Stiff:  The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach (611R) Donating one's body to science sounds like an altruistic farewell for the betterment of humanity. Noble it may be, but most would prefer not to know what happens to a corpse in the name of research. Not our intrepid author. Some donors arrive at the expected places, such as anatomy classrooms, but would a person willingly assent to her postmortem decapitation so plastic surgeons could practice on her head unencumbered by the torso? Better not to wonder--yet Roach cheerily does as she attends to doings at medical schools, crash research labs, and mortuary schools. Her lab-coated guides seem delighted to see her come calling, which she reciprocates by praising the good that cadavers do (revealing the kinematics of car and plane crashes), along with (gulp) their appearance and olfactory condition. Death may have the last laugh, but, in the meantime, Roach finds merriment in the macabre. (Booklist, March 15, 2003)
Lord Loss by Darren Shan (FIC SHA) Any kid who has teased younger siblings with chants of "greasy, grimy, gopher guts" will feel right at home in this horror tale. Shan, author of the successful Cirque du Freak series, introduces Grubitsch ("Call me Grubbs!") Grady, a youngster who loses his immediate family to gruesome death at the hands of the demon Lord Loss and his two familiars, Vein and Artery. Pushed violently into a macabre world of multiple dimensions, Grubbs must struggle to deal with a new vision of reality and his own potential future trials at the hands of the demon lord. He is helped by his uncle Dervish, a magician, and his new best friend in the village, Bill-E. It is clear that the Grady family suffers from a long-term curse, one that has already struck down Grubbs's parents and sister. Will he be next? Will Dervish? The pace is non-stop, keeping the reader turning pages at a breathtaking rate. Details tend to be graphic and gruesome, and not for the faint of heart. This volume is the first in a new series, The Demonata. (Kirkus Review, September 15, 2005)
Bloodline by Kate Cary (FIC CAR) What if Dracula had descendants? Cary's story begins a generation after Bram Stoker's Dracula, likewise written in diary format. John Shaw, a WWI lieutenant, is awed by Captain Quincey Harker, but when he returns home wounded to be nursed back to health by Mary Seward, he's haunted by horrifying delusions of his time with the Captain. Neither John nor Mary can prevent Harker-son of Stoker's Mina-from eloping with John's beloved sister Lily. Mary's father teaches the couple everything he remembers about his youthful battle with Dracula and sends them off to rescue Lily. It seems that Harker's not really the son of Stoker's hero Jonathan Harker, but of Dracula's descendant Count Tepes (the Romanian name for the historical Dracula, Vlad the Impaler, never used by Stoker). Much more horrifying revelations await John and Mary when they reach Transylvania and confront Harker's demonic family. (Kirkus Review, July 1, 2005)
Sweetblood by Pete Hautman (FIC HAU) A gripping, painful, and well-written coming-of-ager with a twist. Diabetic Lucy Szabo's world is populated by legions of the Undead: those, like herself, who are only alive due to modern medicine. Untreated diabetes, she believes, is the true source of vampire legend, which makes her a potential vampire. Though she wears mostly black, reads Anne Rice, and spends time on vampire chat rooms, Lucy is adamantly "not goth." She is, however, 16, angry, and flunking out of school, and her worried parents confiscate her computer. Bitter and lonely, Lucy lets her health deteriorate as she befriends those who, while potentially dangerous, seem to understand her troubles. To survive, she must learn to preserve her individuality without building a personality centered on despair. Lucy is richly drawn: smart and likable, with wit and a knack for language (Kirkus Review, June 1, 2003)
Too Good To Be True by Jan Marold Brunvan (398.2 B) A fabulously entertaining book from the ultimate authority on those almost believable tales that always happen to a "friend of a friend." Alligators in the sewers? A pet in the microwave? A tragic misunderstanding of the function of cruise control? No, it didn't really happen to your friend's sister's neighbor: it's an urban legend. And no matter how savvy you think you are, you are sure to find in this collection of over 200 tales at least one story you would have sworn was true. (www.wwnorton.com)