Fifteen-year-old Allie Lau is not excited to attend Heartwood Academy, a posh boarding school deep in a remote forest.
Subject to the whims of senior students, Allie faces an initiation ritual called the test, which requires her and other new students to spend the entire night in the forest. The senior students warn that a ghost lurks in the woods, preying on those who trespass. Allie braves the test, but when she accidentally kicks over a gravestone in an overgrown burial site, she finds herself pursued by some kind of zombie.
This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading-level book for teen readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don't like to read.
Key Selling Points
• Fifteen-year-old Allie finds herself at a boarding school where hazing turns into haunting during an overnight initiation called the test.
• The book blends horror and dark academia to create a genuinely scary and suspenseful story with a dark ending in line with current horror trends.
• Allie is a well-rounded, feisty rebel character who stands up for herself and will have readers rooting for her.
• Author Marty Chan is an award-winning author who tours schools and libraries across Canada, using storytelling, magic, and improvisation to inspire young people's passion for reading. He is the author of Haunted Hospital, which was a CCBC Best Books for Kids & Teens selection.
• Enhanced features (highly-readable font, cream paper, larger trim size) to increase reading accessibility for dyslexic and other striving readers.
In this high-interest accessible novel for teen readers, fifteen-year-old Allie must spend the night in a haunted forest when the senior students at her new school force her into an initiation ritual.
Marty Chan is a prolific writer and award-winning author of over twenty books, including Cosplay Crime, Kung Fu Master and Haunted Hospital in the Orca Currents line, Dragon on the Loose, Izzy Wong's Nose for News and the award-winning Marty Chan Mystery series. As a virtual presenter, Marty has traveled the world without ever leaving his basement studio. He's presented to students in Japan, London, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Mexico. Marty also tours schools and libraries across Canada, using storytelling, stage magic and improv to ignite a passion for reading and writing in kids. He lives in Edmonton with his partner and two cats. Orca Soundings are short, high-interest novels written specifically for teens. These edgy stories with compelling characters and gripping storylines are ones they will want to read. Reading levels from grade 2.0 to 4.5. Interest level ages 12+.
Three Hearts Forever
"Chan's paranormal mystery, which is designed to be accessible to dyslexic and striving readers, is compulsively readable, begging to be finished in a single sitting, with its breakneck pacing ratcheted by the escalating tension and healthy dose of red herrings. Fans of dark academia may think they have the ending figured out, but it should sufficiently shock even the most seasoned veteran of the genre-along with the healthy splashes of gore. Fresh, pulse-pounding, and page-turning."
