Further misfortune befalls a girl who can't escape her ghosts.Being the new girl in Drearford, New York, means heaps of unwanted attention for Hendricks Becker-O'Malley, who'd much rather begin anew with a clean slate. Her traumatic past was the main reason behind her family's relocation to the small town, with its dreary gray skies and sinister secrets. However, her new home—Drearford's derelict Steele House—offers no comfort. The disturbances start small: the usual moans and groans of an old house, a creepy doll singing of its own accord, devious laughter from another room. At first, Hendricks' past shrouds her in self-doubt fueled by shame. But then she meets Eddie Ruiz, a damaged boy who lost an older brother and younger sister to Steele House's cursed, evil spirits. Together the pair plan to vanquish the ghosts, attempting a misguided cleansing ritual in the process. As Hendricks and Eddie develop a close bond, Steele House launches its final onslaught. Vega's (The MercilessIV: Last Rites, 2018, etc.) take on the haunted house subgenre features an eclectic, well-fitted mix of supernatural spookiness and gore. Overall, the novel doesn't rise above its creaky cliché-riddled plot, but the author excels at portraying the aftermath of a toxic, abusive relationship from Hendricks' perspective. Though Hendricks is assumed white, the supporting cast offers some diversity.A gently horrid reminder that some ghosts can be very real. (Horror. 14-18)

Hendricks' family has purchased the old Steele House, where a young girl was supposedly murdered by her brother, who then killed himself. Soon Hendricks is encountering weird phenomena eing her skin distorted in a mirror and having a ghost cat pass through her. Are these aftereffects of her PSTD, or is her house truly haunted? With the help of local bad boy Eddie, she tries to exorcise the house and finds three extremely vengeful ghosts who want three sacrifices in exchange for their own deaths. Hendricks thinks she's the target until she discovers it's really Eddie e middle brother of the young girl and brother. Why are the ghosts interested in his family? Vega tries her take on a haunted-house story, but there are shortcomings that may disappoint some readers e ghosts' history is more interesting than Hendricks' , and her instant love with Eddie strains credulity. However, with a relative dearth of YA horror to choose from, readers will be glad to get their hands on any stories that offer the hope of getting chills, which Vega delivers.

This spooky supernatural tale by Vega (the Merciless series) follows a well-trod horror arc: high school student Hendricks moves with her parents from Pennsylvania to a small New York town, where she senses a sinister presence in rambling old Steele House-the infamous site of a murder-suicide. The move follows Hendricks-s toxic relationship with her controlling ex-boyfriend, Grayson, whose behavior escalated into violence and stalking. Though Hendricks settles into a new social life quickly, with a cast of distinguishable characters, she wrestles with unease at the house and sees visions of Grayson-s reappearance. When Hendricks-s baby brother is physically attacked by a ghost, she approaches outsider Eddie, who lost both his siblings to Steele House. Vega-s narrative is at its best when Hendricks-s haunted past foreshadows and mirrors the paranormal events, raising questions about the impact of trauma on the present. The intrigue unravels into familiar scares and cinematic genre tropes (a child ghost with inky black eyes, a visit to a tarot shop), but Vega maintains psychological tension up until the uncertain conclusion, leaving enough loose ends to suggest a sequel. Ages 14-up. Agent: Josh Bank and Joelle Hobeika, Alloy Entertainment. (June)