The author’s website (doesn’t mention DB except in bio) There is a video trailer on his website for another book, Goblins! which I liked very much, though there are a few curse words in that one. Here is a fan-made video trailer for Dead Boys.
Summary from Goodreads.com: There’s a dark side to Teddy’s new town…
When Teddy Mathews moves to Richland, his main concern is making new friends. But something is not right about this quiet desert town: All the boys he meets seem to vanish before his eyes, while the imposing shadows of the giant tree outside his house appear to be hiding more than darkness.
With the branches of the massive sycamore scratching at his window, Teddy’s life becomes a waking nightmare that no one else believes. Can Teddy escape the tree’s terrifying grasp and solve the mystery of the missing boys before he becomes the next boy to disappear?
Personal Reaction: Very dark and very twisted story. I get that this is a supernatural thriller, but at the end I kept wondering how a kid would survive being held hostage for years without food/water while being part of the tree’s fertilizer.
Curriculum or discussion topics: Environmentalism?
Connections to other books: (I kept coming back to the movie Poltergeist for the creepy tree imagery.) I can’t think of any other evil tree books! I would definitely recommend House of Dark Shadows by Liparulo for fans of Dead Boys. How about Thirteen Days to Midnight by Carman, Revenge of the Witch by Delaney (movie on the way), and City of the Dead by Abbott for creepy suspense?
Items to display with book: photo of creepy gnarled old tree next to dilapidated house, photo of nuclear power plant, photo of housing development in desert or construction site; real or fake news articles about missing boys; sand; old yearbooks
Food items connected to story: water, granola bars, milk/cereal
Movies of the Mind 