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Daughters of Arkham Kindle Edition
Fourteen-year-old Abigail Thorndike is the scion of the most important family in Arkham. When she becomes mysteriously pregnant, she is outcast, left alone to unravel the secrets of her haunted town. Abby must risk her status, her humanity, and the fate of her unborn child to stand against her family and the rising darkness to defend the very town that shunned her.
- Reading age12 - 18 years
- LanguageEnglish
- Grade level7 - 12
- Publication dateOctober 2, 2015
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Editorial Reviews
Review
A savage YA read, filled with fish men, cutting wit, and supernatural gore." - Kirkus
Review
Fourteen-year-old Abigail Thorndike, of Arkham, Massachusetts, lives on the rich side of town. As September arrives, she's set to enter the prestigious Arkham Academy. Joining Abby will be her best friends, Sindy Endicott and Nate Baxter. As a final summer bash, the trio attends a carnival. There, they encounter a clique of the town's rich and powerful scions-Bryce Coffin, Charity Duckworth, and Eleazar Grant-among others. Surprisingly, the cool kids allow Abby and her friends to tag along as they raise a ruckus inside the carnival. Later, as Abby is pressured to drink alcohol, her head begins pounding. She escapes the scene only to end up in a mirrored fun house. Inside, she sees nightmare versions of herself before blacking out from intense pain. She wakes up at home in bed and has little choice but to leave for her first day at Arkham Academy. She continues to experience “dizziness and loathing,” but this time after blacking out, she awakens to find the school infested with vile, disc-mouthed fish men. These fearsome creatures have “spines and fins sprouted in irregular patches” across their exposed skin, “colorless and milky” eyes, and “ragged and bloody red” gills. Robinson (The Last Son of Ahriman, 2015, etc.) and Rodriguez (Skylanders: Light in the Dark, 2016) make superb use of author H.P. Lovecraft's fictional town of Arkham as well as the Deep Ones (anthropoid fish). Commentary on class divisions is plentiful because Nate's family lives across town, and he and his father work as groundskeepers for the wealthy families. Igniting this page-turner, however, is the mystery behind the Daughters of Arkham, a charitable organization of blue-blooded women, most of whom seem to be widows. While teen drama engulfs Abby, she's also cursed as the only one who can see Arkham's fish men. And though the characters are young adults, their liberal use of words like “slut” marks this story for older teens. The end cleverly wraps around an early detail, broadening the saga for its next installment.
A savage YA read filled with fish men, cutting wit, and supernatural gore
Product details
- ASIN : B011ETAPJG
- Publisher : Th3rd World Studios; 1st edition (October 2, 2015)
- Publication date : October 2, 2015
- Language : English
- File size : 4300 KB
- Simultaneous device usage : Unlimited
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 428 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,125,223 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #4,695 in Contemporary Fantasy (Kindle Store)
- #10,500 in Contemporary Fantasy (Books)
- #23,661 in Horror (Kindle Store)
- Customer Reviews:
About the authors
Much like film noir, Justin Robinson was born and raised in Los Angeles. He splits his time between editing comic books, writing prose, and wondering what that disgusting smell is. Degrees in Anthropology and History prepared him for unemployment, but an obsession with horror fiction and a laundry list of phobias provided a more attractive option. He is the author of ten novels in a variety of genres including detective, humor, urban fantasy, and horror. Most of them are pretty good.
Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read book recommendations and more.
Customer reviews
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book enjoyable and well-written. They appreciate the imaginative story with constant action that makes all the fantastical happenings seem believable. The characters are developed well and the relationships between them are likable. The book has interesting themes and topics suitable for young adults.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book enjoyable to read. They describe it as a fantastic novel with twists and turns, suspense, and an engaging story suitable for young people and adults. The ending is satisfying and touching.
"...There's a very touching, and satisfying, moment between two of the (male) main characters near the end of the book, and I won't ruin it, but it did..." Read more
"...-inspired world (but didn’t want to read the racism), this is a great read for you." Read more
"This book is a fun read for teens. Unusual things happen in Arkham. Now I need to read book 2!" Read more
"...This was a fantastic novel, full of twists, turns, suspense, and insane levels of creativity." Read more
Customers enjoy the imaginative and thoughtful storytelling that makes the fantastical happenings seem believable. They find the book a wonderful blend of young adult fiction and eldritch horror, with characters they enjoy. The book combines two horrifying worlds into one dark and twisted plot that keeps them up late at night.
"...you feel to the characters along with the expert and thoughtful storytelling that will whisk you away to Arkham (and beyond) for hours and hours...." Read more
"...This story is a wonderful blend of YA fiction and eldritch horror, with characters that are easy to relate to... and grow attached to...." Read more
"A well written, relatable tale that combines HP Lovecraft elements with modern themes, problems, and YA topics...." Read more
"...The story sucks you in very early on, and I found myself completely unable to think about anything else until I finished it, stealing every free..." Read more
Customers enjoy the character development. They appreciate the relationships between characters and the inclusion of Lovecraft. The book introduces new characters that readers love to love.
"...It's the connection you feel to the characters along with the expert and thoughtful storytelling that will whisk you away to Arkham (and beyond) for..." Read more
"...The characters are sympathetic and interesting, the setting is gorgeous and vibrant, and I can't wait for what happens next in the lives of the..." Read more
"...The dialogue and internal struggles of the main characters feel genuine, and they don't seem dumbed down like we so often see in YA fiction, which..." Read more
"...I liked the characters (and was intrigued enough by the eldritch secrets) that I will pick up and read the next book...." Read more
Customers find the story engaging with its imaginative and constant action. They appreciate the modern themes, problems, and YA topics.
"...The characters are sympathetic and interesting, the setting is gorgeous and vibrant, and I can't wait for what happens next in the lives of the..." Read more
"...combines HP Lovecraft elements with modern themes, problems, and YA topics. For fans of "Stranger Things", this is a must-read...." Read more
"...I had no idea what was going on. It began with some interesting thought, then it just went in a spiral of confusion...." Read more
"Great book for young people and adults. Fascinating, imaginative story with constant action." Read more
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2016Daughters of Arkham is the first book I've read in my adult life that I couldn't pick up before bedtime because I would either: read until 3am before I realized NO I HAVE TO STOP. I HAVE TO BE UP IN A FEW HOURS, or, if I did manage to pry myself away, couldn't sleep not from fear (though there is horror) but curiosity. DOA is the type of book that reminds me why I love reading so much.
Some others have commented that they were scared. I suppose I'm a little dark myself because it was the dark parts that were some of the most thrilling.
I think most thrilling though is how much, as an adult, I've taken away from the characters and their relationships to one another. Abby's courage genuinely inspires me and has encouraged me to push through a couple tough times already. I can only imagine how reading this book might positively affect a true young adult. I wish it were around when I was a teen.
Strange that a teenage fictional character would inspire you so, you might think, but not really considering the authors. Rodriguez especially, as I am most familiar with his work, has a genius for creating characters with such extraordinary depth that you can't help but relate to most if not all of them, and love them all dearly—and love to hate, sometimes. Even when the realness between them twists your heart because you just want things to be okay! But, like life, that's not the case 100% of the time.
It's the connection you feel to the characters along with the expert and thoughtful storytelling that will whisk you away to Arkham (and beyond) for hours and hours. You'll lose yourself in exploring this place's fantastic secrets along with the young adults who are complex humans, as they are in life.
I seriously cannot wait until Book Two to solve more of the mysteries yet unresolved—and a sort of new one at the very end!
- Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2015There are young adults dealing with young adult problems in this story... but alongside that, young adults dealing with extremely adult (and horrifying) problems. This story is a wonderful blend of YA fiction and eldritch horror, with characters that are easy to relate to... and grow attached to. I'm not familiar with every YA book out there by any means, but nearly all of the teenagers in this story are as complex as any adult, and I feel like that's actually not all that common in YA books (brooding boys with Secret Hearts Of Gold come to mind).
I have very few qualms with the story, and they hardly impacted my enjoyment of the book. I got particularly hung up on one of the character's name, and on the strange habit for everyone to shorten already shortened names (though to be fair, that does kind of get addressed in the writing). Small word choice issues, moments where I wondered "would a 14 year old actually think this or feel this?"
But then I realized... mostly, yes. 14 year old Abigail Thorndike and 14 year old me had very, VERY similar thoughts, especially with regards to boys and school. Halfway through the story, I stopped thinking of their specific ages and just thought of the characters as "teenagers", which helped me get past any hangups I had about their actions or thoughts.
There's a creeping sense of horror throughout the story, the sense that you are only ever privy to as much of the mystery as the characters are, and it constantly urged me to keep turning pages to get to the end of the story (where a very major mystery is still not solved, so I guess I have to wait for the second book!).
There's a very touching, and satisfying, moment between two of the (male) main characters near the end of the book, and I won't ruin it, but it did make me a little teary eyed.
I strongly suggest this book to anyone who likes a little Arkham horror in their lives, or anyone who's curious about what that actually means. The characters are sympathetic and interesting, the setting is gorgeous and vibrant, and I can't wait for what happens next in the lives of the Arkham teenagers.
- Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2017A well written, relatable tale that combines HP Lovecraft elements with modern themes, problems, and YA topics. For fans of "Stranger Things", this is a must-read. Slightly surreal, until
It tilts into fully "out there", the reader will find himself on edge, wanting for more; this is definitely a hard to put down read and I am eager fir book 2!
- Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2015Books like Daughters of Arkham are the reason I fell in love with reading. The story sucks you in very early on, and I found myself completely unable to think about anything else until I finished it, stealing every free second I had to just read one page! The dialogue and internal struggles of the main characters feel genuine, and they don't seem dumbed down like we so often see in YA fiction, which makes it a story that I'd reccomend to anyone over 12, not 12-18.
The storyline has some moments that are a little predictable (this IS YA fiction, afterall) but for the most part, I found myself on the edge of my seat waiting to see how things would unfold. The imagery throughout this story makes you feel like you're right there in Arkham, and makes all of the fantastical happenings seem very believable. There are so many unanswered questions at the end of this book, and I genuinely can not wait for the second book. Overall, this is a great story that has something for everyone and can't be confined to any specific genre.
- Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2019A little boring in the beginning, but toward the end I couldn't put it down. If you are in to HP mythos, this is a new, modern take on old ideas that works pretty well.