Chase Talks About "Meddling Kids," a Horror Novel by Edgar Cantero

Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero

Synopsis:

Author Edgar Cantero’s story might be familiar to anyone who has watched a cartoon in the last four decades - A group of “meddling kids” (as the title refers) and their dog spend their summers in a small community solving elaborate crimes committed by someone in a rubber monster mask. What if, though, their final mystery left behind unanswered questions and some real-life monsters?

The “Case of the Sleepy Lake Creature” had been solved during the summer of 1977. The kids of the Blyton Hills Detective Club made the front page of the Blyton Hills, OR newspaper standing in front of the Deboën Mansion with the unmasked criminal. However, the real mystery of the mansion laid masked for thirteen years after leader Peter, brainy Kerri (and her Weimaraner Sean), tomboy Andy, and nerdy Nate split up the club and seemingly moved on with their lives.

Now 1990, Andy decides it’s time to bring the gang back together, tracking down Kerri plus Tim, a direct descendent of her previous dog, Sean, in New York City and breaking Nate out of an insane asylum. It would seem that deceased Peter would be missing except for Nate seeing and speaking to his ghost. The former detective club returns to the town of their summer vacations to confront real life monsters and their own demons one last time in the haunted Deboën Mansion.

Horror Elements in Meddling Kids:

·      The story builds up to the first, ominous meeting of monsters, blob-like creatures with multiple

            arms and sharp teeth.

·      Graphic language may be jarring particularly if the reader is expecting a continuation based on Scooby-Doo.

·      The settings are described in rich detail particularly Blyton Hills and the interior of Deboën Mansion.

·      Supernatural elements of magic and necromancy pervade the story line.

·      The ending is rather vague implying there may be more to come for the characters considering the reveal in the last few pages.

·      Distinctive writing style that uses traditional third person narrative, script-like passages with stage direction, and breaking of the fourth wall.

Read-Alikes:

·      The Supernatural Enhancements by Edgar Cantero

o   Same author using similar writing style

o   Supernatural presence

o   Rich settings

·      The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove by Christopher Moore

o   Witty premise with quirky characters

o   Monsters

o   Dark humor

·      Scooby Apocalypse by Jim Lee/Keith Giffen

o   Nostalgia (similar premise)

o   Dark humor

o   Monsters

"'Meddling Kids' is that rarest of things: a brilliant idea wedded to beautiful and perfectly-pitched execution — this juxtaposition of primary-colored cartoon nostalgia with some seriously dark trauma-survivor subtext." - NPR Reviews

Chase Talks About Different Styles of Book Reviews

I am one of those rare people that prefers to read eBooks over print books. The smell of books and turning the pages don't mean that much to me. With that in mind, I have poured through a few online eBook catalogs and through the Kindle store on Amazon. I cannot remember when I came across eBook only titles, but I was kind of fascinated by them. To me, they were similar to the cheap supermarket books we would keep on a shelf at my library where people came in and swapped out a handful with their own as they took a handful. The people that read these stories are looking for something light and easy to read. If they don't like it, they move on to another one. Therefore, I don't think reviews are all that necessary for eBook only titles when it comes to collection development. It's more important to have that virtual shelf stocked with these easy, breezy stories.

Heavy reviewed books like Angela's Ashes are titles that a librarian will look at to determine if it's worthy of the collection and library stakeholders. I feel that librarians look at reviews more than their patrons do. From my experience, patrons find titles through other means such as the morning TV breakfast shows, Oprah, word of mouth, hype, etc. If they do consult book reviews, it's usually from sources like People magazine where reviews typically aren't that in-depth or negative. Plot, subject matter, and author appeal more to patrons so it doesn't matter if a review source only publishes well-reviewed books or not to them. 

For my own personal reading, I do look at reviews on Amazon. I personally like to read the negative reviews because it's easier for me to determine what I don't like in a story. If I survive that process, I will look at the good reviews, but I don't scrutinize them as much. However, if the book is on a subject I really enjoy, then the reviews don't matter to me one way or the other.

Chase Talks About "How to Survive a Summer" Kirkus Style

“I learned the past is not the past, a lump of time you can quarantine and forget about, but a reel of film in your brain that keeps on rolling, spooling and unspooling itself regardless of whether or not you are watching.”

The release of a horror movie based off his summer at a gay conversion camp in southern Mississippi sets Will Dillard on a road trip to confront a time he would rather forget in Nick White’s How to Survive a Summer.

 As a child, he had to come with terms with his sexuality among the influences of his heavily religious father. Will, himself, wants to be right with God. When some relatives appear after his mother’s death, they bring with them the promise of a “pray the gay away” camp called Camp Levi in a place called the Neck, where his mother spent her younger years. Not surprisingly, the camp is no picnic as his aunt, uncle, and two converted camp counselors use unconventional practices to help the campers overcome their homosexuality. Eventually, this leads to the death of one of the campers.

In the present, Will is a grad student in film studies who is unable to make connections with the people in his life as news of a horror movie produced by one of the other campers is about to release. Unable to face the film based off his life, Will travels to face his demons in person. The journey for Will and the readers becomes slow as the promise of a big payoff looms in the distance.

Several interesting factors (the timely topic of conversion therapy, horror movies, southern ways of life, etc.) are all great ingredients, but they never come to together to bake a satisfying cake.

Chase Talks About Secret Shopping & Readers' Advisory

My experience as a secret shopper at a medium-sized library one Saturday afternoon did not go so well. I was directed to a specific staff member because that staff member "liked to read a lot." I mentioned that I was new to reading mysteries and needed some suggestions. I was taken directly to the new mystery book shelf and told that would be a great place to start. I felt like I was about to lose her so I mentioned that I wanted a whodunit type of book with dark humor. She picked up on the keyword "dark" and suggested Stephen King and another well known author, both of whom are dark but not necessarily in the murder mystery genre. I described the tone I was looking for by relating the plot of the movie Heathers to her, and it didn't seem to be of any help.

At that point, I was taken to the OPAC and given instructions on how to use the advanced search features to narrow down what I was looking for. I told her I would give it a try, and she walked away offering to give any further help if I needed it. She disappeared without making sure I found anything of interest.

I wasn't all that surprised with this interaction because something similar happened to me on a reference assignment for another class. They were more concerned with teaching me how to find things on my own, but I was not given any in-depth, professional knowledge on the nuisances of doing so.

Chase Talks About Things He Found Using NoveList

1. The Lunatic Café is the fourth book in the Anita Blake series. I chose this naturally because it is the fourth book in the series.
2. I chose Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood because both titles have the same lyrical and descriptive writing style as well a thought-provoking tone. However, the book by Atwood is faster paced than the one mentioned. The patron didn't mention any plot elements, so I essentially went off those aspects.
3. The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery might be a good selection for this patron. It is set in Japan in the 19th century. The writing style is described as descriptive, which covers many of the traditions Japan is known for.
4. I would suggest Deborah Crombie's books. Her writing seems to be closer to Elizabeth George's than John Sandford's. Both of these writers write intricate plots but are leisurely paced. Their tone is also similar in that they have a strong sense of place and suspense.
5. The Passage by Justin Cronin is the first book in a series about a virus that creates blood-thirsty vampires. Although it's not about zombies, it is still in the apocalyptic/horror genre as The Walking Dead and World War Z. This novel is character driven as are the other two works while offering the bleak and suspenseful tones.
6. Andre Aciman's Call Me by Your Name is a little bit out of the five year period suggested. However, this novel is set in the 80s but doesn't seem so dated. The novel is impeccably and stylistically written in from both character and the setting perspective. The movie is currently in theaters and has been nominated for an Oscar. 
7. Mary Higgins Clark is the way to go with this one. I thing a good number of librarians would immediately jump to her. I would also suggest a local author, Lori Rader-Day, who has won the Mary Higgins Clark award for Little Pretty Things in 2016.

I'm pretty much up on the types of books I like to read, which as I have mentioned before is mainly non-fiction, pop culture based books. I always look at Entertainment Weekly's book review section since they cover a lot of that area. If I'm looking for fiction, I tend to do subject searches in the Overdrive catalog or look at Amazon suggestions based off of other things I've ordered or looked at.

Chase Talks About the Thriller "The Chalk Man" by C.J. Tudor

"A swift, cleverly plotted debut novel that ably captures the insular, slightly sinister feel of a small village. Children of the 1980s will enjoy the nostalgia." - Kirkus Reviews

The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor

Synopsis:

The past comes back to haunt Eddie Adams in The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor after a mysterious letter shows up in his mailbox. Its contents, a crayon-drawn stick man strung up by a noose and a single piece of white chalk, brings back memories of the summer of 1986 with his friends, Fat Gav, Metal Mickey, Hoppo, and lone girl Nicky - a summer that shatters their innocent lives.

As children, the gang of friends developed a system of secretly communicating with each other around their English town of Anderbury using chalk drawn stick figures. Innocent as their drawing seem, their stick men suddenly start appearing at the scenes of death including a headless body of a girl in the woods. The suicide of a local teacher with whom the girl was close to gives to the assumption that her murder has been solved.

Alternating between 1986 and 2016, the now 42 year-old Eddie is once again haunted by the chalk men as one of his friends ends up dying under mysterious circumstances. Can he find the answers in his childhood memories? Does his much younger border, Chloe, have something she’s hiding?

This thrilling tale takes many twists and turns before Eddie’s past and present collide in one last confrontation with evil.

Thriller Elements in The Chalk Man:

·      The mystery at the center of the story is revealed in pieces and gives the appeal of solving a puzzle.

·      The plot hinges on an elaborate narrative ripe for cinematic value.

·      Eddie is a typical thriller protagonist: sympathetic but flawed, unable to trust the people in his life, and follows his own moral patterns, which leads to a few twists in the book.

·      Plot elements bring in several social and moral topics such as abortion and extremem religion.

·      The protagonist finds himself dealing with various secrets and betrayals as story elements are revealed to him and the reader.

·      The ultimate villain (or villains?) represent the bad side of nature in the battle of good and evil.

·      The tone is dark and gray.

Read-Alikes:

·      It by Stephen King

o   Nostalgia (past vs. present, childhood vs. adulthood)

o   Dark

o   Setting (small town)

·      Killing Time by Linda Howard

o   Nostalgia (past vs. present)

o   Convoluted plot

o   Setting (small town)

·      Grist Mill Road by Christopher J. Yates

o   Nostalgia (past vs. present)

o   Setting (small town)

o   Intricate plot (twists & turns)

Chase Talks About His Reading Profile

My favorite types of books are nonfiction books about pop culture. Specifically, I enjoy books related to TV shows, movies, music, etc. Not too long ago, I read a couple coffee table-style books about the making of the original A Nightmare on Elm Street movie and the entire Friday the 13th series: Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy by Thommy Hutson and Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete Friday the 13th History by Peter M. Bracke. Both books are great examples of the type of nonfiction I am drawn to. I am fascinated by the trivia, behind the scenes stories, and mechanics of something with which I am familiar. These two books were done in a collective narrative structure coming from multiple participants in both movies. I love this type of format especially because this narrative structure manages to hit the same types of appeal factors that a fiction book would over a book just listing the facts.

A few years ago, I read Jim Henson: The Biography by Brian Jay Jones, which helped me discover a new level of reading nonfiction. The book spanned the life, career, and death of Muppet creator Jim Henson with strong emphasis on his work. Each time I read about something he had created whether it be early avant-garde commercials, familiar Muppet moments, or other works I would stop and watch those moments on a myriad of streaming services. In other words, technology and the resources it makes available to us has made me appreciate reading nonfiction even more as I feel more active in the process. (I suppose this would be similar to someone reading a Harry Potter book and then watching the corresponding movie.) I had a similar experience reading The Facts of My Life by Charlotte Rae who starred as “Mrs. Garrett” on the 80s TV show The Facts of Life. I was able to explore the life and career of one of my favorite actresses in a way that enriched her story and brought it to life for me. I will also say that it’s a great way to prolong a book that you don’t want to end.

My preferences in fiction books are to pin down because I cannot pick up any discernible pattern in my reading habits in this area. I have to feel that a book will have some meaning for me, so I am not apt to just grab something to read. My love for horror movies is a known fact, but it would be a misnomer to say that the horror genre would appeal to me. It is hard to find one where the pacing is as exciting as the movies are to me. I will definitely be reviewing the horror genre for this blog in an attempt to connect with it. One of my good friends from high school, Lori Rader-Day, has had three mystery novels published and another one on the way. Through interest in her work, I have been able to get a taste of the mystery genre.

Finally, I do enjoy graphic novels from time to time. The classic Smurf graphic novels are a favorite. The Franco-Belgian style of comics, as are the Smurfs, is one that is not rivaled anywhere in the world, and it is an area of graphic novels that I have a growing interest in. In the past, I have read some of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Afterlife with Archie graphic novels. More recently, I have enjoyed the series Scooby Apocalypse, which reimagines the Scooby Doo gang in a post-apocalyptic world as the title suggests.