Nightmare island

Title:

Nightmare island

Author:

Summary:

Twelve year-old Serenity Noah has never told anyone about her recurring nightmares -- the haunting images of silver butterflies whose flapping wings drive away all sound, leaving only suffocating silence in their wake. Her parents already favor her "perfect" younger brother, Peace, and she doesn't want to be seen as the "problem" child. Instead, Serenity's found a productive way to channel her fears: creating a horror movie as scary as her nightmares. When Peace suddenly becomes afraid of the dark and refuses to sleep alone, their parents take him away for "treatment" on Duppy Island. Serenity has a very bad feeling about the mysterious island and the facility's creepy leader, Dr. Whisper. And when she sees a silver butterfly from her nightmares in the forbidden forest she realizes that something is seriously, dangerously awry. But nothing could've prepared Serenity for the truth: the island is home to douens -- faceless children with backward feet who are trapped in limbo between the world of the living and the land of the dead. And unless Serenity acts soon, her brother is going to join their ranks... -- Goodreads.

Audience:

Ages 8-12 Scholastic Press.

Grades 4-6 Scholastic Press.

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

291 pages ; 22 cm.

Genre:

Paranormal fiction.

Action and adventure fiction.

Horror fiction.

Subject Term:

Human experimentation in medicine -- Juvenile fiction.

Nightmares -- Juvenile fiction.

Siblings -- Juvenile fiction.

Physicians -- Juvenile fiction.

Families -- Juvenile fiction.

Geographic Term:

West Indies -- Juvenile fiction.

Publisher:

Scholastic Press,

Publication Date:

2023

ISBN:

9781338783575

Publication Information:

New York : Scholastic Press, 2023.

Call Number:

J BOURNE

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003670885	New Juvenile Fiction	BOURNE	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

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Summary

From rising star Shakirah Bourne, author of Josephine Against the Sea , comes a mysterious adventure that explores one of the most chilling tales in Caribbean mythology: the faceless douen children.

Instead, Serenity's found a productive way to channel her fears: creating a horror movie as scary as her nightmares.

When Peace suddenly becomes afraid of the dark and refuses to sleep alone, their parents take him away for "treatment" on Duppy Island. Serenity has a very bad feeling about the mysterious island and the facility's creepy leader, Dr. Whisper. And when she sees a silver butterfly from her nightmares in the forbidden forest she realizes that something is seriously, dangerously awry.

But nothing could've prepared Serenity for the truth: the island is home to douens -- faceless children with backward feet who are trapped in limbo between the world of the living and the land of the dead. And unless Serenity acts soon, her brother is going to join their ranks...

Author Notes

Shakirah Bourne is a Bajan author and filmmaker born and based in Barbados. She once shot a movie scene in a cave with bats during an earthquake, but is too scared to watch horror movies. She enjoys exploring old graveyards, daydreaming, and eating mangoes. Learn more at shakirahbourne.com.

Reviews (1)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Horror movie--obsessed Serenity Noah, a Black 12-year-old, longs to meet a monster scarier than the ones in her recurring nightmares. But her passions and boisterous personality often make her feel out of place in her soft-spoken family, especially compared to her calm, artistic younger brother Peace. When Peace suddenly develops his own night terrors, her parents blame Serenity's monster flicks, and plan a trip to a silent retreat on Duppy Island--a locale that Serenity believes harbors malicious spirits--to cure his nightmares without her. Determined not to be left behind, Serenity stows away on the next boat to Duppy Island; once there, she encounters the creatures from her dreams. That's not the only worrying thing she uncovers, however: the retreat's shady director seems eager to get her off the island, a forgetting spell has befallen the rest of the adults, and douens--faceless children with backward feet--are haunting the land. Even as she faces fears of her own, Serenity endeavors to save Peace from the island's horrors. Occasionally awkward worldbuilding dampens the anticipatory atmosphere, but Bourne (Josephine Against the Sea) nevertheless delivers a chilling adventure steeped in Afro-Caribbean mythology that teems with twists, turns, and propulsive action. Ages 8--12. (June)