

Beholder
Books | Juvenile Fiction / Horror
3.4
Ryan La Sala
From Ryan La Sala, author of the tantalizingly twisted The Honeys and riotously imaginative Reverie, comes a chilling new contemporary fable about art, aesthetic obsession, and the gaze that peers back at us from behind our reflections.No one survived the party at the penthouse. Except Athan.Athanasios "Athan" Bakirtzis has made it far in life relying on his charm and good looks, even securing an invitation to a mysterious penthouse soiree for New York City's artsy elite. But when he sneaks off to the bathroom, he hears a slam, followed by a scream. Athan peers outside, only to be pushed back in by a boy his age. The boy gravely tells him not to open the door, then closes Athan in.Outside the door, the party descends into chaos. Through hours of howls, laughter, and sobs, Athan stays hidden. When he finally emerges, he discovers a massacre where the corpses appear to have arranged themselves into a disturbingly elegant sculpture--and Athan's mysterious savior is nowhere to be found. Athan--the only known survivor--is now the primary suspect.In a race to prove his innocence, Athan is swept up in a supernatural mystery, one of secret occult societies and deadly eldritch horrors with rather distinctive taste. Something evil is waking up in the walls of New York City, and it's compelling victims toward violence, chaos, and self-destruction. Bound to him by a mysterious hereditary power, Athan has felt this evil hiding behind his reflection his entire life, watching him. Waiting. Now, it's taking over.
Horror
Paranormal
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More Details:
Author
Ryan La Sala
Pages
352
Publisher
Scholastic, Incorporated
Published Date
2023
ISBN
1338745344 9781338745344
Community ReviewsSee all
"This was outside of my comfort zone as a supernatural horror, but Im glad to have read it! An easy read and enjoyable enough, I can’t say that this book wasn’t worth the read. It definitely was, though the development of the story wasn’t super shocking: The forces described elusively at the beginning remained pretty ambiguous despite the plot thickening by the end. It was short and interesting enough that you can be new to the genre and still enjoy it for what it is, without being too invested. Overall mildly good but probably not something I’ll re-read. "