Review by Booklist Review
Terrifying paranormal elements and a heart-wrenching sapphic romance entwine in My Dearest Darkest, where outsider Finch joins the ranks of the esteemed Ulalume Academy, located on a damp island off Maine aptly named Rainwater. Finch's eccentricities do not go unnoticed in the posh boarding school--specifically by Selena St. Clair, queen bee of the popular posse and the last person wanting to spend time around pallid, awkward Finch, whose parents did not survive the tragic accident that she did, when she was seemingly spared by some dark force hiding in the woods. When Selena, her friends, and an unwitting Finch accidentally summon a demon-like creature who grants wishes in return for a steep price, the girls are willing to put their fears and worries aside to have their deepest desires granted. But when it becomes clear that the monster will not be sated, they must figure out how to save their school and all of Rainwater. Fans of cult-classic film Jennifer's Body and similar scary tropes will revel in Cottingham's atmospheric, spine-tingling horror-romance.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Evil lurks in the tunnels beneath a small-town Maine prep school in Cottingham's haunting sapphic horror debut. When white Finch Chamberlin, along with her parents, dies after their car mysteriously plunges off a bridge while departing prestigious Ulalume Academy, the monster lurking there brings Finch alone back from the dead. Three months later, Finch attends the academy and lives with London-born Arab roommate Sumera Nazir. Eager to make friends, Finch attends a party in the haunted tunnels, where the image of an eight-eyed stag leads her and an eclectic group of girls, including beautiful, popular Selena St. Clair, to a creature, Nerosi. When the teens accidentally summon Nerosi into their reality from a void-like dimension, the entity offers to grant their deepest desires--for a price. Cottingham's narrative fluidly blends Finch's struggle navigating her own sexuality and her intensifying feelings for Selena, the girls' grandiose wants and wishes, and the creature's sinister hold on their town into a spine-tingling thrill ride that calls on classic prep school dynamics and eerie gothic imagery. Ages 14--up. Agent Erica Bauman, Aevitas Creative Management. (Mar.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 9 Up--Teen music prodigy Finch is the sole survivor of a brutal car accident that drowned both of her parents and left her with a shock of white hair and lingering questions about how she survived. Now attending the prestigious Ulalume Academy, Finch is haunted by ominous portents: shimmering pockets of air, sightings of an eight-eyed stag, and an insistent pull coming from the sewer tunnels near the school. Finch eventually forms a friendship with her roommate, Sumera, and a prickly connection to quintessential mean girl Selena St. Clair that deepens into an attraction. During a tunnel party one night, Finch, Selena, and Selena's cadre of popular friends accidentally free Nerosi, a translucent spirit who initially grants them wishes and seems benevolent, but quickly turns sinister and cannibalistic. As Finch and Selena uncover more disturbing information about Nerosi's origins and ultimate plans, they realize that they will need to band together to stop her. Although the dialogue in the first few chapters feels choppy and stereotypical (particularly for Selena), this resolves as Selena's characterization deepens, and Cottingham succeeds in crafting a truly inventive, gruesome horror story that fans of blood and gore will relish. The romance is also sure to be a selling point. Finch grapples with her growing attraction to Selena and her own internalized homophobia, but her conflict is portrayed realistically and ends in a positive, affirming way. Finch and Selena are white, while one of Selena's friends is described as Asian and Sumera, who is an Arab raised in England, wears a hijab. VERDICT A first purchase where strong, bloody horror is in demand. Recommended for fans of Katrina Leno.--Catherine Cote
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A group of teens faces supernatural evil at an elite boarding school. This debut novel introduces readers to the isolated town of Rainwater and its main attraction--Ulalume Academy, a prestigious prep school with an arts focus that pianist Finch Chamberlin wants to attend more than anything. But on the way back from her final audition, Finch gets into a car crash that kills her parents and leaves her with an array of medical conditions. Three months later, she's a Ulalume student but still suffers serious aftereffects from the accident. She's in the same year as Selena St. Clair, the leader of an exclusive clique on campus and a girl who is already out to get Finch after an earlier misunderstanding. However, when Finch and Selena are paired for a crucial performance project, they must come to terms with the burgeoning feelings that arise between them. When Finch, Selena, and the popular girls stumble upon a mysterious and alluring power in the tunnels beneath Ulalume, they discover a source of supernatural favors that may not be what it at first seems. Cottingham's debut opens with a gut-wrenching first chapter and doesn't let up, juxtaposing vivid and unsettling horror with Sapphic teenage angst. Finch and Selena are White; side characters possess an array of diverse ethnic identities. Blood, gore, and drama make for a spooky success. (Horror. 14-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
