Tune in from anywhere to hear from this amazing panel of YA authors as we discuss their darkly brilliant books! We're thrilled to be hosting JULIE BERRY, author of If Looks Could Kill, WENDELIN VAN DRAANEN, author of The Steps, E.C. MYERS, author of Little Nightmares: The Lonely Ones, TOM O'DONNELL, author of Moonsick, and BARB ROSENSTOCK, author of American Spirits: The Famous Fox Sisters and the Mysterious Fad that Haunted a Nation. From spirit mediums to deadly family conflicts, these are stories that will have you on the edge of your seat!

It’s autumn 1888, and Jack the Ripper is on the run. As London police close in, he flees England for New York City seeking new victims. But a primal force of female vengeance has had enough. With serpents for hair and a fearsome gaze, an awakened Medusa is hunting for one thing: Jack.

Other dangers lurk in Manhattan’s Bowery. Salvation Army volunteers Tabitha and Pearl discover that a girl they once helped has been forced to work in a local brothel.  The pair's already brittle partnership is tested as they mount a rescue effort, only to find their fates entwine with Medusa’s and Jack’s.

Fourteen-year-old chess whiz Ruby Vossen tries to keep to herself, away from her wealthy family’s web of deception. But ever since her mother and aunt died in a car wreck, the battle lines drawn within the Vossen clan have ruled her life. She now has a gold-digging stepmom who has two teens of her own—The Steps. 

So when strange and dangerous things begin happening on the Vossen estate, it seems that the Steps are scheming to inherit the Vossen fortune. And as things get more and more intense, it seems like killing is in their playbook.  She needs to check-mate The Steps before they can finish the Vossens off.

Little Nightmares: The Lonely Ones by E.C. MYERS

Ruse remembers water, darkness, and then nothing. Nothing -- and then suddenly she's awake in a shaking room she doesn't recognize, with other kids she doesn't recognize either.

Wherever they are, it isn't safe. Flashing colors and bizarre sounds filter through the cracks in the wood, giving way to a nightmarish carnival. Ruse knows that she needs to get out of here, but are her new companions friends, or enemies?

Based on the hit videogame, it's a tense, terrifying tale that you just can't miss.

Heidi Mills seemingly has it all: a charming (albeit pompous) boyfriend, loving (wealthy) parents, and an acceptance letter to Harvard (well, not yet). With her mom and stepdad away for the weekend, she’s excited to throw a party to celebrate the end of high school. All she has to do is survive the next 24 hours. The full moon is coming, and the worldwide werewolf epidemic that's been running rampant for the past few years will awaken those who are infected.

But when two intruders break through her mansion’s state-of-the-art defenses looking for a score, the life of privilege that Heidi has taken for granted comes crashing down as she’s exposed to the realities of the virus—and the society it has created.

American Spirits: The Famous Fox Sisters and the Mysterious Fad that Haunted a Nation by BARB ROSENSTOCK

Rap. Rap. Rap. The eerie sound was first heard in March of 1848 at the home of the Fox family in Hydesville, New York. The family’s two daughters soon discovered that they could communicate with the spirit behind these uncanny noises. This strange incident, and the ones that followed, generated a media frenzy beyond anything the Fox sisters could have imagined. This is the true story of they became famous spirit mediums, giving public exhibitions, even advising celebrities of their day.

Could the Fox sisters actually speak to the dead—or were they frauds?

YA To Die For!