Sourcebooks
My Dearest Darkest by Kayla Cottingham (Paperback)
My Dearest Darkest by Kayla Cottingham (Paperback)
Young Adult Fiction - Horror
Published: 3/29/2022
The Umbrella Academy meets It with a dash of The Craft in this stinging, feminist LGBTQIA+ horror debut about girls claiming their power
Finch Chamberlin is the newest transfer student to the ultra-competitive Ulalume Academy... but she's also not what she seems. Before school started, Finch and her parents got into an accident that should have left her dead. But something monstrous, and ancient, and terrifying, wouldn't let her die. Finch doesn't know why she woke up after her heart stopped, but ever since she's felt a constant pull to the town of Rainwater, like something on the island is calling to her.
Selena St. Clair rules Ulalume Academy. She's careful not to let anyone get too close to her...until she meets Finch. The two girls are instantly drawn to one another, even though Selena fears letting Finch in truly will change everything.
One night Finch, Selena, and her friends accidentally summon a 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?but for a terrible price. 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.
"[A] call back to '90s teen horror movies a la The Craft and The Faculty" — Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"Fans of cult-classic film Jennifer's Body and similar scary tropes will revel in Cottingham's atmospheric, spine-tingling horror-romance" — Booklist
"A sweet, queer romance makes this a good option for genre lovers in search of more diverse characters" — Youth Services Book Review
"Cottingham's debut opens with a gut-wrenching first chapter and doesn't let up, juxtaposing vivid and unsettling horror with Sapphic teenage angst" — Kirkus