Only read this book list if you are ready to feel a bit unsettled, creeped out, and in the Halloween spirit.
THE HAZEL WOOD | MELISSA ALBERT
"Althea Proserpine is raising her daughter on fairy tales. Once upon a time she was a girl named Anna Parks, one of the legions of midcentury dreamers who came to Manhattan with their hopes tucked into a suitcase. Then she went missing. Then she came back, and achieved an odd kind of fame, glittering from some angles but dark from others."
SUMMARY:
FROM THE PUBLISHER: Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother have spent most of Alice’s life on the road, always a step ahead of the uncanny bad luck biting at their heels. But when Alice’s grandmother, the reclusive author of a cult-classic book of pitch-dark fairy tales, dies alone on her estate, the Hazel Wood, Alice learns how bad her luck can really get: Her mother is stolen away—by a figure who claims to come from the Hinterland, the cruel supernatural world where her grandmother's stories are set. Alice's only lead is the message her mother left behind: “Stay away from the Hazel Wood.”
Alice has long steered clear of her grandmother’s cultish fans. But now she has no choice but to ally with classmate Ellery Finch, a Hinterland superfan who may have his own reasons for wanting to help her. To retrieve her mother, Alice must venture first to the Hazel Wood, then into the world where her grandmother's tales began—and where she might find out how her own story went so wrong.
MORE INFORMATION:
Genre: Teens and Young Adult Science Fiction & Fantasy
Recommended Age: 14+
Reading Level: A bit of a challenge for some students (Lexile: 760)
Choice Books for All Note: Though we read this book a few years ago, the haunting tone, and excellent storytelling sticks with us. The high stakes, dark fairytale vibes make it an excellent fall read. (Bonus: Every student that has read this book has given it a 5/5 review!)
REVIEWS:
PURCHASE:
Remember! Your local library should have all of the books in physical or ebook format for free!
THE GRAVEYARD BOOK | NEIL GAIMAN
"There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife. The knife had a handle of polished black bone, and a blade finer and sharper than any razor. If it sliced you, you might not even know you had been cut, not immediately."
SUMMARY:
FROM THE PUBLISHER: It takes a graveyard to raise a child. Nobody Owens, known as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn’t live in a graveyard, being raised by ghosts, with a guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor the dead. There are adventures in the graveyard for a boy—an ancient Indigo Man, a gateway to the abandoned city of ghouls, the strange and terrible Sleer. But if Bod leaves the graveyard, he will be in danger from the man Jack—who has already killed Bod’s family.
MORE INFORMATION:
Genre: Children's Science Fiction & Fantasy
Recommended Age: 10+
Reading Level: A bit of a challenge for some students (Lexile: 820)
Choice Books for All Note: This book is a thoughtful reflection on grief and loss that remains a favorite re-read. It is not graphic, gory, or incredibly distressing, but it does talk frequently about death, loss, and grief. The setting makes for a perfect autumn read.
REVIEWS:
PURCHASE:
Remember! Your local library should have all of the books in physical or ebook format for free!
THE BLACKBIRD GIRLS | ANNE BLANKMAN
"Valentina wondered where the birds had gone. They weren’t waiting on the sill when she went to the sitting room window that morning… Today, though, they were nowhere in sight."
SUMMARY:
FROM THE PUBLISHER: On a spring morning, neighbors Valentina Kaplan and Oksana Savchenko wake up to an angry red sky. A reactor at the nuclear power plant where their fathers work–Chernobyl–has exploded. Before they know it, the two girls, who’ve always been enemies, find themselves on a train bound for Leningrad to stay with Valentina’s estranged grandmother, Rita Grigorievna. In their new lives in Leningrad, they begin to learn what it means to trust another person. Oksana must face the lies her parents told her all her life. Valentina must keep her grandmother’s secret, one that could put all their lives in danger. And both of them discover something they’ve wished for: a best friend. But how far would you go to save your best friend’s life? Would you risk your own?
Told in alternating perspectives among three girls–Valentina and Oksana in 1986 and Rifka in 1941–this story shows that hatred, intolerance, and oppression are no match for the power of true friendship.
MORE INFORMATION:
Genre: Children's Historical Fiction
Recommended Age: 9+
Reading Level: Accessible to most students (Lexile: 560)
Choice Books for All Note: This book has wonderful reviews and we do not see it featured many places. Please, go read it! It's amazing.
REVIEWS:
PURCHASE:
Remember! Your local library should have all of the books in physical or ebook format for free!
CLASSICS CORNER -- THE COMPLETE WORKS OF EDGAR ALLAN POE BY EDGAR ALLAN POE
CONNECTION:
The Hazelwood, The Graveyard Book, and The Blackbird Girls all have a degree of spooky, unsettling, and creepy storylines. If you enjoyed any of these books, then you will love Edgar Allan Poe. Not every story is for every person, but some of his poems and short stories will haunt you to your core. Poe was quite prolific in his writing career which gives you a lot of options. We recommend that you start with:
The Cask of Amontillado
The Raven
The Tell Tale Heart
The Fall of the House of Usher
TEACHING TOOLS:
Listen - Novel Pairings’ Podcast Episode on The Fall of the House of Usher (Episode 84)
Watch - TED-Ed’s video on “Why should you read Edgar Allan Poe?”
Read - I used Study All Knight’s blog post as inspiration for a Poe unit (and paid cash money for some of her activities).
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