We're thrilled to find out that "Mercy: The Last New England Vampire", by Sarah L. Thomson, has been named to the prestigious Top Shelf Fiction for Middle School Readers 2011, produced by VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates). VOYA is the premier publication for young adult librarians.
Here's what the Top Shelf editors said about Mercy:
"Don't read this book alone at night. This is a classic horror story where every detail of Haley's life seems real and ordinary except for the smell of death and clay in Aunt Brown's house; a beloved cousin wasting away from an unexplainable blood disease; and an ancestor's glove that appears to have crawled out of its box. Haley is researching Mercy, an ancestor who died of tuberculosis in 1892. As others in her family died, hysteria grew in this small New England town, until someone whispered the word vampire. But did Mercy ever die or is she still feeding? Thomson sharply captures images in words the way her character Haley captures them with her camera."
Congratulations, Sarah! Mercy is a great pick for reluctant readers; for middle schoolers who want a vampire novel that's age-appropriate, if you know what I mean; for kids who want a well-told story with a sympathetic protagonist; and really, for anyone who appreciates a well-written tale sprinkled with utterly believable creepiness and mystery!