Croak by Gina Damico

Damico, Gina. Croak. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012. Print.  ISBN 978-0-547-60832-7; Paperback; $8.99.

Annotation: 

Lex is angry and out of control so she gets shipped to the country to live with her uncle Mort where she can put her skills to use, as a Grim Reaper.

Book Talk:

Lex Bartleby used to be a good girl but all that has changed.  Sarcastic, volatile, prone to smashing people in the face, Lex is on her last straw with school authorities when her parents send her off to visit her weird uncle Mort in the country to see if she can sort out her "anger issues."  Instead of chanting Kumbaya and churning butter, Lex quickly learns that Croak, the tiny town where Mort lives, is the home of reapers who haunt the dead and Lex is there to learn the family business.  Now that Lex has an explanation for her sudden fascination with death and endless anger, what will happen when she is turned loose with the power to take lives without seeming consequence?  Is Lex even a little too hardcore for the residents of Croak? 

Available in paperback, hardcover, and ebook. 

Teen quote:

"Anyone will love this book."

~Marie, 16.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children: The Graphic Novel by Ransom Riggs and Cassandra Jean

Riggs, Ransom, and Jean Cassandra. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children: The Graphic Novel. New York, NY: Yen Press, 2013. Print.  ISBN 978-0-316-24528-9; Hardcover; $20.00.

Annotation: 
Jacob's grandfather Abe dies and leaves him with an eerie message: go back to the foster home Abe grew up in and learn about the monster that killed him and the friends he left behind.

Book Talk: Jacob Portman is very close with his eccentric and adventurous grandfather, Abe.  Abe regales Jacob with stories about being sent away from his homeland in Poland to a tiny island on the edge of Wales to escape terrifying monsters.  The foster home he is sent to is for children with unusual gifts, such as lifting heavy objects or levitating.  Abe even has pictures to prove it.  As Jacob gets older he begins to doubt his grandfather's stories and presumes the photos are fake.  Until one day, Abe is killed and Jacob sees the monster who did it.  Convinced Jacob is losing his mind with grief, his parents send him to a psychiatrist who convinces Jacob's father that it's ok for Jacob to visit the island his grandfather always talked about, that it may provide some closure to Abe's horrific passing.  Once Jacob arrives at Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and meets Abe's childhood friends, he doesn't get closure, only finds himself asking more and more questions.  Read Ransom Riggs exciting story made into a chilling graphic novel and find out for yourself if Jacob and Abe are telling the truth about the monsters or if mental illness and peculiarities just run in the family.

Available in hardcover and eBook.

Teen quote:
"I found this to be a quick, fun read."
~Christy, 19.

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

Marion, Isaac. Warm Bodies: A Novel. New York: Atria Books, 2011. Print.  978-1-4391-9232-0; Paperback; $15.00.

Annotation: 
R is a lonely zombie with a crush on a real live girl he kidnaps and befriends.

Book Talk:
Just who are these warm bodies Isaac Marion is talking about in his book, they surely couldn't be the zombies roaming around after the apocalypse chewing on the leftover humans that have managed to survive?  R is a lonely zombie wandering around an dilapidated airport grunting with his fellow “fleshies” and nibbling on the occasional brain which gives him flashbacks of the deceased’s memories.  The difference between R and his brethren is that he doesn’t really like eating people, he spends most of his time listening to old records in an abandoned airplane and feeling sorry for himself.  Until one day, on a hunt for food, he meets Julie, a real live human girl, who he rescues but only after devouring her boyfriend.  He begins to fall in love with Julie and sets out to show her, and her friends and father, that zombies aren’t such dead beats after all.  Who said the dead lack warmth?

This book would be a great read for any teen interested in post-apocalyptic horror or paranormal romance.  Recommended for ages 13 and up due to the gruesome content.  If you like the book be sure to check out the movie:

Available in paperback, hardcover, ebook, and audiobook.