Tiny Nightmares

Tiny Nightmares 

By Lincoln Michel, editor 

Catapult, 2020. 289 pages. Fiction. 

In this playful, spine-tingling collection, leading literary and horror writers spin unforgettably chilling tales in only a few pages. Tiny Nightmares brings to life broken-hearted vampires, Uber-taking serial killers, mind-reading witches, and monsters of all imaging, as well as stories that tackle the horrors of our modern world from global warming and racism to social media addiction and online radicalization. Writers such as Samantha Hunt, Brian Evenson, Jac Jemc, Stephen Graham Jones, Kevin Brockmeier, and Rion Amilcar Scott expand our understanding of horror fiction with inventive and blood-curdling new tales. We suggest reading with the hall light on and the bedroom door open just a crack. 

This collection of stories is perfect for Halloween, each story short enough that they can be read aloud perhaps at a party or around a campfire. I appreciated how fully realized each story was and how they perfectly encapsulated that author's voice in horror especially in so few pages. In this way, it’s great for the horror beginner because it provides not only an introduction to the genre but allows the reader to get a feel for some of the most popular horror authors writing today. I particularly enjoyed Stephen Graham Jones’ “Pincer and Tongue” which was equal parts hilarious and terrifying. 

If you liked Tiny Nightmares, you might also like:

Her Body and Other Parties: Stories

By Carmen Maria Machado 

Graywolf Press, 2017. 245 pages. Fiction. 

In this electric and provocative debut, Machado bends genre to shape startling narratives that map the realities of women's lives and the violence visited upon their bodies. A wife refuses her husband's entreaties to remove the green ribbon from around her neck. A woman recounts her sexual encounters as a plague slowly consumes humanity. A salesclerk in a mall makes a horrifying discovery within the seams of the store's prom dresses. One woman's surgery-induced weight loss results in an unwanted houseguest. And in the bravura novella 'Especially Heinous, ' Machado reimagines every episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Her Body and Other Parties swings from horrific violence to the most exquisite sentiment. In their explosive originality, these stories enlarge the possibilities of contemporary fiction. 

Get in Trouble: Stories 

By Kelly Link 

Random House, 2015. 336 pages. Fiction. 

A collection of short stories features tales of a young girl who plays caretaker to mysterious guests at the cottage behind her house and a former teen idol who becomes involved in a bizarre reality show.

BW

Into the Bright Open

Into the Bright Open
By Cherie Dimaline
Feiwel & Friends, 2023. 224 pages. Young Adult Fiction

If you enjoy The Secret Garden - whether the book, the musical, or the many movies that have been made - you must add Into the Bright Open to your list! Like its inspiration, The Secret Garden, this book places 15-year-old Mary Craven in the late nineteenth century, but in Canada instead of England. After the unexpected deaths of her parents, Mary is uprooted from Toronto to live at her estranged uncle's manor on Ontario's Georgian Bay, which is the territory of the native Métis people. Mary begins to explore and ask questions about the mysterious manor, including her chronically ill cousin Olive who is confined to bed in the attic, and a locked garden whose gate can only be opened with a missing key. With the help of a charming, intoxicatingly vivacious Métis girl named Sophie, Mary begins a journey she will never forget.

I was delighted to pick up a "Secret Garden Remix," couldn't wait to sink back into the beautiful melancholy of Mary's world, and looked forward to the new characters I knew I would find inside. Mary's unwavering dedication to her cousin, Olive, and their many servants at the manor, will remind the reader why they fell in love with Mary for the first time.

If you like Into the Bright Open, you might also like:

This Poison Heart
By Kalynn Bayron
Bloomsbury YA, 2021. 373 pages. Young Adult Fiction

Briseis has a gift: with a single touch she can grow plants from tiny seeds to rich blooms. When her aunt dies and wills her a dilapidated estate in rural New York, Bri and her parents hope that surrounded by plants and flowers, she will finally learn to control her gift. But their new home is sinister in ways they never expected -- it comes with a mysterious set of instructions, a walled garden filled with the deadliest botanicals in the world, and generations of secrets. There is more to Bri's sudden inheritance than she could have imagined, and she is determined to uncover it.

The Honeys
By Ryan La Sala
PUSH, 2022. 340 pages. Young Adult Fiction

Mars has always been the lesser twin, the shadow to his sister Caroline's radiance. But when Caroline dies under horrific circumstances, Mars is propelled to learn all he can about his once-inseparable sister who'd grown tragically distant. Mar's genderfluidity means he's often excluded from traditions -- and expectations -- of his politically-connected family. This includes attendance at the prestigious Aspen Conservancy Summer Academy where his sister poured so much of her time. But with his grief still fresh, he insists on attending in her place. What Mars finds is a fairytale not meant for him. He seeks out his sister's old friends: a group of girls dubbed The Honeys. They are beautiful and terrifying -- and Mars is certain they're connected to Caroline's death.

Walking on Water: Reflections on faith and art

Walking on Water: Reflections on faith and art

By: Madeleine L' Engle

Convergent Books, 2016. 206 pages. Nonfiction

In this classic book, Madeleine L' Engle addresses the questions, What makes art Christian? What does it mean to be a Christian artist? What is the relationship between faith and art? Through L' Engle's beautiful and insightful essay, readers will find themselves called to what the author views as the prime tasks of an artist: to listen, to remain aware, and to respond to creation through one's own art.

From the first page, I was gripped by this book. L' Engle has a sharp mind and a feeling heart, and she grapples with many difficult ideas, including: how terrible people can still make transfiguring art; how some "religious" art is more offensive than art made by atheists; how we can BE -- be still and notice the world around us, our feelings, and our connection to that spirit (for L' Engle the spirit of God) which allows the artist (be it writer, painter, etc.) to create their best art. She has a gentle touch with all of these subjects, and champions both the contradictions of life and religion; the power of story in religion; and the beauty of the mystery of religion. I highly recommend this book, which is rich with quotes that L' Engle spent years collecting, as well as her own beautiful and unique wisdom. 

If you like Walking on Water: Reflections on faith and art, you might also like: 

The Path Made Clear

By: Oprah Winfrey

Flatiron Books, 2019. 208 pages. Nonfiction

 

Everyone has a purpose. And, according to Oprah Winfrey, "Your real job in life is to figure out as soon as possible what that is, who you are meant to be, and begin to honor your calling in the best way possible." In her latest book, The Path Made Clear, Oprah shares what she sees as a guide for activating your deepest vision of yourself, offering the framework for creating not just a life of success, but one of significance. The book's ten chapters are organized to help you recognize the important milestones along the road to self-discovery, laying out what you really need in order to achieve personal contentment, and what life's detours are there to teach us. Paired with over 100 awe-inspiring photographs to help illuminate the wisdom of these messages, The Path Made Clear provides readers with a beautiful resource for achieving a life lived in service of your calling-whatever it may be.

The Artists Way

By: Julia Cameron

Tarcher Perigee 2016. 249 pages. Nonfiction

Since its first publication, The Artist's Way phenomena has inspired the genius of Elizabeth Gilbert and millions of readers to embark on a creative journey and find a deeper connection to process and purpose. Julia Cameron's novel approach guides readers in uncovering problems areas and pressure points that may be restricting their creative flow and offers techniques to free up any areas where they might be stuck, opening up opportunities for self-growth and self-discovery. The program begins with Cameron's most vital tools for creative recovery - The Morning Pages, a daily writing ritual of three pages of stream-of-conscious, and The Artist Date, a dedicated block of time to nurture your inner artist. From there, she shares hundreds of exercises, activities, and prompts to help readers thoroughly explore each chapter. She also offers guidance on starting a 'Creative Cluster' of fellow artists who will support you in your creative endeavors. A revolutionary program for personal renewal, The Artist's Way will help get you back on track, rediscover your passions, and take the steps you need to change your life.

MGB

Arca

Arca

By Van Jensen

IDW Publishing, 2023. unpaged. Graphic Novels

The world burned. But the rich and powerful...they had a plan. When society fell apart, a select group of billionaires had an escape hatch. Their every need is tended to by teenagers who are willing to act as slaves in return for the promise of a new life. But, like so many stories, it is not true. Inside a great, sealed survival chamber, one slave--a teenage girl named Persephone--discovers that the promised future of comfort is a myth. And with that knowledge, she must fight for her survival against the billionaires, who would gladly kill her to protect the hidden truth.

Arca is an action-packed graphic novel told through detailed colorful panels that keep the story moving at a good clip.  While I could see some plot points on the horizon, I still found it to be a satisfying read, and one that I am even now contemplating the outcome of.  Highly recommended for fans of dystopian fiction who appreciate a focus on social inequalities. 

If you like Arca you might also like:

Invisible Kingdom. Volume 1, Walking the Path

By Willow G. Wilson

Berger Books, 2019. unpaged. YA Comics

In a small solar system in a far-flung galaxy, two women--one a young religious acolyte and the other a hard-bitten freighter pilot--uncover a conspiracy between the leaders of the most dominant religion and an all-consuming mega-corporation. On the run from reprisals on both sides, this unlikely pair must decide where their loyalties lie--and risk plunging the world into anarchy if they reveal the truth.

The Promised Neverland. Volume 1, Grace Field House

By Kaiu Shirai

Viz Media, LLC, 2016. 183 pages. Graphic Novels

Emma, Norman and Ray are the brightest kids at the Grace Field House orphanage. And under the care of the woman they refer to as “Mom,” all the kids have enjoyed a comfortable life. Good food, clean clothes and the perfect environment to learn—what more could an orphan ask for? One day, though, Emma and Norman uncover the dark truth of the outside world they are forbidden from seeing.

RBL

Rooted

Rooted: Life at the Crossroads of Science, Nature, and Spirit
By Lyanda Lynn Haupt
Brown and Company, 2021. 240 pages. Nonfiction

In Rooted, cutting-edge science supports a truth that poets, artists, mystics, and earth-based cultures across the world have proclaimed over life on this planet is radically interconnected. Our bodies, thoughts, minds, and spirits are affected by the whole of nature, and they affect this whole in return. In this time of crisis, how can we best live upon our imperiled, beloved earth?

Award-winning writer Lyanda Lynn Haupt’s highly personal new book is a brilliant invitation to live with the earth in both simple and profound ways—from walking barefoot in the woods and reimagining our relationship with animals and trees, to examining the very language we use to describe and think about nature. She invokes rootedness as a way of being in concert with the wilderness—and wildness—that sustains humans and all of life.

In the tradition of Rachel Carson, Elizabeth Kolbert, and Mary Oliver, Haupt writes with urgency and grace, reminding us that at the crossroads of science, nature, and spirit we find true hope. Each chapter provides tools for bringing our unique gifts to the fore and transforming our sense of belonging within the magic and wonder of the natural world.

Rooted is a mixture of nature, memoir, philosophy, and science. The advice in this book will not be new to someone who is already connected to nature and enjoys being outdoors, but the remembers are needed in our world full of screens. I expected a bit more references to scientific studies, but overall her points are heartfelt and poignant. This book would appeal to those who like the works by Robin Wall Kimmerer and Sharon Blackie.

If you like Rooted you might also like:

The Enchanted Life: Unlocking the Magic of the Everyday
By Sharon Blackie
Ambrosia, 2018. 356 pages. Nonfiction

Taking as her starting point the inspiration and wisdom that can be derived from myth, fairy tales, and folk culture, Dr. Sharon Blackie offers a set of practical and grounded tools for enchanting our lives and the places we live, so leading to a greater sense of meaning and of belonging to the world. Enchantment: by Dr. Blackie’s definition, a vivid sense of belongingness to a rich and many-layered world, a profound and whole-hearted participation in the adventure of life. Enchantment is a natural, spontaneous human tendency―one we possess as children, but lose, through social and cultural pressures, as we grow older. It is an attitude of mind which can be the enchanted life is possible for anyone. It is intuitive, embraces wonder, and fully engages the mythic imagination―but it is also deeply embodied in ecology, grounded in place and community. To live this way is to be challenged, to be awakened, to be gripped and shaken to the core by the extraordinary which lies at the heart of the ordinary.

Braiding Sweetgrass

By Robin Wall Kimmerer

Milkweed Editions, 2013. 391 pages. Nonfiction

As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these lenses of knowledge together to show that the awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings are we capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learning to give our own gifts in return.

JJC

Invisible Son

Invisible Son 

By Kim Johnson 

Random House, 2023. 404 pages. Young Adult 

After spending two months at the start of 2022 in a juvenile detention center for a crime he did not commit, 17-year-old Andre Jackson returns home to Portland, Oregon and tries to adapt to a world that is changing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the murder of George Floyd, and finds that his best friend is missing. After talking with his friends and the adults in his life, Andre realizes that things aren’t adding up and that there’s more going on with his friend’s disappearance than anyone seems to realize. 

This is the first book I’ve picked up that really focused on the first half of 2020 and all that entails. This felt very raw and honest, and I really appreciated that. It was very thought-provoking, and I’m glad I could read about someone’s experience (even though it was fictional) that was so different from my own. Because of the emotional intensity and focus on recent events, this is definitely something I would recommend being mentally prepared for before reading. Invisible Son is excellent and I’m glad I read it, but I don’t know if I’m ready to regularly read pandemic fiction yet. 

If you liked Invisible Son, you might also like: 

Promise Boys  

By Nick Brooks 

Henry Holt and Company, 2023. 294 pages. Young Adult 

J.B., Ramón, and Trey, students of the Urban Promise Prep School, must follow the school's strict rules, but when their principal is murdered, the three boys must band together to track down the real killer before they are arrested. 

The Hate U Give  

By Angie Thomas 

Balzer + Bray, 2017. 444 pages. Young Adult 

After witnessing her friend's death at the hands of a police officer, Starr Carter's life is complicated when the police and a local drug lord try to intimidate her in an effort to learn what happened the night Kahlil died. 

ACS

The Buried and the Bound

The Buried and the Bound

By Rochelle Hassan  

Roaring Brook Press, 2023. 375 pages. Young Adult Fantasy 

As the only hedgewitch in Blackthorn, Massachusetts--an uncommonly magical place--Aziza El-Amin has bargained with wood nymphs, rescued palm-sized fairies from house cats, banished flesh-eating shadows from the local park. But when a dark entity awakens in the forest outside of town, eroding the invisible boundary between the human world and fairyland, run-of-the-mill fae mischief turns into outright aggression, and the danger--to herself and others--becomes too great for her to handle alone. Leo Merritt is no stranger to magical catastrophes. On his sixteenth birthday, a dormant curse kicked in and ripped away all his memories of his true love. A miserable year has passed since then. He doesn't even know his true love's name, but he feels the absence in his life, and it's haunting. Desperate for answers, he makes a pact with Aziza: he'll provide much-needed backup on her nightly patrols, and in exchange, she'll help him break the curse. When the creature in the woods sets its sights on them, their survival depends on the aid of a mysterious young necromancer they're not certain they can trust. But they'll have to work together to eradicate the new threat and take back their hometown... even if it forces them to uncover deeply buried secrets and make devastating sacrifices.  

This urban fantasy with dark academia vibes has my whole heart. The characters are young and flawed but it is so amazing to see them develop throughout the story. I wasn’t even halfway through before I decided I loved all three and would die for any of them. The writing is a perfect blend of whimsy and suspense, and I found myself underlining favorite lines every other page. If you're looking for a spooky fall read with multiple perspectives and a diverse cast, I would definitely check this one out.

 

If you like The Buried and the Bound, you might also like: 

 

Shades of Rust and Ruin

By A.G. Howard            

Bloomsbury, 2022. 391 pages. Young Adult Fantasy        

Phoenix "Nix" Loring knows her family is under a Halloween curse. When she was three, her parents tragically died on October 31st. Eleven years later, her twin sister Lark suffered a similar fate. Ever since, Nix has battled survivor guilt. She can't even find comfort in Clarey, Lark's boyfriend and the one person who understands her pain, because Nix's hidden feelings for him go far beyond friendship. All that remains are her sketches, where she finds solace among the goblins and faeries in her imaginary world of Mystiquel. When her depression starts affecting her ability to see color, Nix all but gives up on her art, until her uncle goes missing on Halloween day. Hot on his trail, Nix and Clarey step through a portal, becoming trapped inside a decaying version of their town filled with Nix's own sketches come to life. As Nix and Clarey search for her uncle within the sinister and dangerous world of Mystiquel, Nix discovers there's more to her family curse and otherworldly artwork than she ever imagined-and unless she can solve the Goblin King's maze before the clock strikes midnight, her life won't be the only one the curse claims next. 

The Raven Boys

By Maggie Stiefvater  

Scholastic Press, 2012. 390 pages. Young Adult Urban Fantasy 

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue never sees them--until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks to her. His name is Gansey, a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble. But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can't entirely explain. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul whose emotions range from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher who notices many things but says very little. For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She doesn't believe in true love, and never thought this would be a problem. But as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore. 

*This is one of my all-time favorite series, and the overall vibe is very close to The Buried and the Bound.*

Not Good for Maidens

By Tori Bovalino         

Recorded Books, Inc, 2022. 350 pages. Young Adult Fantasy 

   

Beneath the streets of York, the goblin market calls to the Wickett women—the family of witches that tends to its victims. For generations, they have defended the old cobblestone streets with their magic. Knowing the dangers, they never entered the market—until May Wickett fell for a goblin girl, accepted her invitation, and became inextricably tied to the world her family tried to protect her from. The market learned her name, and even when she and her sister left York for Boston to escape it, the goblins remembered. Eighteen years later, Lou, May's niece, knows nothing of her magical lineage or the twisted streets, sweet fruits, and incredible jewels of the goblin market. But just like her aunt, the market calls to her, an echo of a curse that won't release its hold on her family. And when her youngest aunt, Neela, is kidnapped by goblins, Lou discovers just how real and dangerous the market is. To save her, both May and Lou will have to confront their family's past and what happened all those years ago. But everything—from the food and the wares to the goblins themselves—is a haunting temptation for any human who manages to find their way in. And if Lou isn't careful, she could end up losing herself to the market too. 

KJ