Fans of Shirley Jackson and the very recent Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, this one’s for you.
What Big Teeth by Rose Szabo is a new YA book that hits all the right notes of a gothic horror story.
Setting: Stately and creepy old family house with extravagant decor and at least one secret passageway.
Characters: An isolated family who are not all they seem to be and are feared by the local townsfolk. Among them are werewolves and other supernatural creatures who have a long and complicated history and give lots of furtive looks and make loaded comments and exhibit highly emotional states over fancy dinners.
Protagonist: This is an interesting one as Eleanor is a member of the family but functions as the outsider because she has been away so long at boarding school and gets thrust into this web of mystery and dysfunction and is on a mission to understand and belong.
Romance: Family “friend” Arthur as the object of almost everyone’s affection yet it’s unclear whose (if anyone’s) he returns.
Secrets: How did the family’s “gifts” originate? Who/what is Arthur? Why was Eleanor sent away? Will Eleanor manage family finances and relationships when she is called upon to do so? Where does Grand-Mere fit in?
Visions: Tarot cards, divination by entrails. Eleanor sometimes remembers snippets of her childhood but then is visited by Grandmother Persehone’s memories as well.
Resolution: Could destruction of all be the only escape?
This is Rose Szabo’s first book EVER, and I am already looking forward to their next one.
What Big Teeth by Rose Szabo is a new YA book that hits all the right notes of a gothic horror story.
Setting: Stately and creepy old family house with extravagant decor and at least one secret passageway.
Characters: An isolated family who are not all they seem to be and are feared by the local townsfolk. Among them are werewolves and other supernatural creatures who have a long and complicated history and give lots of furtive looks and make loaded comments and exhibit highly emotional states over fancy dinners.
Protagonist: This is an interesting one as Eleanor is a member of the family but functions as the outsider because she has been away so long at boarding school and gets thrust into this web of mystery and dysfunction and is on a mission to understand and belong.
Romance: Family “friend” Arthur as the object of almost everyone’s affection yet it’s unclear whose (if anyone’s) he returns.
Secrets: How did the family’s “gifts” originate? Who/what is Arthur? Why was Eleanor sent away? Will Eleanor manage family finances and relationships when she is called upon to do so? Where does Grand-Mere fit in?
Visions: Tarot cards, divination by entrails. Eleanor sometimes remembers snippets of her childhood but then is visited by Grandmother Persehone’s memories as well.
Resolution: Could destruction of all be the only escape?
This is Rose Szabo’s first book EVER, and I am already looking forward to their next one.