A long-standing feud simmers with supernatural significance.It's been only a year since Madoc Miller killed Ava Thorn's parents in a car crash, but the tensions between the two families go back generations-and now he's taking her home. Heir to a faded fortune and a legacy of bad luck, 17-year-old Ava's forced out of Thorn Manor when Uncle Ty sells the ancestral heap to Madoc and his family. Stuck in Burden Falls, Indiana, for her senior year, Ava is determined not to let the Miller siblings-flamboyant Freya and her older brother, Dominic, a haughty hottie-profit from her family's tragedies and her private grief. The duo are internet-famous thanks to their phony paranormal web series, but Ava doesn't want them to exploit Dead-Eyed Sadie, the eyeless ghost who is said to haunt Thorn Manor…and whose appearance supposedly presages death for the Thorns. Already juggling work, school, a complicated friendship, and a budding romance, Ava soon falls under suspicion for a series of deaths and disfiguring attacks. A small-town goth in a gothic tale, aspiring graphic novelist Ava is a tart-tongued, realistically rendered heroine, snarky but sympathetic-think Scooby Doo meets Veronica Mars. Maintaining her knack for spooky suspense, Ellis keeps the tension taut, delivering a gritty whodunit, a spine-tingling supernatural story, and a twisty psychological thriller all in one. Ava and the Millers are White; there is some diversity in the supporting cast.Atmospherically grapples with literal and figurative ghosts in an eerie Indiana. (Suspense. 14-18)

Gr 9 Up-In this standalone thriller, Ellis mixes spooky and mysterious with legend. In Burden Falls, myths and scary stories run wild, especially surrounding witchcraft and a mysterious ghost called Dead-Eyed Sadie, whom people have claimed to see. Ava has grown up here, and when misfortune strikes over and over for her, she starts to wonder if her family isn't somehow cursed. When the body of a young girl with missing eyes is found in the Falls, questions and truths start to unravel wildly. Is the legend of Dead-Eyed Sadie true? Is there a connection between Burden Falls families and these new murders? Ava and her friends must work to unlock the secrets in this solid scary story that will keep horror fans engaged. The characters are well written and relatable to the true teen experience. The incorporation of the mystery into the murder elements is well done and keeps the pace fast. Ava and her experiences with grief and loss will also resonate with young people. VERDICT A great scary story with an even mix of heart and blood. Recommended for all YA collections. Elizabeth Pelayo, St. Charles East H.S., IL