Award-winning author Sarah L. Thomson has published more than twenty-five books for young readers. Her young adult titles include Dragon's Egg (Junior Literary Guild Premier Selection and Maine Lupine Award winner, 2007), The Dragon's Son, which Booklist called a spellbinding tale of love, intrigue, and betrayal, The Manny (worthy of Jane Austen, according to the Washington Post), The Secret of the Rose, and The Young Reader's Edition of Three Cups of Tea (a New York Times bestseller). A former children's book editor for HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster, she now lives and writes in Portland, Maine.
Paranormal mystery meets family drama in a fictionalized,
modernized exploration of a historical suspected vampire tragedy.
Over 100 years after the Mercy Brown vampire incident in Exeter,
R.I., Mercy's fictional modern relative re-opens the case. Haley, a
14-year-old doing a family-history project for school, picks Mercy
not just because of the fame of the case or that she was an alleged
vampire, but because of her own grieving. Along with the stresses
of fitting into a new family structure her parents are divorced,
bringing a stepmother and 2-year-old half-brother into her life she
also grieves the looming death of her terminally ill, favorite
cousin, Jake, whose medical mystery no doctor has been able to
diagnose or treat. A mysterious, standoffish older relative, Aunt
Brown, provides a family tree and haunted glove that serve as
evidence and a way to connect with the ghosts of the family's
past...Thomson (Dragon's Egg, 2010, etc.) generally writes a
likable and appealing lead character, capturing both Haley's grief
over her family and her difficulties finding where she fits into
their lives.- Kirkus Review
Disturbing historical events serve as the inspiration behind Sarah
L.Thomson's latest book "Mercy, The Last New England Vampire."
Unlike the romanticized vampires in much popular fiction, Thompson
explores the more chilling side of vampires from old New England
folklore and superstition in this spooky middle-grade novel with
surprising depth.Thomson creates a spectacularly creepy and
suspenseful mood for the book...The general increase in tension
makes the short book move very quickly, keeping it engaging for
reluctant readers. With so many vampire/paranormal books available,
comparison to everything from Twilight to Goosebumps could be made,
but Thomson avoids becoming hackneyed or trite by simply being
authentic in her paranormal elements and her characters. The
traditional New England vampire, along with the rather gruesome
ritual associated with Mercy, are truly different and are
inherently darker than some fabricated stories. ...[Haley's]
struggles to cope with change, death, and everyday challenges
capture what many readers will deal with, grounding the horror and
fantasy elements and giving her a bit more depth.With "Mercy," the
accomplished, award-winning Thomson has another title that will
strongly entice readers.ForeWord Book Reviews
"Thomson brings an historical bent to the very popular vampire
theme. New England s battle with tuberculosis was an extremely
frightening time, as no one could yet explain how the disease
traveled or why certain people fell ill. Thomson seamlessly merges
the historical and the chilling in this short tale. Chapters
alternating between Haley and Mercy s viewpoints take readers
through the generations, as Mercy searches for a way to finally
stop her undead sister s murderous ways. Teens sick of the
paranormal trope, yet still looking for supernatural chills, will
enjoy this unique new take on the vampire and reluctant readers
will enjoy its concise length. School and public libraries could
enhance several facets of their collections with this title."--
VOYA
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