Campfire
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3.6 • 5 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Fans of Scream and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children will devour this "wholly chilling and unputdownable" horror debut (Kerri Maniscalco, New York Times bestselling author).
Be careful what stories you tell around the campfire . . . they just might come true.
While camping in a remote location, Maddie Davenport gathers around the fire with her friends and family to tell scary stories. Caleb, the handsome young guide, shares the local legend of the ferocious Mountain Men who hunt unsuspecting campers and leave their mark by carving grisly antlers into their victims' foreheads.
The next day, the story comes true. Now Maddie and her family are lost in the deep woods -- with no way out -- being stalked by their worst nightmares. Because there were other, more horrifying stories told that night -- and Maddie's about to find out just how they end . . .
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
When 16-year-old Maddie Davenport heads into the Colorado wilderness to camp for a week with family and friends, her biggest fear is looking like a fool in front of their hunky guide, Caleb. She laughs off the scary stories that her aunt and brother tell around the campfire, until Caleb tells a truly terrifying tale about the Mountain People a community of feral men, women, and children who prey on hunters and hikers and carve antlers into their victims' foreheads. Caleb assures Maddie that it's fiction, but the next morning, the group finds antlers emblazoned in red on the side of one of their tents. Shortly thereafter, people begin turning up dead, forcing Maddie and company to question whether the legend is real or if there's a killer in their midst. After an intriguing start, this gory teen horror novel from debut author Sarles succumbs to broadly drawn characters, manufactured drama, and improbable acts of cartoon violence. Unearned twists fuel a plot that feels hastily sketched, and a lack of stakes undercuts the action-packed, blood-soaked conclusion. Ages 15 up.
