1 of 3 copies available
Thirteen-year-old Ben is sent to an isolated reform program for troubled teens by a juvenile court judge. But when he arrives at the camp, located on the edge of the vast wilderness of northwestern Montana, he immediately recognizes that there is something weird about the counselors. They're too friendly and upbeat...yet Ben can tell there's an undercurrent of menace.
As he gets to know the boys in his cabin, he soon discovers that they each have far more going for them than whatever crime landed them there. And each has a different critical skill, one that could help them unearth what is really going on in this place—and how to make it out alive. They are inching ever closer to the truth, but the hidden evil beneath the camp's surface will make itself known in order to deter them. Brooding, clever, and sinister, Wilderness Reform will keep you "in a vice-grip until the very end" (Matt Wesolowski, author of the Six Stories series).
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
July 2, 2024 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781797178912
- File size: 396350 KB
- Duration: 13:45:43
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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June 24, 2024
The Query brothers follow Old Country with another spine-tingling suspense novel, this time centered on a wilderness reform school. In Lafitte, La., 13-year-old Ben Thibodaux is arrested for robbing a gas station with a fake gun. Rather than sending Ben to juvenile detention—where he’d happily reunite with several friends—a judge ships him to Bear Springs Academy in Montana. Ben’s fierce objections to being sent away grow more pronounced when he arrives and gets strange vibes from the program director, Reid, and the counselors assigned to whip Ben into shape. While learning to fly fish and build fires, Ben forms alliances with other boys in his cabin, many of whom also sense unease beneath their counselors’ placid smiles. After former campers warn Ben and his new friends that there’s evil coursing through the camp, the boys prepare to fight an otherwordly enemy. While the setup is familiar and the pacing is leisurely, the Querys set themselves apart with sterling prose (a muffled scream sounds “like the mountains themselves threw a wet, lead blanket over chaos”) and three-dimensional characters. Not every reader will stick around until the action heats up, but supernatural thriller fans will find plenty to enjoy. Agent: Liz Parker, Verve Talent & Literary. -
September 13, 2024
After 13-year-old Ben's latest brush with the law, he is sent to a wilderness camp in Montana meant to reform troubled teens. When he arrives, he finds that his court-ordered time at camp isn't as awful as expected. He spends his time reading books from the library and bonding with his new cabinmates. Even so, something definitely feels off. The counselors are excessively, even troublingly, happy, and the other campers are changing, too. Can the cabin residents, each with their own skills, band together to uncover the truth about this camp? Todd Menesses narrates the Query brothers' sophomore novel (after Old Country), a horror story that starts with a slow burn and crescendos into a heart-pounding, terrifying ending. Menesses employs varying accents and character voices to differentiate the many characters, all the while communicating the creeping dread infused throughout. As the book hurtles toward its dramatic conclusion, listeners will be unable to stop listening. VERDICT Supernatural horror and summer camp folklore make for a thrilling and entertaining ride. Recommended for fans of Nick Cutter's The Troop or Chuck Tingle's Camp Damascus.--Elyssa Everling
Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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