in
time." They lack chain restaurants (Imagine a place without even a
Dunkin Donuts!), movie theaters and malls.
Sparrow is known for one thing. For two centuries the drowned
sisters have come back to wreak vengeance. Each year at the beginning
of June they take over the bodies of three living teenage girls. For
the next three weeks the possessed girls lure boys into the ocean and
drown them as the townspeople frantically seek them to preemptively
kill the allegedly chosen ones. They accept the idea that even if
they do so the sisters will be back the next year.
The town has a bizarre relationship with its long standing
curse. They celebrate it. The three weeks called the Swan season are
book ended with massive night parties
featuring bonfires. The time between has a carnival aura. It's
their biggest tourist season. In fact all the town's three bed and
breakfasts get booked well in advance.
Penny lives on an island with a lighthouse off the coast,
navigating her skiff around the sunken skeletons of drowned ships on
her commute to and from school. Her father left the island three
years earlier, never to be heard from again. Since then her mother
has dwindled to a shadow of her former self. Unlike her classmates,
she has no plans to escape Sparrow after high school graduation. How
would her mom cope without her?
Penny has just completed her junior year. She has no plans to
attend the opening of the season Swan party.
"...It's a booze-fueled celebration that is mix of excitement to
be free of classes and teachers and pop quizes, blended with the
approaching dread of the Swan season. Typically, people get way too
smashed and no one remembers any of it."
This year for the first time ever Penny's best friend, Rose, is
able to talk her into going. There something happens that she never
could have predicted. When a local bully tries to push her into the
ocean she's rescued by a newcomer, Bo, a boy about her age who is
planning on sleeping on the beach. On an impulse she invites him to
stay on a cottage on the island and help tend the lighthouse.
For the first time in her life Penny begins to fall in love.
She becomes desperate to protect Bo from the sisters the weeks he is
in danger.
But is this even possible since he seems to have caught the
alluring eye of one of the sisters?
And is Penny keeping some pretty major secrets from Rose and Bo?
If you're a true chiller fan you won't want to miss out on The
Wicked Deep. Save it for a grey and at least drizzly day. You'll be
glad you did.
I love a short paragraph that comes near the end of the book.
"They have eternity. Or even if it's just one life, one long,
singular life--that's enough."
It makes me realize how rich and wonderful the life Eugene and I
share (thirty-two years of marriage and two of courtship) is and how
blessed we were to have found each other.
On a purrrsonal note: Monday I came in to find the blow up Halloween
creatures had arrived at the UMaine union. I always so look forward
to their arrival. (Jules)
They include a cat. I approve. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to the people who set up the Halloween
critters.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Monday, October 25, 2021
The Summoning
The Summoning
Adult Chiller
"'Oh, for the love of God!' Justin exclaimed, "Mr. Wicker, will
you please tell her that you see us quite clearly, and that your
hearing is excellent. It will make the next few days far more
pleasant if you both stop running around pretending that you don't
commune with the dead.'
Dallas Wicker shrugged, looking at her. 'I see Lieutenant
Justin McLane and Captain Monty McClane as well, Kristi.'"
The above mentioned military men are the most interesting
characters in Heather Graham's The Summoning. They hang out at the
Savannah, Georgia ancestral home despite having passed in the
Revolutionary and Civil Wars respectively. But they aren't your
typical wailing, chain rattling phantoms. They keep up with
technology (love television) and casually manifest themselves to
living people able to see them.
You might say they have unresolved business. Monty is desperate
to clear himself of the accusation of shooting his beloved wife,
Trinity. And a bunch of bodies may be buried on the grounds, awaiting
proper interment in a graveyard.
Kristi is new to seeing them. She's the current owner of the
historic house in question, running it as a bed and breakfast with a
trio of employees. She knows that her home is reputed to be haunted
and puts up with the seances her guests seem to relish. But she's not
all that sold on the idea of hauntings...
...until she wakes up one morning to find Monty in her bedroom.
Terrified, she runs out of the house literally into the arms of...
...Dallas, an FBI agent who has booked a room in her
establishment. He's wielded the seeing dead people talent a lot
longer as from childhood. He's been sent to investigate incidents of
a much more recent vintage. An older man has seemingly jumped to his
death. A very in shape fitness trainer has passed from a seemingly
simple accident. A politician and a prominent businesswoman have
disappeared. These seemingly disparate incidents are believed to be
somehow tied together. And Dallas has been assigned to find any links.
Needless to say, Kristy is in danger from someone desperate to
keep the truth from seeing the light of day.
Blend together the unresolved questions of present and past and
toss in an emsemble cast (a flamboyant--and maybe not too professional
medium, the B & B help, and the guests who include an up and coming
media personality who believes he can use the buildings haunted
reputation to boost his popularity) and you have a recipe for a
distinctive and unforgettable mystery.
On a purrrsonal note, Sunday was unexpectedly warm and sunny. I read
outside all afternoon--nearly the whole book. Eugene had shot a
partridge and I cooked it up for him. (Jules)
I'd hunt birds too if my hoomans didn't keep me inside. (Tobago)
A great big shout out to you, our readers. Hope you're enjoying our
literary lead up to Halloween.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Adult Chiller
"'Oh, for the love of God!' Justin exclaimed, "Mr. Wicker, will
you please tell her that you see us quite clearly, and that your
hearing is excellent. It will make the next few days far more
pleasant if you both stop running around pretending that you don't
commune with the dead.'
Dallas Wicker shrugged, looking at her. 'I see Lieutenant
Justin McLane and Captain Monty McClane as well, Kristi.'"
The above mentioned military men are the most interesting
characters in Heather Graham's The Summoning. They hang out at the
Savannah, Georgia ancestral home despite having passed in the
Revolutionary and Civil Wars respectively. But they aren't your
typical wailing, chain rattling phantoms. They keep up with
technology (love television) and casually manifest themselves to
living people able to see them.
You might say they have unresolved business. Monty is desperate
to clear himself of the accusation of shooting his beloved wife,
Trinity. And a bunch of bodies may be buried on the grounds, awaiting
proper interment in a graveyard.
Kristi is new to seeing them. She's the current owner of the
historic house in question, running it as a bed and breakfast with a
trio of employees. She knows that her home is reputed to be haunted
and puts up with the seances her guests seem to relish. But she's not
all that sold on the idea of hauntings...
...until she wakes up one morning to find Monty in her bedroom.
Terrified, she runs out of the house literally into the arms of...
...Dallas, an FBI agent who has booked a room in her
establishment. He's wielded the seeing dead people talent a lot
longer as from childhood. He's been sent to investigate incidents of
a much more recent vintage. An older man has seemingly jumped to his
death. A very in shape fitness trainer has passed from a seemingly
simple accident. A politician and a prominent businesswoman have
disappeared. These seemingly disparate incidents are believed to be
somehow tied together. And Dallas has been assigned to find any links.
Needless to say, Kristy is in danger from someone desperate to
keep the truth from seeing the light of day.
Blend together the unresolved questions of present and past and
toss in an emsemble cast (a flamboyant--and maybe not too professional
medium, the B & B help, and the guests who include an up and coming
media personality who believes he can use the buildings haunted
reputation to boost his popularity) and you have a recipe for a
distinctive and unforgettable mystery.
On a purrrsonal note, Sunday was unexpectedly warm and sunny. I read
outside all afternoon--nearly the whole book. Eugene had shot a
partridge and I cooked it up for him. (Jules)
I'd hunt birds too if my hoomans didn't keep me inside. (Tobago)
A great big shout out to you, our readers. Hope you're enjoying our
literary lead up to Halloween.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Saturday, October 23, 2021
Burn Our Bodies Down
Burn Our Bodies Down
YA chiller
"...Sometimes I even get out the door, never mind that I'm only
seventeen, never mind another year of school on the horizon. But then
I hear it--Nobody but you and me. Like a curse we can't shake. So I
stay with Mom, because she's all I have, because she says this is
where I belong, and maybe it's spite or maybe it's love but I really
can't tell them apart anymore."
My older daughter, Amber, can really pick an excellent scary
book or movie. She picked that knack up in first grade. She was
analyzing The Shining when the rest of her class was swooning over
Junie B. Jones. (In my defense I'd just brought my third baby home
after a surgical delivery and was having trouble getting by on two
hours of sleep per night). When she heard of my Halloween project for
this blog she was quick to offer suggestions. Rory Power's Burn Our
Bodies Down topped the list.
Margot, Power's protagonist, lives with her Mom in a run down
apartment in a town that has seen better days. As far back as she can
remember it's just been the two of them. And Mom is a piece of work.
Even the most basic survival skills--budgeting, meal planning--elude
her. As far as parenting, she alternates between emotional
manipulation and abandonment. Margot basically raises herself.
One of the things that really bothers Margot is the size of her
family. She really wants siblings, cousins, grandparents, and a sense
of shared family narrative. It's a subject she's learned to avoid
with mommy dearest. But one day she finds a photograph with the phone
number of her mother's mother, a woman who invites her to visit and
tells her she can call her Gram.
Margot's arrival in Phalene, the town her mom grew up in, is
quite eventful. Her grandmother's corn is on fire. In the middle of
it all is the corpse of a girl in an old fashioned dress who looks
just like her. Before she's even set foot in Gram's house she's being
questioned by the police.
And Gram isn't anything like Margot envisioned her. She lies to
the police. She refuses to answer Margot's questions. And she leads
a very strange life in a home in the middle of mutant crops that seem
both alive and dead at the same time.
Could Margot be in even more peril with her grandmother than
with her mother? Is it already too late to escape whatever it is her
teenage and very pregnant mother ran away from?
If you're anything like me you'll find the ending both logically
congruent and astounding.
So how about you pick up the book and see if you're a lot better
than me at picking up and interpreting the clues?
On a purrrsonal note, my Goodwill run was quite a disappointment. I
couldn't find a single thing I wanted. I went to Hannaford and bought
two big bags of Halloween candy to make up goodie bags for the non
student workers at my dining job. Then I threw in two tubes of
Pringles and a big candy bar for me. Tonight, home alone with Tobago,
I'm going to pair them with a beer and the next book on Amber's list
to have myself a little party. (Jules)
And cat treats for me. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to the Wells workers who are simply the
best.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
YA chiller
"...Sometimes I even get out the door, never mind that I'm only
seventeen, never mind another year of school on the horizon. But then
I hear it--Nobody but you and me. Like a curse we can't shake. So I
stay with Mom, because she's all I have, because she says this is
where I belong, and maybe it's spite or maybe it's love but I really
can't tell them apart anymore."
My older daughter, Amber, can really pick an excellent scary
book or movie. She picked that knack up in first grade. She was
analyzing The Shining when the rest of her class was swooning over
Junie B. Jones. (In my defense I'd just brought my third baby home
after a surgical delivery and was having trouble getting by on two
hours of sleep per night). When she heard of my Halloween project for
this blog she was quick to offer suggestions. Rory Power's Burn Our
Bodies Down topped the list.
Margot, Power's protagonist, lives with her Mom in a run down
apartment in a town that has seen better days. As far back as she can
remember it's just been the two of them. And Mom is a piece of work.
Even the most basic survival skills--budgeting, meal planning--elude
her. As far as parenting, she alternates between emotional
manipulation and abandonment. Margot basically raises herself.
One of the things that really bothers Margot is the size of her
family. She really wants siblings, cousins, grandparents, and a sense
of shared family narrative. It's a subject she's learned to avoid
with mommy dearest. But one day she finds a photograph with the phone
number of her mother's mother, a woman who invites her to visit and
tells her she can call her Gram.
Margot's arrival in Phalene, the town her mom grew up in, is
quite eventful. Her grandmother's corn is on fire. In the middle of
it all is the corpse of a girl in an old fashioned dress who looks
just like her. Before she's even set foot in Gram's house she's being
questioned by the police.
And Gram isn't anything like Margot envisioned her. She lies to
the police. She refuses to answer Margot's questions. And she leads
a very strange life in a home in the middle of mutant crops that seem
both alive and dead at the same time.
Could Margot be in even more peril with her grandmother than
with her mother? Is it already too late to escape whatever it is her
teenage and very pregnant mother ran away from?
If you're anything like me you'll find the ending both logically
congruent and astounding.
So how about you pick up the book and see if you're a lot better
than me at picking up and interpreting the clues?
On a purrrsonal note, my Goodwill run was quite a disappointment. I
couldn't find a single thing I wanted. I went to Hannaford and bought
two big bags of Halloween candy to make up goodie bags for the non
student workers at my dining job. Then I threw in two tubes of
Pringles and a big candy bar for me. Tonight, home alone with Tobago,
I'm going to pair them with a beer and the next book on Amber's list
to have myself a little party. (Jules)
And cat treats for me. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to the Wells workers who are simply the
best.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Friday, October 22, 2021
The Perfect Stranger
The Perfect Stranger
Adult chiller
"It wasn't just the teachers.
The entire school was buzzing. It carried from the halls,
rolled in with the students, grew louder and more urgent as they
twisted in their seats. A hand over a mouth, Oh my God. A gasp, a
hand whipping from one person to the next. They were surely talking
about the woman found down the lake."
Leah, protagonist of Megan Miranda's The Perfect Stranger, has
had to make a career switch. As a journalist, she wrote a hard
hitting story that resulted in the death by suicide of a college
professor. She also refused to reveal a source. And there was a
restraining order taken out against her. She wasn't exactly fired by
her newspaper. She was strongly encouraged to quit and move so that
maybe the story could blow over.
Just as she'd hit rock bottom career wise she'd reconnected with
an ex roommate, Emmy, who had ended a relationship and was looking to
make a fresh start. They'd moved to a small town town in Pennsylvania
where Leah got a job as a high school teacher, juggling it with the
online classes she'd need for her new profession.
But la vida rural isn't all that peaceful. First there's the
woman, Bethany, who shows up brutally beaten and in a coma. The
school's basketball coach, Davis Cobb, is the prime suspect. The
police are questioning Leah because Coach Cobb seems to have been
stalking her.
While all this is going on Leah, needing Emmy's share of a rent
payment, realizes that her roommate has vanished without a trace. She
has no useful information to give the detective who investigates. She
is left wondering how well she actually knew the woman she's living
with.
Has Emmy managed to cover all traces of her existence?
Could her disappearance have anything to do with Bethany's
assault?
Could Leah herself be in peril?
You'll have to read the book to find out. Just don't do it on a
night you're home alone. Every creak, snap, and other unexplained
noise will startle you.
On a purrrsonal note, well we're a little over a week from Halloween.
At work we'll be celebrating it next Friday because Wells will be
closed on the actual date. We dining workers who want to will be able
to work in costume that day. I'll be a witch. Right now I'm home and
glad it's Friday. And I'm caught up on my homework. I believe I can
actually get in a Goodwill run. Maybe even score a cat shirt. (Jules)
She loves those cat shirts. Who can blame her? (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to the wonderful Wells crew.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Adult chiller
"It wasn't just the teachers.
The entire school was buzzing. It carried from the halls,
rolled in with the students, grew louder and more urgent as they
twisted in their seats. A hand over a mouth, Oh my God. A gasp, a
hand whipping from one person to the next. They were surely talking
about the woman found down the lake."
Leah, protagonist of Megan Miranda's The Perfect Stranger, has
had to make a career switch. As a journalist, she wrote a hard
hitting story that resulted in the death by suicide of a college
professor. She also refused to reveal a source. And there was a
restraining order taken out against her. She wasn't exactly fired by
her newspaper. She was strongly encouraged to quit and move so that
maybe the story could blow over.
Just as she'd hit rock bottom career wise she'd reconnected with
an ex roommate, Emmy, who had ended a relationship and was looking to
make a fresh start. They'd moved to a small town town in Pennsylvania
where Leah got a job as a high school teacher, juggling it with the
online classes she'd need for her new profession.
But la vida rural isn't all that peaceful. First there's the
woman, Bethany, who shows up brutally beaten and in a coma. The
school's basketball coach, Davis Cobb, is the prime suspect. The
police are questioning Leah because Coach Cobb seems to have been
stalking her.
While all this is going on Leah, needing Emmy's share of a rent
payment, realizes that her roommate has vanished without a trace. She
has no useful information to give the detective who investigates. She
is left wondering how well she actually knew the woman she's living
with.
Has Emmy managed to cover all traces of her existence?
Could her disappearance have anything to do with Bethany's
assault?
Could Leah herself be in peril?
You'll have to read the book to find out. Just don't do it on a
night you're home alone. Every creak, snap, and other unexplained
noise will startle you.
On a purrrsonal note, well we're a little over a week from Halloween.
At work we'll be celebrating it next Friday because Wells will be
closed on the actual date. We dining workers who want to will be able
to work in costume that day. I'll be a witch. Right now I'm home and
glad it's Friday. And I'm caught up on my homework. I believe I can
actually get in a Goodwill run. Maybe even score a cat shirt. (Jules)
She loves those cat shirts. Who can blame her? (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to the wonderful Wells crew.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Wednesday, October 20, 2021
There's A Dead Person Following My Sister Around
There's A Dead Person Following My Sister Around
Juvenile Chiller
"No long-lost relatives have come to visit.
Nobody died.
Halloween was five months past.
But suddenly we had a ghost."
Aside from big brother Zach, Ted, narrator of Vivian Vande
Velde's There's A Dead Person Following My Sister Around, considers
nothing about his family to be weird. They live in an old house, but
one that's too renovated to look spooky. They live in the city, not
the creepy boonies. He's covering Luxembourg, the most boring country
in the world, for a school social studies fair. Nothing there to
attract spectral attention.
Only one day his little sister, Vicki, starts talking about a
friend, Marella, whom nobody else in the family can see. She spends a
lot of time carrying on what seem to be one sided conversations. She
starts sleeping with a hammer under her pillow to protect herself from
a "bad lady" who can walk through walls.
Zach, no fan of siblings, claims Vicki was dropped on her head
as a baby. Ted is convinced that she simply has an invisible friend...
...until his older cousin, Jackie, tells him of seeing similar
apparitions at his home eight years earlier. She knew they were
ghosts. And she's sure something has them "stirred again."
Ted becomes alarmed when the ghosts begin to lift and toss
around material objects. He begins to wonder what else they can do.
You'll have to read the book to find out.
On a purrrsonal note, recently I'd become aware of how much UMaine
students are doing to curb COVID. I decided that a large card with
lots of signatures would be a good way to show appreciation for their
hard work. I arranged for a table in the union. Yesterday I made the
card and tabled for signatures. It was easy. People were happy to
have a chance to sign. When I delivered the card the person I handed
it off to looked astounded. And I'm sure the students will be
pleased. So I am quite proud of my little project. (Jules)
I haz a good hooman. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to student nurses everywhere. One of
the bravest things anyone can do is commit to and work toward becoming
a nurse during a pandemic.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Juvenile Chiller
"No long-lost relatives have come to visit.
Nobody died.
Halloween was five months past.
But suddenly we had a ghost."
Aside from big brother Zach, Ted, narrator of Vivian Vande
Velde's There's A Dead Person Following My Sister Around, considers
nothing about his family to be weird. They live in an old house, but
one that's too renovated to look spooky. They live in the city, not
the creepy boonies. He's covering Luxembourg, the most boring country
in the world, for a school social studies fair. Nothing there to
attract spectral attention.
Only one day his little sister, Vicki, starts talking about a
friend, Marella, whom nobody else in the family can see. She spends a
lot of time carrying on what seem to be one sided conversations. She
starts sleeping with a hammer under her pillow to protect herself from
a "bad lady" who can walk through walls.
Zach, no fan of siblings, claims Vicki was dropped on her head
as a baby. Ted is convinced that she simply has an invisible friend...
...until his older cousin, Jackie, tells him of seeing similar
apparitions at his home eight years earlier. She knew they were
ghosts. And she's sure something has them "stirred again."
Ted becomes alarmed when the ghosts begin to lift and toss
around material objects. He begins to wonder what else they can do.
You'll have to read the book to find out.
On a purrrsonal note, recently I'd become aware of how much UMaine
students are doing to curb COVID. I decided that a large card with
lots of signatures would be a good way to show appreciation for their
hard work. I arranged for a table in the union. Yesterday I made the
card and tabled for signatures. It was easy. People were happy to
have a chance to sign. When I delivered the card the person I handed
it off to looked astounded. And I'm sure the students will be
pleased. So I am quite proud of my little project. (Jules)
I haz a good hooman. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to student nurses everywhere. One of
the bravest things anyone can do is commit to and work toward becoming
a nurse during a pandemic.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Monday, October 18, 2021
Where Echoes Lie
Where Echoes Lie
YA chiller
"The ending is my favorite part. The rise of the moonbow
illuminating the ghost bride as she wanders, heartbroken, through the
darkness. Ever searching for what she lost.
Except, as it turns out, that's not the end of the story at all.
It's only the beginning."
In my quest to bring you, my readers, the widest possible range
of spooky stories for this lead up to Halloween I have even included
one with decidedly romantic overtones. And you know I generally avoid
romance stories like I avoid COVID contamination.
Rena Faye, protagonist of Shannon Schuren's Where Echoes Lie,
has grown up with the legend of the ghost bride, an unfortunate girl
who, dressed for her wedding, waited under a full moon on a bluff
overlooking a waterfull. She saw his home go up in flames.
Despondant, she lept to her death. Only part of her never left. The
legend and the moonbows that draw people to her small Kentucky town
are what keep her family's motel in business.
On her first day of the summer before her senior year Rena Faye
learns that the legend is a lot more personal for her. She's visiting
Malice, her grandmother who is well known for her story telling and
sees stories as oral history. Malice tells her that a curse ties her
family to the ghost bride. The curse can only be broken by settling
the ghost's unfinished business. It's up to Rena Faye who will be in
peril until she accomplishes this mission.
Rena Faye has ample reason to believe that she's, if not cursed,
at least not listened to. She's determined to major in photography in
college. Her parents will only help out financially if she pursues
the business degree that will enable her to someday run the motel.
They've just vetoed the month long road trip she and Malice had been
planning as a way for her to build her portfolio. Instead her whole
vacation will be spent as unpaid chambermaid for the family business,
being bossed around by big brother, Graham. And long term boyfriend,
Chase, is planning a future for them that doesn't take any of her
hopes or plans into consideration.
It looks like Rena Faye has enough on her plate without tackling
the phantom curse. But time is not on her side. If she can't make
things right that summer the curse is going to steal from her
everything she values.
There is really such a thing as a moonbow. In 2005 Schuren
visited the site of the story and was enchanted enough to write a
"snippet" of a story, one she set aside. Fifteen years later her
agent encouraged her to flesh it out. When you read the story you
will probably join me in feeling grateful that she did.
On a purrrsonal note, it was a weather dreary (drizzles to downpours)
but productive weekend. Eugene was away. I did homework and blogging
and writing and housework. My favorite part was Tobago spending the
whole night in bed with me. She's so soft and warm. I'm lucky to
have her. (Jules)
That was my favorite part too. We had a slumber party. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to Eugene who got back safely.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
YA chiller
"The ending is my favorite part. The rise of the moonbow
illuminating the ghost bride as she wanders, heartbroken, through the
darkness. Ever searching for what she lost.
Except, as it turns out, that's not the end of the story at all.
It's only the beginning."
In my quest to bring you, my readers, the widest possible range
of spooky stories for this lead up to Halloween I have even included
one with decidedly romantic overtones. And you know I generally avoid
romance stories like I avoid COVID contamination.
Rena Faye, protagonist of Shannon Schuren's Where Echoes Lie,
has grown up with the legend of the ghost bride, an unfortunate girl
who, dressed for her wedding, waited under a full moon on a bluff
overlooking a waterfull. She saw his home go up in flames.
Despondant, she lept to her death. Only part of her never left. The
legend and the moonbows that draw people to her small Kentucky town
are what keep her family's motel in business.
On her first day of the summer before her senior year Rena Faye
learns that the legend is a lot more personal for her. She's visiting
Malice, her grandmother who is well known for her story telling and
sees stories as oral history. Malice tells her that a curse ties her
family to the ghost bride. The curse can only be broken by settling
the ghost's unfinished business. It's up to Rena Faye who will be in
peril until she accomplishes this mission.
Rena Faye has ample reason to believe that she's, if not cursed,
at least not listened to. She's determined to major in photography in
college. Her parents will only help out financially if she pursues
the business degree that will enable her to someday run the motel.
They've just vetoed the month long road trip she and Malice had been
planning as a way for her to build her portfolio. Instead her whole
vacation will be spent as unpaid chambermaid for the family business,
being bossed around by big brother, Graham. And long term boyfriend,
Chase, is planning a future for them that doesn't take any of her
hopes or plans into consideration.
It looks like Rena Faye has enough on her plate without tackling
the phantom curse. But time is not on her side. If she can't make
things right that summer the curse is going to steal from her
everything she values.
There is really such a thing as a moonbow. In 2005 Schuren
visited the site of the story and was enchanted enough to write a
"snippet" of a story, one she set aside. Fifteen years later her
agent encouraged her to flesh it out. When you read the story you
will probably join me in feeling grateful that she did.
On a purrrsonal note, it was a weather dreary (drizzles to downpours)
but productive weekend. Eugene was away. I did homework and blogging
and writing and housework. My favorite part was Tobago spending the
whole night in bed with me. She's so soft and warm. I'm lucky to
have her. (Jules)
That was my favorite part too. We had a slumber party. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to Eugene who got back safely.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
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