Guaranteed to chill the spine and tremble readers to the core.
A collection of Arctic horror stories by award-winning Indigenous and non-Indigenous authors from Canada’s far north.
Unlike some horror anthologies that resuscitate generic tales with contemporary characters or bolster them with updated settings, readers will find that this compilation, whose title translates from Inuktitut as “in the dark,” could only emerge from the Arctic, with its unique places, peoples, and languages. But these tales are more than simply scary stories set in the snow, peppered with Inuktitut or Tłįchǫ terms, or populated with characters from these communities. These stories exist as part and parcel of the permafrost itself. Many of the stories—whether a haunted blizzard bringing along a figure “made entirely...of shadow,” a giant polar bear summoned from the sea by a lone man’s hate and his “ancient blade,” or a floating door threatening to release an unknown terror—feel deeply anchored to the oral tradition. And while others—those involving zombies, human-devouring monsters, and additional speculative plot lines—provide readers with a glimpse into futuristic horrors, the collection also includes tales of terrifying present-day realities that would make even Poe shudder. Published by an Inuit-owned press based in the Canadian Arctic, this anthology showcases the scariest of the “scary things that hide around us.” Even seasoned readers of this genre may find themselves afraid of the dark.
Guaranteed to chill the spine and tremble readers to the core. (glossary, contributor bios) (Horror. 14-adult)Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-77227-214-7
Page Count: 184
Publisher: Inhabit Media
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A fun and scary slasher thriller.
A Fourth of July celebration turns deadly for a group of teens in Ross’ YA psychological thriller.
Eighteen-year-old Riley March and four girlfriends—Cam, Val, Nia, and Blake— are off on a celebratory Independence Day weekend away, their last before they all leave for college in the fall. Their destination is the exclusive and remote Palm Key Island, the perfect location for wealthy kids to spend their leisure time. Some of their other friends from school are there, too, including Riley’s crush, Sebastian. Riley needs to make sure no one finds out her biggest secret: She really doesn’t belong in this group, as she is not rich like her friends. Their weekend of sun, booze, and partying starts to go wrong when Val disappears after a night out clubbing—she’s presumably off with a boy—and warnings of an approaching hurricane sour the mood. As the group (joined by some male friends) hunkers down, trapped inside their rental with no internet or electricity while waiting for the storm to pass, tensions build and relationships start to unravel. They learn why their summer house rental is so cheap as casualties begin mount. The author’s compelling, fast-paced thriller pays homage to slasher movies and serial killer lore with a fun hook: “Things no longer seem fun and light anymore as I remember we’re about to be trapped in a hurricane—and in a murder house, no less. The only thing worse than that is being trapped in a hurricane, in a murder house, in complete darkness.” As the scares spiral, Ross maintains a tight focus on the complex, complicated relationship dynamics within the group of teen girls, all conveyed from Riley’s outsider/insider’s perspective. Still reeling from a close friend’s death by suicide the year before, the group’s secrets start to spill out, unveiling a history of bullying, competition, and privilege in a well-balanced narrative arc.
A fun and scary slasher thriller.Pub Date: June 13, 2023
ISBN: 978-0988256828
Page Count: 266
Publisher: Ic13 Books
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An intriguing, if not always emotionally engaging, story of a serious teen problem.
Somers’ debut young-adult novel follows a teenage boy from sickness to tenuous health as he battles an eating disorder and the problems that helped create it.
Nathan is a typical teen with typical problems, including an unhappy family life and romantic disappointment, but he’s got an unhealthy “solution” for dealing with them: starving and purging himself. His descent into bulimia and anorexia occurs quite quickly; it starts with Nathan taking short bike rides to get away from his domineering father and alcoholic mother, and soon he’s inducing vomiting; not long afterward, he’s admitted to an eating-disorder program, at which point the book seems to find its center. Nathan is the only boy in his unit, a fact that his status-obsessed parents find it hard to understand; in fact, as the book makes clear, boys make up 10 percent of those who suffer from eating disorders. Somers’ novel never falls into “after-school special” territory, but it has a clear message. Nathan is depicted as a smart, cynical teenager, but his trials are sometimes more informative than heart-wrenching. The short chapters, complete with bad teenage poetry, keep the story moving, and Nathan’s dad, mom and nurse all get at least one chance to tell their side of the story. But although these multiple points of view are interesting, they may distract readers from Nathan’s personal trials. Also, the novel sometimes gets bogged down in eating-disorder program protocol; for example, a plan to interrupt Nathan’s family therapy takes two pages of emails, rather than a line or two of dialogue.
An intriguing, if not always emotionally engaging, story of a serious teen problem.Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2012
ISBN: 978-0988367203
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Rundy Hill Press LLC
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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