Tuesday, February 14, 2012

The Return of Creepy Suspense Books!


Allow me a moment to be nostalgic... I've been thinking about the good ol' days when young adult books weren't all about vampires and werewolves. When there were other terrors waiting around corners: haunted streets, innocent (oddly-incestuous) children locked in attics, and sinister games.

Why have I been thinking about this? Because Kate Kae Myers' debut book The Vanishing Game takes all of my favorite "creepy suspense" themes and puts them into one amazing book... Minus the slightly-incestuous children... but there are two twins (Jocelyn and Jack) and their best friend, Noah, living in a strange foster home called Seale House, who form a childhood group called the "The Freaks".

Now eighteen, Jocelyn is grieving over Jack's recent and very unexpected death when she receives an envelope that can only be from Jack. Inside is a newspaper clipping that details a fire at Seale House. The cause is unknown, but Jocelyn knows one thing: Jack is alive. When Jocelyn returns to Seale House and the city where she last saw Noah, she gets more than she bargained for.

So, if you (like me) enjoyed:

Down the Dark Hall by Lois Duncan

Any of the Fear Street books (my favorite was the saga)

A Deadly Game of Magic by Joan Lowry Nixon

Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews

Then you'll love The Vanishing Game. And if you haven't read any of these books... what are you waiting for?!

6 comments:

  1. Dear Ms. Regel,

    This sounds like a fascinating book (even though I'm a bit of a scaredy cat when it comes to books like these :) I also had a question I was hoping you could answer; I was about to query you when I noticed that JVNLA is not currently taking new clients, is this still the case? Or could I still possibly submit my query to be considered when JVNLA opens back up to taking on new clients? Thanks for your time and all the best.

    -Nichole

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    1. Thanks, Nichole. JVNLA, as a company, is accepting new clients. I'm not sure where you got your information. You can go to our website www.jvnla.com to submit your project to the individual agent of your choice. The only agent in the office who is not taking on new clients is Jean herself.

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    2. Oh great! Glad to hear that. Thank you for the information. When I went back and re-read the website, I realized I misread the information. My apologies! Thanks again.
      -Nichole

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  2. I loved Flowers in the Attic, though I don't admit that often. Will have to check out The Vanishing Game.

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    1. Yes, Flowers in the Attic the book-equivalent of a car crash-- you just can't look away! I hope you enjoy TVG!

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  3. I loved the Fear Street Saga as a kid! I remember throwing down one of those books, saying it was just to scary to keep reading- then picking it back up about three minutes later because I HAD to know what was going to happen!

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