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Sign up todayThe Nightmare House
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Learn moreFrom Sarah Allen, the acclaimed author of What Stars Are Made Of and Breathing Underwater, comes a chilling middle-grade tale of fear, friendship, and finding courage even in the darkest of moments. In this monster story that’s also an allegory for relentless anxiety, see how far a penny’s worth of hope will take you when you enter The Nightmare House.
I saw a person with blank, colorless eyes … and this time, I wasn’t dreaming.
Penny Hope used to be brave, but that was before she met the Fear Maker. Years later, he still haunts her nightmares―a tall, thin man with red eyes, in a haunted house in the woods, who devours human souls and leaves their eyes hollow and empty. Penny’s beloved grandma tells her to write down these nightmares as poems in her notebook. But then Penny starts seeing blank-eyed people in the waking world, too. She’s the only one who notices.
Sarah Allen is the author of What Stars Are Made Of and Breathing Underwater, as well as poems for young readers that have been published in Cicada, The Caterpillar, and elsewhere. Born and raised in Utah, she received an MFA in creative writing from Brigham Young University, and now calls the Midwest home. She spends her nonwriting time watching David Attenborough documentaries and blasting show tunes, which helps keep her Fear Maker at bay. Find her online @sarahallenbooks.
Reviews
“A gorgeous book with scares enough for the brave at heart and heart enough for everyone. I loved every page.”
“Poetic prose and visceral emotion infuse realistic depth into this mood-driven, allegorical portrayal of mental illness.”
“The Nightmare House is timeless, exciting, beautiful, creepy, and above all, full of the hope that lights even the darkest nights.”
“[Penny’s] poems weave their way through the narrative, fortifying Allen’s own lyrical writing and adding to the overall message that strength can be found in words and creativity.”
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