by Vanessa Knoedler 

Looking for a ghoulish Halloween read?  Interested in a modern take on vampires? (I mean… who isn’t, as long as it isn’t mired in teen angst?! Or maybe especially if it is…)

Consider Justin Cronin’s The Passage.  It brings together secret government facilities, fugitive chase scenes, a deadly virus rampaging through the population, and a dystopian future love story.  All this is mixed in with thoughtful prose and a captivating protagonist.

Six-year-old Amy has lived a hard life when FBI agent Brad Wolgast discovers her orphaned at a convent.  Amidst the heart-wrenching aspects of child neglect and the loss of one’s child, there are stories of hope and pain intertwining throughout this lurid and mesmerizing tale.