Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey

Formats - Print, digital, audio

Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers

Genre: Dark Fantasy, Monster, Myth and Folklore

Audience: Y/A

Diversity: Māori characters, Black character, Chinese New Zealander character, asexual character, mentally ill character

Takes Place in: New Zealand

Content Warnings: Homophobia, Racism, Incest, Gore, Violence, Death, Sexual Assault, Rape (nothing graphic or "on screen"), Gaslighting, Body Shaming, Cannibalism, Sexism, Abelism, Mental Illness, Illness, Physical Abuse, Natural Disaster (Highlight to view)


Blurb:

Seventeen-year-old Ellie Spencer is just like any other teenager at her boarding school. She hangs out with her best friend, Kevin; she obsesses over Mark, a cute and mysterious bad boy; and her biggest worry is her paper deadline. But then everything changes. The news headlines are all abuzz about a local string of killings that share the same morbid trademark: the victims were discovered with their eyes missing. Then a beautiful yet eerie woman enters Ellie's circle of friends and develops an unhealthy fascination with Kevin, and a crazed old man grabs Ellie in a public square and shoves a tattered Bible into her hands, exclaiming, "You need it. It will save your soul." Soon, Ellie finds herself plunged into a haunting world of vengeful fairies in an epic battle for immortality. Debut author Karen Healey introduces a savvy and spirited heroine with a fresh, strong voice. Full of deliciously creepy details, this incredible adventure is a deftly crafted story of Māori mythology, romance, and betrayal.

Reading any Y/A adult book with romance and a female lead is always a crapshoot; you get Hunger Games, or you could end up with a literary trash heap of sexism and poorly written teenagers (*cough* Twilight *cough*). There are SO many awful young adult books out there, and even the better written ones can still fall into the all-too-common trap of making the otherwise badass heroine a lovesick damsel with bad judgment. Even if the female lead manages not to turn into a teen stereotype, the other female characters may still turn into one-dimensional romantic rivals. Plus, I just hate romantic books.

So you can imagine my concern when I first picked up Guardian of the Dead, a horror story about myths, magic, and saving New Zealand. I was prepared for another crappy, hackneyed YA adult novel, and instead I found myself falling in love with this magical book before I finished the first chapter. Healy's characters are amazingly written, they're relatable and realistic, strong, flawed, and super diverse. In fact, this is the first horror story I've ever read with an asexual character. I actually squealed out loud at the early reveal and ran to tell all my friends that "holy shit there's a well written ace character in this book!!!" Healy also does an amazing job of describing her diverse cast without fetishizing them (or comparing skin color to food), while making sure her characters either get called out or they acknowledge their error when any of them say something sexist, racist, or homophobic.

Ellie, the protagonist and narrator, is flat out awesome, flaws and all. She isn't the conventionally gorgeous female lead that plagues most young adults novels. She's a tall, chubby girl with a flat chest, pasty skin, and zits, beautifully average and relatable, who isn't relegated to the position of the dieting, un-dateable, fat friend. She's a badass who doesn't take crap from anyone, has no problem being confrontational, and can hold her own in a fight. Ellie may be self-conscious about her height and belly rolls in the beginning, comparing herself to, and getting jealous of other women, but over the course of the story we get to watch her go from an insecure girl, to a confident woman. Plus, speaking as a chubby person of average appearance, it's so refreshing to have a heroine who doesn't look like a supermodel.

There's nothing wrong with being conventionally attractive, but PLEASE don't act like the average woman looks like a super model, or imply that being confident in your appearance is a bad thing.  

The other characters are pretty great too. Mark, Ellie's major crush, is an awkward outcast, with his own set of crippling insecurities that make it difficult for him to socialize, a far cry from the other cool, calm, bland Y/A love interests. Kevin, Ellie's best (and only) friend at school is also handled well. Instead of being an unrequited love interest, or the gay (or in this case asexual) best friend, Kevin gets to play the role of the damsel, or in this case “dude”, in distress. Instead of being a prop who exists only to aid Ellie, Kevin truly is her best friend, and she worries about his happiness and safety without expecting anything in return. In turn, Kevin trusts her with his deepest secrets, and provides emotional support and aid when she's at her lowest. The two share a close and meaningful relationship of mutual support and respect.

 Though, honestly, I found the relationship between Ellie and Iris to be the most interesting one in the book, much more so than any of the romantic ones. Initially Ellie strongly dislikes Iris because she's jealous of Iris' appearance and her close relationship with Kevin, but Iris is no one-dimensional mean girl out to steal herself a man. Instead, Iris is portrayed as an incredibly kind, caring and loyal person. Ellie openly admits, even in the beginning, that any hostility she feels towards Iris is due solely to her own insecurity, and she actively tries to work on that throughout the course of the book. As she makes an effort to be less judgmental, a friendship blossoms between the two young women, and Iris proves herself to be an invaluable ally, offering Ellie advice, trust, and unwavering support throughout the story. Instead of competing over Kevin's friendship, they join forces to protect him.

This book is wonderfully devoid of one of my biggest pet peeves in young adult fiction, the rival "mean girl". Why are women so often forced to become romantic rivals, with one in the role of the "good girl", while the other is portrayed as the "bitch" who uses sex to "steal" men? But in Guardian of the Dead, there's no fighting over a male love interest. At one point in the story Ellie leaves in disgust when she finds out one of her crushes is still in a relationship. She's horrified that he would treat women with such disregard, and turns the asshole down then and there. Hell, Iris even encourages Ellie when she notices she has a crush. Friendship and loyalty are always placed above romance, and selfishness is a major character flaw.

Iris may not have any martial arts training like Ellie, but she will totally put an eye out with that high heel if she has to.

The book manages to avoid the whole annoying virgin/whore thing altogether. There's no slut shaming, and a character's interest in sex (or lack thereof in Kevin's case) has no relation to their morality. For example, one of the side characters, Samia, chooses to wear a hijab around men, but prefers to walk around the girl's dorm in her underwear. Her behavior doesn't feel like a contradiction, prudishness, or exhibitionism, Samia just wears whatever makes her comfortable. The only character who comes close to a stereotypical, evil seductress, is the actual villain - a literal monster. And she, at least, has an actual reason to behave the way she does, as opposed to just being horrible for the fun of it. She might be the antagonist, but her actions and overall attitude towards humans is understandable in light of the history of her species. She is still pretty evil, but she's not seen as a "seductress" so much as a sexual predator who uses magic to bewitch men, whom she sees as little more than disposable possessions.


Which brings me to my next point, the emphasis put on consent in this book is amazing. Consent is a HUGE deal, and victims of assault are believed and supported by the other characters. Healy makes it clear that any type of coercion, whether it's by force, trickery, or magic, used to obtain sex is rape. Why is this so exciting for me? Because so many Y/A books seem to glorify abusive relationships and coercion. Edward and Bella's relationship in Twilight meets all the criteria of an abusive relationship, according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline and Women's Aid. Hush, Hush perpetuates rape culture by constantly dismissing the female lead's fear of her stalker "love interest". One of her teacher's literally tells her the creepy "hero" is only sexually harassing her because he "likes" her and it's not a big deal. Bookshop goes into all the ways Hush Hush, and other crappy Y/A novels promote rape culture, so I won't go off on a tangent about it here, but suffice it to say, Guardian of the Dead not only rejects all of those gross tropes, but calls them out. The aforementioned villainess' first victim is shown to be completely broken and traumatized from his experience, and Iris calls her a rapist. That's right, female on male sexual assault is acknowledged and treated seriously. The goddess, Hine-nui-te-pō (who is also an incest survivor) angrily points out that Māui sexually assaulted her when he tried to crawl in her vagina as she slept, but he's still considered a hero because history only focuses on Māui. A seemingly charming boy is revealed as a manipulative asshole when he tries to kiss and grope Ellie after she's changed her mind, and she's understandably pissed. Even Ellie, when given the opportunity to use magic to force someone to love her back, briefly contemplates the idea. However, she quickly realizes what she's actually considering, and regrets even entertaining such a horrible notion.



I imagined Ellie punching Edward from Twilight while drawing this, and it was so satisfying.

I could go on forever about all the reasons I loved this book; the themes from Greek and Māori myths, the nerdy comic books mentions, the humorously realistic depiction of boarding school life, the understanding of everyday racism, the beautiful descriptions of New Zealand, the lack of trite love triangles and abusive "bad boys", the whole world Healey has created, etc., but this review is already pretty long, so I'm going to summarize it as this: Healy takes what could have been another bland, generic Y/A novel and turned it into something beautiful, unique, and diverse. Here's hoping for a sequel from Healey!

The Graveyard Apartment by Mariko Koike, translated by Deborah Boliver Boehm



Formats - Print

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Genre: Ghosts/Haunting, Thriller

Audience: Adult

Diversity: Japanese characters

Takes Place in: Japan

Content Warnings: Animal Death, Child Death, Child Endangerment, Suicide, Verbal/Emotional Abuse, Forced Captivity (Highlight to view)

Blurb:

A terrifying tale of a young family who move into an apartment building next to a graveyard and the horrors that are unleashed upon them. One of the most popular writers working in Japan today, Mariko Koike is a recognized master of detective fiction and horror writing. Known in particular for her hybrid works that blend these styles with elements of romance, The Graveyard Apartment is arguably Koike’s masterpiece. Originally published in Japan in 1986, Koike’s novel is the suspenseful tale of a young family that believes it has found the perfect home to grow in to, only to realize that the apartment’s idyllic setting harbors the specter of evil and that longer they stay, the more trapped they become. This tale of a young married couple who are harboring a dark secret is packed with dread and terror, as they and their daughter move into a brand new apartment building built next to a graveyard. As strange and terrifying occurrences begin to pile up, people in the building begin to move out one by one, until the young family is left alone with someone... or something... lurking in the basement. The psychological horror builds moment after moment, scene after scene, culminating with a conclusion that will make you think twice before ever going into a basement again.

Next up for Asian and Pacific American heritage month, is a new translation of Mariko Koike's popular 1986 horror novel, The Graveyard Apartment.

The Graveyard Apartment had a great premise; a married couple and their young daughter move into a haunted apartment near a cemetery and creepy shit keeps happening, but they're unwilling to move due to their financial situation, societal pressure to appear normal, and the husband's deep denial that anything is wrong. The book explores their feelings of emptiness and isolation and their struggle with their fears, both mundane and supernatural. But what should have been amazing ended up being very, well, "meh". So how exactly does one manage to fuck up what should have been a fool proof haunted house formula? 

You had ONE JOB.

To be completely fair, much of the awkward writing present in the English version could very well be due to translation problems. But unless the translator of The Graveyard Apartment pulled a 4KIDs Entertainment and just started making up random shit and cutting out half the story, there's only so much you can blame on her. The problems with the book go far beyond a language barrier issue. The biggest setback is that half the story seems pointless (maybe the translator should have cut some of it out after all). Koike spends more time on random details, like what her main character, Misao, is wearing, than she does on the evil entity haunting the building. There's even an entire chapter, later on in the book, dedicated to visiting a realtor's office and looking at new apartments. Can you handle the terror as her husband, Teppei, walks their daughter to school? Shiver as the doomed couple look at rental listings within their budget! 

The story takes place in the 80's so I tried to give her poofy 80's hair. I was not successful.

And even when Koike does finally get to the creepy stuff, it's a crapshoot whether or not it actually has anything do with the plot or just more random detailing. For example; early on in the book we discover Teppei's first wife, Reiko, committed suicide because he was cheating on her with Misao. So you'd think that Reiko's vengeful spirit would somehow be involved in the plot. Well, you'd be wrong. The suicide backstory serves no purpose other than highlighting what a remorseless dick Teppei is. We also learn that at one point there were plans to build an underground shopping center, but they were abandoned after the initial tunnel was built. So maybe the project disturbed the graves above and angered the spirits? Nope. The project was abandoned because people didn't want the cemetery relocated, so the graves were pretty much left alone. Actually we never learn why the ghosts (or demons, or monsters, or whatever) are such huge assholes. Usually ghosts haunt the living because they're pissed off about being murdered or moved, or having a Taco Bell built over their remains, but these entities just like to lock doors, mess with the elevators, and put handprints on the glass, because.... reasons. I dunno, maybe they just really hate whoever does the building maintenance, or they're a bunch of drunk frat boys.

Not so much evil as incredibly irritating.

The story and characters are well written enough, it just isn't scary. Well, except for the ending, where all the horror gets crammed into the last few chapters of the book. It's like Koike suddenly went "Shit! I've got four chapters left, and the scariest things in the book so far are a creepy basement and being forced to into awkward social situations!" (Granted, awkward social situations are much scarier than any demonic entity). So then the ghosts (or demons, or whatever) go from mildly irritating to eldritch abominations with god damn superpowers and a lust for blood.

Oh, and just as the story is starting to get scary and suspenseful? It finishes with a vague, open ending and we STILL don't know what the fuck is wrong with the building! To top it off, the ending isn't even part of the actual story, it's a freaking epilogue! WHAT? There was all this slow buildup up for the most underwhelming payoff ever. Way to get my hopes up, Koike! Look, The Graveyard Apartment isn't a bad book overall, which is why I didn't knock it down to "not recommended", it just doesn't work as a haunted house story.

Cacy & Kiara and the Curse of the Ki'i by Roy Chang

Formats - Print

Publisher: Beach House

Genre: Ghosts/Haunting, Thriller, Comedy, Myths and Folklore

Audience: Children

Diversity: Asian American characters, Hapa characters, Native Hawaiian characters, Pacific Islander characters

Takes Place in: Hawaiʻi, USA

Content Warnings: Verbal/Emotional Abuse, Bullying, Animal Death, Child Endangerment, Violence, Death (Highlight to view)


 Blurb:

Cacy and Kiara are sixth grade cousins who couldn’t be more different from each other. When their two schools take the same field trip to Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, Cacy and Kiara are thrown into an adventure filled with mystery and murder. In order to save the park--and themselves--from certain destruction, they call upon their family ‘aumäkua (personal gods), receive guidance from the Goddesses Hi‘iaka and Pele, and befriend the inhabitants of a secret Menehune village. Throughout their adventure, they learn the power of their connection to ancient Hawai‘i and the importance of working together. Over sixty manga-style illustrations accompany the story adding another layer of action to an already action-packed tale.

Happy Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month! With the recent popularity of Pokemon Sun and Moon, and Disney’s Moana, I figured I'd cover a Polynesian book this time. Luckily, I recently visited the big island of Hawaiʻi* with my wife (we were on our honeymoon, and as a newlywed I have to mention my marriage approximately 50,000 times) and made a stop at Basically Books while in downtown Hilo, because no honeymoon is complete without picking up a few scary stories at the local bookstore!


Of course I had to get something by Glen Grant and Rick Carroll, two of Hawaii's most prominent horror authors, but I also picked up a children's chapter book by a local comic artist, Roy Chang, entitled Cacy & Kiara and the Curse of the Ki'i. Although it's much more of a crime thriller than straight horror, (though it does have its moments, like the ghostly hitchhiker *shudder*), I enjoyed it enough that I wanted to include it on the site. The story stars two 11-year-old cousins, the brave and brash Cacy, and the intelligent, yet aloof Kiara, who stumble upon a crime in progress and accidentally release the curse of a long forgotten idol. Now they're in a race against time to undo the curse before Pele destroys the island in her anger. Oh, and they're being chased by an international crime syndicate who wants the idol for themselves, just in case you thought things were too easy. Luckily the girls are aided on their adventure by the Menehune, ʻaumākua, and other figures from Hawaiian mythology.


When I first started reading Chang's book, I thought it was self published. The entire thing was riddled with run-on sentences, awkward phrasing, grammatical errors, and even a few typos. But nope! Cacy & Kiara went through an actual publishing house, which means, presumably, there was some sort of a professional editing process. Though, in this case, "professional editing process" most likely means that they waited until the last minute, panicked, and decided to just run the manuscript through spell check. That, or someone accidentally hired a walrus in a hat and made them an editor. Granted, Beach House is a small publisher, but you'd think that would mean their projects would get more attention and care, not less. 

Yeah, I'm going with the Walrus theory.

Poor editing aside, the book isn't bad. It's creative, humorous, and I love the concept behind it. But Chang is clearly a much better artist than author, used to telling his stories through images rather than words. His art is so full of energy and expression that it does a much better job at capturing his creative ideas than the long, awkward, blocks of text he writes. In all honestly, I'd love to see the story done as a graphic novel because the ideas behind it are solid, the action scenes captivating, and the characters of Cacy and Kiara are bursting with energy and life. It'd be interesting to compare his Steampunk comic book series, Highball and Pepe, with Cacy & Kiara and see which one does a better job at telling the story. But, Chang, for the love of all that is holy, please erase your pencil lines! It just makes the art look messy and unfinished. Maybe the editor just published the rough draft instead of waiting for the final product? Because his other artwork doesn't seem to suffer from the same problem.

I think we all know who to blame here.

But, when I finally put down my red pen and stopped nitpicking, I really enjoyed the book. About halfway through I got caught up in the action and suspense, and the novel really hit its stride. It made me think of the awesome cartoons from the 80's - sure the writing was absurd and hackneyed, and the animation was full of errors, but we didn't care! The action, fun characters, and creativity is what made us love them, and what made such an impression on us as kids. I can just picture Cacy and Kiara teaming up with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or piloting a nēnē goose mecha. Honestly, the book is intended for kids, and most kids are not going to care about Oxford commas or the flow of dialogue when Kiara's flying a giant owl and Cacy is trapped in a truck that's about to explode.



I would so watch this cartoon

Even better, Chang has made the story educational without being preachy, unlike some of our childhood favorites (looking at you Captain Planet). This would be an awesome book to hand to a kid before a visit to Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, because learning about Hawaiian myths and ecology is a lot more fun when it involves high speed chases and international crime syndicates. There's even a glossary of terms in the back (though I question why eruption was included but musubi wasn't). Anyone familiar with the Big Island will be delighted to see references to popular locations such as Ken's House of Pancakes, the Thurston Lava Tube, the Volcano House, and Pu`uhonua O Hōnaunau (all places I got to visit during my honeymoon). So, if you want to read an awesome adventure story about two spunky, tween girls, while learning about the big island of Hawai'i (and you’re not a huge grammarian) I would definitely recommend this book.

*At the time of writing this I didn't realize how much tourism is hurting Hawaii, even before Covid and the water shortage, and how most Native Hawaiians don't want people visiting their illegally occupied land.