Like ghosts, monsters, vampires or werewolves? Students in grades 7 and up are invited to a special meeting of The Undead Book Group on Wednesday, October 21st from 4-4:45 p.m. We will be discussing Companions of the Night by Vivian Vande Velde. Copies are available at the Peace Dale Library. Contact the library at 789-1555 for questions or registration, registration is preferred but not required.
Bonechiller by Graham Mcnamee
I don’t scare easily; I enjoy everything about zombies, monsters and other things that go bump in the night. I find very few things scary (except, perhaps the movie The Descent). So imagine my surprise when I realized that while reading Graham Mcnamee’s new book, Bonechiller, I was holding my breath a bit, every so often glancing up wide eyed and stealthily checking out my very quiet house.
Bonechiller takes place in the far north of Canada, in the sparsely populated town of Harvest Cove, where the days are short and the nights are long and cold. Danny and his father are relatively new to the town, trying to escape the memory of his recently deceased mother. One night after hanging out with friends, while on his way home, Danny is attacked by…something. He’s unable to get a good look, but he knows it’s bigger than any dog, wolf or bear he’s ever seen. It sticks to the shadows, slowly toying with him—stalking him like prey—until it corners him and bites or stabs him (Danny’s not really sure) and then runs off into the night.
The next day, he’s pretty sure he may have imagined the whole thing; until he noticed a small blue mark on his hand and finds animal type footprints at the spot where he was attacked. As strange things beginning happening, Danny realizes that there is something out there in the darkness, and that he and his friends must stop it before they just disappear into the Arctic night.
Combining monsters and aspects of Inuit folklore, Mcnamee’s Bonechiller is a riveting read, perfect for those who enjoyed Darren Shan’s books and are now looking for another creepy title.
Darkside by Tom Becker
“The darkening son, I can feel the darkening…”
Jonathan Starling is used to being on his own, going unnoticed by almost everyone around him. His mother disappeared before he was old enough to remember her and his father, Alain, spends the majority of his time locked away in his study, suffering periodic episodes, claiming he can feel “the darkening” that is coming. With only his neighbor Mrs. Elwood to keep an eye on him, London is Jonathan’s playground.
One night, while alone in his house after another one of his father’s breakdowns, Jonathan hears an intruder downstairs. He runs hiding in his father’s study barricading the door while something scratches violently trying to get in. The next day at the library he is almost kidnapped by a strange woman and two sinister looking men.
When Alain hears of these events sends his son to seek out Carnegie, the only one who would be able to protect him. However, Carnegie lives in a part of London that most people have never noticed…and are better off for it. Called Darkside, it is home to the city’s most dangerous and undesirable people and creatures, none of whom should ever be trusted. With people who will stop at nothing to capture him, will Jonathan be able to find safety a place like Darkside? And more importantly, exactly who is after him?
This is a great book for fans of Darren Shan’s Cirque du Freak series. Becker has created a spine chilling world, filled with things that go bump in the night. Originally published in England, Darkside is the first in a series; the sequel Lifeblood is also currently available.
South Kingstown Public Library Teens 