Fresh Reads, Honest reviews, Educator-approved
Something is biting in Deepwater Creek, and it’s not a fish. This graphic novel follows two brothers whose final summer fishing trip turns into a supernatural nightmare. When the adults won’t listen, it’s up to the kids to face the monsters lurking in the depths and in their own minds.
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.