Scary Good Reads: YA Book Talk, February 19, 2024

It’s been a bloody summer across the Midwest. Or, rather, it hasn’t been, though there’s been a lot of death. Each of the murders has been bloodless, with victims found with a handful of slashes but without blood remaining in their bodies. Now the killer — or killers — has turned to Michael Jensen’s town in Minnesota, killing a mother, father, and high school student, and standing among them, pooled in blood, is Marie.

All signs point to Marie as the killer, but she refuses to talk to anyone except Michael. He’s an aspiring journalist and sees this as his opportunity to break a huge story. But the longer he talks with Marie, the less he begins to believe what happened to be clear, true, or easy. She’s convinced him that she worked alongside a vampire — nameless, faceless, long gone from the crime scene — and she can’t help locate him. But the legal system in Nebraska is hot on the case, pressing for more and more details, hoping to extradite Marie back to Nebraska in order to charge her. The law there allows for the conviction of accomplices to murder, not just the murderer, and this would bring peace and closure.

But as the truth….or the supposed truth…unravels, it becomes much more complex. Who is Marie? Where did she come from? What happened to her family, and what did her stepfather do to her? And is that story or her relationship to her stepfather the narrative she wants in the news?

This is a clever take on vampires, but it’s also based loosely on two separate murder sprees in the Midwest during this time. It’s got Midwest Gothic vibes, wrapped in an In Cold Blood style true fictionalized crime narrative.

Cori, Maz, and Sam were inseparable growing up. They hung out all of the time, shared a deep love for Halloween and arcade games, among other things, but when they were in middle school, things started to change. 

Fast forward to 1993, and Sam has been gone for six years. Cori and Maz are seniors, and they run across one another by chance…and that chance meeting resurrects not only the feelings of their broken friendship but it also brings Sam back. Sam, who comes back not as a senior himself but as his 12-year-old self. Still believing it is 1987. 

What unravels is a story of secrets the best friends kept from one another, as well as what both Cori and Maz believe happened to Sam.

This is a fun, funny paranormal mystery for readers who love Stranger Things.

Right before the pandemic started, I did an event in the Bay area. As part of that, I was invited alongside two other YA authors to speak with teenagers who were in a juvenile detention facility about writing and books. McNeil was one of those other authors, and the absolute passion these students had for her and for this book series was incredible–and it was something that really made me take note of this book in a way I hadn’t before.

The prison island of Alcatraz 2.0 is where viewers can tune in via The Postman app. The app streams executions of the most dangerous and notorious criminals in the country.

Dee Guerrera, 17, wakes up in a terrifying warehouse and immediately realizes she’s going to be part of this dangerous “entertainment.” While she hadn’t thought too much about it before, she certainly does now. Especially because she’s being accused of a crime she absolutely did not commit. Now it’s up to Dee and her newly formed group of friends, dubbed the Death Row Breakfast Club, to prove her innocence.

The problem? The Postman needs to provide to its users.

This is the first in a series, and all of the books are out and available to read. It’s perfect for readers who enjoy Squid Game and/or Black Mirror.