Creed

Debut authors Leaver and Currie make an auspicious foray into YA horror. Seventeen-year-old Dee’s plan to surprise her boyfriend, Luke, on their second anniversary goes horribly wrong. Their upstate New York getaway takes a nightmarish turn when they run out of gas and must walk to the eerily deserted town of Purity Springs, where, naturally, there’s no cell-phone reception. Along with Luke’s younger brother, they explore the town and are eventually confronted by a boy named Joseph, the son of a local cult leader, who needs their help to free his younger sister so they can escape the isolated town together. After Elijah isolates Dee from the boys and reveals his intentions to make her his wife, Dee must decide how far she will go to save others from torture and death. The authors create a believably desperate and terrifying situation for their characters, and Dee’s history of physical and sexual abuse adds another layer of terror to this suspenseful and sporadically gory thriller. Ages 12–up. Agent: (for Leaver) Kevan Lyon, Marsal Lyon Literary Agency; (for Currie) Kathleen Rushall, Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. (Nov.)