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Title details for Direwood by Catherine Yu - Available

Direwood

by Catherine Yu
Cindy Kay
Audiobook
97 of 97 copies available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
97 of 97 copies available
In this velvet-clad 1990s gothic horror, Aja encounters a charming vampire who wants to lure her into the woods—just like her missing sister.
No one ever pays attention to sixteen-year-old Aja until her perfect older sister Fiona goes missing. In the days leading up to Fiona's disappearance, Aja notices some extraordinary things: a strange fog rolling through their idyllic suburban town, a brief moment when the sky seems to rain blood, and a host of parasitic caterpillars burrowing their way through the trees. Aja's father, the neighbors, and even her ex-friend Mary all play down this strange string of occurrences, claiming there must be some natural explanation. It seems everyone is willing to keep living in denial until other teens start to go missing too.
Aja is horrified when she meets Padraic, the vampire responsible for all the strange occurrences. His hypnotic voice lures her to the window and tells her everything she's longed to hear—she's beautiful and special, and he wants nothing more than for Aja to come with him. Aja knows she shouldn't trust him, but she's barely able to resist his enthrallment. And following him into the woods may be the only way to find Fiona, so she agrees on one condition: He must let her leave alive if she is not wooed after one week. Though Aja plans to kill him before the week is out, Padraic has his own secrets as well.
In the misty woods, Aja finds that Padraic has made his nest with another vampire in a dilapidated church infested by blood-sucking butterflies. Within its walls, the vampires are waited on and entertained by other children they've enthralled, but there is no sign of Fiona. Before her bargain is up, Aja must find a way to turn her classmates against their captors, find her sister, and save them all—or be forced to join the very monsters she wants to destroy.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    September 20, 2022

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9798765027011
      • File size: 240656 KB
      • Duration: 08:21:21

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      July 11, 2022
      In Yu’s chilling horror debut, set in the late 1990s, 16-year-old Chinese American Aja’s older sister Fiona goes missing just after Fiona’s 17th birthday. Soon, three more teenagers vanish from their insular, predominantly white neighborhood in Glen Hills, Mich. Aja, who’s “tired of being the younger version of my sister, the worse version, always falling short by comparison,” connects the disappearances to two events: the sudden and inexplicable emergence of white caterpillars with sharp teeth burrowing into and infecting the neighborhood’s trees, and strangely inclement weather patterns, which include blood rain and an impenetrable fog. Lured by a mysterious, “sweeter than honey” voice outside her window, Aja meets Padraic, an alluring vampire whom she believes took her sister. Hoping to rescue Fiona, Aja agrees to spend seven nights with him in the old, abandoned church in the woods. Yu carefully balances gory horror and vampire mysticism with the protagonist’s desire for independence. Aja’s gradual realization that Fiona’s life isn’t as perfect as she’d assumed, elevated by a riveting paranormal romance and enduring
      sisterhood, make for an eerie tale that thoughtfully contemplates fitting in amid societal pressures. Ages 14–up. Agent: Erin Clyburn, Jennifer De Chiara Literary.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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