I Crawl Through It by A.S. King

Wow!  This one was such a great read.  As King will tell you herself, it is weird and strange, but so powerful.  You have to just let this one sit for a while after reading it.  It is a story told by four teenagers.  The each have their own oddity about them, such as China who has swallowed herself.  Each of these kids has dealt with some form of trauma in their lives and are trying to figure out how to deal with it and be able to live a normal life.  It is a wonderfully told story that is not only powerful, but so important.  It is a book that so many kids should read about dealing with the trauma of their lives and crawling through it to come to a better place.  I can't recommend this book enough!

From Amazon:

Four teenagers are on the verge of exploding. The anxieties they face at every turn have nearly pushed them to the point of surrender: senseless high-stakes testing, the lingering damage of past trauma, the buried grief and guilt of tragic loss. They are desperate to cope, but no one is listening.

So they will lie. They will split in two. They will turn inside out. They will even build an invisible helicopter to fly themselves far away...but nothing releases the pressure. Because, as they discover, the only way to truly escape their world is to fly right into it.

The genius of acclaimed author A.S. King reaches new heights in this groundbreaking work of surrealist fiction; it will mesmerize readers with its deeply affecting exploration of how we crawl through traumatic experience-and find the way out.

Diary of a Haunting by M. Verano

I was really excited to read this one.  I don't read a lot of horror, but I love a good ghost story.  The cover of this book really grabbed my attention.  I wish the rest of the novel would have done the same.  It wasn't the worst book I have ever read, but it wasn't what I was hoping for.  With the exception of the "Editor's Note" and the Afterword, it is told exclusively through the journal of Paige Blanton.  She has moved to a small town in Idaho, with her mom and little brother, after her parents got divorced.  The house they live in is very old and as we learn later has an interesting history.  Weird things happen in the house, like cell phones acting up and groceries disappearing, but nothing too frightening.  Sure, there were some scenes in the book that were a little creepy, but these had to do more with spiders and flies than anything supernatural.  If you are looking for a decent story about a weird house and it's history, give it a try.  If you are looking for a great ghost story, you may want to look elsewhere.

From Amazon:

 In the tradition of Paranormal Activity and The Blair Witch Project, an American teen recounts the strange events that occur after she moves into a new—and very haunted—home with her family in this chilling diary that features photos and images of what she experienced.

Letters, photographs, and a journal…all left behind in the harrowing aftermath.

Following her parents’ high-profile divorce, Paige and her brother are forced to move to Idaho with their mother, and Paige doesn’t have very high hopes for her new life. The small town they’ve moved to is nothing compared to the life she left behind in LA. And the situation is made even worse by the drafty old mansion they’ve rented that’s filled with spiders and plenty of other pests that Paige can’t even bear to imagine.

Pretty soon, strange things start to happen around the house—one can of ravioli becomes a dozen, unreadable words start appearing on the walls, and Paige’s little brother begins roaming the house late at night. And there’s something not right about the downstairs neighbor who seems to know a lot more than he’s letting on.

Things only get creepier when she learns about the cult that conducted experimental rituals in the house almost one hundred years earlier. The more Paige investigates, the clearer it all becomes: there’s something in the house, and whatever it is…and it won’t be backing down without a fight.

Library of Souls: The Third Novel of Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

It took me a while, but I have finally finished the third and final book in the Miss Peregrine's series.  If you are a fan of the first two books, you will love this one just as much.  It is action packed, as Jacob and Emma try to save all of Peculiardom.  We finally see the full extent of Jacob's powers, but we also see all the power the wights are trying to harness in order to rule the world.  As in the previous books, the pictures play a wonderful part of this novel and Ransom Riggs is able to weave a wonderful tale while using the pictures in a stunning way.  This one will stick with you for a while.

From Amazon:

Time is running out for the Peculiar Children. With a dangerous madman on the loose and their beloved Miss Peregrine still in danger, Jacob Portman and Emma Bloom are forced to stage the most daring of rescue missions. They’ll travel through a war-torn landscape, meet new allies, and face greater dangers than ever. . . . Will Jacob come into his own as the hero his fellow Peculiars know him to be? This action-packed adventure features more than 50 all-new Peculiar photographs.

The Alex Crow by Andrew Smith

I forgot about this one from the summer, but I have no idea how.  How do you forget about a book as weird, as crazy, and as entertaining as The Alex Crow?  In typical Andrew Smith fashion, he gives the reader a story that involves many different characters in many different places, and in the case of this story, even different time periods.  What he does so well is bring all of those things together in a way that is funny, thrilling, heartbreaking, and heartwarming all at the same time.  I can't say I have ever read anything from Andrew Smith that I didn't just enjoy immensely. 

From Amazon:

“Andrew Smith is the Kurt Vonnegut of YA . . . [Smith’s novels] are the freshest, richest, and weirdest books to hit the YA world in years.” —Entertainment Weekly

Skillfully blending multiple story strands that transcend time and place, award-winning Grasshopper Jungle author Andrew Smith chronicles the story of Ariel, a refugee who is the sole survivor of an attack on his small village. Now living with an adoptive family in Sunday, West Virginia, Ariel's story is juxtaposed against those of a schizophrenic bomber and the diaries of a failed arctic expedition from the late nineteenth century . . . and a depressed, bionic reincarnated crow.

As Red as Blood by Salla Simukka

This is the first book in what is known as The Snow White Trilogy.  It has nothing to do with the old fairy tale, but by the end of the book you will understand where that name comes from.  The author is from Finland and it was originally written in Finnish and translated to English.  Because of that, the names of the characters and the places where the story takes place are all unfamiliar.  With all that being said, it doesn't matter.  This is a pretty fast paced novel with a strong and very likable female heroin.  Lumikki is a great character that you definitely want to root for as she tries to unravel the mystery that she has been thrust into. 

From Amazon:

In the midst of the freezing Arctic winter, seventeen-year-old Lumikki Andersson walks into her school’s dark room and finds a stash of wet, crimson-colored money. Thousands of Euros left to dry—splattered with someone’s blood.

Lumikki lives alone in a studio apartment far from her parents and the past she left behind. She transferred into a prestigious art school, and she’s singularly focused on studying and graduating. Lumikki ignores the cliques, the gossip, and the parties held by the school’s most popular and beautiful boys and girls.

But finding the blood-stained money changes everything. Suddenly, Lumikki is swept into a whirlpool of events as she finds herself helping to trace the origins of the money. Events turn even more deadly when evidence points to dirty cops and a notorious drug kingpin best known for the brutality with which he runs his business.

As Lumikki loses control of her carefully constructed world, she discovers that she’s been blind to the forces swirling around her—and she’s running out of time to set them right. When she sees the stark red of blood on snow, it may be too late to save her friends or herself.

As White as Snow by Salla Simukka

The second book in the Snow White trilogy, this novel again finds Lumikki involved in some dangerous business that she should not be anywhere near.  During this adventure, she finds herself staring down evil and corruption in the beautiful city of Prague.  It is a fast paced action thriller that reads very quickly.  The third book in the trilogy, As Black as Ebony, has been released and I do own it, although I have yet to read it.  Soon.....I hope.

From Amazon:

Book 2 in the Snow White trilogy.

The heat of the summer sun bakes the streets of Prague, but Lumikki’s heart is frozen solid.

Looking to escape the notoriety caused by the part she played in taking down Polar Bear’s crime ring, seventeen-year-old Lumikki Andersson escapes to Prague, where she hopes to find a few weeks of peace among the hordes of tourists. But not long after arriving, she’s cornered by a skittish and strange young woman who claims to be her long-lost sister. The woman, Lenka, is obviously terrified, and even though Lumikki doesn’t believe her story—although parts of it ring true—she can’t just walk away.

Lumikki quickly gets caught up in Lenka’s sad and mysterious world, uncovering pieces of a mystery that take her from the belly of a poisonous cult to the highest echelons of corporate power. On the run for her life again, Lumikki must use all her wits to survive, but in the end, she just may discover she can’t do it all alone.

The Girl From the Well by Rin Chupeco

I am a fan of the paranormal, but horror/ghost stories are not usually the first genre I pick up and read.  I think it was the book cover that got my attention.  As expected, it is dark, dreary, and at times violent.  If you are a fan of scary stories or scary movies (in particular "The Ring" as it is connected, but not the same story), you will enjoy this one.  It probably won't keep you up at night, but the creepiness factor is definitely there.  There is a sequel titled The Suffering that I have not yet read, but it is definitely on my list

From Amazon:

I am where dead children go.

Okiku is a lonely soul. She has wandered the world for centuries, freeing the spirits of the murdered-dead. Once a victim herself, she now takes the lives of killers with the vengeance they're due. But releasing innocent ghosts from their ethereal tethers does not bring Okiku peace. Still she drifts on.

Such is her existence, until she meets Tark. Evil writhes beneath the moody teen's skin, trapped by a series of intricate tattoos. While his neighbors fear him, Okiku knows the boy is not a monster. Tark needs to be freed from the malevolence that clings to him. There's just one problem: if the demon dies, so does its host.