The Big Bad Wolf in My House by Valerie Fontaine

 

When the Big Bad Wolf came to my house, he didn't sneak in or huff and puff down the walls.  He just walked in the front door after being invited in by my mother.

It didn't take long for the Big Bad Wolf to show his true side.  He yelled.  He threw things.  And he left bruises . . . . 


This book covers the serious topic of abuse in a simple way for children to understand.  The metaphor of the Big Bad Wolf, while scary, is a little less frightening than if it was a human character.  I would highly recommend this book.

The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle

So let's raise our glasses to the accident season,
To the river beneath us where we sink our souls, 
To the bruises and secrets, to the ghosts in the ceiling,
One more drink for the watery road.

Every October, Cara and her family enter the Accident Season.  They get cuts, scrapes, broken bones, and when it is really bad -- someone dies.

This Accident Season is shaping up to be the worst one yet.  Not a day goes by without Cara, her sister Alice, stepbrother Sam, and mother getting injured in multiple ways.

But this Accident Season is going to get even worse.  Because Cara is starting to ask questions.  She searches for Elsie, the childhood friend, who seems to be stalking her everywhere she goes even though Elsie has completely disappeared from school and town.  She questions her feelings for ex-stepbrother Sam.  And they are all starting to question the secrets that make up their lives and seem to be rule the Accident Season.


This book is difficult to describe.  It is a disturbing and creepy read.  The narrator Cara is unreliable enough that you have trouble deciding whether the paranormal aspects of the story are true or just delusions.  Yet, you just can't stop reading.  The characters draw you in and make you care about them and what happens to them.  I would definitely recommend this to readers who like moody reads.

Reality Is Sometimes Scarier Than Horror

I've stated before that to me the scariest books are the ones that take place in everyday life.  Stories of kidnappings, murders, and abuse.  Here are some scary realistic books for teens . . .

The Boy From the Basement by Susan Shaw
A twelve-year-old boy is confined to his basement without food or clothing.

The Missing Girl by Norma Fox Mazer
In Mallory, New York, as five sisters, aged eleven to seventeen, deal with assorted problems, conflicts, fears, and yearnings, a mysterious middle-aged man watches them, fascinated, deciding which one he likes the best.

After by Amy Efaw
In complete denial that she is pregnant, straight-A student and star athlete Devon Davenport leaves her baby in the trash to die, and after the baby is discovered, Devon is accused of attempted murder.
 Tangerine by Edward Bloor
Twelve-year-old Paul, who lives in the shadow of his football hero brother Erik, fights for the right to play soccer despite his near blindness and slowly begins to remember the incident that damaged his eyesight.

Pictures in the Dark by Patricia McCord
Life with their mentally ill mother becomes unbearable for twelve-year-old Sarah and fifteen-year-old Carlie as they are deprived of food and forbidden to use the bathroom.