The Current: Creature features and haunting tales

This delicious death

Kayla Cottingham

This gruesome yet darkly funny ride through a monster-infested music festival takes place two years after the events of The Hollowing, an apocalypse-scale event that turned a percentage of the population into flesh-craving ghouls. Thankfully, a synthetic human meat is now available, and this means best friends Zoey, Celeste, Valeria, and Jasmine can enjoy a weekend of great tunes without fear of going feral and tearing into their fellow attendees.

However it appears that someone has other plans and, after Val is drugged and accidently eats a semi-famous musician, it becomes clear that this fun-filled festival is about to turn into a blood bath. 

Runner Hawk

M G Egan

Darkly atmospheric and unsettling from its opening pages, Runner Hawk is a uniquely eerie novel that plays with the notions of identity, memory, and time itself. Like many seventeen year-olds Leo Roslin feels adrift from those around him and unsure of what his future holds. But, as this novel slowly reveals its secrets, we, along with Leo, learn the horrifying truth behind his feelings of disconnection.

Not quite a ghost story, not quite science fiction; this novel uses its unreliable narrator to weave a dream-like world with a poignant message about what it means to be human.    

Getting away with murder

Kathyrn Foxfield

This action-packed thriller features both a villain and setting that are decidedly modern, yet convincingly disturbing, a rogue AI in charge of a deadly escape room. 

Once the gang of misfit teens are in place, with enough mysterious and secretive connections amongst them to satisfy any Agatha Christie fans, the dark and twisted games begin. Is the geek smart enough to crack the code? Will the cool kids win the day, or the weirdos survive the carnage? With some interesting reflections on how we view stereotypes (in life and YA fiction) this tightly plotted tale contains plenty of twists and turns as we follow our protagonists’ bloody path to freedom.

I feed her to the beast

Jamison Shea

 Laure Mesney, an exceptionally gifted dancer, has always struggled to be accepted into the cut-throat world of professional ballet. Racism, classism, and an environment where everyone is in constant competition has left her feeling insignificant. When Josephine, a rising star within the company, offers her the chance to experience true power deep within the Parisian catacombs, Laure’s desperation and ambition lead her to make a deal with a devil.

This novel has been described as a villain origin story but, as Laure wrecks revenge on those who have wronged her, it’s hard not to cheer on this chaotic protagonist as her powers grow, finally  putting the life she’s earned within her bloody grasp. 

Wise creatures

Deidre Sullivan

A unique ghost story that lingers long after the final pages. Through its unusual narrative we are told the story in three voices; Daisy’s narrative, her innermost thoughts and fears, and the voice of the Wise Creatures themselves – the name Daisy gave to the supernatural presence that haunted her early childhood. Daisy has attempted to leave her traumatic past behind, but the ghosts of her past have begun to creep into her new life and her beloved cousin Nina has become their latest target.

Daisy must untangle her earliest memories to separate truth from fiction, and to free Nina from her own dark secrets that threaten to swallow them both. An atmospheric meditation on growing-up and the choices we make to protect the ones we love.