Deadman's Castle

Deadman's Castle

By Iain Lawrence

Igor and his family have been on the run since he was a young boy.  After witnessing a terrible crime, his father had to take his family into hiding to avoid the terrifying Lizard Man, who seems to track them down wherever they go.  Igor and his family have lived in many different places.  Eventually they always “bug out”, leaving town in the middle of the night so that they won’t be found.

But as Igor gets older, he craves a more normal life.  At age twelve, he finally starts attending regular school.  Although he dresses differently than the other kids and he lives by very strict rules, he starts to make some friends.  Both Angelo and Zoe accept Igor’s weirdness, but sometimes they also push him to break the rules.

Unbeknownst to his parents, Igor and his friends make several trips to Deadman’s Castle, a creepy, abandoned place in the woods.  Zoe knows all the ins and outs of Deadman’s Castle, and although Angelo and Igor aren’t too keen, they begin exploring it with her.

As time goes on, Igor begins to break more and more of his parents’ rules.  After all, he just wants to hang out with his friends and be a normal kid.  Little does Igor realize that he’s putting himself and even his friends in danger.  Will he ever get to live life without fear of the Lizard Man?

Scary Stories for Young Foxes

Scary Stories for Young Foxes

By Christian McKay Heidicker

On a chilly autumn night, seven little foxes are eager to hear some scary stories.  But the old storyteller lives over in Bog Cavern and they are not allowed to go.  After waiting for their mother to fall asleep, seven little foxes sneak out into the night, and prepare to be scared.

So begins Scary Stories for Young Foxes.  What follows are a series of stories about other fox kits.  Each story sends one of the original seven foxes home, too scared to listen to any more. 

One story tells of the evil Mr. Scratch, who would kill the runt of his own litter.  Another tells of the cruel Miss Beatrix Potter (yes, the children’s author), who kidnaps young foxes and other animals, writes a story about them and then has them stuffed.  Another tells of the lovely teacher Miss Vix, who gets bitten by another fox and succumbs to the terrible “yellow”, also known as rabies.

But heroes emerge from these stories as well.  Mia and Uly are both fox kits who get separated from the safety of their mothers.  If they band together, they may just manage to defeat the evil forces that are alive in the woods.

If you love to be a little bit scared, try Scary Stories for Young Foxes.  This book would be especially great on a dark and stormy night!
 

Blood Mountain

Blood Mountain

By James Preller

Carter and Grace are on a hike with their dad and their dog, Sitka.  They’ve been on hikes before and are comfortable in the woods.  So comfortable, in fact, that they both race ahead of their father.  Their dad, meanwhile, is getting slower and slower, having trouble making his way up the mountain.  He doesn’t mind letting his energetic kids run ahead.

Carter and Grace know they must stick to the trail, but it’s easy to make a wrong turn if you’re not really following the markers.  By the time they realize they are lost, they have no idea how to get back to the trail.  Although they believe that their dad will catch up and find them, they don’t know that he’s having his own medical problems.

When the siblings decide to make their way to the mountain summit off-trail, they really get lost, not to mention injured.  Eventually, the children separate, but neither knows how to get home.

Luckily their mother reports the missing trio and an astute forest ranger heads out to look for them.  But there is someone else in the woods as well – a mountain man, rumoured to live on his own in the bush.  There is also a mountain lion on the loose, out of its usual territory.  No one knows how these two forest inhabitants will react to a couple of lost children.

If you have ever been lost yourself, or just love a good, suspenseful survival story, Blood Mountain is for you!

Malice

Malice

By Chris Wooding

Malice is the comic that everyone wants to read.  They’ve all heard about it, but hardly anyone can get their hands on it.  Malice is kept behind the counter and under beds.  It’s dark and disturbing content shows only glimpses of stories.  But the kids in these stories aren’t made up – they are real kids who’ve gone missing.  And they’ve gone into the sinister world of Malice.

Kids have also heard that if you want to visit Malice, all you have to do is call Tall Jake to come and take you away.  Do a little chant, burn some cat hair and next thing you know, Tall Jake will appear.  Of course, most don’t believe it.  But some kids try it – just to see what happens.

Luke is the first to call this darkness.  When Kady and Seth finally get a hold of one of the comics, they learn Luke’s fate.  He has made it into Malice, and he may not get out.

Despite the danger, Seth decides he wants to go to Malice too.  He is bored with life and always looking for more excitement.  He only half believes it will work anyway.  When he finally gets there, he learns that Malice is darker than even he expected.  But he also meets other kids like Justin and Tatiana, who are living in Malice.  Some are trying to find a way out.  If you can find a white train ticket, you can go back home.

Others want to stay and find a way to stop Tall Jake.  He’s hurting kids after all. Seth and Justin decide to set out together to stop the monster that is behind Malice.  Meanwhile, Kady is trying to help from the outside.

But can three ordinary kids really stop this evil?

Written as both a novel and a comic, Malice allows readers to see right into its dark world.

Highly recommended!