Reviews by Category: Horror

Teen Review
Night Film by Marisha Pessl

Night Film

By Marisha Pessl
Star Rating
★★★

Rated by
Lisa J.
Dec 3, 2021

The Cordova family is an enigma. Stanislas Cordova is a reclusive film director, renowned for his spine-chilling horror movies, while his wives have all either died or relegated themselves to the fringes of society — and sanity. So when 24-year-old Ashley Cordova is found dead in a Manhattan warehouse, investigative journalist Scott McGrath suspects that there is more to her death than just suicide. But unmasking the family’s secrets will undoubtedly bring the family’s wrath upon him — and he must decide how much he is willing to pay for the truth.

Teen Review
Scare Me by K.R. Alexander

Scare Me

By K.R. Alexander
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
Saathwika A.
Jul 16, 2021

Every year, teams of kids compete against each other to see which team can frighten people. But, the kids are all going to lose, because the haunted house has awakened. The house will eat everyone and will not be happy until it does. Even though it started as a game, it will not end like one.

Teen Review
Deep and Dark and Dangerous by Mary Downing Hahn

Deep and Dark and Dangerous

By Mary Downing Hahn
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by
Saathwika A.
Jun 10, 2021

Ali and her cousin, Emma, visit their mothers’ childhood home. On their vacation, Emma decides to make friends with people. Both the girls go looking around Maine for a child around Emma’s age. One day, they meet a girl named Sissy. She spoils Emma and scares her by telling her about a murder. Even though the girls are frightened, they ask their aunt more about the story. As the story goes on, Ali and Emma realize that Sissy is not who she says she is.

Teen Review
Five Total Strangers

Five Total Strangers

By Natalie D. Richards
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by
Madeline Watson
Mar 17, 2021

This book keeps you guessing. And even if you think you've got it figured out, you probably don't.

And the subtle reminders of paranoia throughout the book, even from the beginning, were very compelling. It kept me interested and made me want to read more. It made me very uneasy whenever Mira would feel strange out of the blue, and reminded me to be suspicious of everyone in the car.

Teen Review
The Last Witness by Claire McFall "3 Never Came Back. 2 Survived. 1 Knows The Truth."

The Last Witness

By Claire McFall
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by
Malavika A.
Dec 21, 2020

It gave me chills. The setting/tone of this book was eerie and spooky and I kind of felt like a character in the story myself. The ending was unexpected. It's a definite read for those who like thrillers or mysteries.  

Teen Review

My Sister Rosa

By Justine Larbalestier

Rated by
Ellie from Leawood Pioneer Library YAAC
Aug 4, 2017

Che is trying to be normal. He has a list, even. Of things he wants to accomplish soon, after moving to New York with his family.

However, Item Number One is: Keep Rosa Safe.

Seems normal right? After all, Rosa's just his five-year-old sister. Completely normal. Except she's also a diagnosable psychopath. Rosa has a long trail of seemingly innocent acts of killing on her small hands, and it's only a matter of time before he kills again, maybe this time a person.

Che has to protect his sister from the world- but he may need to protect the world from his sister.

Staff Review

The Girl From the Well

By Rin Chupeco
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by Jennifer R.
Apr 27, 2015

Okiku is a vengeance spirit. Her story is the one that inspired countless Japanese films and horror stories, and now it's her turn to tell it. Okiku spends her days traveling the world seeking out child-murders and giving them her form of justice (often involving drowning and/or the ripping off of heads). She's content with this existence until she meets Tark. The boy with the strange tattoos and the demon on his back. Tark ignites feelings that Okiku hasn't experienced in over 300 years, and she's not about to let some demon take them away so easily. 



Staff Review
Through the Woods by Emily Carroll

Through the Woods

By Emily Carroll
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by Kate M.
Dec 31, 2014

A strikingly illustrated graphic novel featuring short horror stories told in bold blacks, reds, blues and whites. The stories are ones that will stay with you. Each story felt familiar to me, probably inspired by classic fairy tales but each has its own horrific twist. One of my favorites has tones of Little Red Riding Hood, about a girl traveling through the woods to her mother’s house. Her father warns her to travel fast to avoid the wolves in the forest. She travels over hills, between the trees and safely reaches her mother’s home.

Staff Review

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

By Holly Black
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by Josh N.
Jul 3, 2014

When I was in elementary school, I read many, many books on monsters and the paranormal. Books about ghosts, UFOs, Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, mummies, werewolves...and vampires. Outside of books, there wasn't a lot to see with vampires at the time. You might catch classic Universal monster movies or the later, bloodier Hammer horror movies on late night TV (assuming you could convince your parents to let you stay up that late).

Staff Review

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

By Holly Black

Rated by Library Staff (not verified)
Nov 16, 2013

When seventeen-year-old Tana wakes up hungover from a wild party at a remote farmhouse, surrounded by dead classmates, she thinks things can't get any worse...until she discovers a mysterious vampire named Gavriel chained up in the same room as her bitten ex-boyfriend Aiden, who is about to turn into a full-fledged bloodsucker at any moment.

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