Draw the Dark

“Bick has created a likable teen protagonist whose unique ability is completely believable in the author’s skilled hands. The novel brilliantly strikes a compelling balance between fantasy and contemporary fiction. Readers will be on the edge of their seats waiting to find out what happens next and will clamor for a sequel to follow Christian into the sideways place.” —School Library Journal

“‘Draw the Dark’ is one of four books launching Minneapolis-based Carolrhoda’s new line of distinctive fiction that the publisher says ‘offers YA authors and their readers an opportunity to explore and experiment with the full range of adolescent triumph and tragedy.’ In the book, Christian is a teen who loves to draw, but his talent scares him. He has sketched a door on his bedroom wall that changes locations during the night, and he somehow knows that if he draws a doorknob, he might find his dead mother on the other side. When he’s accused of painting swastikas on the old barn owned by the town’s mean rich guy, people think he’s even odder than they supposed. Christian is haunted by the idea that he can draw people’s deepest fears, causing them to die. When he’s sentenced to do community service at a nursing home, he’s drawn to a mute old man who had been a painter and harbors a secret. This is psychological horror at its best.” —Pioneer Press

“Bick’s tight plotting drives the action forward, and dream drawing sequences provide tantalizing clues.” —Kirkus Reviews