The Wicked Unseen
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
The new girl in town is having trouble fitting into a community that believes there’s a secret Satanic cult conducting rituals in the woods. When her crush goes missing, she starts to wonder if the town’s obsession with evil isn’t covering up something far worse. Perfect for fans of Fear Street!
From the moment Audre arrives in rural Pennsylvania, it’s clear she won’t fit in. After all, her nose ring, her horror movie obsession, and her family’s Ouija board collection aren’t likely to endear her to a town convinced there’s a secret Satanic cult conducting rituals in the nearby woods.
When the preacher’s daughter and Audre’s crush, Elle, goes missing on Halloween weekend, the town is quick to point fingers in Audre’s direction. With the cops busy harassing her family for being nonbelievers and everyone else convinced demons are to blame, Audre realizes she might be the only person who can find her friend.
But the deeper Audre digs, the weirder it gets. Has Elle fallen victim to a Satanic ritual, or is the town’s obsession with the occult covering up something even more sinister?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A queer teen investigates her crush's mysterious disappearance in this hair-raising, 1996–set horror novel by Griffis (The Empress). High schooler Audre Weaver and her family have just moved from Brooklyn to a small Pennsylvania town when she promptly falls head over heels for Elle, the daughter of a local hellfire-and-brimstone preacher. While attending one of his sermons, eager to catch sight of Elle, Audre learns of the town's all-encompassing fear of dark forces and demonic influences. After Elle vanishes under cryptic circumstances and her bloodied clothing is found in the woods, the community erupts into hysteria. Citizens immediately target Audre's secular family, whom the townspeople see as irreverent outsiders, accusing them of using Elle as a Satanic human sacrifice. Audre's author father's research into occult happenings for his forthcoming book heightens the townspeople's suspicions, resulting in her father's detainment. With the help of new friends, Audre must uncover the truth behind Elle's disappearance before whatever happened to Elle comes for Audre's family next. The antagonists sometimes read as cartoonish, sapping tension during pivotal scenes. Still, Griffis captures the reality of this 1980s and '90s cultural moment with eerie resonance, and brisk pacing paired with clever mystery elements deliver. Most characters cue as white. Ages 12–up.
