Publishers Weekly
08/07/2023
A group of teenagers must reckon with their shared past after they’re dragged into a deadly underworld filled with creatures from Japanese folklore in this Jumanji-inspired horror by Simmons (the Vale Hall series). Four years ago, 13-year-old best friends Dax, Emerson, Ian, Madeline, and Owen started a card game in a cave by the river, but harrowing events forced the teens to flee. Four years later, the now-17-year-olds are estranged, and they don’t talk about what happened—especially not the fact that they left Ian behind for dead. When they each begin seeing horrifying visions of Ian imploring them to finish the game, the group returns to the cave. There, they enter an otherworldly netherverse where they must complete a series of nightmarish challenges in order to rescue Ian and get back home. Told via dynamic changing perspectives, this rapidly paced narrative is alight with unsettling atmosphere and eerie instances of body and psychological horror that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. The cast is intersectionally diverse. Ages 13–up. (Sept.)
From the Publisher
"Magnificently macabre!" —Shelf Awareness
"I was totally absorbed by this running-through-a-gauntlet novel with truly inspiring twists, turns, and genuine palpable emotion." —David Levithan, New York Times bestselling author of Every Day
"Perfect for the spooky season and beyond, giving readers a new kind of horror novel that will fly off the shelves. An excellent read." —School Library Journal
"Find Him Where You Left Him Dead is a gripping and intense horror story that is a must-read for fans of Japanese mythology and those who enjoy a good scare. Kristen Simmons skillfully weaves together elements of Japanese folklore, diverse representation, and psychological terror to create a haunting and unforgettable reading experience." —Melissa De La Cruz, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Blue Bloods series and Disney’s Descendants
"Simmons has created an evocative world that reignites the Jumanji concept. [T]he horror will have readers racing for the end." —Booklist
"Gritty, fascinating, and full of surprises, this is a story that lingers long after the final sentence." —C.J. Redwine, NYT's bestselling author of Rise of the Vicious Princess
"Kristen Simmons’s Find Him Where You Left Him Dead throws the reader into an intense horror-action game—like Jumanji but Japanese-inspired and really disturbing.” —Kendare Blake, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Anna Dressed in Blood and the Three Dark Crowns series
“Heart-pounding, immersive, and chilling. I couldn’t put this book down, and can’t get it out of my head!” —Margaret Rogerson, New York Times bestselling author of An Enchantment of Ravens
“Bone-chilling. you'll be kept on the edge of your seat and with your heart in your throat.” —Lauren Shippen, author of The Infinite Noise
“Crafted from pure nightmares—so twisted, so turny, that the second you hit The End, you'll feel compelled to start the whole book over again.” —Lish McBride, award-winning author and Morris Award Short List recipient
"Kristen Simmons strikes the right balance between horror that sticks to your bones and friendships that pull at your heart. The kind of great horror book I can't put down . . . but that also won't let me sleep!" —Chelsea Mueller, author of Prom House and the Soul Charmer series
"Simmons crafts an interesting world brimming with unique takes on Japanese mythology, giving readers who know their stuff or do their research some unexpected treats. The fast pace, horror elements, and speedy action scenes will be a draw for many readers looking for some high-stakes action as the characters outsmart the yōkai and progress through the game." —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
School Library Journal
11/01/2023
Gr 9 Up—Four years ago, Maddy, Emerson, Dax, Owen, and Ian went into a small cave near the banks of the Ohio River. Finding a deck of cards painted with kanji, Japanese characters, the five begin to play a game. Only four of them leave the tunnel, not really remembering what happened to Ian. In the four years since, the friends have gone their separate ways, but when they begin to see Ian again, they know they need to finish the game. As they begin to play Karuta, a simple matching game, the four friends descend through a mad world filled with yokai, oni, and many terrifying elements of traditional Japanese folklore. The story is soaked in mythology, but even readers unfamiliar with it will not find this element confusing, and the characters are multifaceted in a way that makes it easy to connect with them and their situation. A very fast-paced tale that never lets up, this book is perfect for the spooky season and beyond, giving readers a new kind of horror novel that will fly off the shelves. The end hints at a sequel. VERDICT An excellent read, and one that is unique in the young adult section.—Adam Fisher
Kirkus Reviews
2023-07-26
Estranged friends reunite to finish a game that claimed one of their number.
When missing Ian comes back—appearing in ghastly encounters with each of his fellow Foxtail Five, asking why they left him and warning them that they must finish the game before dawn—the once-close friends are pulled back together. The characters—including overachieving, perfectionistic Madeline, who is Black and biracial; asexual white high school dropout and gamer Emerson; Owen, a bisexual star theater kid who is Japanese and white; and mysterious tan-skinned misfit Dax, whose ethnicity, like his father, is unknown to him—return to where it all began. There, they find the mysterious Japanese card game that took Ian. The ghost story gives way to a dark portal fantasy as they’re taken to the corrupted world of Meido and sent on a fetch quest, based on the game’s seven cards, to retrieve seven pieces of an empress’s body that were turned to stone. Through their trials, they come up against twists on Japanese mythology and lavishly described grotesque horrors through depictions of a gamified underworld. Though the dawn time limit adds tension, the number of retrievals creates a predictable pattern for the plot. Luckily, the tasks make emotional demands on the characters, which helps distinguish them; in early chapters, their voices feel similar. Late revelations about the nature of the game and its players lead to a twisted climax, and the denouement promises a sequel.
Fun for dark genre fans. (Fantasy. 12-18)
