Review: 'Masque of the Red Death' by Bethany Griffin

The cold air hits me and I realize that we're outside.  It's raining.

Out of the club, in open air. I feel myself begin to panic, not because I care,

but because I've been programmed to fear the airborne contagions. 

I put my hand up, fell the ridged porcelain surface of my mask, and sigh with relief. 

I've worn this thing so long that I no longer feel it.

Society is on the brink of complete collapse, brought low by an invisible killer, an illness that has no cure and can only be prevented by the constant employment of a specially designed mask.  Production of the life-saving masks is limited and only the richest can afford to protect themselves and their children.  Araby is the daughter of the man who invented the mask, an act that brought her family into the echelons of the upper class, but which came too late to save her twin brother.  Since the death of her brother, Araby has existed rather than lived, pulled along by her only friend, April, to the risque clubs of the Debauchery District where alcohol and drugs flow freely.  While in the pursuit of oblivion, Araby comes to know two young men whose passions ignite her own and who make Araby realize there are things worth living for; and worth fighting for.

Inspired by Edgar Allen Poe's short story of the same title, Bethany Griffin has penned a haunting, gut-wrenching realistic world where life is uncertain and fear rules all.  Araby is wonderfully broken; emotionally distant, self-destructive and disconnected from the world around her.  It's not that she doesn't feel anything, but that she feels everything too much.  Readers will be drawn into Araby's perspective even if they have never flirted with the darker thoughts and emotions that rule her life.  'Masque of the Red Death' will have readers glued to the pages, anxiously turning the page to discover what happens.  Warning: this novel has a cliff-hanger ending will leave readers anxiously awaiting Griffin's next novel.

Make sure to look for 'Dance of the Red Death' coming in April 2013!

Book Source: Local Library
Reviewer: Rebecca

Recommended Ages: 16+ Drug use & violence

Recommended for Readers of:

Looking for YA Steampunk?

If you work with teens, you know that one 

of the most common questions is:

"I LOVED _____ book and 

want something like it!"

It can also be difficult to stay on top of all the different genres, so here's some help to those of you with teens looking for steampunk fiction.

FICTION

Steampunk: Poe by Zdenko Basic, Manuel Sumberac
Soulless by Gail Carriger (adult novel w/ YA appeal; ages 16+)
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross
Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
The Greyfriar by Clay & Susan Griffith (adult novel w/ YA appeal; ages 16+)
Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel
Corsets and Clockwork: 13 Steampunk Romances by Trisha Telep
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack by Mark Hodder (adult novel w/ YA appeal; ages 16+)
Boneshaker by Cherie Priest (adult novel w/ YA appeal; ages 16+)
Hunchback Assignments by Arthur Slade

NON-FICTION

Steampunk Style Jewelry: Victorian, Fantasy, and Mechanical Necklaces, Bracelets, and Earrings by Jean Campbell
Steampunkery: Polymer Clay and Mixed Media Projects by  Christi Friesen
Steampunk Softies: Scientifically-Minded Dolls from a Past That Never Was by Nicola Tedman and Sarah Skeate

PROGRAMMING

Looking for a program idea?  Dig through the above mentioned non-fiction books for fab ideas or check tomorrow's blog post - Teen Program: Club Steampunk!