Have You Read This? The Bone Weaver's Orchard by Sarah Read

Fans of Harry Potter, as well as many young adult and juvenile books, may be familiar with the trope dealing with the transformative power of a new school/new environment. After living with his aunt and uncle who treat him like an afterthought at best and like a whipped dog at worst, Harry is whisked off to Hogwarts where he finds fame, friendship, and perhaps more importantly, acceptance. But Charley Wilson finds something altogether different in Sarah Read's The Bone Weaver's Orchard when he is sent off to school.
With his mother dead and his father serving in the military, Charley is sent to the Old Cross School for Boys. While Harry Potter enters Hogwarts a celebrity thanks to being "The Boy Who Lived," Charley enters the school as a boy struggling to find a place away from his family. He is able to confide in people like gardener Sam Forster and and motherly Matron Grace, but Charly is still regarded as a troublemaker by many of his teachers and fellow classmates. What purpose he does find begins when a potential friend winds up missing, leading Charley on a mystery involving dark, crumbling corridors, Gothic ruins, and ghastly secrets.
As I read this book, after I tried to stop comparing it to Harry Potter, it reminded me of Disney movies during the 70's and 80's that, before the animated era of talking crabs and blue genies, made live-action movies that terrified a generation. The book started out as something that could have been in the juvenile section of the library, particularly with the child protagonist struggling to solve a mystery that many of his peers and authority figures tell him to ignore. It soon became something genuinely frightening as the school does have some very dark and disturbing secrets, as violent and terrifying as anything dreamed up by Mary Shelley or Clive Barker. Once again going back to the Harry Potter analogy, Sarah Read offers up some real literary magic to combine so many influences from both children's and adult literature to create the story of a plucky, young hero who, while dealing with his own traumas, tries to survive what is waiting out in the burned, dilapidated halls of Old Cross, thus creating a book that serves as the perfect bridge for young adult horror readers who are looking for a genuinely terrifying and disturbing experience.

Fearsome Five: Five Books Coming Out in April

Hey, everyone. It's been a while. I've been hunkered down amidst the dark stacks, trying to stay safe, get some work done, and avoid any Wiki holes that will make me an expert on, say, Thundercats trivia and little else. It's the old paradox about having too much time, finding the best way to be the most productive. After stockpiling toilet paper and watching the entirety of Tiger King on Netflix, I figured it was high time to get back to talking about the genre that is near and dear to my pumping, gore-soaked heart. And what better way to reconnect (while maintaining social distancing, of course) is to look around and see five scary books that are coming out this April.
Eden by Tim Lebbon Horror with an ecological message is rare, but this entry offers up an interesting sci-fi premise. The world has gotten so polluted that humanity has literally given back to nature areas known as the Virgin Zones, which are allowed to flourish with exotic fauna and wildlife, essentially a replacement for the rainforest and other lands we've destroyed. These areas are typically untouched, until a group explores one of these zones, Eden, and discovers that what humanity gave up, nature will fiercely preserve with the weapons at its disposal.
The Wise Friend by Ramsey Campbell Fans of a more subtle brand of horror tend to gravitate toward Ramsey Campbell, and this title is sure not to disappoint. An English professor knows his beloved Aunt Thelma is a famous artist whose work had grown darker before she finally committed suicide. What he learns is that the occult and her visits to sites of magical power may have had a hand in her death. When his teenage son begins to follow in his aunt's footsteps, will the father be able to save the son? And himself?
Velocities: Stories by Kathe Koja How do you feel about short story collections? How about creepy dolls? Artists and their dark inspirations? Short story collections are like the buffets of fiction; gives you the ability to sample bite-sized examples of an artist's talent. This collection features 13 never before published stories that are all distinctly Kathe Koja, and you know you've made it when your own name becomes an adjective.
The Ancestor by Danielle Trussoni A Gothic sci-fi tale that starts out like a dream come true, until it becomes a nightmare, of course. Alberta "Bert" Monroe discovers that she's inherited a noble title, a lot of cash, and a castle in Italy, she discovers a branch of her family tree that she never knew existed. But after indulging in the sudden fortune and fame, she discovers that belonging to the Montebianco family exerts a very high price that, despite her newfound wealth, she may be unable to pay.
The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix Fans of Steel Magnolias and Fright Night will love this uniquely horrific mashup that is unquestionably Grady Hendrix (see what I did there?). Patricia Campbell is a harried housewife and mother whose idea of unwinding is talking true crime with her true crime book club. When a stranger moves into her neighborhood and children turn up missing, Patricia discovers something far more sinister that what Agatha Raisin deals with.