Two-Sentence Horror Story Contest Winners

Two-Sentence Horror Story Contest

Thank you to everyone who entered our first-ever Two-Sentence Horror Story Contest! We’re thrilled to announce the winners, who will receive gift cards to a bookstore of their choice, plus a horror book from the Friends of the Library Bookstore! Your creepy contributions made it a spine-tingling experience, and we loved reading each one! It was so hard to pick just three winners, so we’re including  20 more of our favorites. Happy hauntings! 

Scritch Scratch

This spooky novel follows Claire, an interested-in-science-doesn’t-believe-in-the-paranormal-thank-you-very-much middle schooler who has a pretty typical life. She doesn’t always get along with her brother and her friend group is having some growing pains since her best friend is now hanging out with a new girl. Her parents would be normal if it wasn’t for her dad’s job which is a tour guide for a Chicago Ghost bus touring company. Claire can usually ignore that, but one night she gets pulled into helping her dad on the tour and a ghost follows her home, haunting her.

Staff Picks: Ghost Boys

Ghost Boys, by Jewell Parker Rhodes, follows 12 year old Jerome who lives in a poor neighborhood in Chicago, is the oldest child in a hardworking Black family, gets bullied at school constantly, and is shot and killed by a police officer while playing with a toy gun. As both his own family and the family of the police officer who shot him fall apart, Jerome watches on and grapples with his own feelings.

Zines? In My Library?

Zines and flowers outside of the library. The title of the images says "zines"

This year the Library launched a circulating collection of zines, the seeds of which were donated to the Library through the generosity of Boxcar Books. This collection continues to grow through purchases and donations and is now comprised of almost 400 titles.

Staff Picks: The Adventurers Guild by Zack Logan Clark and Nick Eliopulos

Reviewed by Ginny H.
 
Best friends, Brock and Zed are anxious for their Guildculling Day, the day their futures are determined by what guild chooses them to train and work for the rest of their lives. They decide they'll be happy as long as it isn't the Adventurer's Guild, the guild tasked with venturing outside of the city walls to defend against the dangerous monsters outside.