"It's no secret, ours is the meanest swamp in Louisiana," says Sterling of the swamp bordering her town, contained both by a fence and long-established rituals. Aside from superstitious folktales, no one speaks of the swamp as a real threat, but no one crosses the fence, either til Sterling's brother, Phineas, bolts into the swamp after a fight and disappears. A girl named Lenora May returns in his place, and everyone believes she is Sterling's sister. If not for the charmed bracelet Sterling wears, she would have forgotten Phineas, too, but memories of her brother are strangely superimposed with memories of Lenora May. Only troubled loner Heath believes her, because he lost someone to the swamp, too. Parker's assured debut is a creepy southern fairy tale set in a town infused with an undercurrent of supernatural menace. Sterling, Heath, and Lenora May are all deeply sympathetic, expressive characters, each with a compelling stake in untangling the swamp's dark secrets. This vivid swamp magic tale will appeal especially to fans of Brenna Yovanoff and Franny Billingsley.

Her brother disappears into the swamp bordering their Louisiana town, and Sterling is appalled when people's memories of him vanish, too. With the help of a boy who can resist the swamp's mysterious powers, Sterling draws on old legends and a new courage to defeat the creeping evil. This sinister tale's mix of gothic horror and YA romance wavers between satisfying and peculiar.

Gr 8 Up-Every town has a place that is shrouded in strange stories, a place that everyone avoids. In Sticks, Louisiana, that place is the swamp and no one in their right mind would think of crossing the fence to enter it. But Phineas Saucier wasn't in his right mind. He had just fought with his sister, Sterling, when he jumped the fence and ran into the swamp. Sterling anxiously awaits Phin's return, but it's not Phin who emerges from the swamp hours later. Instead, a girl named Lenora May appears and somehow slips into Sterling's family, erasing and replacing Phin's very existence. Sterling is positive she isn't crazy, but no one, not even her oldest friends, seems to remember Phin. The only person who believes her is a troubled boy named Heath. The two of them band together to send Lenora May back to the dangerous place she came from and rescue her brother. The swamp, however, has power of its own and Lenora May isn't about to return willingly. This is a creepy, atmospheric book that will draw readers in. Parker has created a supernatural setting that manages to feel new and yet strangely familiar, reminiscent of Brenna Yovanoff's work. The swamp and its magic are fully developed characters just as much as Sterling, Lenora May, and Heath. Beware the Wild breathes new life into the teen supernatural genre. Heather Webb, Worthington Libraries, OH