The Devil and Winnie Flynn by Micol Ostow

The Devil and Winnie Flynn
by Micol Ostow
illustrated by David Ostow

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Release date: October 13, 2015
Publisher: Soho Teen
Genre: Paranormal, YA
Hardback: 336 pages
Rating: 4

First sentence(s):
"The devil hunters are here for wardrobe."

Told as an ongoing letter to a friend, Winnie’s story is a heartrending mystery and a pop culture critique in the vein of Libba Bray’s Going Bovine and Beauty Queens—with illustrations throughout that recall the quirky, dark, and distinct aesthetics of Ransom Riggs’s Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.

Winnie Flynn doesn’t believe in ghosts. (Though she wouldn’t mind a visit from her mom, explaining why she took her own life.) When her mysterious aunt Maggie, a high-profile TV producer, recruits Winnie to spend a summer working as a production assistant on her current reality hit, Fantastic, Fearsome, she suddenly finds herself in the one place her mother would never go: New Jersey.

New Jersey’s famous Devil makes perfect fodder for Maggie’s show. But as the filming progresses, Winnie sees and hears things that make her think that the Devil might not be totally fake after all. Things that involve her and her family. Things about her mother’s death that might explain why she’s never met Aunt Maggie until now.

Winnie soon discovers her family’s history is deeply entwined with the Devil’s. If she’s going to make it out of the Pine Barrens alive, she might have to start believing in what her aunt is telling her. And, find out what she isn’t.

My two-bits:

A kind of coming of age story for the main character, Winnie, who learns about herself and her past while dabbling into her aunt's paranormal world.

There is an interesting look into the details and making of a ghostbuster/hunter hit tv show with references to current paranormal related films and culture.

Illustrations are sprinkled throughout the book as an extra treat for the eyes.

I found this story to be more mystery than spooky horror.

About the author:

Micol Ostow has been writing professionally since 2004, and in that time has written and/or ghostwritten over 40 published works for young readers. She started her reign of terror with Egmont with her novel FAMILY, which Elizabeth Burns named a favorite of 2012 on her School Library Journal-syndicated blog, A Chair, a Fireplace, a Tea Cozy. Micol's graphic novel, SO PUNK ROCK (and Other Ways to Disappoint Your Mother), was named a 2009 Booklist Top Ten Arts Books for Youth Selection, a Booklist Top Ten Religion Books for Youth Selection, and a Sydney Taylor Notable Book for Teens. She received her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Her young adult horror novel, AMITY, will release from Egmont in August 2014, and her first chapter book series, LOUISE TRAPEZE, will debut in Spring 2015 from Random House.

She lives and works in Brooklyn, NY, alongside her Emmy Award-winning husband, their daughter, and a finicky French bulldog.

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* review copy courtesy of publisher

* kicks off my participation in R.I.P. X challenge (here)

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril X

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril X
hosted by the Estella Society
September 1 - October 31, 2015
(details and signup) | (review links)

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I participated in this challenge back in 2009 and had a blast. For this Fall season, I decided to do it again with the new books and films coming out.

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Rules:
1. Have fun reading (and watching).
2. Share that fun with others.

Select from these genres and pick your peril (here):

Mystery.
Suspense.
Thriller.
Dark Fantasy.
Gothic.
Horror.
Supernatural.

Or anything sufficiently moody that shares a kinship with the above.

My Peril picks:

Peril the First: Read four books, any length, that you feel fit (the very broad definitions) of R.I.P. literature.

The Demon's Grave
by E.M. MacCallum
-Urban Fantasy
Amazon | Goodreads | my review

The Devil and Winnie Flynn
by Micol Ostow
illustrated by David Ostow
-Paranormal, YA
Amazon | Goodreads | my review

Escape from Witchwood Hollow
by Jordan Elizabeth
-Fantasy, Witches, YA
Amazon | Goodreads | my review

Silent Circle
(The Witches Circle #1)
by Cassandra Larsen
-Fantasy, Witches, YA
Amazon | Goodreads | my review
Extra:

The Girl Without A Name
by Sandra Block
-Psychological thriller
Amazon | Goodreads | my review

The Measure of Temperance
by Ichabod Temperance
-Steampunk, Zombies
Amazon | Goodreads | my review

Night Film
by Marisha Pessl
-Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Amazon | Goodreads
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Peril of the Short Story: Read short stories any time during the challenge.

Necronomicon:
The Best Weird Tales of H.P. Lovecraft
(Commemorative Edition)
Amazon | Goodreads=====> I read the first story in this collection and did not really take to it. I will try one more and if it is another no-go then I will change my book pick for this peril.

=====> Read the second story which was somewhat amusing. I will try again with the third story in this collection.

=====> Just can't bring myself to read another story. I will set this aside for another time.

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Peril On the Screen: This is for those of us that like to watch suitably scary, eerie, mysterious gothic fare during this time of year. It may be something on the small screen or large.

Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954)
Revenge of the Creature (1955) --> Clint Eastwood has a small part in this one
The Creature Walks Among Us (1956)
-Horror, SciFi
my rating: 4
Amazon | imdb=====> Creature from the Black Lagoon can be viewed as a classic in that monster costumes come into play.

Let The Right One In (2008)
Director: Tomas Alfredson
-Horror, Vampires
my rating: 5
imdb=====> This is one that you could re-watch and become aware of different aspects of the story being told. A love story (or not) in different ways.

The Visit
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Theatre release date: September 11, 2015
imdb | my review -coming=====> Aw shucks, missed it in theatre. Will have to wait for DVD.

The Last Witch Hunter
Director: Breck Eisner
Theatre release date: October 23, 2015
imdb

Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse
Director: Christopher Landon
Theatre release date: October 30, 2015
imdb
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Peril of the Group Read: September 18 to October 18

The Quick
by Lauren Owen
Amazon | Goodreads=====> I started reading this but just could not get into it. Perhaps I will try it another time.

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* R.I.P.X artwork by Abigail Larson

Stacking the Shelves - 8.22.15

Stacking the Shelves
hosted by Tynga's Reviews (details)
Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

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For Review:

Silent Circle
(The Witches Circle #1)
by Cassandra Larsen
-Fantasy, Witches, YA
courtesy of author -Thanks!
Amazon | Goodreads

The Call Of Gelduur
(The Norrland Saga Book 1)
by Jack Alriksson
-Fantasy
courtesy of author -Thanks!
Amazon | Goodreads

The Devil and Winnie Flynn
by Micol Ostow
illustrated by David Ostow
-Paranormal, YA
courtesy of SOHO Teen -Thanks!
Amazon | Goodreads

Echoes
by Laura Tisdall
-SciFi,YA
courtesy of author -Thanks!
Amazon | Goodreads

A Window Opens
by Elisabeth Egan
-Chick-lit
courtesy of BookSparks Summer Reading Challenge 2015 -Thanks!
Amazon | Goodreads
Won from contest:

Dreamland
by Robert L. Anderson
-Fantasy, YA
courtesy of Epic Reads @epicreads -Thanks!
Amazon | Goodreads
=====> Wasn't expecting this one. Looks good :-)

Library:

The Boys in the Boat:
Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
by Daniel James Brown
-Non-fiction, Sports
Amazon | Goodreads
Daniel James Brown’s robust book tells the story of the University of Washington’s 1936 eight-oar crew and their epic quest for an Olympic gold medal, a team that transformed the sport and grabbed the attention of millions of Americans. The sons of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers, the boys defeated elite rivals first from eastern and British universities and finally the German crew rowing for Adolf Hitler in the Olympic games in Berlin, 1936.

The emotional heart of the story lies with one rower, Joe Rantz, a teenager without family or prospects, who rows not for glory, but to regain his shattered self-regard and to find a place he can call home. The crew is assembled by an enigmatic coach and mentored by a visionary, eccentric British boat builder, but it is their trust in each other that makes them a victorious team. They remind the country of what can be done when everyone quite literally pulls together—a perfect melding of commitment, determination, and optimism.

Drawing on the boys’ own diaries and journals, their photos and memories of a once-in-a-lifetime shared dream, The Boys in the Boat is an irresistible story about beating the odds and finding hope in the most desperate of times—the improbable, intimate story of nine working-class boys from the American west who, in the depths of the Great Depression, showed the world what true grit really meant.

=====> listening to audio version

UNBOXING:

From Uppercase package (details & signup):
A hand-selected young adult book & fun bookish item, delivered monthly #UppercaseBox

ENTER to win a free one year subscription (here).


August Box includes:
* Rebel Mechanics by Shanna Swendson
* Signed bookplate from Shanna Swendson
* Book cover steampunk bookmark from Compass Rose Design
* Button for Winter (The Lunar Chronicles, #4) by Marissa Meyer
* Peter Pan temporary tattoo from Litographs

Rebel Mechanics
by Shanna Swendson
-Mystery, Steampunk, YA
courtesy of BookSparks Summer Reading Challenge 2015
Thanks!
Amazon | Goodreads
A sixteen-year-old governess becomes a spy in this alternative U.S. history where the British control with magic and the colonists rebel by inventing.

It’s 1888, and sixteen-year-old Verity Newton lands a job in New York as a governess to a wealthy leading family—but she quickly learns that the family has big secrets. Magisters have always ruled the colonies, but now an underground society of mechanics and engineers are developing non-magical sources of power via steam engines that they hope will help them gain freedom from British rule. The family Verity works for is magister—but it seems like the children's young guardian uncle is sympathetic to the rebel cause. As Verity falls for a charming rebel inventor and agrees to become a spy, she also becomes more and more enmeshed in the magister family’s life. She soon realizes she’s uniquely positioned to advance the cause—but to do so, she’ll have to reveal her own dangerous secret.


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* some of these may be offered as giveaways within the next two months

* comment and TELL me what you have acquired for your shelves recently

* per usual, check out the sidebar for my current giveaways offers