Creed

Gr 9 Up—A dark, disturbing story that will appeal to teens on the cusp of reading Stephen King. Seventeen-year-old Dee, for many years an abused child, has lived in countless foster homes before finally settling in with a loving older couple. As a surprise for her boyfriend Luke, Dee arranges a fun night to attend a concert several towns over. She has enlisted Luke's younger brother Mike to aid in lying to their parents about their whereabouts. Things progress smoothly and the trio sets off on the trip, but tension builds quickly when the teens forget to get gas. They eventually end up stranded in a desolate, snow-covered landscape with no cell phone service. The characters come across a tiny, eerily silent, and deserted settlement. They fruitlessly search for gas and eventually break into an isolated cemetery shed where they discover mysterious papers. Mike also finds a sign denoting the name of the town as Purity Springs. Trapped, the protagonists make the fatal choice of looking for help in one of the homes along the street. The houses are identical and all contain a bizarre manual entitled "Fashioning Children in the Image of God." For Dee, the volume hits too close to home as it describes punishing children through beatings. Action progresses quickly as the town's dark secrets are revealed. This book pulls no punches: There is swearing, sexual references, violence, underage drinking, and drug use. The characters' relationships, such as Dee and Luke's romance and Luke and Mike's sibling affection, are fleshed out fairly well.