Debut author April Genevieve Tucholke's spine-tingling tale of gothic horror, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, centers on a compelling romance that you know you shouldn't root for but will give in to anyway.
When 17-year-old Violet White was a child, her grandmother always told her: "You stop fearing the Devil when you're holding his hand." The woman frequently shared with Violet stories about the Devil "almost as if he was her best friend, or an old lover." After she rents out her family's guesthouse in the small town of Echo, Maine, due to economic pressure, the Devil may be paying Violet a visit--in the form of 17-year-old River West. Violet is instantly fascinated by this endearing boy who unapologetically lies to hide his past, naps with her under the sun, and refuses to sleep with a cross over his head. With River's arrivals come some strange occurrences--an urban legend that may be real, children in a cemetery waiting to kill the Devil and an ominous message from a Ouija board.
Tucholke will cast a spell on readers with her magnificent prose, fascinating histories of residents in the seaside town, and a boy with a disturbing ability rarely seen in today's young adult books. Share the first of two planned volumes with fans of Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone. --Adam Silvera, reviewer and former bookseller