What songs would the
characters of FERAL have on repeat?
You know, that’s such an interesting question. FERAL is a psychological thriller, but like
psychological thrillers, the book borrows from other genres: horror’s one of
them.
I think one of the most important components of horror is
isolation. You’ve got to be alone to be
vulnerable. And that’s tough, in
contemporary life—modern technology has ensured that someone is always within
reach. One way I gave the book a feeling
of isolation was through sounds.
The book takes place during a brutal ice storm that knocks out
power throughout the town of Peculiar.
With no TV or computer—or cars navigating the slick streets—the town has
a stillness about it. In the midst of
that stillness, we hear noises: the crack and snap of ice-coated limbs. The echo of footsteps in snow…
Rather than a soundtrack of songs, I’d have to say that the true
soundtrack for the book would incorporate those eerie noises cutting through
the silence…
The Lovely Bones meets Black Swan in this haunting psychological
thriller with twists and turns that will make you question everything you think
you know.
It’s too late for you. You’re dead. Those words continue to haunt Claire Cain months after she barely survived
It’s too late for you. You’re dead. Those words continue to haunt Claire Cain months after she barely survived
a brutal beating in Chicago. So when her
father is offered a job in another state, Claire is hopeful that getting out
will offer her a way to start anew.
But when she arrives in Peculiar, Missouri, Claire feels an overwhelming sense of danger, and her fears are confirmed when she discovers the body of a popular high school student in the icy woods behind the school, surrounded by the town’s feral cats. While everyone is quick to say it was an accident, Claire knows there’s more to it, and vows to learn the truth about what happened.
But the closer she gets to uncovering the mystery, the closer she also gets to realizing a frightening reality about herself and the damage she truly sustained in that Chicago alley….
Holly Schindler’s gripping story is filled with heart-stopping twists and turns that will keep readers guessing until the very last page.
But when she arrives in Peculiar, Missouri, Claire feels an overwhelming sense of danger, and her fears are confirmed when she discovers the body of a popular high school student in the icy woods behind the school, surrounded by the town’s feral cats. While everyone is quick to say it was an accident, Claire knows there’s more to it, and vows to learn the truth about what happened.
But the closer she gets to uncovering the mystery, the closer she also gets to realizing a frightening reality about herself and the damage she truly sustained in that Chicago alley….
Holly Schindler’s gripping story is filled with heart-stopping twists and turns that will keep readers guessing until the very last page.
FERAL AND THE PSYCHOLOGICAL
THRILLER:
FERAL falls squarely into
the realm of the classic psychological thriller. While the book features mystery, horror, and
paranormal elements, the emphasis is on the “psychological” rather than
thriller / action. The novel features a
Hitchcockian pace and focus on character development (here, we’re exploring the
inner workings of the main character, Claire Cain). Essentially, every aspect of FERAL is used to
explore Claire’s inner workings—that even includes the wintry Ozarks
setting. The water metaphor is employed
frequently in psychological thrillers to represent the subconscious, and here
is incorporated in the form of a brutal ice storm (that represents Claire’s
“frozen” inner state). The attempt to
untangle what is real from what is unreal (another frequently-used aspect of
the psychological thriller) also begins to highlight the extent to which Claire
was hurt in that Chicago alley. Even the
explanation of the odd occurrences in the town of Peculiar offers an
exploration into and portrait of Claire’s psyche. Ultimately, FERAL is a book about recovering
from violence—that’s not just a lengthy or hard process; it’s a terrifying
process, too. The classic psychological
thriller allowed me to explore that frightening process in detail.
.JPG)
Holly Schindler is
the author of the critically acclaimed A BLUE SO DARK (Booklist starred review, ForeWord Reviews Book of the Year silver
medal recipient, IPPY Awards gold medal recipient) as well as PLAYING HURT (both YAs).
Her
debut MG, THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY, also released in ’14, and became a favorite of teachers and
librarians, who used the book as a read-aloud.
Kirkus Reviews called THE JUNCTION “...a heartwarming
and uplifting story...[that] shines...with vibrant themes of community,
self-empowerment and artistic vision delivered with a satisfying verve.”
FERAL
is Schindler’s third YA and first psychological thriller. Publishers Weekly gave FERAL a starred
review, stating, “Opening with
back-to-back scenes of exquisitely imagined yet very real horror, Schindler’s
third YA novel hearkens to the uncompromising demands of her debut, A BLUE SO
DARK…This time, the focus is on women’s voices and the consequences they suffer
for speaking…This is a story about reclaiming and healing, a process that is
scary, imperfect, and carries no guarantees.”
Schindler
encourages readers to get in touch.
Booksellers, teen librarians, and teachers can also contact her directly
regarding Skype visits. She can be
reached at hollyschindlerbooks (at) gmail (dot) com, and can also be found at
hollyschindler.com, hollyschindler.blogspot.com, @holly_schindler,
Facebook.com/HollySchindlerAuthor, and hollyschindler.tumblr.com.
