Nightbooks

Title:

Nightbooks

Author:

Summary:

Alex's original hair-raising tales are the only thing keeping the witch Natacha happy, but soon he'll run out of pages to read from and be trapped forever. He's loved scary stories his whole life, and he knows most don't have a happily ever after. Now that Alex is trapped in a true terrifying tale, he's desperate for a different ending--and a way out of this twisted place. This modern spin on the Scheherazade story is perfect for fans of Coraline and A Tale Dark and Grimm. With interwoven tips on writing with suspense, adding in plot twists, hooks, interior logic, and dealing with writer's block, this is the ideal book for budding writers and all readers of delightfully just-dark-enough tales.

Audience:

008-012.

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

294 pages ; 22 cm

Genre:

Fantasy fiction

Horror fiction.

Subject Term:

Storytelling -- Juvenile fiction.

Witches -- Juvenile fiction.

Geographic Term:

New York (N.Y.) -- Juvenile fiction.

Publisher:

Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers,

Publication Date:

2018

ISBN:

9780062560087

Publication Information:

New York, NY : Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2018]

Call Number:

J WHITE

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003340430	Juvenile Fiction	WHITE	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

A boy is imprisoned by a witch and must tell her a new scary story each night to stay alive. This thrilling contemporary fantasy from J. A. White, the acclaimed author of the Thickety series, brings to life the magic and craft of storytelling.

This modern spin on the Scheherazade story is perfect for fans of Coraline and A Tale Dark and Grimm. With interwoven tips on writing with suspense, adding in plot twists, hooks, interior logic, and dealing with writer's block, this is the ideal book for budding writers and all readers of delightfully just-dark-enough tales.

* Summer 2018 Kids' Indie Next List * YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Nomination * 2019-2020 Florida Sunshine State Young Readers Award * 2020 Rhode Island Children's Book Award Nominee * Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year 2019 (9-12) * 2020-2021 Missouri Association of School Librarians Truman Readers Award Preliminary Nominee * Texas Bluebonnet Award List 2020-2021 * South Carolina Junior Book Award Nominee (2021-2022) *

Plus return to the world of Nightbooks--if you dare--with J. A. White's follow-up, Gravebooks!

Reviews (2)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 4-6-A spine-tingling dark fantasy about the power of facing down fears and choosing your own fate. Alex loves horror stories, but the night he sets out to destroy his beloved "nightbooks"-notebooks full of his original tales-he finds himself trapped by a witch in an enchanted apartment. Natacha, the capricious witch, requires Alex to tell her one of his horror stories each night, or else. As Alex runs out of stories, he enlists the help of the apartment's other trapped occupants, a cautious girl named Yasmin and the witch's begrudging cat, Lenore, to find a way to escape. White has crafted a chilling fractured fairy tale mash-up of "Hansel and Gretel" and "One Thousand and One Nights." The book is full of horror tropes such as bone keys, disappearing rooms, an unhinged but sympathetic villain, and a child-eating witch. But it's more than just a grisly fairy tale. Alex and Yasmin are never reduced to caricatures, and they react to their imprisonment in believable and nuanced ways. At its heart, it is a coming-of-age story about kindness and friendship and the importance of choosing to use one's own power for the good of others. VERDICT Fans of gloomy fare such as Lemony Snicket's "A Series of Unfortunate Events," Adam Gidwitz's "Grimm" books, or Neil Gaiman's Coraline will find an equally twisting and terrifying tale here. An excellent addition to any middle grade collection.-Bridgid Gallagher-Sauter, The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publisher's Weekly Review

In this clever synthesis of One Thousand and One Nights and "Hansel and Gretel," a boy captured by a witch must tell a different spooky story every night if he wishes to stay alive long enough to escape her clutches. But even though he has notebooks full of nightmare-inspired tales, Alex needs to come up with new material to appease his captor, whose impossibly large apartment is filled with lurking terrors. He finds a reluctant ally in Yasmin, a fellow captive, but even she may not be able to help him outwit the witch and return to the real world. Too bad he's suffering from writer's block. White (the Thickety series) skillfully interweaves Alex's peril with the stories he tells, which possess a juvenile gotcha horror in their own right. (Possessed teddy bears, ghost-filled playgrounds, and vampires who steal reflections all make appearances.) The blend of folk and fairy tale elements works extremely well under the circumstances, and the protagonists share an enjoyable camaraderie as they attempt to thwart their common enemy. Despite the dark premise, the narrative never quite crosses the line into horror, making it a safe bet for younger readers. Agent: Alexandra Machinist, ICM Partners. Ages: 8-12. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.