July 15, 2023
Something wicked this way comes in acclaimed horror writer Sutherland's YA debut. When 11th grader Josephine and her family head off on a winter vacation to their newly inherited mansion in Vermont, they are each dreaming of a place to relax and recharge for a week. Josephine is especially eager to escape the burgeoning powers that allow her to hear and enter other people's thoughts but leave her with debilitating headaches. As they settle in, the house seems perfectly tailored to their family of seven. The family's dreams, however, soon turn into nightmares, as Josephine begins seeing apparitions, while her parents and siblings start suffering from short-term memory loss. As events grow stranger and more dangerous, Josephine starts to suspect that there is an evil lurking behind their closed doors. When a ghost named Dorcas appears to her, Josephine is unable to determine whether this specter is friend or foe. But when she finds out the truth about the house's history and Dorcas' past, Josephine realizes that her family's lives are in grave danger, and she's the only person who may be able to save them. Major characters are coded white; after experiencing attraction to a local girl, Josephine questions her inkling that she might be asexual. Grimm's fairy-tale references are sprinkled throughout, adding a macabre veil to an equally creepy story. This moody, atmospheric novel ramps up to a spine-tingling surprise twist after a slow-burn first half. A thoroughly enjoyable, suspenseful supernatural tale. (author's note) (Supernatural. 12-18)
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November 17, 2023
Gr 7-10-A week-long vacation to the house her family inherited from an unknown great-aunt turns into a nightmarish fight for survival for Josephine, 16. As soon as the Jagger family steps into the mansion, they are enamored with its enormity and furnishings. Their love of the house becomes almost obsessive and, after only a few days, her parents are ready to move in permanently. There is no reason to leave the house. Ever. But Josephine can see what her family cannot. The house does not want them to go. She has seen glimpses of the ghost that haunts its rooms, a witch who has cursed the family and plans to keep them there for her own needs. As the witch's magic causes her family to forget nearly everything that happens, Josephine finds herself battling the witch alone knowing failure could mean a fate worse than death for everyone she loves. Sutherland lets readers know from the start that something is wrong with the house and its inhabitants. A feeling of being unmoored permeates the book as Josephine tries to understand what is real and what is delusion. Readers learn a little about her family, but Josephine and Dorcas, the witch, are the only characters with backstories. A brief interlude with a local girl has Josephine questioning her sexuality, but it feels like an afterthought. Some gruesome scenes are scattered throughout the book. The Jaggers are white. VERDICT A creepy and unsettling ghost story. Recommended.-Cathy DeCampli
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