Canadian Children's Book Centre Our Choice, 2007
Fourteen new spine-tingling treats for teens
In this second volume of original horror stories for teenaged readers, you'll find ghosts and werewolves, weird transformations and menacing strangers, the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end and your heart beats faster.
Some of these stories explore the most traditional of horror themes - the visitation of vampires, fear of the dark corners of the basement - with a nod to that master of horror, Edgar Allen Poe. Others take readers into less familiar territory: the terror of a babysitter with a too-vivid imagination, the dangers of compulsive attention paid to a pet fighting-fish, the claustrophobia of a cruise ship where nasty plots abound, and the subtle tension between the discipline of intellect and the boisterous yearning of creativity as it is played out in the minds of teens.
Some stories here come from some of our most celebrated of authors for youth - Priscilla Galloway, William Bell, Anne Laurel Carter, Kathy Stinson, Gillian Chan, Jamie Bastedo, Louise Wadsworth, Diana Aspin, Joanne Findon, Sylvia McNicoll, Wendy Lewis, Sylvo Frank, Alison Lohans and Cheryl Rainfield - some represent the work of gifted emerging writers who have also captured the essence of what makes a good suspense-filled story.
Reviews:
"Each story deals with an aspect of teen life, and the worst nightmares contained in that demographic come true here. What happens if your teacher is a psycho murderer? How do you deal with an abusive parent? Is sibling rivalry really that bad? The Horrors is a teenager’s worst nightmares given breath. . . Most of the stories had me riveted. . . reminded me of sitting in the circle of light waiting for daylight and Dad."
-- CM Magazine
"The selections are short, well written, and spooky in their own way."
-- School Library Journal
"Smart horror writers know that when monsters appear, they’ve usually been invited. That is, they turn up when we are already made vulnerable by times of great stress, confusion, guilt, and fear. Since nothing combines those four states quite like being a teenager, an anthology of YA horror stories seems like a sure thing. And The Horrors mostly is. . . Though a few of the stories lay on too much of the spooky sauce, or are too obvious to be completely satisfying, most are engaging and effective. Almost all play with the idea that the teen years are their own form of horror."
-- Quill & Quire
Peter Carver, Editor, is the Red Deer Press Children's Book Editor. Under his direction, Red Deer Press has published such notable talents as Kevin Major, Martine Leavitt, Cora Taylor, Ted Staunton and many more. He was awarded the Canadian Library Association Award for Advancement of Intellectual Freedom in Canada and the Writer's Union Freedom to Read Week Award. When he's not editing children's books, Peter Carver teaches creative writing classes in Toronto.
Excerpts from the book:
"The huge, white moon throws my shadow on the road a couple of hundred meters below, giving me a preview of how my body will look implanted there. A truck runs over it and I swallow hard."
(From Consequences by Sylvia McNicoll.)
"Tuesday, September 6th, 2005, 4 p.m.
I’m writing this locked in my front-hall bathroom. Today was my first day as a latchkey kid. Now that I’m in high school Mom’s gone back to work so we can afford a house, not an apartment. (Thanks Mom- you better not be reading this!)
Coming in, I saw the door to the basement was ajar. I sensed someone on the other side, down there, waiting for me. I swear I heard the stairs-creaking."
(From The First Assignment: Fear by Anne Laurel Carter.)
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