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Book List: Schools for Peculiar Children

      

 

Miss Peregine’s Home for Peculiar Children hits theaters this week, and it will be interesting to see how it measures up to the book. It looks cool– click here for a link to the trailer. For me, the letters and the real photographs used, and the scrapbook-type format, were much of what made it intriguing, and I can’t imagine how that will translate to the screen. But the trailers look pretty awesome, so even if the movie doesn’t turn out to be just like the book, perhaps it will stand well on its own.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is far from the first book to be set in a school or home intended for particularly unusual children, though– some really excellent books for middle grade and teen readers exist in this category.  Here are a few you might check out.

 

Down a Dark Hall by Lois Duncan

Kit Gordy is attending an extremely exclusive, isolated, boarding school. Spoiler: it’s also haunted by ghosts who take possession of the students to create amazing works of art. Nothing could possibly go wrong here, right? This is a good one for tweens and middle schoolers, although, in my opinion, you don’t outgrow Lois Duncan.

 

 

The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls by Claire LeGrand

This is a disturbed fairy tale of a book. Victoria, a perfect 12 year old in every way, living in a picture-perfect community, has chosen just one friend, the very imperfect, messy, and musical Lawrence. When Lawrence disappears, Victoria goes on a search for him, uncovering some very unpleasant things. As more children disappear, and creepy creatures start invading, Victoria becomes even more determined to solve the mystery. She discovers that the orphanage across the street is actually a deeply disturbing, magically operated facility with the mission of turning all the imperfect children that have disappeared, including Lawrence, into identical, perfect children, Stepford-style. Mrs. Cavendish, the headmistress of the school, is truly diabolical, and the school itself is creepy, disquieting, and disorienting. This one is not for the faint of stomach, but people who liked Coraline  or the more nightmarish writing of Roald Dahl might very well like this. This is Gothic children’s horror at its best– highly recommended, but for no younger than age 10.

Contains: body horror, cannibalism, insect hordes, torture.

 

Matilda by Roald Dahl

Speaking of Roald Dahl, Matilda is surely every book lover’s favorite story of a peculiar child. While her school isn’t specifically for peculiar children, the people who work there certainly qualify as peculiar, especially the headmistress. You can’t help cheering for Matilda as she uses her unusual powers to defeat the sadistic Miss Trunchbull.

 

The Grounding of Group 6  by Julian F. Thompson

What’s a parent to do when a child repeatedly breaks the rules, gets thrown out of school again, or breaks that last straw? You send them to the school of last resort– Coldbrook County School– and then never worry about them again. That’s right, the school will take care of your problem child for you, in a permanent way, while the students are out on retreat in a wooded area full of sinkholes. Nothing supernatural in this book, all the horror is in the way humans treat each other.
I’d wait until high school to read this one– it’s got some harrowing moments. There’s also an implied sexual relationship between one of the students, in her late teens, and her “counselor”, who is in his twenties.

 

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

After the death of her mother, Gemma Doyle is sent from her home in India to a young ladies’ boarding school in Victorian England. Gemma has visions, and her unusual upbringing and uncanny knowledge mean a chilly reception from the other girls. Gemma learns to control the visions so she can visit magical realms. As she makes friends, she involves them in her journeys, but while the girls enjoy the power and escape they have in the realms, Gemma learns there is also a darker side. This is the first book in a trilogy: the other two books are Rebel Angels and The Sweet Far Thing. Recommended for middle school and up.


You Might Be In A Horror Novel If…

The 25 Best Gothic Horror Books

You are in an abandoned mansion in the middle of nowhere.

You are a governess, left alone with oddly acting or obviously evil children.

You are isolated from the rest of the world by weather, geography, and/or another outside force beyond your control.

You do not trust the evidence of your own senses.

 

You might be in The Turn of the Screw by Henry James,

or This House Is Haunted by John Boyne

 

It is stormy, dark and gloomy.

You are the captive of a scheming and sadistic governess, teacher, caretaker, or relative.

You are trapped in the walls, a basement, a closet, or an attic.

There is a hedge maze, Escher-style stairs, or carnivorous beast on the property.

Authorities are absent or unable to help you.

 

You might be in Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews,

or Misery by Stephen King

Your house is a former asylum or school, built over a graveyard, or the site of a cold-case murder.

You have specifically been told not to open a door.

Ghosts are either menacing you, possessing you, or asking you for help.

An inanimate object starts talking to you.

Someone is leading you through dark, underground tunnels or catacombs.

Your nightmares seem very, very real.

 

You might be in Down A Dark Hall by Lois Duncan,

or the stories of Edgar Allan Poe

 

It is bright and sunny, and everyone is very, very, happy.

 

You are uneasy without obvious reason.

You are uneasy with obvious reason.

Everyone in town is related to (or at least knows) everyone else.

There is a terrible secret in your town’s past (or present).

A disturbing community ritual, probably involving demon worship, is scheduled for the near future.

You are offered a favor in exchange for your soul.

You find a book or journal that clearly will summon an ancient evil.

 

You might be in  The Thirteen  by Susie Moloney

or The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin

 

A classified, experimental government program has gone awry.

An inexplicable and incurable virus has infected the majority of the population.

A malicious mythical creature attempts to eat you, assimilate you, or seduce you.

A vigilante or cult-like group is bent on destruction.

 

You might be in The Strain by Chuck Hogan and Guillermo del Toro

or The Fireman  by Joe Hill

 

Giant, mutated creatures are approaching.

Ominous, tentacled creatures appear on the scene.

The narrator or main character is showing clear evidence of insanity.

 

You might be in Maplecroft by Cherie Priest, Clickers by J.F. Gonzalez,

or the works of H.P. Lovecraft.

 

People are dying in brutal, horrifying, appalling ways.

Someone, or something, wants to eat you for dinner.

 

You might be in Succulent Prey by Wrath James White,

or Monster Island by David Wellington

 

Your perceptions are unreliable or distorted.

You can’t trust your memories.

You can’t trust the media.

You might be in A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay

 

You have a feeling of bone deep terror.

That unending sense of dread just won’t go away.

You hear a loud “slam” and things go dark…

 

You’re probably trapped in a horror novel. Let’s hope that your reader decides to open up the book again, and gives you a chance to escape!

 

 

Editor’s note: not all books are appropriate for all readers.. and I wouldn’t wish any of you to be trapped in any of these! 

 

 

 

Book List: Doubles and Doppelgangers

Our shadows may seem insubstantial, but their reach is long, and they are always with us (except for the one in Andersen’s “The Shadow“. Our reflections may not reveal what we hope for: sometimes, as with the hobgoblin’s mirror in Andersen’s “The Snow Queen”, beauty is distorted into ugliness. It’s no wonder that it is unsettling to discover a shadow self– either a nearly perfect double, or a dark half (or sometimes both).  They’re everywhere in literature, from Shakespeare to Shelley. The next time you’re feeling lonely, try one of these out.

 

Weep No More, My Lady by Mary Higgins Clark

This suspenseful mystery centers on Elizabeth Lange, whose sister, the famous actress Leila LaSalle, was recently murdered. Leila’s fiance, wealthy businessman Ted Winters, is on trial for her murder, and Elizabeth will soon testify at his trial. Despite this, Elizabeth accepts an invitation from Ted to spend several days at a luxury spa in California, where she discovers that Ted is not the only one with a motive for murder. While there’s no physical double for either of the main characters, an unexpected similarity is key to the mystery.

 

An Artificial Night by Seanan McGuire

This is the third book in Seanan McGuire’s October Daye urban fantasy series, which presents a world where Faerie and contemporary human society intersect. October is a changeling, with a background as a private detective, and she does a great job at getting herself into deadly situations. In this book, her Fetch, an exact double named May Daye, appears. Typically, a Fetch is an omen of death,and naturally, it’s disconcerting to have an omen of death following you around,  but May becomes an entertaining and well-developed character. Since there are additional books, I don’t think it’s much of a spoiler to say that October survives the book and May follows her into the next one. McGuire also does a fabulous job writing about doubles and reflections in the two books Indexing and Indexing: Reflections.

 


The Second Lady by Irving Wallace

I first read this political thriller in middle school in the 1980s, and it was slightly more plausible then. It’s a little dated now, but still holds up well, so long as you remember that it does, in fact, take place in the early 1980’s (the most recent president mentioned is Carter) and has absolutely no connection to reality. The premise is that a Soviet intelligence agent discovers an actress, Vera Vavilova, who is almost a perfect physical double of the American First Lady, Billie Bradford. He trains Vera to be a perfect double in every way, good enough to step right into Billie’s shoes at a sensitive time in negotiations between America and the U.S.S.R.  The plot is clunky, but the idea is pretty awesome, and the conclusion is chilling to think about.

 

Stranger With My Face by Lois Duncan

In this YA title, Laurie, who has morphed into a lovely teenage girl over the summer, discovers she is adopted and has a twin who she can reach through astral projection. Of course, no good can come from this. It is creepy as all get out, and if you ever wished for a twin, you won’t do it again after you finish this book.

 


Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Our nameless narrator describes how wealthy widower Maximilian de Winter swept her away from her cares, married her, and took her to his estate, Manderley, leaving her to the tender mercies of the hostile housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers. Mrs. Danvers clearly worshipped Maxim’s first wife, Rebecca, and there is great mystique about her, and mystery about her untimely demise. As her insecurities about her marriage grow, the second Mrs. de Winter becomes increasingly obsessed with Rebecca.

 

The Dark Half by Stephen King

The Dark Half is almost semi-autobiographical. Just about the time it was published, King announced he was retiring his pseudonym, Richard Bachman. In the book, writer Thad Beaumont has been successfully writing gory thrillers under the pseudonym George Stark. When Beaumont decides to kill off George Stark, he does not go gently. Instead, he comes fully to life, and goes on a murderous rampage. This isn’t King’s best book, but it is memorable, and a heck of a story.

 

Dopplegangster by Laura Resnick

This is the second book in the Esther Diamond urban fantasy series (I recommend starting with Disappearing Nightly, the first one). Esther is a different kind of urban fantasy protagonist: she’s an aspiring actress who waitresses part-time at a mob-owned restaurant, hangs out with an ancient magician named Max and a retired wiseguy named Lucky, and she might be involved with the policeman in charge of the Organized Crime Unit. More of an entertainer than a badass, somehow she always ends up entangled in supernatural events. In Doppelgangster, Esther witnesses the murder of a mobster just after an exact double appears in the restaurant she is working in. As more doubles pop up, followed by murders of the originals, Esther and her friends search for the solution to the crimes, ending up in absurd situations along the way. For humor, mystery, and the paranormal, with a touch of romance, you can’t go wrong.

 


The Willow Files, vol. 2 by Yvonne Navarro

This out-of-print book focuses on episodes from the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer that put an emphasis on the character of Willow, and includes the novelization of Doppelgangland, where Willow meets her doppelganger, identical in appearance, but from an alternate dimension in which she is a bored, charismatic, and very evil vampire.

 

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

You can’t go wrong with a classic. Dr. Henry Jekyll experiments on himself with a potion that is supposed to divide him into “good” and “evil” individuals temporarily. Unsurprisingly, Mr. Hyde, his dark and unexpectedly violent alter ego, has no intention of reintegrating with Dr. Jekyll.

 

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Don’t write this off because it has achieved the status of a classic: it is absolutely chilling. Dorian Gray is a young man, angelic in appearance, with an excess of charisma. He’s also selfish and manipulative. An artist in love with Dorian paints an extraordinary portrait of him, which turns out to possess an unsettling quality: it takes on the evidence of age and the ugliness that would otherwise appear in his face, leaving him looking forever young and handsome as he commits more and more unspeakable acts. The portrait, however, becomes a hideous reflection of his true self.

 


Coraline by Neil Gaiman

In this extremely creepy children’s book, Coraline has just moved into a new house with parents that more or less ignore her, and bizarre neighbors nearby. As she explores the house, she finds a door in the wall that leads her to the family of her dreams. They’re almost like her parents, except they’re attentive and loving, and oh yes, they have buttons for eyes. Obviously, no good can come from this. I’m just going to say that the Other Mother, with her button eyes, has always creeped me out– so much so that I had to hide my daughter’s Lalaloopsy doll.