Susan Vaught

Psychological thriller meets spooky fantasy in these terrifying ghost stories inspired by a real-life asylum

Insanity

Interest in a new girl and pressure from his parole officer cause 17-year-old Del, a gravedigger, to recall and face the "sexting" incident three years earlier that transformed him from a straight-A student and successful athlete into a social outcast and felon.

Going Underground

A mentally ill teenager who rides the "short bus" to school investigates the sudden disappearance of his best friend.

Freaks Like Us

Jersey Hatch can't remember why he tried to kill himself. Coming out of rehab for the first time in a year, broken in both mind and body, Jersey must piece his life back together, step by painful step-from relearning to tie his own shoelaces, to graduating high school, to repairing old friendships. With a fresh, compelling, and unique literary voice, Susan Vaught thrusts readers directly into the bitterly funny head of Jersey Hatch. An eye-opening story that expertly navigates the triumph of family, the depths of despair, and the humor of the most mundane details of life. Reviews «"The interior landscape revealed through Jersey's unreliable yet sympathetic narration is dense, rhythmic, repetitious and fragmented, granting the reader credible entrée into a damaged mind. Despite its somber character, the story never descends into heavy-handed message and has nicely placed touches of humor in a story that is both engrossing and excruciating, An original and meaningful work that provokes thought about action, consequence, redemption and renewal."-Booklist, starred review «"The portrayal of brain damage is precise, comprehensible (but never condescending), and seamlessly woven into Jersey's narrative voice, itself a masterful reflection of his internal chaos that conveys both emotional and neurological stumbling blocks by embedding them in the language itself. Poignantly affirming of life and love even in the face of overwhelming loss, this is a haunting tragicomic drama of grief and renewal."-Horn Book, starred review "A worthwhile read."-Kirkus Reviews www.wellgroomedbook.com In this one-of-a-kind survival guide to "the big day," newlywed Peter Scott candidly reveals all the wedding preparation do's and don'ts. Covering everything from choosing the perfect location to hiring the right photographer to questions that are too stupid to ask, even for a man ("Where do the centerpieces go?), Well Groomed tackles just about any scenario t

Trigger

Eleven-year-old Footer and her friends investigate when a nearby farm is burned, the farmer murdered, and his children disappear, but as they follow the clues, Footer starts having flashbacks and wonders if she is going crazy like her mother, who is backin a mental institution near their Mississippi home.

Footer Davis Probably Is Crazy

"A family mystery leads Dani Beans to investigate the secrets of Ole Miss and the dark history of race relations in Oxford, Mississippi"--

Things Too Huge to Fix by Saying Sorry

Overweight, self-assured, high school senior Jamie Carcaterra writes in the school newspaper about her own attitude to being fat, her boyfriend's bariatric surgery, and her struggles to be taken seriously in a very thin world.

Big Fat Manifesto

“Edgar-winning Vaught, a neuropsychologist, has both personal and professional experience to draw on in crafting a narrator who is admirably smart and resilient despite an ‘itchy’ brain and a compulsion to count things.” —Booklist (starred review) “Deeply smart and considerate.” —BCCB “An absorbing mystery.” —Kirkus Reviews “A strong addition to help diversify realistic fiction collections to include neuroatypical characters and heroines.” —School Library Journal Jesse is on the case when money goes missing from the library and her dad is looking like the #1 suspect in Edgar Award­–winning author Susan Vaught’s latest middle grade mystery. I could see the big inside of my Sam-Sam. I had been training him for 252 days with mini tennis balls and pieces of bacon, just to prove to Dad and Mom and Aunt Gus and the whole world that a tiny, fluffy dog could do big things if he wanted to. I think my little dog always knew he could be a hero. I just wonder if he knew about me. When the cops show up at Jesse’s house and arrest her dad, she figures out in a hurry that he’s the #1 suspect in the missing library fund money case. With the help of her (first and only) friend Springer, she rounds up suspects (leading to a nasty confrontation with three notorious school bullies) and asks a lot of questions. But she can’t shake the feeling that she isn’t exactly cut out for being a crime-solving hero. Jesse has a neuro-processing disorder, which means that she’s “on the spectrum or whatever.” As she explains it, “I get stuck on lots of stuff, like words and phrases and numbers and smells and pictures and song lines and what time stuff is supposed to happen.” But when a tornado strikes her small town, Jesse is given the opportunity to show what she's really made of—and help her dad. Told with the true-as-life voice Susan Vaught is known for, this mystery will have you rooting for Jesse and her trusty Pomeranian, Sam-Sam.

Me and Sam-Sam Handle the Apocalypse

Chan Shealy's got most things going right in her life--straight A's, a shot at the regional majorette championships in baton twirling, and the best best friend a girl could wish for. But after the football quarterback spreads a vicious lie about her, and the whole school decides she's too trashy for words, Chan begins to wonder if the only place she'll find love is online. She's careful. She follows all her parents' rules, mostly anyway. A girl's got to trust herself at a certain point, right? But what if your gut is telling you something that you're just not hearing... until it's too late? From the moment Chan logs on and meets Paul, until the truth begins to show through, Susan Vaught sends readers on a fast-paced and gripping ride. Even when you know something bad will happen, you still might not see it coming...

Exposed

“A gentle tale of inclusion and fairness that children will clearly understand.” —Booklist (starred review) From award-winning novelist Susan Vaught comes a poignant picture book that celebrates inclusivity, acceptance, and the importance of rebuilding a community in the wake of disaster. Lightning gash! Windy lash! A storm drives all the farm animals indoors except for a lonely fox family. The barn isn’t their home. But where will they go for safety? This stunning picture books explores themes of acceptance and belonging: Large or small, Short and tall, There is room, There is room, There is room For us all.

Together We Grow

J. B. Redmond

"In Eyrie - a world of two moons, shapeshifters, and powerful magic - Aron of Brailing knows he owes loyalty to his guild, obedience to the code of the land, and his life to his closest companions, but it is his own family he holds closest to his heart. Kidnapped and forced to become an assassin, Aron must learn to control and harness his own fearsome talents even as he grieves for the family he knows is lost forever. But when he is tempted to put everything aside everything he has learned in order to avenge his family's killers, will Aron make unforgivable mistakes? Assassin s Apprentice unveils an intriguing cast of characters whose sense of honour, strength, and history binds them together, and whose incredible talents of mind and body set them apart."

Assassin's Apprentice

'You're just a freak. You're just a stupid freak. Freaks don't speak. Freaks shouldn't speak. Don't talk out of your head or the swirly clouds will eat you because sometimes clouds have teeth' Jason's best friend, Sunshine, has vanished. If only Jason could push through all the voices in his head, he'd know what happened; he'd tell everyone; he'd find her. But then people don't always listen to kids like Jason . . . A funny and compelling thriller about a boy on the edge of mainstream society.

Teenager Jersey Hatch must work through his extensive brain damage to figure out why he decided to shoot himself.

Eleven-year-old Footer and her friends investigate when a nearby farm is burned, the farmer murdered, and his children disappear, but as they follow the clues, Footer starts having flashbacks and wonders if she is going crazy like her mother, who is back in a mental institution near their Mississippi home.

When Jason Milwaukee's best friend Sunshine vanishes, Jason knows that something is terribly wrong, but solving her disappearance will require pushing through all the voices in his head and then getting the world to listen to him. His schizophrenia is stopping him from remembering the events leading up to her disappearance, and often he discounts his own memories, and his own impressions. But his deep knowledge that he would never hurt his friend, plus the faith of his parents and a few others in the town bring him to the point of solving the mystery. In the end, it's Sunshine's own love for Jason (Freak) that persuades him of his own strength and goodness. By turns brilliantly witty and searingly honest, Susan Vaught's newest novel is a laugh-out-loud, tear-jerking, coming-of-age story.

Ein außergewöhnlicher Thriller, der unter die Haut geht Er hat sich eine Kugel in den Kopf gejagt, soviel weiß er. Er ist halbseitig gelähmt, hat Erinnerungslücken und schleudert Wörter heraus, die er nicht sagen will und nicht sagen sollte. Das weiß er nur zu genau. Er ist ein Freak, auch das weiß er. Was er nicht weiß, ist: WARUM. Warum hat er das getan? Seine Mutter ist zerbrochen, seine Freunde gehen ihm aus dem Weg – und ihm fehlen anderthalb Jahre in seinem Hirn. Wird er die Wahrheit herausfinden? Eine verzweifelte Suche nach Indizien und Beweisen beginnt. Es ist das Puzzle seines Lebens ...

Kopfschuss

Debbie Tanner Federici

Now the King of the Witches, Brenden tries to rescue Jazz while battling the evil Erlking, a fearsome shapeshifter, and his enchantress daughters.

Shadowqueen

It's going to take more than a knack for electronics and a supercharged wheelchair for 12-year-old Max to investigate a haunted mansion in Edgar Award-winning author Vaught's latest mystery.

Super Max and the Mystery of Thornwood's Revenge

A copy of the working manuscript for the author's novel Oathbreaker : Assassin's apprentice. Editorial corrections, additions and annotations in red and green pencil.

Susan Vaught

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