The Other View: Mystery and Horror in YA

Here's what other people are saying about mystery and horror in YA:

Monster Librarian:
http://www.monsterlibrarian.com/horrorfictionlistya.htm

I think this might be my new favorite website. Fantastic reviews of all that's new and scary in young adult literature, as well as mentioning content.

Familial Dysfunction in Young Adult Horror Fiction:
http://www.ils.unc.edu/MSpapers/3127.pdf
Here's my true geek coming through...I actually think this is fascinating! A study in how young adult horror novels almost always have a dysfunctional family, and resolving the family issues is the real resolution of the novel.

So You Want to be a Horror Writer?:
http://www.darkecho.com/darkecho/horroronline/wannabe.html

This is someone who completely disagrees with me, and thinks that selling a horror novel (especially if it's your first) has astronomical odds. Still, of all the horror novels sold in the year she refers to 21% were young adult...and I just think that number will keep rising.

Horror for Readers:
http://www.conknet.com/~fullerlibrary/ReadersAdvisory/Horror%20Kathleen%20Sipling.htm

Gives great definitions and examples of horror and its subgenres.

A New Era of Gothic Horror:
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6600683.html

Great article from 2008 that agrees with me...horror's coming back.

Mystery Genre Study:
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6600683.html

A series of questions to ask yourself about your mystery novel.

Writing Young Adult Mysteries:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/114390/writing_young_adult_mysteries.html

Quote: Young adult mysteries are often better-written, more exciting and more unique than adult mysteries.
Darn right they are!

The Edgars:
http://www.theedgars.com/

And of course, the award every mystery writer wants to win, the Edgar Allan Poe award.

Book Review: The Christopher Killer by Alane Ferguson

"One, two, three!" Patrick said. "Careful, now."

The body was stiff, in full rigor, and as it rolled the hair fell forward to cover the face in a chestnut-colored web; gently, her father removed it, and then his eyes grew wide. "Oh, no," he said. "Oh, God, please no."

And then Cameryn saw the perfect oval face and the eyes staring blankly, and she felt her hand fly to her mouth and tears blurred her vision until she couldn't see anymore.

Ferguson, Alane. The Christopher Killer. New York: Penguin, 2006.

Cameryn Mahoney has always been fascinated by forensics. If it involves death and decay, she's there. And since her father is the coronor in their town, she manages to convince him to let her join him as his assistant.

But then a serial killer comes to town.

Great storyline. For any teen that loves CSI, this is the perfect novel. It's incredibly well researched and thought out. Be warned that some of the descriptions do get fairly graphic, but if I can handle it, I'm pretty sure most people can (I have very low tolerance for blood and guts.) The characters are fantastic, and everyone is thrilled when they find out that there are four (with a fifth one promised!) in the series. Alane Ferguson is a great author to get kids "hooked" on, and one of the few YA mystery authors actively publishing.

Buy this book now!

Room on the Shelf: Upcoming Trends

We all know that, as writers, we have to write the story that we’re passionate about writing, rather than the “trends” or “cycles” that are happening in the world.

But it can’t hurt to talk about them, right?

Here are the two genres that I, in my infinite booksellerly wisdom, think should be making a comeback in the next five years: mystery and horror.

Horror is already well on its way, with the resurgence of the Darren Shan books and Rick Yancey’s new Monstrumologist series. Keep in mind, I do not count Twilight (or similar books) as horror. Those are paranormal romance. When I say horror, I mean scary vampires. Blood and guts. Serial killers. The kind of book that made you leave the lights on and lock the doors and windows when you were a kid.

Horror was huge back in the 90’s with R.L. Stine, Christopher Pike, Stephen King, etc. Now, Stephen King has stuck it out, but we all know that horror just hasn’t been selling well since then. But I get kids coming in all the time, asking for books that will scare them. Really scare them. And from what I’ve heard, this isn’t just a request from teens. Apparently editors and agents the world over are searching for the next Mary Downing Hahn (Wait Till Helen Comes.) It’s just a matter of time before a new horror writer takes the kids world by storm.

Mystery is probably one of the most commonly requested genres. For younger kids, it’s not hard, there are plenty of older series, like Boxcar Children, Encyclopedia Brown, and Nancy Drew. But these are a bit antiquated, and it’s hard for kids to relate. There are a few new series sneaking in, like The Mysterious Benedict Society, The Name of This Book is Secret, and 39 Clues. And so far, kids are eating them up, especially boys. And we all know that anything that appeals to boys is going to do well.

So the next focus will be in young adult. Quite frankly, what we need are more books like Alane Ferguson’s Forensic Mystery series. I can’t tell you how often I have teens coming in looking for mysteries that love CSI, and want murder mysteries with science and forensics tied in. Authors that are getting reprints right now are Lois Duncan and Caroline B. Cooney. So if your book is similar to theirs, you’ve got the right idea.

Again, make sure you write the book you’re passionate about. But if you’re passionate about two books, and one is “Twilight but with ______” and the other is a terrifying serial killer murder mystery with a fantastic twist, I’d recommend going with the second one.

I really need a sign-off. “And that’s my two cents!” “You heard it from the bookseller!” Wow, I’m terrible at this. Can anyone think of a good one?

Until then—

Me: