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October's Recommended Reads

All books mentioned in this edition of the Great Reads Newsletter are available in the Ocean County Library's OverDrive/Libby Collection and/or in our catalog.

 

On mobile devices you can download the Libby App from the device's app store to browse the OverDrive Collection.

 

For help and support visit the library's help page and click on the Libby by OverDrive tab.

Adult Fiction

I Was a Teenage Slasher

by Stephen Graham Jones


1989, Lamesa, Texas. A small west Texas town driven by oil and cotton—and a place where everyone knows everyone else's business. So it goes for Tolly Driver, a good kid with more potential than application, seventeen, and about to be cursed to kill for revenge. Find yourself rooting for a killer in this summer teen movie of a novel gone full blood-curdling tragic from the perspective of the killer, Tolly, writing his own autobiography.

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Book Cover of Ghost Station by SA Barnes. Cover shows a dark space station with someone in a space suit

Ghost Station

by S.A. Barnes



Psychologist Dr. Ophelia Bray has dedicated her life to the study and prevention of Eckhart-Reiser syndrome (ERS)—the most famous case of which resulted in the brutal murders of twenty-nine people. It's personal to her, and when she's assigned to a small exploration crew who recently suffered the tragic death of a colleague, she wants to help. But as they begin to establish residency on an abandoned planet, it becomes clear that the crew is hiding something. And Ophelia's crewmates are far more interested in investigating the eerie, ancient planet and unraveling the mystery behind the previous colonizers' hasty departure than opening up to her. That is, until their pilot is discovered gruesomely murdered. Is this Ophelia's worst nightmare starting—a wave of violence and mental deterioration from ERS? Or is it something even more sinister?

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Young Adult Fiction

Trespass Against Us

by Leon Kemp


Two years ago, four friends went into the abandoned religious reform school Dominic House.Only three came out.

Riley still bears horrific scars from that night. He doesn't speak to his friends anymore. And he's haunted by the truth: Riley's boyfriend, Ethan, didn't disappear...Something in that house took him. Now, alongside TV's most famous ghost hunter, Jordan Jones, Riley is returning, determined to find out what happened to Ethan. But as the night wears on, Riley realizes he isn't just revisiting the most terrifying night of his life—he's reliving it. And this time, whatever lives in Dominic House will make sure they all stay.


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Book cover of Trespass Against Us by Leon Kemp. Cover has red flowers, broken glass and a face

The Midnight Game

by Cynthia Murphy


When a group of six strangers who have only ever spoken on a creepy Deddit thread decide to meet IRL, they have one plan in mind: they are going to play The Midnight Game and summon the Midnight Man.

Rules of the game are simple: Do not turn on the lights. Do not go to sleep. Do not leave the building.

And once you start the game, you must finish it—there's no other way out...

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Middle Grade Fiction

The Ghostkeeper

by Johanna Taylor


Dorian Leith can see ghosts. Not only that, he listens to their problems and tries to help them move on to the afterlife. It’s a gift that’s made him an outcast to everyone in town. That is except for his dearly departed grandmother, who he’s partnered with to turn this paranormal ability into an honest living, and the local bookshop owner, who seems to be the only non-deceased person willing to give him a chance. Then one day, the key to Death’s Door is stolen, trapping all the ghosts in the land of the living. Since he’s only one who can see them, the spirits rely on Dorian to retrieve the key before it is too late. If they can’t move on, they’ll soon be consumed by a ghostly rot that has begun to plague them.

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Book cover of The Ghostkeeper by Johanna Taylor. Cover depicts main character surrounded by ghosts
Book cover of The In-Between by Rebecca K.S. Ansari. Cover has silhouette of a girl's face with a house at the top, train tracks at the bottom and two figures in the middle

The In-Between

by Rebecca K.S. Ansari


Cooper is lost. Ever since his father left their family three years ago, he has become distant from his friends, constantly annoyed by his little sister, Jess, and completely fed up with the pale, creepy rich girl who moved in next door and won’t stop staring at him. So when Cooper learns of an unsolved mystery his sister has discovered online, he welcomes the distraction. It’s the tale of a deadly train crash that occurred a hundred years ago, in which one young boy among the dead was never identified. The only distinguishing mark on him was a strange insignia on his suit coat, a symbol no one had seen before or since. Jess is fascinated by the mystery of the unknown child— because she’s seen the insignia. It’s the symbol of the jacket of the girl next door.

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Picture Books

Why Did the Monster Cross The Road?

Written by R.L.Stine

Illustrated by Marc Brown


Why did the monster cross the road?

To BITE someone on the other side!

Turn scary to silly with this laugh-out-loud joke book. Hunny and Funny are monster best friends. When Hunny is feeling sad, Funny knows exactly how to cheer up his friend... with laughter!

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Book Cover of Why Did the Monster Cross the Road. Cover includes 3 monsters and a road.
Book Cover of How to Haunt a House. Cover has a spokky house surrounded by ghosts

How to Haunt a House

Written by Carolyn Crimi

Illustrated by Edward Miller


Groana, Moana, and Shrieky are three little ghosties learning the tricks to giving a good scare. They stomp around, spook family pets, and slam toilet seats. They're all set to pass their Halloween test, until they find a family that doesn't scare easily. In fact, they LOVE everything the ghosties send their way-especially the bats and rats! What does it take to horrify a household like this one? Sometimes you have to think outside the box (or casket!) to find a way around a problem.

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Check This Out!

Online Author Talks: A Journey into the Hidden World of Tropical Bats with Scientists from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, October 2 @ 2pm; Bestselling Author Silvia Moreno-Garcia, October 9 @ 7pm; Examining the Truths and Fictions we Tell Ourselves with Lori Gottlieb, October 22 @ 2pm. Orange background with fall leaves
One Book OCL Online Book Club. October 11 - December 13. Current Title: The Last Goodbye by Fiona Lucas
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