I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga

Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson 

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake 

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kawaga 

The Hunt by Andrew Fukada

Have you recently read a great book and don’t know what to read next? Do you have a suggestion for fans of a certain title? Let us know and we’ll feature it in our next like—try—why post!

We have lots of novels that feature haunted houses, and you can check out to celebrate Teen Read Week. The Theme is “It Came from the Library” and culminates in a teen dance and costume party with crafts, snacks, games, prizes, a DJ, and a photo booth.

Frost is not your normal boarding school novel — the old Victorian house in this story has an unexpected extra roommate. In Bad Girls Don’t Die, another old Victorian house (it’s always the Victorians…) starts causing it’s occupants to act strangely, and upon investigation, some frightening facts about its previous occupants are revealed. A night of babysitting turns strange in The Turning, a story set on a haunted island. Another creepy novel about a nanny who finds herself in a haunted house that was the sight of two previous deaths is Tighter, which like The Turning, is based on the Henry James novel The Turn of the Screw. Henry James was a great friend to fellow writer Edith Wharton, who also wrote a collection of spooky ghost stories.

If you like to celebrate the season by watching scary (or funny) movies about haunted houses, we’ve got you covered. The Others is a dark and creepy movie with a chilling ending. If humor is more your style, try a classic like Ghostbusters or Beetlejuice.

If you’re in the mood for real life scary stories, check out the ghosts caught on film in this DVD in the Teen Zone paranormal nonfiction section. If haunted houses are too mainstream for your taste, how about reading up on some ghost ships in these true stories of nautical nightmares. Mystery library brings you this investigation into hauntings, and you can also learn how to do your own ghost hunting in The Other Side: A Teen’s Guide to Ghost Hunting and the paranormal. 

Check out one of these books and come to our It Came from the Library Teen Read Week party — if you dare! 

But I decided to take a chance on The Immortal Rules, and I’m glad I did. Julie Kawaga has made a unique and gripping contribution to young adult vampire fiction.

Allison Sekemoto lives on the Fringe, outside the walls of the vampire city. As an unregistered, she doesn’t have to regularly donate blood, but she doesn’t get any rations, either. She and her band of friends survive by scavenging, but just barely get by. Not only are they vulnerable to attacks from vampires who aren’t content to feed on donated blood, they are also constantly defending their territory from other gangs of unregistereds fighting for scarce resources. And if they leave the walls that protect city, they face the worst enemy of all: the Rabids. These zombie-like creatures have contracted a virus that leaves them emaciated and hungry for flesh. Even vampires steer clear of Rabids.

Allison braves the ruins past the walls of the city on a scavenging trip, and discovers an entire basement full of food that will allow her and her friends to survive through the winter. However, when she returns with her crew to haul back the canned goods, they are caught by Rabids. Her friends die, and as Allison lies dangerously close to death herself, she is given a choice by a vampire: die for good, or be turned into what she hates more than anything.

Allison’s drive to survive is strong enough that she accepts, and endures training with her sire, who exists outside of the walls of the city and is obsessed with strange research in an old hospital. When Allison and her mentor are discovered by the vampires that rule the city, they must flee. Allison escapes the city, but just barely, and finds herself alone in the wilderness full of Rabids. She sets out in search of another city, hoping there is life out there. If she doesn’t come across a human to feed on soon, she’ll go crazy and die.

Allison stumbles across a band of travelers searching for a city called Eden, perhaps the last place on Earth not ruled by vampires. They travel at night because they lost many of their camp when Rabids emerged from their daytime slumber in the ground beneath them, so Allison is able to conceal her identity as a vampire. She develops a close relationship with one of the boys in the group, and uncovers some of their leader’s secrets. Is there a cure to the disease that has decimated so much of the world’s population? Is Eden a real place or just a myth? Can a vampire love a human? None of these questions have easy answers.

This novel blends the best of post-apocalyptic and dystopian genres with horror and paranormal elements. It’s gritty, bleak, and chocked full of action. The world-building is astounding, even if the backstory is awkwardly inserted during dialogue. The plot is fast-paced and complicated, with plenty of twists and turns. I loved that romance took a back seat to the basic struggle to survive. Allison is a compelling character, and while far from perfect, she’s someone I wanted to cheer on. She’s smart and driven and struggles with her new identity.

I’d recommend this book to those who are skeptical of vampire stories, anyone who likes a strong female protagonist, and readers looking for a paranormal twist on a post-apocalyptic story. If you loved this novel, check out Scott Westerfeld’s Peeps and Carrie Ryan’s The Forest of Hands and Teeth.

- Molly, YA Staff

 Day by Day Armageddon by J. L. Bourne

An ongoing journal depicting one man’s personal struggle for survival, dealing with the trials of an undead world unfolding around him. An unknown plague sweeps the planet. The dead rise to claim the Earth as the new dominant species. Trapped in the midst of a global tragedy, he must make decisions … choices that ultimately mean life, or the eternal curse to walk as one of them.

  Ashes by Ilsa Bick

Alex (a resourceful seventeen-year-old running from her incurable brain tumor), Tom (who has left the war in Afghanistan), and Ellie (an angry eight-year-old) join forces after an electromagnetic pulse sweeps through the sky and kills most of the world’s population, turning some of those who remain into zombies and giving the others superhuman senses.

 Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

In a post-apocalyptic world where fences and border patrols guard the few people left from the zombies that have overtaken civilization, fifteen-year-old Benny Imura is finally convinced that he must follow in his older brother’s footsteps and become a bounty hunter.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Through twists and turns of fate, orphaned Mary seeks knowledge of life, love, and especially what lies beyond her walled village and the surrounding forest, where dwell the unconsecrated, aggressive flesh-eating people who were once dead.

Generation Dead by Daniel Waters

When dead teenagers who have come back to life start showing up at her high school, Phoebe, a goth girl, becomes interested in the phenomenon, and when she starts dating a “living impaired” boy, they encounter prejudice, fear, and hatred.

I Kissed a Zombie and I Liked It by Adam Selzer

Living in the post-human era when the undead are part of everyday life, high schooler Alley breaks her no-dating rule when Doug catches her eye, but classmate Will demands to turn her into a vampire and her zombie boyfriend may be unable to stop him.

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kawaga

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city, until she too becomes an immortal vampire. Forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls, she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend — a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers

Barricaded in Cortege High with five other teens while zombies try to get in, Sloane Price observes her fellow captives become more unpredictable and violent as time passes although they each have much more reason to live than she has.

Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard

In an alternate nineteenth-century Philadelphia, Eleanor Fitt sets out to rescue her brother, who seems to have been captured by an evil necromancer in control of an army of Undead.

What was it about? In the tradition of Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot, Cirque Du Freak is the frightening saga of a young boy whose visit to a mysterious freak show leads him on a journey into a dark world of vampires. Filled with grotesque creatures, murderous vampires, and a petrifying ending, Cirque Du Freak will chill, thrill, and leave readers begging for more.

What did you think of it & why did you pick it up: I absolutely love this book! It has a certain way of captivating the reader into wanting to know more. I would have given A Living Nightmare 5 stars, however, I found this book very predictable. As a suspenseful book, that factor disappointed me. I still recommend this book to anyone who likes a horror read every now and then. (By the way, the ending is a cliff hanger. :/)

I picked this book up because of my friend Meredith.

Star Rating:

I would suggest this for: Fans of suspense

Thanks for the review, Tehreem! If you liked this one, you should check out the rest of the Cirque de Freak series.