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Release date: November 8, 2014
Publisher: Flux
Genre: Young Adult psychological horror
ISBN: 0738740802
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Three
of us went in.
Three
of us came out.
None
even a shadow of who they once were.
When their car breaks down in the middle of nowhere, Dee, her
boyfriend Luke, and Luke’s brother, Mike, seek help in the nearby town of
Purity Springs. But as they walk the vacant streets, the teens make some
disturbing discoveries. The seemingly deserted homes each contain a sinister
book with violent instructions on disciplining children. The graveyard is full
of unmarked crosses. Worst of all, there’s no way to contact the outside world.
When Purity Springs’ inhabitants suddenly appear, Dee, Luke, and
Mike find themselves at the mercy of Elijah Hawkins, the town’s charismatic
leader who has his own plans for the three of them. Their only hope for
survival is Elijah’s enigmatic son, Joseph. And his game may be just as deadly
as his father’s . . .
Advance Praise for CREED:
“Debut authors Leaver and Currie make an auspicious foray into YA horror...creating a believably desperate and terrifying situation for their characters" ~Publishers Weekly
"Welcome to a town that makes "Children of the Corn" look like child's play." ~ MTV News
"This is: a straight-ahead, cover-your-ears tale of terror that grows more nihilistic and grueling by the page." ~Booklist
EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT:
A small beam of light
suddenly illuminated the dark room. “Gas can, gas can…there’s gotta be
something useful in here,” Luke muttered to himself.
I flipped open my
cell phone and used the light from my home screen to navigate the edges of the
room. Hooks lined the walls, most of them supporting yard tools. Hedge
trimmers, weed whacker, leaf blower. Pick axe. “Pick axe? What would somebody
need a pick axe for?” I asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe
they use it in the winter when people die and the ground is frozen,” Luke
offered up. I turned to glare at him, not even remotely thankful for his insight.Mike ignored us
and continued rifling through some large plastic bins lining the wall, cursing
as a large cardboard box toppled over onto his feet.
Papers spilled out and Luke bent down, casting
the beam of light across the mess. Dozens of names handwritten in pencil lined
the sheets. Next to each name was a date. I reached down and picked up the
first sheet I touched. It was dated November
fifth … two days ago.
“James McDonald,
age six. Margaret Elizabeth Cunningham, age fifty-four. Sadie Calbert, age
twenty-two,” Luke read aloud. He inhaled sharply and began stuffing the papers
back into the box. “These are…I think these are death records.”
“I can beat that,”
Mike chimed in. “Check this out.”
Luke turned his
light in Mike’s direction, slowly scanning it upwards until a sign came into
view. ‘Purity Springs. Population 152’ it
read. He moved the sign aside, another one, nearly identical, was behind it. “Purity
Springs, Population 151,” Luke read, before shuffling yet another sign aside.
“And looky here,”
Mike said. “This one looks pretty new, not a scratch on it. Says population 149.
That’s messed up.”
Luke shook his
head, grumbling something incoherent under his breath. I stepped aside, forcing
myself to focus on the search for gas as opposed to the archaic death records scattered
across the floor.
My mind flashed
back to the grave we’d passed on the way here. It was new, and I couldn’t help
but wonder if there was a sign hanging on the side of the road somewhere that
now read ‘Purity Springs. Population 148.’
Buy Links:
About the Authors:
Trisha Leaver:
Trisha Leaver graduated from the University of Vermont with a degree in
Social Work. She lives on Cape Cod with her husband, three kids and one rather
irreverent black lab. She is a member of the SCBWI, the Horror Writers
Association, the International Thrillers Writers, and the YA Scream Queens-- a group of nine women who take their horror deathly serious!
About Lindsay Currie: Lindsay Currie graduated from Knox College
in Galesburg, IL with an English Literature degree. She is a member of the
SCBWI, the Horror Writers Association and a contributor to the YA Scream
Queens. Want your YA, NA, or MG book featured on my blog? Contact me here and we'll set it up.
A collaboration book. Very cool. Sounds incredibly spooky too.
ReplyDeleteSpooky is my kind of read. ;)
DeleteWow, Creed promises to be riveting - I'm already nailed! Thanks for sharing, Kelly!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome.
DeleteA very interesting premise and creepy. Reads like a Stephen King story! :)
ReplyDeleteGot to love that!
DeleteWell this sounds like a nail biter! What a premise! I always enjoy a creepy read. :) Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete~Jess
Me too, Jess.
DeleteWow, this story really stands out! What an interesting premise and I love the cover. I have so many books on my TBR but would love to add this sometime early next year.
ReplyDeleteThat's how I feel too. :)
Deletewhoa talk about unique/riveting...I love this!!
ReplyDeleteMe too.
DeleteOkay, the excerpt has me looking over my shoulder.
ReplyDelete;) It does that to you, doesn't it?
DeleteI've seen this around and it looks amazing. I like spooky books.
ReplyDeleteMe too, Medeia.
DeleteQuite a spooky excerpt!
ReplyDeleteAgreed.
DeleteWow, this sounds really spooky.
ReplyDeleteSpooky good! :)
DeleteSounds frightening and good, especially the part about the book on disciplining children in violent ways. Reminds me of some horror films I watched in the 80s-90s.
ReplyDeleteYes, this sounds scary good. :)
Delete