(4) YA Lacy wakes to find herself an inhabitant of a cemetery populated by ghosts that rise each night (arbitrary rules make the afterlife oppressive). As she struggles to help the dead express themselves in an open mic night, Lacy awakens the ghost of Edgar Allan Poe, forges new relationships, and comes to terms with her own demise. The darkly comedic novel is structured as a play, with varying degrees of success.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(2) YA Graphic novelist Hinds tackles the work of Edgar Allan Poe, adapting three poems and four stories. Each entry's title page lists pertinent themes and tropes. Hinds's adaptations lean heavily on the original language with an eye toward accessibility. Varied illustrations are a good match for Poe's atmospheric blend of horror and mystery, and color and striking imagery are used to great effect.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2017

(3) 4-6 Thirteen-year-old David retreats to a secret room in the old Victorian house his mother is renting in Baltimore. Unwittingly, he awakens Edgar Allan Poe's spirit, which feeds on David's anger over his father's abandonment. When strange events resembling Poe's classic horror tales occur at school, David must stop the perpetrator or else be blamed. Kidd's latest novel is suspenseful without being overly gruesome.

Reviewer: Grace Enriquez

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Sarah Watts. Garrison Griswold, mastermind of the hidden-book game, Book Scavenger, is mugged; his new edition of an Edgar Allan Poe story is missing. Twelve-year-old Emily and fellow code-enthusiast James find the book and discover typos in the text that spell out words. Codes and ciphers star in this puzzle-game of a novel. An intriguing author's note gives further information on Poe's love of ciphers.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2015

(4) YA To save her beloved Varen, Isobel ventures once more into the dreamworld of Edgar Allan Poe for a final confrontation with the demon Lilith that will decide not only Varen's fate but the world's. Pacing issues break up the tension and drag out elements to the detriment of characterization, but series fans will be happy with the trilogy's conclusion.

Reviewer: Lauren Chambers

(4) 4-6 Misadventures of Edgar & Allan Poe series. Illustrated by Sam Zuppardi. The evil-minded physics professor S. Pangborn Perry lures twins Edgar and Allan Poe, descendants of the famous author, to Baltimore in this wickedly satisfying trilogy conclusion. Tied to a table beneath a swinging blade, the boys must escape certain death. As in this book's predecessors, McAlpine's writing, filled with double-entendres and literary references, creates suspense in an animated setting.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(4) YA Voices in Poetry series. Illustrated by Gary Kelley. In these revised editions, excerpts from each poet's work alternate with biographical passages describing major influences or periods in the artist's life. The arty design calls attention to itself; every page is decorated with a photograph (in Shakespeare's case, a drawing) or a themed illustration: flowers for Dickinson, historical postal stamps for Hughes, leaves for Whitman, etc. The tiny type may put off some readers. Ind. Review covers these Voices in Poetry titles: E. E. Cummings, Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes, William Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, and Walt Whitman.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(4) YA Madeline Usher tells of the curse that's haunted her family for generations and that infects nearly everyone who crosses the threshold of the family mansion. Weaving forward and backward in time, from when she's nine until she's nineteen, Madeline's narrative blurs the line between madness and misfortune in this atmospheric but very slowly paced retelling of Poe's famously horrifying "Fall of the House of Usher."

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(3) 4-6 Misadventures of Edgar & Allan Poe series. Illustrated by Sam Zuppardi. Edgar and Allan Poe, twelve-year-old psychically linked twins, return, here starring in a movie about their famous author ancestor while also trying to outwit evil-minded physics professor S. Pangborn Perry. Dickinson twins Em and Milly help foil the plot with clues from emails, letters, and ghostly messages from beyond. Filled with literary references and double entendres, McAlpine's writing offers intrigue and amusement.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(3) YA In 1826, seventeen-year-old Annabel Lee travels from Siam to Philadelphia to live with her estranged scientist father. A series of nearby murders, rumors of her father's gruesome experiments, and his strange lab assistants--charming Allan Poe and his menacing "cousin" Edgar--pose connected mysteries which curious Annabel investigates. Themes and quotes from Poe's work are smoothly integrated into this eerie Jekyll-and-Hyde-type gothic tale.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher

(3) YA Things are no better than in The Masque of the Red Death for Araby and the devastated world around her, as most humans are dying of plague and untended buildings collapse. Betrayal, romance, death, and extravagance form unlikely but intriguing dance partners, and Araby, desperately pretending at indifference while her heart crumbles daily, is a gripping central force.

Reviewer: April Spisak

(3) YA Socialite Anna Leighton is exiled to the tiny island her family visited years ago, where the islanders maintain an uneasy relationship with selkies and more vengeful otherworldly creatures. Strewn with gothic elements and allusions to Poe, Lindsey's tragic tale inspired by "Annabel Lee" lyrically relates a magical wager that tests the devotion of love.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(3) 4-6 Misadventures of Edgar & Allan Poe series. Illustrated by Sam Zuppardi. A set of twin prodigies named for their famous author ancestor are lured into a trap by a nefarious mad scientist who is engaged in a top-secret experiment that involves killing one brother and controlling the telepathic thoughts of the surviving twin. Sardonic humor, coded letters, and secret forewarning messages combine with literary references for a mysterious brainy exploit.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(3) 4-6 Dark Graphic Novels series. Illustrated by Miquel Serratosa. Durable, chilling, and in graphic-novel format--what more could librarians want out of a horror series? Purists should be warned that significant liberties are taken with the classics to make them quick, accessible reads, although the detailed illustrations (particularly the stunning, woodcut-inspired sketches in Frankenstein) help round out the stories and retain their original emotional impacts. Reading list, websites. Review covers these Dark Graphic Novels titles: Dark Graphic Tales by Edgar Allan Poe and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.

Reviewer: April Spisak

(4) YA With boyfriend Varen trapped in a dream, Isobel (Nevermore) believes the only way to free him is to meet a mysterious figure on Edgar Allan Poe's birthday at the poet's grave. The story moves slowly as Isobel vacillates between hope and depression. Her emotional turmoil grows wearisome, but the explosive ending leaves suspenseful questions to be answered in the trilogy's final volume.

Reviewer: Lauren Chambers

(4) YA Skeleton Creek series. Having uncovered a secret society called the Crossbones, Ryan and Sarah continue to unravel a mystery about Edgar Allan Poe that the Crossbones has been protecting for years. As things unfold, the torch is passed to a new generation of Crossbones protectors. Ryan's journal includes links to online videos with additional clues; astute readers won't need them to solve the tepid mystery.

Reviewer: David Elzey

(4) 4-6 This novel imagines magical mischief inserted into Poe's childhood. Here young Edgar must prove his innocence in connection with the mysterious destruction of a chicken coop. The text's transitions between fact and fantasy can be awkward; roughly shaded drawings are more effective in hinting at the murky distinction between real and fantastical.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(3) YA Social Issues in Literature series. These books feature short essays, focused biographical pieces, interviews, and excerpts of critical articles selected from a range of reputable secondary sources. Background information on the author, thematic exploration of the named subject, and contemporary applications of the topic extend the significance of the literary work. Reading list, timeline. Bib., ind. Review covers these Social Issues in Literature titles: Mental Illness in Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Colonialism in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart, The American Dream in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, and Social and Psychological Disorder in the Works of Edgar Allan Poe.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(4) YA Straight-laced cheerleader Isobel is annoyed to be paired with creepy goth classmate Varen for a school project. Her feelings (predictably) turn into attraction; she's then ensnared in Varen's fantasy world that integrates Edgar Allan Poe's dark plots and images. For those unfamiliar with Poe, this text's many twists may be frustratingly confusing; conversely, Poe fans will likely enjoy the copious allusions.

Reviewer: Lauren Maggio

(4) 4-6 Magickeepers series. Cousins Nick and Isabella are busy honing their craft as Magickeepers when another crisis arises that only they can solve. Incorporation of Russian culture and lore, historical figures, and mini history lessons makes for an educational read. However, the frequency of such components, minus a strong interconnecting narrative, slows the story down.

Reviewer: Thom Barthelmess