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Book Review: Tell The Story To Its End by Simon P. Clark

Tell The Story To Its End by Simon P. Clark

St. Martin’s Griffin, 2015

ISBN-13: 978-1250066756

Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition

 

Oli’s mum has suddenly, and without explanation, decided the two of them should go to the country and visit his uncle, Rob. Rob has been estranged from Oli’s parents for many years, and although no one is telling him anything, Oli knows something bad has happened. In an effort to distract him, Rob suggests that Oli explore the attic, and once the attic door is opened, strange things begin to happen in the house.

As Oli explores the village it becomes clear that something about his family is being held against him, but no one will tell him exactly what it is. He becomes friends with Em, who is fascinated by local legends and stories, and shares with him the tale of Full Lot Jack, who offers children their heart’s desire in exchange for their dreams. Her stories, in combination with the strange things that have been happening since the attic door was opened, and a need to escape his family’s lies, drive him to explore the attic, where he meets Eren, a creature that lives in the attic and feeds on stories. As frightening as Eren is, Oli can’t stay away. There is more truth to Eren’s dark stories than in Oli’s everyday life, and Oli must make a decision about which one he most wants to escape.

In some ways, this book reminded me of A Monster Calls. There’s a lonely boy with nightmares, who calls a monster to him in an effort to make sense out of fear and lies, with a parent who has something seriously wrong going on. As in A Monster Calls. there is a great deal about the power of story. But there the similarities end. Tell The Story To Its End lacks the powerful illustrations combined with primal emotion that make A Monster Calls an outstanding read. Instead, it’s a story packed in cotton wool, with muted emotions and dissociated relationships. The beginning of the book suggests its end, and Clark’s skill with creating gothic nightmares instills a sense of dread from the very first page, that only increases as the reader turns the pages, knowing what is likely to unwind. Despite that feeling of inevitability, the book doesn’t unfold in a predictable manner. Readers who enjoy dark tales that play cleverly with plot, structure, and narrative will be surprised, and may find something to like, but those seeking deep emotional connection or expecting a happy ending will want to look elsewhere.  Appropriate for ages 11 and up.

Posted on June 18, 2017 by , Reply

More Short Stories: Paula Cappa’s “Tales of Terror”

According to our statistics, it appears that I was correct in saying that there actually is a LOT of interest in short stories. I’d like to share with you a resource I just discovered that can direct you to some excellent ones. Paula Cappa, author of Night Sea Journey (reviewed here)  and The Dazzling Darkness (reviewed here) has a blog with a feature called Tuesday’s Tale of Terror. Each blog entry gives a brief synopsis and background on a supernatural short story(almost always in the public domain, meaning they are older stories), with links to the actual story when available,  for free. Sometimes she even has links to additional formats: in her entry on W.W. Jacobs’  “The Monkey’s Paw”, she also provides a link to an adaptation on YouTube. Middle and high school teachers, take note: I see at least a few stories here that appeared in my English textbooks. With the Common Core emphasis on nonfiction driving spending, this could be a good supplemental resource for building a fiction collection.

I do want to note that the titles to Cappa’s blog entries are not the names of the stories, but are descriptive of content. The title is listed just below, at the top of the entry (meaning you can’t just scroll quickly down the page and have a story’s title jump out at you) “The Chilly and Darksome Vale of Years”, for instance, is the title for the entry on “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment”.

If you are looking for more current stories, you will have to look elsewhere, but there’s a lot of good stuff here, and plenty to explore.  Paula has done all the hard work for you.

Posted on August 14, 2013 by , Reply

Back To School: A Book List for Grades 4-8

I know that in some places school doesn’t start until after Labor Day, but in Indiana, most schools are already in session, and the rest will be by sometime next week.

For kids, the end of summer vacation can be kind of a bummer, but for kids who love scary stories, there are lots of them set in schools. School isn’t a boring place there; it’s an adventure. A terrifying adventure, yes, but terrifying in a different way than the usual school fears and anxieties. Of course, after some of these school stories, it’s possible that young readers may see their neighborhood school in a more favorable light.  Here are a few suggestions for the tween crowd looking for a book for when it’s time for Drop Everything And Read.

 

Scary School series by Derek the Ghost (Derek Taylor Kent)

According to Rhonda Wilson, who reviewed the first two books for us (we’re waiting on the third) this is a fantastic series. You can visit the Scary School website here

#1 Scary School (reviewed here)

#2 Monsters on the March (reviewed here)

#3 The Northern Frights

 

Tales from Lovecraft Middle School series by Charles Gilman

This new series for tweens provides a gentle introduction to the world of Lovecraft.  H.P. Lovecraft scared the daylights out of me in high school, so double check to make sure you are not handing his original stories over, but this series has cool lenticular cover art, is delightfully creepy, and also has an awesome school librarian in it.

#1 Professor Gargoyle (reviewed here).

#2 Teacher’s Pest (I’m reading this now, and if you are creeped out by bugs, this will give you the willies).

#3 The Slither Sisters

#4 Substitute Creature

 

Bone Chillers series by Betsy Haynes and others

This out-of-print series, starring the students of Edgar Allan Poe High School, was published between 1994 and 1997, at the peak of the Goosebumps craze. It was good enough to inspire its own television show. You can probably find it used, if your library doesn’t still have it. As I mentioned in a previous post, though, libraries tend to hang on to books until a really ruthless weeder comes along, or the book is completely worn out. I know Bone Chillers was published in a hardcover library edition (probably a prebound version) because I had a few on the shelves when I was a school librarian.S

#1 Beware the Shopping Mall by Betsy Haynes
#2 Little Pet Shop of Horrors by Betsy Haynes

#3 Back to School by Betsy Haynes
#4 Frankenturkey by Betsy Haynes
#5 Strange Brew by Betsy Haynes
#6 Teacher Creature by Betsy Haynes
#7 Frankenturkey II by Betsy Haynes
#8 Welcome to Alien Inn by Betsy Haynes
#9 Attack of the Killer Ants by Betsy Haynes
#10 Slime Time by Betsy Haynes
#11 Toilet Terror by Betsy Haynes
#12 Night of the Living Clay by David Bergantino
#13 The Thing Under the Bed by Daniel Ehrenhaft
#14  A Terminal Case of the Uglies by David Bergantino
#15 Tiki Doll of Doom by Michael Burgan
#16 The Queen of the Gargoyles by Gene Hult
#17 Why I Quit the Baby-Sitters Club by Betsy Haynes
#18 Blowtorch@Psycho.Com by Sherry Shahan
#19 The Night Squawker by Dahlia Kosinski
#20 Scare Bear by Gene Hult
#21 The Dog Ate My Homework by Betsy Haynes
#22 Killer Clown of Kings County by Daniel Ehrenhaft
#23 Romeo and Ghouliette by Ryan Chipman

School of Fear series by Gitty Daneshveri

Four middle-school aged kids with severe phobias are sent to an exclusive and isolated school that promises to help them get past their fears. I have seen adult reviewers who have taken this premise quite seriously and have been very upset by its content. To be clear, these books are not intended as a mockery of the truly phobic, nor are they inspiring tales of therapeutic success– rather, they are a creepy, quirky, and sometimes funny, take on the “boarding school for last-chance students” story.

#1 School of Fear

#2 Class Is Not Dismissed!

#3 The Final Exam

 

Down a  Dark Hall by Lois Duncan (reviewed here)

Speaking of boarding schools, it’s hard to get creepier than with this tale of an exclusive school for the “gifted”, in a creepy old house in an isolated location and no way to contact anyone in the outside world, inhabited by artistically talented ghosts who possess the students to exercise their creative genius.

 

Splurch Academy for Disruptive Boys series by Julie Gardner Berry and Sally Gardner

Yet another “boarding school for last-chance students” story, this time heavily illustrated and leaning on the gross-out factor.  In this series, the hard cases that public schools haven’t been able to reach are entrusted to the care of a fascinating group of educators, all of whom are monsters.

#1 The Rat Brain Fiasco (reviewed here)

#2 Curse of the Bizarro Beetle (reviewed here)

#3 The Colossal Fossil Freakout

#4 The Trouble With Squids

 

Ivy and Bean and the Ghost That Had to Go by Annie Barrows

This title in the Ivy and Bean series is mind-bending. Ivy and Bean are best friends, on totally opposite ends of the personality spectrum. Ivy is shy and imaginative, while Bean is always ready for action. In this book, Ivy claims to have seen a ghost in the girls’ bathroom at school. Bean enthusiastically helps her spread the story until the two of them manage to terrify their entire class out of using the bathroom. Naturally, an exorcism is in order. Middle schoolers will find it too young, but fourth graders can still enjoy it.

The Dreadful Future of Blossom Culp by Richard Peck

This is not my favorite of the Blossom Culp books (that would be Ghosts I Have Been) but it’s a great school story, in a totally dated kind of way. In it, Blossom, who is psychic, and who has been convinced to do fortunetelling in her school’s haunted house, time travels to the future. Well, her future. Her future would be in the present time, which in this case was the time that the book was written. In the 1980’s. And she goes to school with the kid who has promised to help her get back home. The entire thing is a blast from the past now, but it’s still fun.

Bunnicula Meets Edgar Allan Crow by James Howe

Bunnicula, the vampire rabbit who is a threat to vegetables everywhere, has really evolved, developing spinoff series, easy readers, and much more. Bunnicula Meets Edgar Allan Crow returns us to the world of Chester, Howie, Harold, and the Monroe family. In this book, the Monroes are playing host to M.T. Graves, the author of the FleshCrawlers series, who is there for a school visit. Graves brings along his pet, a strange, silent bird named Edgar Allan Crow. As usual, mystery, suspense, and humor combine to create another excellent Bunnicula story.

Matilda by Roald Dahl

Maybe you don’t think of Matilda as a scary book . But although it’s sometimes hard to remember how scary Roald Dahl actually is, he touches on some very dark themes and very extreme plotlines in his books. It’s an understatement to say that Miss Trunchbull, the principal of Matilda’s school, is memorable, in the worst way possible.

 

Infestation by Tim Bradley

And now, one last “boarding school for last-chance students” story, which is also an homage to monster movies.  Imagine Louis Sachar’s Holes, but with an insect invasion.

 

As always, look these books over to make sure they’re right for you (or your child) since they’re all over the spectrum. Some of them are good for nine year olds, and a little young for middle schoolers: others will be more appropriate for kids on the upper end of the age range. Good luck getting back into the school routine, and may your own school be refreshingly free of insects, ghosts, monsters, and ominous black birds.

 

 

 

Posted on August 8, 2013 by , Reply
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