Fresh Reads, Honest reviews, Educator-approved
Mean Girls meets The Craft in this surreal 5-star trip through the world of elite creative writing. Local author and Syracuse University professor Mona Awad crafts an unsettling, comical, and bizarre “fever dream” where a lonely grad student is pulled into a cult-like clique of “Bunnies.” It’s a masterful satire of academic obsession and the monstrous lengths we go to for belonging. Warning: Things are about to get weird.
Step behind the white picket fence of the 1950s in The Mad Wife. Meagan Church delivers a haunting look at medical gaslighting and the suffocating pressure of domestic perfection. While it moves at a slow, psychological burn, this 3-star thriller is a deep dive into maternal mental health and the dark side of history. It’s a provocative choice for book clubs and mature readers interested in the messy reality behind “perfect” vintage ads.
For middle schoolers who aren’t quite ready for Stephen King but crave a real chill, Harrow Lake is the perfect “bridge” horror. Kat Ellis delivers a suspenseful, supernatural thriller featuring a “bone tree,” mysterious disappearances, and the unsettling Mr. Jitters. As the daughter of a horror filmmaker enters a town obsessed with a slasher film, students will be hooked by the cinematic atmosphere and nightmarish plot twists.
A hauntingly beautiful blend of desert folklore and emotional realism. Following a survivor of domestic abuse who seeks refuge in a town governed by strange, local gods, the novel explores the power of found family and the grit required for true recovery. It is a unique, standalone contemporary fantasy that balances chilling horror with the stubborn, saving power of community kindness.
These Vengeful Wishes is a gripping YA supernatural thriller that breathes new life into the Latin American legend of La Cegua. When aspiring artist Ceci moves into a cursed mansion and discovers a wishing well, she learns that every desire comes with a sinister price. Appropriate for all high school readers, this standalone novel expertly balances eerie suspense with complex family dynamics and compelling characters.