The books on this list range in tone from Latinx folklore-derived magical realism to claustrophobic psychological terror but they all feature the uncanny, the surreal, or the supernatural in the form of buildings, women, or both.
Blanca & Roja, White is for Witching, and Other Words for Smoke all feature sets of twins struggling to understand their relationship to each other while being encroached upon by malevolent forces.
Sawkill Girls, The Graveyard Apartment, T and When I Arrived at the Castle explore evil, power, and how it can be attractive and corrosive, be a uniting force for its own destruction, or, unfortunately, win out.
All of them are recommended for the enjoyment of masterful prose and plots that combine to give the reader a uniquely thrilling experience.
Miranda and Eliot Silver are dealing with their mother’s death in different ways. Miranda suffers from an eating disorder and pica, which causes her to want to eat inedible substances, while Eliot is looking for a way out of Dover. Their ancestral house, now a bed & breakfast, contains generational secrets and has a mind of its own, and it may not want to let the children go.
Blanca & Roja, sisters of a cursed family, are determined to escape their fate: one sister in each generation is doomed to transform into a swan. Despite their best efforts, the swans show up to claim their chosen girl. But when the sisters get involved with the troubles of two lost teens, Page Ashby and Barclay Holt, nothing seems like it is inevitable anymore. You can also check out this title as eBook on Overdrive/Libby.
Mae and Rossa are meant to spend an uneventful summer with their Great Aunt Rita while their parents work some things out. But the house has other plans, especially an entity who seems to live in the walls.
Three girls, drawn together on remote Sawkill Rock, are affected in different ways by a bloodthirsty power that inhabits its forest. Val, the heiress of the island, has a long history with it. Zoey knows something is wrong with Val but not what. And Marion, newly arrived with her mother and sister after a tragic loss, only knows that the island makes her feel sick. Together they will discover who they really are and what powers they hold. You can also check out this title as eBook on OverDrive/Libby, as eAudio on OverDrive/Libby or as eAudio on Hoopla.
A young family finds a great deal on an apartment inside a building located next to a graveyard. They believe, despite its isolation, that soon its value will appreciate as the area is developed. Instead, the building draws them into a terrifying experience of horror.
A girl arrives at a castle with a quest in mind. Once she’s inside and faced with the seductive and bloody inhabitant, her resolve weakens.