Oh the Horror! (or YA Books Not For Halloween Weenies)

Tip of the Day: Did you see Tina's cover reveal from Monday? No?!? Go check it out and then link to her personal blog for a chance to WIN STUFF!!!

Last week I mentioned five recent middle grade novels that are great reads for the creeptastic month of October. As promised, here are five young adult titles that you must check out if you like to have your mind rattled!

1. ASHES and SHADOWS by Ilsa J. Bick. Teens are turned into flesh-eating monsters after an EMP rocks the planet. The first book came out last year, the second just this month, both are action-packed, gory, and startling.

2. THE RAFT by S. A. Bodeen. A plane crash, a raft rescue, an island marooning, and dead bodies grace this novel that makes you hope to never be floating in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

3. EREBOS by Ursula Poznanski. The creepy overlord character watches the players of Erebos and makes them do real world tasks that may result in death. While at first I was sure this book would be paranormal, it was actually more normal normal, which made it even creepier. A unique, foreign addition to scary YA.

4. THIS IS NOT A TEST by Courtney Summers. An zombie-esque tale about teens trapped in their high school while outside are the living and the undead. What makes this novel stand out are the personal demons each character also faces.

5. THE UNQUIET by Jeannine Garsee. Is Rinn's school haunted by a girl who drowned in the swimming pool, or does she simply need to go back on her bipolar meds? Either way, Rinn is scared and should be.

Which ones have I missed? There have been so many great new releases this month too and I just can't keep up!

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

Oh the Horror! (or MG Books Not For Halloween Weenies)

Tip of the Day: Anyone have a tip for me? I'm wondering when the SCBWI 2013 NYC Conference details will be posted?

The Children's Librarian at my library is updating her list of Middle-Grade Scary Stories -- since the last version featured "brand new titles in the Goosebumps series!"

Since it is often harder to find newer titles in this genre (creepy but not too scary for littler ones), I thought I'd highlight some of my favories for this Halloween season.

1. THE KNEEBONE BOY and THE HUMMING ROOM by Ellen Potter. The former is a story of three siblings on their own in London, a mysterious aunt, and a monster boy in the woods. The latter is a story heavily based on THE SECRET GARDEN by Frances Hodgson Burnett with great atmosphere.

2. THE AVIARY by Kathleen O'Dell. Clara discovers that the birds in the old mansion she shares with Mrs. Glendoveer may be more than they first appear.

3. BREATHING ROOM by Marsha Hayles. While this is not a typical scary story, it takes place in a 1940s tuberculosis sanatorium where Evvy hopes to overcome a horrific illness that seems to claim the lives of almost every one who comes in contact with it.

4. SUMMER OF THE GYPSY MOTHS by Sara Pennypacker. Despite the sunny setting, there is a dead body that may or may not be buried in a garden.

5. THE TANGLEWOOD TERROR by Kurtis Scaletta. Green glowing mushrooms begin to overtake Eric's town and may spell its ultimate doom unless he can stop them.

What are some of your favorite recent scary MG novels?

Stay tuned next week for som YAs!

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing