"The Waking Dark is a horror story worthy of Stephen King... It’s a violent, edgy, well-written, and foreboding novel, so realistic that readers can only hope it’s simply fiction."
—Booklist, starred review
“Action-packed story, which will have readers frantically flipping pages…. The suspense doesn’t let up until the final pages."
—School Library Journal, starred review
"Wasserman 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."
—Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Masterful pacing and brilliant scene-setting work to make sure readers can't leave Oleander until the final page."
—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review
"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 Mortal Instruments series
“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, author of Going Bovine and The Diviners
“Trust me--this is a true chiller. Not to be missed!"
—R. L. Stine, author of the Goosebumps and Fear Street series
“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 Scowler
"A thriller dark and beautiful and--yes--achingly romantic at every unexpected twist and turn. Astounding."
—Lauren Myracle, author of Shine, The Infinite Moment of Us, and the Internet Girls series
ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults 2014
Locus Magazine Best Books of 2013
CYBILS Award Finalist 2013
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They called it the killing day.
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 upstanding citizens. As the town begins its descent into blood and madness, five survivors of the killing day are the only ones who can stop Oleander from destroying itself. Jule, the outsider at war with the world; West, the golden boy at war with himself; Daniel, desperate for a different life; Cass, who's not sure she deserves a life at all; and Ellie, who believes in sacrifice, fate, and in evil. Ellie, who always goes too far. 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.