A Guide to the Dark

by Meriam Metoui Narrated by Vaneh Assadourian, Ramiz Monsef, Ariana Delawari

Overview

Something is building, simmering just out of reach.

THE ROOM IS WATCHING. But Mira and Layla don't know this yet. When they are stranded on their College Tour Spring Break Best Friend Road Trip, they find themselves at the Wildwood Motel, located in the Middle of Nowhere, Indiana.

Mira can't shake the feeling that there is something wrong and rotten about their room. Inside, she's haunted by nightmares of her dead brother. When she wakes up, he's still there.

Layla doesn't see him. Or notice anything suspicious about Room 9. The place may be a little run-down, but it has a certain charm she can't wait to capture on camera. If Layla is being honest, she's too preoccupied with her confusing feelings for Mira to see much else.
But when they learn eight people died in that same room, they realize there must be a connection between the deaths and the unexplainable things that keep happening inside it. They just have to figure it out before Mira becomes the ninth.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

★ "Readers will have trouble putting this one down even for a minute." –School Library Journal, starred review

"Metoui masterfully handles perspective...themes of grief, fraught and romantic queer connections to a friend, and familial expectations are thoughtfully explored."—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"A ghostly mystery and an impactful exploration of grief and loss." —Publisher's Weekly

"Introspective, character-driven, and—most importantly—haunting."—Kirkus Reviews

“Terrifically haunting. A Guide to the Dark delves into the complexities of grief and the frightening metamorphosis of ghosts that aren’t put to rest. Meriam Metoui has created something spectacular.”—Chloe Gong, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of These Violent Delights

“Meriam Metoui’s exquisite debut is a bone-chilling story about grief, guilt, and what happens when our deepest secrets refuse to stay hidden in the dark. A Guide to the Dark will crawl under your skin and stay there long after you’ve closed its pages.”—Aiden Thomas, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Cemetery Boys and The Sunbearer Trials

“Chilling, sultry, and smart. . .this slow-burn horror story hooked me with its portrayal of two friends navigating an attraction amidst fears both earthly and uncanny. . .as well as its probing of the fine line between grief and guilt."—Jodi Lynn Anderson, New York Times–bestselling author

“Fabulously creepy and compulsively readable. Part roadside horror, part cozy mystery, Metoui breathes life into the genre by exploring the tangled roots of friendship, love, and guilt. Chilling photography complements beautiful prose for an altogether innovative storytelling experience. I’ll think twice before checking into a motel again."—David Arnold, New York Times–bestselling author of Mosquitoland

"Peppered with black-and-white photographs, this emotionally raw story explores loss, grief, queerness, and family expectations through contemplative alternating-narrative perspectives. A delightfully haunting and insightful debut for horror and thriller fans." –Booklist

Kirkus Reviews

2023-04-24
Best friends run afoul of a cursed motel room.

Layla and Mira’s spring break college-visit road trip comes to a sudden halt with a nighttime car crash in a small Indiana town. Little do they know that Wildwood Motel’s Room Nine, their impromptu lodging, has been steadily claiming lives for decades. To Layla, Room Nine’s just a room. She’s far more concerned with getting to show her portfolio at her dream college, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, at an event the following day and hopefully getting off their waitlist (even though her parents want her to stay close to home in Michigan—the same parents Egyptian American Layla can’t come out to for fear of losing their love). But Mira—deeply grieving her younger brother’s drowning death last summer during a visit to family in Tunisia—immediately feels the weighty wrongness of the room and starts experiencing impossible things. While trying to figure out if it’s concussion, grief, or something else, Mira befriends the teenage son of the motel’s owner, a boy who lost his father to Room Nine. As their investigation deepens, so does the sense of doom and danger. The prose is punctuated by Layla’s black-and-white photographs, lending a lovely sense of immersion. The ending balances emotional growth (and a touch of romance) with pain and a horror stinger. Layla and Mira are both Muslim and grapple with their immigrant parents’ expectations and their sexualities.

Introspective, character-driven, and—most importantly—haunting. (Horror. 12-18)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940159679468
Publisher:	Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date:	07/18/2023
Edition description:	Unabridged

Videos