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The Waking Dark
(Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read)

Book Cover
Average Rating
Published:
Random House Children's Books 2013
Accelerated Reader:
IL: UG - BL: 5.8 - AR Pts: 19
Lexile measure:
870L
Status:
Available from OverDrive
Description
The Waking Dark is “a horror story worthy of Stephen King” (Booklist) and “a book you won’t soon forget” (Cassandra Clare, author of the Mortal Instruments series)—perfect for readers of Gillian Flynn and Rick Yancey.
 
They called it the killing day. Twelve people murdered, in the space of a few hours, their killers also all dead by their own hand . . . except one. And that one has no answers to offer the shattered town.
 
Something is waking in the sleepy town of Oleander, Kansas—something dark and hungry that lives in the flat earth and the open sky, in the vengeful hearts of its upstanding citizens. As the town begins a descent into blood and madness, five survivors of the killing day are the only ones who can stop Oleander from destroying itself.
 
They have nothing in common. They have nothing left to lose. And they have no way out. Which means they have no choice but to stand and fight, to face the darkness in their town—and in themselves.
“Suspense, chills, gasps—all that and a gem-like writing style that will make you shiver with beauty and horror. A book you won’t soon forget.” —Cassandra Clare, author of the bestselling Mortal Instruments series and Infernal Devices trilogy
“Twisted, pulse-pounding, shocking, and very, very scary. With The Waking Dark, Robin Wasserman conjures vintage Stephen King as she peers into the dark heart of a nightmare America, where violence and evil lurk behind the golden glow of small-town life, and new terrors arrive by the hour. A superb horror story that is by turns visceral and lyrical, heartrending and heart-stopping.” —Libba Bray, bestselling author of the Gemma Doyle trilogy and the Diviners series
 
“This book has the combination of mystery and fright that I love. So many twists and shocks, I nearly jumped out of my chair several times! Trust me—this is a true chiller. Not to be missed!” —R. L. Stine
 
“A thriller dark and beautiful and—yes—achingly romantic at every unexpected twist and turn. Astounding.” —Lauren Myracle, New York Times bestselling author of The Infinite Moment of Us and Bliss
 
“Wild, nihilistic madness that will get true horror fans raising their pitchforks and torches in frenzied glee. Wasserman writes as if hooked up to IVs of Stephen King and John Carpenter's spiked blood.” —Daniel Kraus, author of Rotters and Scowler
"Great dialogue and intriguing subplots add to the action-packed story . . . the suspense doesn’t let up until the final pages." —School Library Journal, Starred Review
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Format:
Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read
Street Date:
09/10/2013
Language:
English
ISBN:
9780375899621
ASIN:
B00BVJG2OM
Accelerated Reader:
UG
Level 5.8, 19 Points
Lexile measure:
870
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Citations
APA Citation (style guide)

Robin Wasserman. (2013). The Waking Dark. Random House Children's Books.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)

Robin Wasserman. 2013. The Waking Dark. Random House Children's Books.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)

Robin Wasserman, The Waking Dark. Random House Children's Books, 2013.

MLA Citation (style guide)

Robin Wasserman. The Waking Dark. Random House Children's Books, 2013.

Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.
Copy Details
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Shared Digital Collection22
Staff View
Grouped Work ID:
08dd8f06-c51e-32c2-ae52-976b7ca877f7
Go To Grouped Work
Needs Update?:
No
Date Added:
Jun 12, 2018 16:31:44
Date Updated:
Jun 12, 2018 16:31:44
Last Metadata Check:
Apr 14, 2024 07:56:25
Last Metadata Change:
Jan 08, 2024 17:37:50
Last Availability Check:
Apr 14, 2024 07:56:28
Last Availability Change:
Jan 17, 2020 14:09:30
Last Grouped Work Modification Time:
Apr 18, 2024 02:10:20

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Knopf Books for Young Readers
publishDate
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title
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fullDescription
The Waking Dark is “a horror story worthy of Stephen King” (Booklist) and “a book you won’t soon forget” (Cassandra Clare, author of the Mortal Instruments series)—perfect for readers of Gillian Flynn and Rick Yancey.
 
They called it the killing day. Twelve people murdered, in the space of a few hours, their killers also all dead by their own hand . . . except one. And that one has no answers to offer the shattered town.
 
Something is waking in the sleepy town of Oleander, Kansas—something dark and hungry that lives in the flat earth and the open sky, in the vengeful hearts of its upstanding citizens. As the town begins a descent into blood and madness, five survivors of the killing day are the only ones who can stop Oleander from destroying itself.
 
They have nothing in common. They have nothing left to lose. And they have no way out. Which means they have no choice but to stand and fight, to face the darkness in their town—and in themselves.
“Suspense, chills, gasps—all that and a gem-like writing style that will make you shiver with beauty and horror. A book you won’t soon forget.” —Cassandra Clare, author of the bestselling Mortal Instruments series and Infernal Devices trilogy
“Twisted, pulse-pounding, shocking, and very, very scary. With The Waking Dark, Robin Wasserman conjures vintage Stephen King as she peers into the dark heart of a nightmare America, where violence and evil lurk behind the golden glow of small-town life, and new terrors arrive by the hour. A superb horror story that is by turns visceral and lyrical, heartrending and heart-stopping.” —Libba Bray, bestselling author of the Gemma Doyle trilogy and the Diviners series
 
“This book has the combination of mystery and fright that I love. So many twists and shocks, I nearly jumped out of my chair several times! Trust me—this is a true chiller. Not to be missed!” —R. L. Stine
 
“A thriller dark and beautiful and—yes—achingly romantic at every unexpected twist and turn. Astounding.” —Lauren Myracle, New York Times bestselling author of The Infinite Moment of Us and Bliss
 
“Wild, nihilistic madness that will get true horror fans raising their pitchforks and torches in frenzied glee. Wasserman writes as if hooked up to IVs of Stephen King and John Carpenter's spiked blood.” —Daniel Kraus, author of Rotters and Scowler
"Great dialogue and intriguing subplots add to the action-packed story . . . the suspense doesn’t let up until the final pages." —School Library Journal, Starred Review
gradeLevels
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      • value: Grade 5
reviews
      • premium: False
      • source: Starred Review, Booklist, August 1, 2013:
      • content: "Wasserman (The Book of Blood and Shadow) delivers an exceptional horror novel that will lead to inevitable (and deserved) Stephen King comparisons... The novel works just as well as mainstream horror as YA, and the ending is both effective and brutal."
      • premium: True
      • source: Publisher's Weekly
      • content:

        Starred review from July 29, 2013
        Wasserman (The Book of Blood and Shadow) delivers an exceptional horror novel that will lead to inevitable (and deserved) Stephen King comparisons. In the isolated Kansas town of Oleander, five people suddenly go on murder sprees, with four of them committing suicide. A year later, five survivors are united when a storm (and later, soldiers) isolate the town: loner Daniel, closeted jock West, newly evangelical Ellie, outcast Jule, and Cassie—the one remaining murderer, who has no recollection of what she did or why. As the days pass, the five grow increasingly aware that everyone else in Oleander is starting to act strange. The characters’ own conflicts—Jule’s family deals meth, West’s parents are homophobic, etc.—help fuel the tension until the insanity really takes over. While the plot isn’t new (see either version of The Crazies), Wasserman juggles a huge cast, intense action, and some truly horrific moments with style and skill. The novel works just as well as mainstream horror as YA, and the ending is both effective and brutal. Ages 14–up. Agent: Barry Goldblatt, Barry Goldblatt Literary.

      • premium: True
      • source: Kirkus
      • content:

        July 15, 2013
        All the kids want out of Oleander, Kan.; few will make it alive. The small, isolated town has horrors in its past. The citizens begin a slow return to the surface on "the day of the killing," when five people with little in common go on a killing spree, and then four of them kill themselves. Teenager Cass, the only surviving murderer, is quickly institutionalized. Just as the town creeps back toward normalcy, an EF5 tornado whips through and destroys a quarter of the buildings and a nearby secret research facility. The U.S. government places the town under quarantine, with complete autonomy within it, and the citizens all begin to act out their worst impulses. As the adults slip into insanity and grab for power (when not killing each other), a small band of teens--gay footballer West, daughter of meth dealers Jule and struggling street-preacher's kid Daniel--fights to survive. When Cass returns to reveal the truth of their situation, they fight to escape. Wasserman's horror/science-fiction blend is ultraviolent in places, ludicrous in others and snooze-inducing in still others. It's a mess of an attempt at Stephen King-style small-town horror, undermined by an unrealistic and basically uninteresting portrayal of the classic breakdown of civilization amid a too-large cast. Skippable in the extreme. (Horror. 17 & up)

        COPYRIGHT(2013) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

      • premium: True
      • source: School Library Journal
      • content:

        Starred review from July 1, 2013

        Gr 9 Up-This contemporary thriller opens on an ordinary Tuesday afternoon in a small town in Kansas, when five people with no connection to one another inexplicably commit murders and then kill, or attempt to kill, themselves. This becomes known as "the killing day," and no one has an explanation for it. The dark story is told from the perspectives of five teenagers, each of whom suffers in a different way due to the crimes, but it's nearly a year before their linked lives truly converge. After a devastating tornado, the entire town is quarantined and the adults are descending into violent madness. The five teens seem to be the only ones who realize something terrible is happening; they struggle both to stay alive and unravel what's really going on and who is responsible. While the number of protagonists can be confusing at times, their alternating stories are all compelling. Great dialogue and intriguing subplots add to the action-packed story, which will have readers frantically flipping pages. Wasserman sustains a truly spooky mood throughout, and the suspense doesn't let up until the final pages.-Sunnie Lovelace, Wallingford Public Library, CT

        Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

      • premium: True
      • source: Booklist
      • content:

        Starred review from August 1, 2013
        Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* It's Lord of the Flies on steroids! One strange day 12 people are murdered, all by relatives, friends, or neighborsthe most unlikely of suspects. No one, including 18-year-old Cass, who murdered the toddler she was babysitting, knows why. Soon after, a terrible tornado ravages the town and removes all semblances of law and order. Anarchy rules; far too many adults and role models revert to their basest instincts. An unlikely band of teens reluctantly joins forces to plot escape: Jule, part of the meth-dealing Prevette clan; West, golden boy (but gay) football jock; sweet, unassuming Daniel; Ellie King, self-prescribed evangelist dubbed saint by the deacon during the strange times; Cass; and Gracie, the sister of the murdered toddler. This is a horror story worthy of Stephen King. Wasserman's tightly woven plot arouses our darkest fearsa government (or private industry) experimenting on its citizens, contemporary witch hunts that remind us of our Puritan heritage, and natural disasters that destroy basic infrastructure including communication systems. Her characters are antiheroes, seeking to hold themselves in check and fearing that they, or anyone around them, can suddenly become the monster they are trying to escape. It's a violent, edgy, well-written, and foreboding novel, so realistic that readers can only hope it's simply fiction.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)

      • premium: True
      • source: The Horn Book
      • content:

        January 1, 2014
        Oleander, Kansas, is devastated first by a day of murder-suicides, then by a tornado; things only get worse as the townspeople become inexplicably violent. Five teens touched by "the killing day" unwillingly come together to protect each other. Suspenseful action viewed from multiple perspectives keeps the tension high in this (somewhat implausible) Stephen Kingesque story of darkness lurking within a small town.

        (Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

popularity
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shortDescription
The Waking Dark is “a horror story worthy of Stephen King” (Booklist) and “a book you won’t soon forget” (Cassandra Clare, author of the Mortal Instruments series)—perfect for readers of Gillian Flynn and Rick Yancey.
 
They called it the killing day. Twelve people murdered, in the space of a few hours, their killers also all dead by their own hand . . . except one. And that one has no answers to offer the shattered town.
 
Something is waking in the sleepy town of Oleander, Kansas—something dark and hungry that lives in the flat earth and the open sky, in the vengeful hearts of its upstanding citizens. As the town begins a descent into blood and madness, five survivors of the killing day are the only ones who can stop Oleander from destroying itself.
 
They have nothing in common. They have nothing left to lose. And they have no way out. Which means they have no choice but...
sortTitle
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      • value: Best Fiction for Young Adults
publisher
Random House Children's Books
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      • description: Young Adult Fiction / Action & Adventure / Survival Stories
      • code: YAF026000
      • description: Young Adult Fiction / Horror
      • code: YAF062000
      • description: Young Adult Fiction / Thrillers & Suspense