Wed, October 26th, 2011
This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel
Posted by: Cindy Dobrez and Lynn Rutan
Cindy: Can I just steal Daniel Kraus’ review for my blog post of This Dark Endeavor: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein (Simon & Schuster 2011)? Okay, not the whole thing, I need to earn my keep, but how about the opening? That Victor Frankenstein must’ve been a handful as a teen, eh? The latest entry [...]
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| Posted in Gr. 7-10, Horror
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Sat, October 15th, 2011
Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol
Posted by: Cindy Dobrez and Lynn Rutan
Cindy: Well, we can’t be at New York Comic Con this weekend, but we can blog about a graphic novel to join the party from afar. Anya’s Ghost (First Second 2011) is perfectly executed and is perfect for the pre-Halloween season although it will be enjoyed year-round. Anya has self image problems and struggles to [...]
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| Posted in Gr. 7-10, Graphic Novels, Horror
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Sat, July 16th, 2011
Cryer’s Cross by Lisa McMann
Posted by: Cindy Dobrez and Lynn Rutan
Cindy: Holy cow, Lisa McMann! I’m glad I can’t experience your dreams if your fiction is any indication of what goes on at night in your head! McMann’s WAKE trilogy is very popular in our high schools, but I can’t wait to booktalk Cryer’s Cross (Simon Pulse 2011) with my eighth graders this fall. I [...]
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| Posted in Characters with disabilities, Gr. 7-10, Grief, Horror, Mystery, Supernatural
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Wed, January 19th, 2011
The Curse of the Wendigo by Rick Yancey
Posted by: Cindy Dobrez and Lynn Rutan
Lynn: I’m sure readers have noticed that we don’t write about a book unless one or both of us likes it. We try hard to post about a variety of genres and ages ranges but our favorites DO have a way of sneaking in. Anyone notice the numbers of fantasy and sf we post about? [...]
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| Posted in Fiction, Gr. 7-10, Gr. 9-12, Horror, Supernatural
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Sat, August 14th, 2010
The House of Dead Maids by Clare B. Dunkle
Posted by: Cindy Dobrez and Lynn Rutan
Cindy: My first experience with Wuthering Heights comes from a Classics Illustrated version of the title from my childhood. Still, Heathcliff haunts me and who wouldn’t be intrigued by the story behind this brooding, evil character living on the English moors. The House of Dead Maids (Henry Holt, 2010) is Clare Dunkle’s creepy prequel-of-sorts to [...]
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| Posted in Fiction, Gothic literature, Gr. 6-12, Horror, Mystery
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Thu, October 15th, 2009
Half-Minute Horrors ed. by Susan Rich
Posted by: Cindy Dobrez and Lynn Rutan
Cindy: Can an author really scare me in 30 seconds or less? The answer is yes when it is Margaret Atwood or Jack Gantos or M. T. Anderson or Art Slade. Yikes! Each story, poem, or graphic story in this slim volume can be read in less than half a minute. Lynn brought Half-Minute Horrors [...]
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| Posted in Gr. 4-7, Horror, Short Stories
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