THE BOY WHO DREW MONSTERS

I’m working my way through a delightfully haunting book at the moment, Keith Donohue’s The Boy Who Drew Monsters. It was featured in a recent issue of Book Page as one of the featured titles in Anne Rice’s list of horror novels to watch for, and as a horror story fan, I immediately put it on hold. 

Here’s a description of this book from Novelist: 

"Ever since he nearly drowned in the ocean three years earlier,10-year-old Jack Peter Keenan has been deathly afraid to venture outdoors. Refusing to leave his home in a small coastal town in Maine, Jack Peter spends his time drawing monsters. When thosedrawings take on a life of their own, no one is safe from the terror they inspire. His mother, Holly, begins to hear strange sounds in the night coming from the ocean, and she seeks answers from the local Catholic priest and his Japanese housekeeper who fill her head with stories of shipwrecks and ghosts. His father, Tim, wanders the beach, frantically searching for a strange apparition running wild in the dunes. And the boy's only friend, Nick, becomes helplessly entangled in the eerie power of the drawings. While those around Jack Peter are haunted by what they think they see, only he knows the truth behind the frightful occurrences as the outside world encroaches upon them all. In the tradition of The Turn of the Screw, Keith Donohue's The Boy Who Drew Monsters is a mesmerizing tale of psychological terror and imagination run wild, a perfectly creepy read for a dark night. - For readers of Neil Gaiman, Jason Mott, and Audrey Niffenegger.

Interested? You can find this title in RockCat here. Looking for similar haunting psychological fiction while you’re waiting for The Boy Who Drew Monsters to become available? Try these authors:

1. Brockmeier, Kevin
Reason: Brockmeier and Donohue write fantasy-laced literary fiction which raise questions about our world and the choices we make. Their character centered novels build deliberately, moving steadily toward a compelling conclusion. -- Becky Spratford

2. Hoffman, Alice
Reason: These authors' works are Haunting and Character-driven, and they share: the genres
'Magic realist fiction' and 'Literary Fiction' and the subject 'New England'.

3. Lahiri, Jhumpa
Reason: These authors' works are Haunting, Moving, and Character-driven, and they share: the genre 'Literary Fiction' and the subject 'Identity (Psychology)'.

4. Rachman, Tom
Reason: These authors' works are Moving and Character-driven, and they share: the genre 'Literary Fiction' and the subject 'Identity (Psychology)’.

NOVELIST

This post brought to you by Emily Koel, practicum student at Eager Free Public Library for Fall 2014.

Have you ever finished a book but didn't know what to read next? NoveList is a great website that allows users to search for the next book to read.

At NoveList's home page, you can find a variety of tools that allows you to look for books. First of all, on the main part of the screen there are some popular books with a short list of Read-Alikes underneath each book. On the left of the screen, you can find "Recommended Reads Lists". NoveList provides different lists for adults, teens, ages 9-12, and ages 0-8. Each list provides at least 10 books that NoveList recommends reading. At the bottom of the home page, you can find more links. NoveList provides quick links to such as Authors Read-Alikes, Book Discussion Guides, and Featured Articles. You can also find links to the Professional Toolbox and Help to Use NoveList.

NoveList allows you use the search bar to find what they are looking for. Through basic search, there are four ways to search for books. One way to search is to search for using keywords. In the column to the left of the results, NoveList provides different categories that will help refine your search. You can also search NoveList by title, author, or series. You can also do an advanced search for books that provide many different categories you can use to search for as well as many different limiters to refine your search.

Once you find the book that you are looking for, you can click on the book title and it will take you to a page where NoveList provides information on the book such as the summary, genre, tone, dialogue, and reviews. You can also find a link to goodreads for more reviews. On the right side of the page, NoveList provides a list of Read-Alikes.

Personally, my favorite feature on NoveList is the "Search for More" box that is at the bottom of the page about the book, author, or series you selected. This box allows you to check off one or more of the reasons you liked the book and then search for more books like it. The more reasons you check off, the more refined your search will be for a similar book. I think this feature is better then other websites that allow you to search for new books to read. The "Search for More" box goes above and beyond the usual reasons for liking a book such as genre and subject matter because NoveList also includes reasons like storyline, writing style, tone and location.

So just remember to use NoveList next time you need to find the next book to read. You can link to NoveList or find a link at the Eager Free website under "Resources."

Books to Get You in a Spooky Mood

The trees are getting bare outside, the wind is picking up, jack’o’lanterns are making an appearance on front steps. It’s clearly time for a list of spooky books! Below are some of our favorite ghostly titles for school-age kids.

• Home Sweet Horror by James Preller; illustrated by Iacopo Bruno. After the death of his mother, eight-year-old Liam and his father and sister move to a new house for a fresh start, but Liam soon discovers that the old house is haunted.
• The Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine. Classic kids’ series with spooky mysteries.
• Dial-a-Ghost by Eva Ibbotson; illustrated by Kevin Hawkes. A family of nice ghosts protects a British orphan from the diabolical plans of his evil guardians.
• Ghosthunters and the Incredibly Revolting Ghost (1^st in the Ghosthunters series) by Cornelia Funke. A timid boy named Tom reluctantly agrees to help professional ghostbuster Hetty Hyssop dispel an IRG (Incredibly Revolting Ghost) from an old house.
• Zero to Hero (1^st in the Ghost Buddy series) by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver. When Billy Broccoli moves into his new house, he discovers Hoover Porterhouse, a teenage ghost, is haunting his room, and he helps Billy get in style, stand up to bullies, and conquer his new school.
• In a Creepy, Creepy Place and Other Scary Stories by Judith Gorog; illustrated by Kimberly Bulken Root. A collection of scary stories with unpredictable events and bizarre characters.
• A Newbery Halloween: A dozen scary stories by Newbery award-winning authors. A collection of short stories with a Halloween theme, by such Newbery Award-winning authors as E.L. Konigsburg, Beverly Cleary, Virginia Hamilton, and Paul Fleischman.

IF I STAY

This post written by Emily Koel, EFPL practicum student for Fall 2014.

Recently, the movie adaptation of Gayle Forman's book, If I Stay, was released in theaters.  If I Stay is about Mia, a 17 year-old girl who is a talented cellist. She has a loving family, a great boyfriend, and an amazing best friend. When Mia and her family get into a car accident, Mia is rushed to the hospital and is stuck between life and death. Mia watches as her family and friends come to visit her in the hospital. But Mia has a choice to make: should she live or die? If you read the book or watched the movie and are looking for a similar book to read next, here is a list of other books you may enjoy.

Other Books by Gayle Forman:

• Where She Went (If I Stay Book #2)
• Just One Day
• Just One Year (Just One Day Book #2)

Similar Books by Other Authors:

• Falling Into Place by Amy Zhang
• Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
• The Everafter by Amy Huntley
• Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira
• Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
• Faking Normal by Courtney C. Stevens
• Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin
• The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
• The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen
• The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider