It’s October! Check out our Special Edition Spooky Staff Picks for some good tricks and treats!
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Leslie – Circulation
Pretty Things, by Janelle Brown, Fiction Brown
If you are looking for a book filled with twists, look no further! This is a story of two very different women, Nina and Vanessa. Meet Nina who resorts to stealing from rich kids in LA when her art degree fails to get her any further in life. Nina has learned from the best, her mother who resorted to being a con artist to give her daughter a better life. When Nina’s mother Lily gets sick, she devises her most dangerous scam yet. Vanessa is a privileged young heiress and influencer on Instagram, and Nina’s next victim. As events unfold, their paths collide and it makes for a wonderful thrilling story. Janelle Brown has created a story that is hard to put down and made me an instant fan!
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The Shining, by Stephen King, Fiction King
I must admit I am not much for a horror story, but this one is a classic story of hauntings at a hotel. The story is about Jack, a troubled writer who is hired as the caretaker for the Overlook Hotel for the winter. Snowed in, the family becomes plagued by ghosts from the past. If you missed this one, give it a try, it’s a classic. Perfect for Halloween!
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Hayley – Circulation
Something is Killing the Children, by James Tynion IV, Graphic Novel Tynion
James Tynion IV has the incredible ability of taking a story we all think we’ve heard before and showing us that, no, we really haven’t. His illustrator, Werther Dell’Edera, reveals on every page the depth of the story and the character’s secrets; if you’re paying close attention, it’s clear the book’s not just about a monster or a monster hunter. Be warned: this story is graphic in it’s depiction of the kind of violence a child-hunting monster would create.
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Paula – Circulation
Young Frankenstein, starring Gene Wilder, Marty Feldman, and Peter Boyle, DVD Young Frankenstein
From the brilliant mind of Mel Brooks comes the best parody of Frankenstein to ever exist. It’s the traditional story of Dr. Frankenstein and his monster that we all know and love, but with added hilarious twists. Dr. Frederick Frankenstein, the grandson of Victor Frankenstein, just wants to prove that his grandfather wasn’t the crazy scientist that everyone believed him to be. He soon learns that he has inherited his grandfather’s estate in Transylvania, and travels there to check it out. Upon discovering Victor’s laboratory, Frederick begins to recreate his grandfather’s experiment and creates a monster of his own. Gene Wilder is as funny as ever as Frederick. I mean it’s Gene Wilder, so of course it’s going to be good. The whole cast is incredible, and every moment will have you laughing out loud. There are many call-backs and references to the Frankenstein films of the 1930s. Mel Brooks is a comedic genius, and this film will definitely make you want to watch more of his productions.
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Melissa – Technical Services
This guide is perfect to find your next horror read. It works by dividing all horror into four categories: Paranormal, Supernatural, Human Monsters, and Natural Order Horror. Then it utilizes icons and tags to describe the book themes. You’ll know if a plot has a feature you’re way into (like found letters/manuscripts or survival) as well as things you’d like to avoid (like gore or child abuse). The summaries are great depictions of the book’s vibe without giving away plot. This is the Halloween read you didn’t know you needed.
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Dominique – Youth Services
Enchanted to Meet You, by Meg Cabot, New Fiction Cabot
A cute book with witches, romance, and the end of the world. Or rather, just the end of the town of West Harbor, if Jessica Gold and Derrick Winters can’t put a stop to it before Halloween that is. This book is not only funny and romantic, but it puts a fresh spin on the impending doom/ end of the world/ chosen one trope that I really engaged with. The characters are amazing and well developed, and so is the town and the world around them. Yes there are witches and they can do some cool stuff, but it’s not like the witches you are familiar with. Meg Cabot does an excellent job of weaving the story with romance and humor, making this a warm, cozy read; impeding doom included.
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Witch of Wild Things, by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland, New Fiction Vasquez Gilliland
This book focuses on Sage, the eldest daughter of the Flores family, who can talk to and control plants. After leaving home to forge her own path, she is forced to move back home after her life falls apart, again. With one sister who hates her and another who is dead and haunting her, Sage is forced to face hard conversations that she had long buried. A beautifully woven story about family, sacrifice, and love, Vasquez creates a beautiful, heartbreaking, and romantic story about the power of facing the truth and choosing yourself.
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Katie – Circulation
Dead Silence, by S. A. Barnes, Fiction Barnes
Claire Kovalik is a Team Lead on a repair ship out in deep space maintaining communication system relay stations. She doesn’t want to be anywhere else. But her job and way of life are about to be rendered obsolete by new automated repair systems, and she is having to face a miserable future at a desk back on earth. There are many reasons she doesn’t want to be back on earth, or really anywhere with a lot of people. Something happened to her when she was a child on a Martian colony station, something that haunts her and keeps her searching for solitude. So when her ship picks up an old distress beacon from an old missing luxury Starliner, it’s not just the fame and fortune she’s interested in, it’s also an excuse to stay out longer. When they get to the ship, they find more questions than answers, and ghosts seem to be lurking in every corner. Is she losing her mind, or is there something supernatural on this ship, and did that cause the disaster that made it disappear more than 20 years ago? Spooky fun read for those who like space fiction but also a dash of the supernatural and horror, with a little psychology thrown in for kicks.
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An atmospheric and haunting film by the king of the jump scare, M. Night Shyamalan. The movie opens with a burial in a small frontier town on the edge of a dark and forbidding forest. As the story progresses you learn that this community is cut off from the rest of the world and that those who attempt to find a way through the forest are found brutally murdered or are never seen again… there are creatures in the forest. But when someone falls ill and needs medicine only able to be found beyond the forest, it falls to Ivy, the blind daughter of the village elder, to find a way through the dangerous woods. What she finds, is not what one expects.
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Reenie – Youth Services
The Scary States of America, by Michael Teitelbaum, Juvenile Fiction J Teitelbaum
Every Halloween for the last six years, I’ve read this book aloud to some thrill-seeking middle schoolers who would clamor for more of the stories in this book. It is my absolute favorite collection of scary stories. The premise is that these stories are based in fact and because of that, the stories are all the more compelling in a hands-over-your ears-still-listening way. Each of the stories is based on a supernatural story that takes place in a different state in the US. You can “google” the stories afterward and see what the true parts may be. My favorites are the stories from North Carolina: “The Headless Conductor,” Indiana: “The Edna Collins Bridge,” and Georgia: “My House is Bleeding!” I dare you to read each of these and not get chills creeping down your spine!
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Michelle – Administration
Enchanted to Meet You, by Meg Cabot, New Fiction Cabot
If you are looking for something not so spooky and much more cozy this Halloween, I would recommend Enchanted to Meet You, the first book in Meg Cabot’s new series Witches of West Harbor. It’s a witchy romantic comedy about a small-town witch and boutique owner who has to team up with a handsome stranger to save West Harbor from an impending supernatural attack, expected to occur on Halloween Eve. As usual, Cabot has created relatable characters and a charming story. It is a light and easy read that will put you in the perfect autumn mood.
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Chris – Technical Services
Flower in the River: A Family Tale, Finally Told, by Natalie Zett, New Fiction Zett
Set in 1915 and the 1990’s, the main character, Zara Vrabel, is a writer who discovers she lost a family member in the July 24, 1915 capsizing of the SS Eastland in the Chicago river. Zara is being haunted by a female ghost who wants Zara to tell the story of the tragedy so she can rest in peace. Zara takes up the challenge to research and write about a disaster that was forgotten. It is a fast read and set in the Midwest and Chicago.
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The Sixth Sense, starring Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, and Toni Collette, DVD Sixth
Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, this film stars Bruce Willis as a child psychologist who attempts to help an 8-year-old boy, Haley Joel Osment, who is experiencing terrifying visions of the dead. It also stars Toni Collette and Donnie Wahlberg. With exciting performances by all and a real twister of an ending, I wanted to immediately watch it again to see what I missed the first time!
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Nancy – Reference
This is the frightening story of a young girl who never made it home after a night out. Her sister, bound and determined to find out what happened, gets caught up in a world of violence. Amazing acting by Karen Martinez.
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Cryptid Club, by Sarah Andersen, Graphic Novel Andersen
If you are on the hunt for animals that have been claimed to exist, but never proven to exist, look no further than the pages between this glow in the dark cover! Spooky fun awaits!
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Maids, by Katie Skelly, Graphic Novel 364.1523 SKE
Beware! Although the cover of this graphic novel may look charming, the story within is not. Katie Skelly recounts the true crime story of two sisters, employed as maids in France, and the grisly murder on February 2, 1933.
Oak Brook Library Staff Picks 