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No Beauties or Monsters

No Beauties or Monsters

Current price: $17.99
Publication Date: December 7th, 2021
Publisher:
Delacorte Press
ISBN:
9781524714802
Pages:
368

Description

A desert full of mystery. A girl who sees things she shouldn’t. Desperate to unlock the secrets of Twentynine Palms, I raced through this book!” —Erin A. Craig, New York Times bestselling author of House of Salt and Sorrows
 
For fans of Stranger Things and Veronica Mars comes a new YA mystery about a girl whose desperate search for her missing friend unearths dark secrets, preternatural threats, and a truth that could ultimately tear her family, friends, and town apart.

Welcome to Twentynine Palms, where nothing is what it seems.
 


Rylie hasn't been back to the military base in Twentynine Palms since her father died. She left a lot of memories out there, buried in the sand of the Mojave Desert. Memories about her dad, her old friends Nathan and Lily, and most of all, her enigmatic grandfather, a man who cut ties with Rylie’s family before he passed away. But her mom’s new work assignment has sent their family to Twentynine Palms again, and now, Rylie’s in the one place she never wanted to return to.
 
At least her old friends are happy to welcome her home. Well, some of them, anyway. It turns out Lily is gone, vanished into the desert. To make matters worse, there are whispers around town of a mysterious killer on the loose.
 
But it isn’t just Twentynine Palms that feels frightening—there’s something wrong with Rylie, too. She’s seeing things she can’t explain. Visions of monstrous creatures that stalk the night.
 
Somehow, it all seems to be tied to her grandfather and the family cabin he left behind. Rylie wants the truth, but she doesn’t know if she can trust herself. Are the monsters in her head really out there? Or could it be that the deadliest thing in the desert . . . is Rylie herself?

About the Author

Tara Goedjen never stays in one place for long. She has worked for a publishing house in Australia, as a tennis coach in Spain, and she wrote No Beauties or Monsters on the island of Guam and in the desert of New Mexico. Now she lives and writes in a rainy corner of the Pacific Northwest. She is also the author of The Breathless. To find out more about Tara and her books, find her on Instagram at @taragoedjen or say hello at taragoedjenauthor.com.
 

Praise for No Beauties or Monsters

"Compellingly creepy." —Tor.com

"Strange, unnerving, and downright unputdownable." —Popsugar

"Goedjen (The Breathless) effectively plays with expectations in this unsettling genre-bender, slowly peeling away layers of ambiguity while skillfully keeping readers off-balance." —PW

"This riveting thriller mixes an intriguing narrator with elements of science fiction and horror…eerie and imaginative." —Kirkus Reviews

"Goedjen keeps a tight rein on each element...allow[ing] readers to piece together clues—and then steering the storyline into a wildly unpredictable but entirely riveting path." —The Bulletin

Sears with uncanny malice from the very first page—and then quickly explodes into a blistering fever dream. Insidiously beautiful.” –Krystal Sutherland, New York Times bestselling author of House of Hollow

"Mind-bending and wholly engrossing—I couldn't read it fast enough!" —Kayla Olson, author of The Sandcastle Empire and This Splintered Silence

A feast of mystery and intrigue, No Beauties or Monsters explores the way in which our lives twine around infinite possibilities. To read it is to be caught between a dream and a nightmare.” —Parker Peevyhouse, author of Strange Exit and The Echo Room

"No Beauties or Monsters is brilliantly plotted, atmospheric and taut. Goedjen keeps you turning pages, along for the ride with the beautifully-drawn Rylie as she searches for answers just out of grasp." —Marit Weisenberg, author of The Insomniacs

"Like its Mojave Desert setting, No Beauties or Monsters is mysterious, bizarre, and utterly unique. Brimming with family secrets, disturbing murders, and a main character whose own memories can’t be trusted, this book is tense from the startling first chapter until the puzzle pieces finally—chillingly—fall into place." —Chelsea Sedoti, author of It Came from the Sky and As You Wish

"Goedjen’s exquisitely crafted new novel unfolds with lucid imagination and intriguing surprise, leading down a twisted path that does not disappoint." —Daria Polatin, author of Devil in Ohio

This book throws you off kilter, plunging you into a strange place where you start to question not just what you’re reading, but also your own reality. It’s an eerie and unforgettable read with all the strange, pale beauty of a desert sunset. I loved the story, the characters, and the otherworldly setting, and will never look at Joshua Tree the same again.” —Kate Williams, author of The Babysitters Coven series

A desert full of mystery. A girl who sees things she shouldn’t. Desperate to unlock the secrets of Twentynine Palms, I raced through this book!” —Erin A. Craig, New York Times bestselling author of House of Salt and Sorrows

"A mind-bending and atmospheric mystery that kept me up all night."—Kara Thomas, author of The Cheerleaders

Featured in:
Entertainment Weekly, “9 Authors Pick Their Must-Read Fall Thrillers”
The Hollywood Reporter, “New Books with Hollywood Appeal”
Tor.com, “Best Young Adult Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror of 2021”
SheReads.com, “Best Young Adult Thrillers of 2021”
Women.com, “The Most Anticipated YA Books of Fall”
Brit + Co, “22 Must-Read Books To Cozy Up With This Fall”
The Young Folks, “December 2021 New Book Releases: Thrilling and Riveting Reads for Winter”
Ms Career Girl, “10 Escapist Reads to Cuddle Up With”