My Dearest Darkest: Sapphic Horror

*Bustle Best Book of March 2022*Buzzfeed Highly Anticipated YA Novel*Lambda Literary Most Anticipated LGBTQIA+*BookRiot Best New Dark Academia YA BookWilder Girls meets The Craft in this Sapphic horror debut that asks: what price would you be willing to pay to achieve your deepest desires?Finch Chamberlin is the newest transfer student to the ultra-competitive Ulalume Academy... but she's also not what she seems. Months before school started, Finch and her parents got into an accident that should have left her dead at the bottom of the river. But something monstrous, and ancient, and terrifying, wouldn't let her drown. Finch doesn't know why she woke up after her heart stopped, but since dying she's felt a constant pull from the school and the surrounding town of Rainwater, like something on the island is calling to her.Selena St. Clair sees right through Finch, and she knows something is seriously wrong with her. But despite Selena's suspicion, she feels drawn to Finch and has a sinking feeling that from now on the two will be inexplicably linked to one another.One night Finch, Selena, and her friends accidentally summon a carnivorous creature of immense power in the depths of the school. It promises to grant every desire the girls have kept locked away in their insecure hearts―beauty, power, adoration―in exchange for a price: human body parts. But as the cost of their wanting becomes more deadly, Finch and Selena must learn to work together to stop the horror they unleashed, before it consumes the entire island.

From School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up-Teen music prodigy Finch is the sole survivor of a brutal car accident that drowned both of her parents and left her with a shock of white hair and lingering questions about how she survived. Now attending the prestigious Ulalume Academy, Finch is haunted by ominous portents: shimmering pockets of air, sightings of an eight-eyed stag, and an insistent pull coming from the sewer tunnels near the school. Finch eventually forms a friendship with her roommate, Sumera, and a prickly connection to quintessential mean girl Selena St. Clair that deepens into an attraction. During a tunnel party one night, Finch, Selena, and Selena's cadre of popular friends accidentally free Nerosi, a translucent spirit who initially grants them wishes and seems benevolent, but quickly turns sinister and cannibalistic. As Finch and Selena uncover more disturbing information about Nerosi's origins and ultimate plans, they realize that they will need to band together to stop her. Although the dialogue in the first few chapters feels choppy and stereotypical (particularly for Selena), this resolves as Selena's characterization deepens, and Cottingham succeeds in crafting a truly inventive, gruesome horror story that fans of blood and gore will relish. The romance is also sure to be a selling point. Finch grapples with her growing attraction to Selena and her own internalized homophobia, but her conflict is portrayed realistically and ends in a positive, affirming way. Finch and Selena are white, while one of Selena's friends is described as Asian and Sumera, who is an Arab raised in England, wears a hijab. VERDICT A first purchase where strong, bloody horror is in demand. Recommended for fans of Katrina Leno.-Catherine Coteα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"[A] call back to '90s teen horror movies a la The Craft and The Faculty"

Booklist

"Fans of cult-classic film Jennifer’s Body and similar scary tropes will revel in Cottingham’s atmospheric, spine-tingling horror-romance"

Youth Services Book Review

"A sweet, queer romance makes this a good option for genre lovers in search of more diverse characters"

Missouri River Regional Library

"The tenacity of youth, love, and friendship go to war with the horrors that create nightmares and it really is uncertain who will end up the winner"

Kirkus

"Cottingham’s debut opens with a gut-wrenching first chapter and doesn’t let up, juxtaposing vivid and unsettling horror with Sapphic teenage angst"

Publishers Weekly

"A spine-tingling thrill ride that calls on classic prep school dynamics and eerie gothic imagery"

School Library Journal

"Cottingham succeeds in crafting a truly inventive, gruesome horror story that fans of blood and gore will relish"

About the Author

Kayla Cottingham is a YA author and librarian. Originally from Salt Lake City, Utah, Kayla lives in Boston where she loves to go hiking in the woods, pet any and all dogs, and play RPGs. She is passionate about connecting young people with books featuring diverse voices so they can see themselves and their communities represented on the page. My Dearest Darkest is her debut novel.

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