Most Memorable Spooky Reads

For the last day of the Halloween Queens Book Giveaway, I wanted to highlight some of my most memorable spooky reads. Don’t forget to enter to win The Iron Knight, Anna Dressed in Blood, Darker Still and Dark Eden. Also, stop by One Page at a Time where KM is giving away a copy of Circle of Fire by Michelle Zink.

Nevermore by Kelly Creagh

Nevermore starts out like other YA books set in high school but soon, the lines between a nightmarish dream world from Edgar Allan Poe’s stories and reality begin to cross. This book channels the creepiness of Poe’s stories with a cool YA spin. Oh yes, there is also Varen, the most swoon worth Goth guy ever! He’s another really great reason to read Nevermore….

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Daughter of Smoke and Bone is not so much spooky as it surreal, dark and a bit bizarre, but in a fantastic way. The creep factor lies with the settings and the physical descriptions of the characters. This book is so cool and may be my favorite of the year unless another book comes along to blow me away sometime between now and December.

Savannah Grey by Cliff McNish

While is not my favorite spooky read, it is a very unique horror novel and worth reading. Savannah Grey is a 15-year-old who realizes that she is changing. Nature is turning her into a weapon against an evil that’s as old as the earth itself. Told from alternating perspectives, this book is entertaining and has some good plot twists. I have never read anything else like it.

Hereafter by Tara Hudson

In the mood for some romance with your spooky book? Hereafter offers you the romance between a ghost girl and a guy. In addition to the sweet relationship, it also has soul stealing ghosts and a haunted bridge thrown in for good measure. Like Anna Dressed in Blood, I am so curious about what kind of future the living have with the dead. I will definitely be reading this series to find out!

The Stand by Stephen King

I know I’m going old school here but this is the creepiest book I have ever read and even though it’s not YA, I read it when I was a teenager and yes, it scared the heck out of me. Honestly, this whole list could easily have been of Stephen King novels but I will stick to this one. The Stand is a combination of paranormal, science-fiction, horror and dystopia/apocalyptic. He just doesn’t write them like this anymore…



What are some of your most memorable spooky reads?

Review of Savannah Grey by Cliff McNish

Release Date: April 1, 2011
Publisher: Lerner Publishing Group
Pages: 272 pages
Author Website: http://www.cliffmcnish.com/
Genre: Science Fiction, Horror, Suspense
Rating: 3 stars
Source: ARC from the Publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads Summary: 15 year old Savannah Grey has never felt she's belonged. She keeps her distance, so she's surprised by her attraction to the new boy Reece. Then strange things begin to happen: nature, it seems, is exerting an overpowering force on the world. Birds behave strangely; gusts of wind blow leaves so fiercely they seem to lure people away. And Savannah learns she has supernatural powers. Nature has a purpose for Savannah and her friends. For they are on course to meet the vile and evil Ocrassa, who wants to destroy the world by corrupting nature. And it wants Savannah Grey to help realize its savage intent.

Review: Savannah Grey is one of the most unique stories I have ever read. The main character, Savannah, has paranormal abilities unlike anything I have come across in other YA novels and I found it refreshing.

This is a very quick read and Savannah is only briefly introduced before the action starts. She is a foster child who never feels comfortable being in one place too long so she changes families frequently but she is well behaved, smart and gets good grades. She knows there is something different about her but not what it is. Savannah is a strong, likable character who is faithful to her foster family and friends. When she is fully realizes what nature has been preparing her for, she handles the situation with a lot of courage, but not with the most well thought out plans.

Reece is Savannah’s love interest and the first boy that Savannah has ever been interested in. Her feelings for him develop quickly, but everything happens very fast in this story. In addition to her emotions, her abilities develop rapidly and instinctively, she always knows exactly what is going on with her body and the situations around her. I would have liked for a bit more story development there and for the action to be shown more than told. On the bright side, there is a great plot twist in the story that I did not see coming.

I also thought he villains, the Ocrassa and its minions, were very interesting and the portions of the book told from their perspective to be quite fascinating.

The book ends rather abruptly and while there is a resolution, I would have liked another chapter or an epilogue to really be satisfied.

Content: Some violence