The Devil and Winnie Flynn by Micol Ostow and David Ostow

The Devil and Winnie Flynn written by Micol Ostow and illustrated by David Ostow, was such a fun read.  If you are looking for an engaging and entertaining horror story, you can't go wrong with this one.  This story hits on so many of the classic horror tropes, while being self-aware that it is doing just that.  This one was lots of fun.

The Devil and Winnie Flynn tells the story of a young girl who has recently lost her mother to suicide.  Her estranged Aunt Maggie swoops in soon after the death and takes Winnie away to New Jersey so that she can assist in Maggie's horror reality TV show, Fantastic, Fearsome.  Winnie doesn't believe in ghost or the supernatural, but the people involved in the show are determined to change her mind, especially Maggie.

As the show focuses on the history of the Jersey Devil, Winnie's family history starts to reveal itself to her.  And what she discovers is that her family is more closely entwined with the lore of the Jersey Devil than she ever could have imagined.  As she learns more about her secret history, she starts to realize her mother's death may not have been what everyone thought it was.  Accepting her place in the legends may be the only thing that helps her escape New Jersey alive.  

From Amazon:

"A love letter to all your favorite horror movie classics . . . Micol Ostow's razor sharp writing and David Ostow's wonderful illustrations combine for an unforgettable reading experience."
—Courtney Summers, author of This Is Not a Test and All the Rage

Winnie Flynn doesn’t believe in ghosts. (Though she wouldn’t mind a visit from her mom, explaining why she took her own life.) When her mysterious aunt Maggie, a high-profile TV producer, recruits Winnie to spend a summer working as a production assistant on her current reality hit, Fantastic, Fearsome, she suddenly finds herself in the one place her mother would never go: New Jersey.

New Jersey’s famous Devil makes perfect fodder for Maggie’s show. But as the filming progresses, Winnie sees and hears things that make her think that the Devil might not be totally fake after all. Things that involve her and her family. Things about her mother’s death that might explain why she’s never met Aunt Maggie until now.

Winnie soon discovers her family’s history is deeply entwined with the Devil’s. If she’s going to make it out of the Pine Barrens alive, she might have to start believing in what her aunt is telling her—and find out what she isn’t.