Devil in Ohio

by Daria Polatin

Overview

Soon to be a Netflix Limited Series!

A traumatized girl lives with a family after escaping a cult in this debut YA suspense/thriller that was inspired by true events.

When fifteen-year-old Jules Mathis comes home from school to find a strange girl sitting in her kitchen, her psychiatrist mother reveals that Mae is one of her patients at the hospital and will be staying with their family for a few days. But soon Mae is wearing Jules’s clothes, sleeping in her bedroom, edging her out of her position on the school paper, and flirting with Jules’s crush. And Mae has no intention of leaving.

Then things get weird.

Jules walks in on a half-dressed Mae, startled to see: a pentagram carved into Mae’s back. Jules pieces together clues and discovers that Mae is a survivor of the strange cult that’s embedded in a nearby town.

And the cult will stop at nothing to get Mae back.

Find out what happens in Devil in Ohio by Daria Polatin.

Praise for Devil in Ohio:

"Polatin weaves a thrilling and suspenseful story in her debut, inspired by true events. Jules Mathis' life is thrown into turmoil after her psychiatrist mother invites Mae—a patient, cult survivor, and troubled young girl with a pentagram carved into her back—to stay with their family. . . . Eager readers will keep turning pages to discover Mae's secrets and her connection to the Mathis family." —Booklist

"Between the danger Jules's mother brings to the family and the cringe-worthy cult rituals described, this story is sometimes difficult to read—but sometimes the most important stories are the most challenging." —VOYA

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250180773
Publisher:	Square Fish
Publication date:	11/06/2018
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	165,064
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

Daria Polatin is the creator, showrunner and executive producer of Devil in Ohio, a Netflix Limited Series starring Emily Deschanel and Madeleine Arthur, based on her best-selling novel of the same name. Daria was a writer/co-executive producer of Stephen King’s Castle Rock, where her episode “The Laughing Place” was named one of Entertainment Weekly’s Best TV Episodes of 2019. Additional TV credits include Jack Ryan, Hunters, Heels, and Shut Eye.

An award-winning playwright, Daria wrote and directed her new play Palmyra at Center Theatre Group’s Kirk Douglas Theatre, which ran on CTG’s Digital Stage. Her plays have been produced across the United States and internationally. She is a founding member of The Kilroys, the advocacy group for gender parity in the American theater.

Under her 1001 Pictures banner, Daria continues to write and produce propulsive stories that challenge and entertain. Daria is of Egyptian descent, grew up traveling on five continents, loves hiking and inventing recipes, and lives in Los Angeles with her family. Devil in Ohio is her debut novel.

dariapolatin.com

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Devil in Ohio:

"Devil in Ohio kept me up until 3 a.m. with the lights on–in a good way. It’s a haunting thriller for readers who like fear, humor, and heart in one package." —Meredith Goldstein, advice columnist and feature reporter for The Boston Globe, author of upcoming YA novel Chemistry Lessons.

"Gripping, urgent and addictive, Devil in Ohio balances the dark exploration of cults with a compelling and often humorous take on teen social dynamics. This is the debut you won’t want to miss." —Aditi Khorana, author of critically acclaimed The Library of Fates and Mirror in the Sky

"Polatin weaves a thrilling and suspenseful story in her debut, inspired by true events. Jules Mathis' life is thrown into turmoil after her psychiatrist mother invites Mae—a patient, cult survivor, and troubled young girl with a pentagram carved into her back—to stay with their family. . . . Eager readers will keep turning pages to discover Mae's secrets and her connection to the Mathis family." —Booklist

"Between the danger Jules's mother brings to the family and the cringe-worthy cult rituals described, this story is sometimes difficult to read—but sometimes the most important stories are the most challenging." — VOYA

"'Devil in Ohio' will grip you with its frightening twists and turns, but it is its tenderness that will stay with you. Daria Polatin brings humor and heart to a story that shines some much-needed light on the darkness of our world." —Abdi Nazemian, author of People Magazine's Teen Pick The Authentics and The Walk-In Closet.

"Deeply thoughtful, funny and human. 'Devil in Ohio' is a perfect blend of thriller, humor, character-driven drama, and good old fashioned storytelling." —Bekah Brunstetter, playwright, writer-producer of Emmy Award-winning This is Us on NBC and screenwriter of the upcoming film adaptation of bestseller The Secret.

"It's fitting that the main character in Devil in Ohio is a Hitchcock fan. This twisty psychological thriller has the jumps, shocks and brilliant ah-ha moments that make it feel like Hitch gone YA, complete with characters as lovable as all of his best." —Jessie Rosen, author of YA thriller Dead Ringer and TIME Magazine's top 25 blog, 20-Nothings.

"The seclusion of the cult makes its practices all the more horrible as they operate outside the normal structures of legal accountability; the police's frustrating refusal to engage and the mild narrative scolding of middle-class privilege play to readers who want to explore questions of heroic good versus supernatural evil in realistic fiction. A titillating ending suggests, however, that Mae's immersion in cults may not be over." —The Bulletin

From the Publisher

09/25/2017
Jules Mathis, the 15-year-old protagonist of playwright/TV writer Polatin’s uneven debut, leads an unremarkable life until her psychiatrist mother, Suzanne, brings a patient home with her from the hospital. Sixteen-year-old Mae Dodd recently escaped from a satanic cult in nearby Tisdale, Ohio. Suzanne claims that Mae will only be staying with them for a few days, but it becomes clear to Jules that Mae isn’t interested in leaving. In addition to monopolizing Suzanne’s time and attention, Mae takes over Jules’s room, borrows her clothes, and starts dating her crush. When the cult begins targeting the Mathis family in an effort to recapture Mae, Jules is forced to wonder just how much her mother is willing to sacrifice in order to protect the girl. The setup is intriguing, but underdeveloped characters (including cult members who come across like cartoon villains), a slow-moving plot, and an abrupt and oblique conclusion keep it from being fully realized. Jules’s first-person narrative alternates with third-person chapters focused on her mother; although Jules’s hurt and frustration are understandable, Suzanne’s dedication to Mae is less so as events spiral out of control. Ages 13–up. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

10/01/2017
Gr 10 Up—Fifteen-year-old Jules is determined to be a famous photographer, and the first step is to get on the school newspaper where her crush is the editor. The teen finally lands an interview for the paper when her mother brings home a mysterious girl named Mae, and Jules's boring life becomes significantly more eventful. At first, Jules feels sorry for Mae because she has clearly been abused; but after a couple of weeks, she enjoys having a female friend and the recent popularity that comes with knowing the new girl. However, as Mae's presence slowly begins to affect Jules's friendship with her best friend Isaac and her parent's marriage, she starts to question the identity of her new housemate. This thriller relies heavily on Mae's motivations—is she a naive abused girl or is she a manipulator? The unreliable antagonist is a staple in this genre, especially when the character is fully developed and keeps readers engaged and constantly guessing. Mae, however, is underdeveloped, and at times her behavior is unrealistic. The supporting cast, including Jules' sisters and Isaac, is also underdeveloped and doesn't drive the plot forward. Although the novel has some relatable themes, such as people's reliance on social constructs, the overall narrative lacks nuance. Teens will find the ending too abrupt and anticlimactic. VERDICT Not recommended.—Dawn Abron, Zion-Benton Public Library, IL

School Library Journal