The remote terror of THE THING meets the body horror of WILDER GIRLS in this fast-paced Antarctic thriller.
Shy high school junior Riley Kowalski is spending her winter break on a research trip to Antarctica, sponsored by one of the world’s biggest tech companies. She joins five student volunteers, a company-approved chaperone, and an impartial scientist to prove that environmental plastic pollution has reached all the way to Antarctica, but what they find is something much worse… something that looks human.
Riley has anxiety--ostracized by the kids at school because of panic attacks--so when she starts to feel like something’s wrong with their expedition leader, Greta, she writes it off. But when Greta snaps and tries to kill Riley, she can’t chalk it up to an overactive imagination anymore. Worse, after watching Greta disintegrate, only to find another student with the same affliction, she realizes they haven’t been infected, they’ve been infiltrated--by something that can change its shape. And if the group isn’t careful, that something could quickly replace any of them.
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Gr 8 Up—This is a fun and scary horror send-up. Beginning with a quote from John Carpenter's The Thing, this novel immediately clues readers in to its simple premise; it's The Thing, but with teenagers. A group of teen interns in the Antarctic think they are collecting environmental samples, but they are actually there as part of a tech billionaire's plot to capture a shapeshifting monster. When the monster inevitably escapes, it begins to infect the teens with a flesh-eating virus, collecting them into a hivemind. Many elements are referential to 1970s and 1980s horror and action films—The Breakfast Club set of teen characters, the final girl hunting the monster back with a flamethrower, etc. This story definitely leans into tropes with an enjoyable effect, including a positive reversal of romantic tropes with an asexual main character. This edge-of-your-seat, action-packed story is perfect for teens looking for a scary winter read. Some body horror elements may be disturbing to sensitive readers, and this story contains strong language. VERDICT Highly recommended for horror fans.—Jeri Murphy