Scowler

Scowler
Author: Daniel Kraus
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2013-03-12
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0307980871

From the New York Times bestselling author of Whalefall, The Shape of Water with Guillermo del Toro, Rotters, and more, comes this equal parts haunting and horrifying horror novel that gves readers insight into the mind of a controlling homicidal man and the son who must stop him. "Marvin Burke is one of the great monsters of literature, a figure of immense, credible terror and savagery."--Cory Doctorow, author of Little Children and coeditor of Boing Boing Imagine your father is a monster. Would that mean there are monsters inside you, too? Nineteen-year-old Ry Burke, his mother, and little sister eke out a living on their dying family farm. Ry wishes for anything to distract him from the grim memories of his father’s physical and emotional abuse. Then a meteorite falls from the sky, bringing with it not only a fragment from another world but also the arrival of a ruthless man intent on destroying the entire family. Soon Ry is forced to defend himself by resurrecting a trio of imaginary childhood protectors: kindly Mr. Furrington, wise Jesus, and the bloodthirsty Scowler.

Rotters

Rotters
Author: Daniel Kraus
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Total Pages: 466
Release: 2011-04-05
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0375895582

From the New York Times bestselling author of Whalefall, The Shape of Water with Guillermo del Toro, Scowler, and more, comes Rotters. Grave-robbing. What kind of monster would do such a thing? It's true that Leonardo da Vinci did it, Shakespeare wrote about it, and the resurrection men of nineteenth-century Scotland practically made it an art. But none of this matters to Joey Crouch, a sixteen-year-old straight-A student living in Chicago with his single mom. For the most part, Joey's life is about playing the trumpet and avoiding the daily humiliations of high school. Everything changes when Joey's mother dies in a tragic accident and he is sent to rural Iowa to live with the father he has never known, a strange, solitary man with unimaginable secrets. At first, Joey's father wants nothing to do with him, but once father and son come to terms with each other, Joey's life takes a turn both macabre and exhilarating. Daniel Kraus's masterful plotting and unforgettable characters make Rotters a moving, terrifying, and unconventional epic about fathers and sons, complex family ties, taboos, and the ever-present specter of mortality.

The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch, Volume One

The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch, Volume One
Author: Daniel Kraus
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 26
Release: 2016-10-25
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1481411403

"The story follows Zebulon Finch, a teenager murdered in 1896 Chicago who inexplicably returns from the dead and searches for redemption through the ages."--

The Order of Odd-Fish

The Order of Odd-Fish
Author: James Kennedy
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Total Pages: 418
Release: 2008-08-12
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0375848991

JO LAROUCHE HAS lived her 13 years in the California desert with her Aunt Lily, ever since she was dropped on Lily’s doorstep with this note: This is Jo. Please take care of her. But beware. This is a dangerous baby. At Lily’s annual Christmas costume party, a variety of strange events take place that lead Jo and Lily out of California forever—and into the mysterious, strange, fantastical world of Eldritch City. There, Jo learns the scandalous truth about who she is, and she and Lily join the Order of Odd-Fish, a collection of knights who research useless information. Glamorous cockroach butlers, pointless quests, obsolete weapons, and bizarre festivals fill their days, but two villains are controlling their fate. Jo is inching closer and closer to the day when her destiny is fulfilled, and no one in Eldritch City will ever be the same.

The Monster Variations

The Monster Variations
Author: Daniel Kraus
Publisher: Ember
Total Pages: 258
Release: 2012-10-23
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0385737343

On his way to State University, nineteen-year-old James runs into a former friend and is immersed in memories from the year they were twelve and learned that monsters exist in the world--and within themselves.

Blood Sugar

Blood Sugar
Author: Daniel Kraus
Publisher: Titan Books (US, CA)
Total Pages: 205
Release: 2019-10-08
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1789091942

From the co-author of the New York Times–bestselling novelization of The Shape of Water comes the blood-curdling story of a Halloween night where trick-or-treat becomes life-or-death In a ruined house at the end of Yellow Street, an angry outcast hatches a scheme to take revenge for all the wrongs he has suffered. With the help of three alienated kids, he plans to hide razor blades, poison, and broken glass in Halloween candy, maiming or killing dozens of innocent children. But as the clock ticks closer to sundown, will one of his helpers—an innocent himself, in his own streetwise way—carry out or defeat the plan? Told from the child’s point of view, in a voice as unforgettable as A Clockwork Orange, Kraus’ novel is at once frightening and emotional, thought-provoking and laugh-out-loud funny. It’ll make you rethink your concepts of family, loyalty, and justice—and will leave you double-checking the wrappers on your Halloween candy for the rest of your days. “A Stephen King tale told by a pidgin Artful Dodger, it’s a twisted little miracle with a sneaking, beating heart.” —Megan Abbott, New York Times–bestselling author of Give Me Your Hand

Trollhunters

Trollhunters
Author: Guillermo del Toro
Publisher: Disney Electronic Content
Total Pages: 354
Release: 2015-07-07
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 148471086X

From Guillermo del Toro comes the book that inspired the Netflix Animated Series TROLLHUNTERS! "You are food. Those muscles you flex to walk, lift, and talk? They're patties of meat topped with chewy tendon. That skin you've paid so much attention to in mirrors? It's delicious to the right tongues, a casserole of succulent tissue. And those bones that give you the strength to make your way in the world? They rattle between teeth as the marrow is sucked down slobbering throats. These facts are unpleasant but useful. There are things out there, you see, that don't cower in holes to be captured by us and cooked over our fires. These things have their own ways of trapping their kills, their own fires, their own appetites." Jim Sturges is your typical teen in suburban San Bernardino— one with an embarrassingly overprotective dad, a best friend named "Tubby" who shares his hatred of all things torturous (like gym class), and a crush on a girl who doesn't know he exists. But everything changes for Jim when a 45-year old mystery resurfaces, threatening the lives of everyone in his seemingly sleepy town. Soon Jim has to team up with a band of unlikely (and some un- human) heroes to battle the monsters he never knew existed. From the minds of horror geniuses Guillermo del Toro and Daniel Kraus comes a new illustrated novel about the fears that move in unseen places.

The Waking Dark

The Waking Dark
Author: Robin Wasserman
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Total Pages: 466
Release: 2013-09-10
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0375899626

The Waking Dark is “a horror story worthy of Stephen King” (Booklist) and “a book you won’t soon forget” (Cassandra Clare, author of the Mortal Instruments series)—perfect for readers of Gillian Flynn and Rick Yancey. They called it the killing day. Twelve people murdered, in the space of a few hours, their killers also all dead by their own hand . . . except one. And that one has no answers to offer the shattered town. Something is waking in the sleepy town of Oleander, Kansas—something dark and hungry that lives in the flat earth and the open sky, in the vengeful hearts of its upstanding citizens. As the town begins a descent into blood and madness, five survivors of the killing day are the only ones who can stop Oleander from destroying itself. They have nothing in common. They have nothing left to lose. And they have no way out. Which means they have no choice but to stand and fight, to face the darkness in their town—and in themselves. “Suspense, chills, gasps—all that and a gem-like writing style that will make you shiver with beauty and horror. A book you won’t soon forget.” —Cassandra Clare, author of the bestselling Mortal Instruments series and Infernal Devices trilogy “Twisted, pulse-pounding, shocking, and very, very scary. With The Waking Dark, Robin Wasserman conjures vintage Stephen King as she peers into the dark heart of a nightmare America, where violence and evil lurk behind the golden glow of small-town life, and new terrors arrive by the hour. A superb horror story that is by turns visceral and lyrical, heartrending and heart-stopping.” —Libba Bray, bestselling author of the Gemma Doyle trilogy and the Diviners series “This book has the combination of mystery and fright that I love. So many twists and shocks, I nearly jumped out of my chair several times! Trust me—this is a true chiller. Not to be missed!” —R. L. Stine “A thriller dark and beautiful and—yes—achingly romantic at every unexpected twist and turn. Astounding.” —Lauren Myracle, New York Times bestselling author of The Infinite Moment of Us and Bliss “Wild, nihilistic madness that will get true horror fans raising their pitchforks and torches in frenzied glee. Wasserman writes as if hooked up to IVs of Stephen King and John Carpenter's spiked blood.” —Daniel Kraus, author of Rotters and Scowler "Great dialogue and intriguing subplots add to the action-packed story . . . the suspense doesn’t let up until the final pages." —School Library Journal, Starred Review

They Stole Our Hearts

They Stole Our Hearts
Author: Daniel Kraus
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company (BYR)
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2022-01-11
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1250224438

The heart-pounding sequel to They Threw Us Away, about a group of teddy bears looking for a place to call home...and answers to life’s biggest questions. The teddies—clever Buddy, brave Sunny, sweet Sugar, and wise Reginald—have managed to find a child. Life with Darling is far better than any they’ve known. But something's not right—the promised bliss of Forever Sleep hasn’t come. And they are kept a secret from Darling’s mother, hidden underneath the child’s bed in the dusty darkness. Then the inevitable happens: Mama discovers the teddies. And like all adults they’ve met thus far, she responds with fear and anger. The teddies must watch as one of their friends is destroyed. The remaining trio barely escape, thrust back into a world that does not want them. Disillusioned and lost, the teddies embark on a journey back to the factory where they were created. En route, they find a civilization of discarded teddy bears. The comfort of a town of teddies has its allure...but the need for answers weighs heavy. And there’s something definitely off about these new teddies. Will our heroes accept their strange rules? Or must they dig deep for one more grand adventure to finally learn why they were thrown away?