Category: booklist reviews

THE PUMPKIN PRINCESS AND THE BURIED CASTLE by Steven Banbury

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This review first appeared in Booklist on August 1, 2025.

Peculiar things have been happening to Eve ever since the events of the Forever Night transpired nearly a year ago—when, thanks to the undead denizens of Hallowell Valley, her life changed forever. Or was it her death? The Pumpkin Princess isn’t quite sure anymore. Now she’s dealing with some weird and magical changes: breathing fire like her adoptive father, the Pumpkin King; drifting through walls like her ghostly neighbors; and, apparently, being the only one who can see the mysterious shadow with glowing green eyes lurking around town. Then, on All Hallows’ Eve, the shady specter approaches her, presenting her with a tempting but impossible choice—one that comes with catastrophic consequences no matter what she decides. In the disastrous aftermath, Eve must steadfastly step into her role as princess and steward to save not only the land of the undead but also the world of the living. In this sequel to The Pumpkin Princess and the Forever Night (2024), Banbury significantly expands his enchanting world with fresh faces, new dangers, and remarkable revelations. While the numerous additions make the plot feel a little convoluted at times, they also offer ample opportunities for meaningful character growth, particularly among the supporting cast, which truly gets to shine in this bewitching tale of friendship, family, and fairness. Another fantastic fall fable.

THE DEVIL’S IN THE DANCERS by Catherine Yu

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This review first appeared in Booklist on July 1, 2025.

Mars Chang has just landed a summer scholarship at the Allegra Academy, a prestigious ballet institution that could open many distinguished doors for the young, ambitious dancer. Once there, however, she’s met with disdain due to her modest background, quickly learning that at this esteemed institution, class and legacy matter more than talent and skill. But she presses on, dancing through the derision gracefully enough to catch the attention of the school’s venal, venerated founder. Mars is soon thrust into a corrupt choreography, perilously pirouetting around the academy’s darker deeds. When these nefarious affairs put the life of her budding crush in danger, Mars must decide whether her passions and aspirations are worth sacrificing her conscience and sense of self. Yu’s intense ballet drama is as much a critique of class divisions as it is an adolescent melodrama of ambition and moral conflict, and the feints and flourishes will keep readers riveted. Present alongside other visceral stagings of elitism and entitlement, such as A. K. Small’s Bright Burning Stars (2019) and Erica Ridley’s The Protégée (2025).

WELCOME TO THE GHOST SHOW by J.W. Ocker

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This review first appeared in Booklist on July 1, 2025.

Hazel “Zel” Gold longs to see ghosts. Along with her friends and fellow aficionados of the weird, Theo and Lucien, she forms the Creepy Club, a group dedicated to exploring the lurid and eerie corners of their small Maryland town in search of anything remotely paranormal. One day, ominous posters appear around town, heralding the arrival of the Ghost Show, a mysterious traveling attraction that claims to feature real ghosts. The Creepy Club jumps at the chance to finally witness some supernatural spectacle, only to find the show spearheaded by the imposing and enigmatic Everest Nocturama Mancer, a self-professed ghost catcher who plans to exploit the town’s tragic, haunted history for his own ghastly purposes. It’s up to Zel and her friends to save not only their bereaved community but also the suffering spirits ensnared in Mancer’s grasp. Ocker conjures a magnificently macabre and gleefully grotesque tale that’s as much a celebration of the odd and the peculiar as it is a thoughtful and affecting meditation on mortality, grief, and the painful process of letting go.

PREDATORY NATURES by Amy Goldsmith

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This review first appeared in Booklist on June 1, 2025.

After a series of personal tragedies leaves her friendless and aimless, Lara Williams finds herself uprooted, wanting nothing more than to escape the mess that’s become her life. So when she gets the chance to work aboard the Banebury, a luxury train traveling through the lush European countryside, she jumps at the opportunity, determined to at least run away in style. Not even the unexpected presence of an old, maybe-sort-of flame among her fellow crew members can dampen her spirits. But shortly into the voyage, a mysterious set of siblings board the Banebury, bringing two carriages overflowing with strange, beautiful flora—and an ancient, ominous force waiting to take root. Inspired by Welsh mythology and combining elements of folk horror and dark academia, Goldsmith cultivates a fierce, frightening fantasy that draws powerful parallels between folkloric tragedy and the grim mundanity of modern misogyny. Predatory Natures grafts itself into the flourishing genre of botanical horror, joining the ranks of Krystal Sutherland’s House of Hollow (2021) and Andrea Hannah’s Where Darkness Blooms (2023).

GLOAM by Jack Mackay

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This review first appeared in Booklist on June 1, 2025.

After her mother’s untimely passing, Gwen and her siblings, along with Henry, their stepfather, move into their late grandmother’s house—known simply as “The House”—on the small, gray, aptly named island of Gloam. There they meet the ethereal Esme, a local babysitter whose demeanor and general attitude toward the bereaved family seems just a tad too perfect to be genuine, earning Gwen’s immediate mistrust. Sure enough, Esme’s mere presence heralds the arrival of a sinister, creeping darkness—one that threatens to consume not only the old, mysterious house itself but Gwen and her family as well. Now it’s up to Gwen to unlock the house’s secrets and banish the stirring nightmares within. Featuring a bold and tenacious protagonist, a supporting cast of instantly endearing characters, and a veritable phantasmagoria of ghastly ghouls, debut author Mackay delivers a classic tale of children’s horror that’s as chilling as it is heartfelt. Exploring themes of grief, resilience, and kinship, Gloam earns its spot on the shelf alongside the likes of Jonathan Auxier’s The Night Gardener (2014) and Kenneth Oppel’s The Nest (2015).

STITCH by Pádraig Kenny

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This review first appeared in Booklist on June 1, 2025.

Stitch leads a simple life in the castle at the edge of the forest. Every morning, he wakes up and makes a mark on the wall, one for every day since he first awoke: 585 days ago as of the story’s start. He feeds his pet mouse. He visits his friend Henry, locked inside a cage, and they chat. He goes out to the garden and dreams of exploring the world. And he checks on the Professor to see if he’s still asleep. This routine is interrupted by the arrival of the Professor’s nephew, who is accompanied by an assistant, Alice, as well as a barrage of bad news—and life in the castle will never again be the same. Kenny (The Monsters of Rookhaven, 2021) takes apart the original Frankenstein tale and sews the pieces back into an uplifting fable that’s bursting at the seams with heart and optimism. Stitch explores themes of friendship, prejudice, and morality through the eyes of a large-hearted protagonist who never fails to approach it all with empathy and kindness.

THE PROTÉGÉE by Erica Ridley

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This review first appeared in Booklist on May 1, 2025.

In nineteenth-century France, industrialists have replaced the aristocrats as de facto rulers of the land. Amassing unprecedented wealth by severely exploiting the working class, they simultaneously create a strict social hierarchy where the proletariat is all but forced to cater to the callous whims of the elite. Eighteen-year-old Angélique dreams of rising above this classist culture by becoming the protégée of a top modiste in Paris. Then, a barbaric, avoidable accident leaves her an orphan and the sole caretaker of her youngest sister. Vowing revenge against the cruel capitalists who tore her family apart, Angélique is determined to use her talents as a seamstress to win their favor, embedding herself in high society and positioning herself perfectly to dismantle their elitist empire—by any means necessary. Written in a lavish style befitting the haute couture–laced setting, Ridley’s fashionable tale of rhapsodic retribution is a blistering critique of capitalism and its ruthless pursuit of wealth at the expense of human dignity. Macabre and delightfully twisty, Ridley’s YA debut is perfect for fans of V. E. Schwab and Kate Alice Marshall.

WE WON’T ALL SURVIVE by Kate Alice Marshall

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This review first appeared in Booklist on May 1, 2025.

Mercy Gray has always been resilient. It’s how she managed to save lives—including her younger sister’s—during a mass shooting. It’s how she went on to recover from the bullet that nearly killed her. And it’s exactly why she’s been invited to compete in a high-stakes reality show spearheaded by a tech-bro billionaire with an obsessive survival-of-the-fittest mentality. Mercy is initially skeptical, but the promise of a substantial cash prize in the face of considerable medical debt pushes her forward. When she and the other contestants arrive at the off-grid location, they find the set eerily empty. Then the automated gates trap them inside, forcing them to play an increasingly dangerous game—one that will lead to the kind of bloodshed Mercy hoped to never witness again. Marshall delivers an intense, pulse-pounding thriller that tactfully explores themes like trauma and toxic masculinity while never letting go of the throttle. Full of twists, turns, and catharsis, Marshall’s latest is comparable to her 2018 offering, I Am Still Alive, and The Woods Are Always Watching (2021), by Stephanie Perkins.

THE SUMMER I ATE THE RICH by Maika Moulite, Maritza Moulite

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This review first appeared in Booklist on April 1, 2025.

Brielle Petitfour is hungry—for success, naturally. She’s been working hard to turn her passion for cooking into a distinguished, profitable venture, hoping to finally give her ailing, selfless mother the life she rightfully deserves. For power, too: working at a restaurant catering to the uber-rich, she’s been around it long enough to know how many doors it could open for her and her struggling family. And, of course, being part zombie, she’s hungry for flesh, but she’s far too ambitious to let that particular urge dictate her life. All these cravings come together one fateful summer when Brielle finds herself thrust into la haute société, the world she’s only ever glimpsed from the outside. Inside the belly of the beast, she finds something incredibly sinister and resolves to take it down, one lurid dish at a time. Infused with Haitian folklore, The Summer I Ate the Rich is a visceral exploration of class and race that will leave you craving justice. Serve alongside Jamison Shea’s I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me (2023).

RAVENOUS THINGS by Derrick Chow

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This review first appeared in Booklist on March 4, 2025.

Reggie Wong is angry. Ever since his dad’s death, life has gotten difficult. His mother, consumed by sadness and despair, has withdrawn from the world to the point of being unable to leave their apartment. At school, he’s lonely and deals with bullying over his nerdy interests. So Reggie bottles up his emotions, and sometimes he lashes out. Tired of feeling somber and sullen, he resolves to change. That’s when the mysterious man with the flute shows up, promising to fulfill Reggie’s deepest desire. What follows is a strange underground journey into darkness, where Reggie—along with newfound friends Chantal and Gareth—must face not only morbid mechanical doppelgangers, bloodthirsty brainwashed adults, and magically mutated rats, but also their own ravenous sorrow. This delightfully twisted reimagining of “The Pied Piper” manages to be a thoughtful and poignant exploration of grief while never losing its sense of warped wonder and adventure. Full of fun and surprisingly nightmarish set pieces, this will appeal to fans of Katherine Arden’s Small Spaces Quartet and J. A. White’s Nightbooks (2018).