Neal Shusterman

Shusterman is a young adult novelist who often incorporates fairy tales, folklore and mythology into his suspense novels. Of particular interest for this site is his Dark Fusion series.

Shusterman, Neal. Dread Locks: Dark Fusion #1. New York: Dutton, 2005.
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NOVEL: From the publisher: "Fifteen-year-old Parker Baer is bored with his entire perfect life. But when Parker finds Tara, a strange but beautiful girl sleeping in his bed, his life turns upside down. Exotic-looking, with long, glimmering spirals of golden hair that seem almost alive and eyes that are always hidden behind sunglasses, Tara lives by herself in a house full of statues. Parker watches, fascinated, as the charismatic Tara picks students at the high school to befriend and wraps them around her little finger. As her "friends" start developing strange quirks, like drinking gallons of milk at a time and eating dirt, only Parker realizes what Tara is up to. But she’s endowed him with certain cravings of his own. . . . Can he stop her destructive game in time, or is he doomed to be under her spell forever?"

Shusterman, Neal. Red Rider's Hood: Dark Fusion #2. New York: Dutton, 2005.
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NOVEL: From the publisher: "Red rides around his tough urban neighborhood in his blood red Mustang. It satisfies his urge to wander, and it usually keeps him safe from the gangs in town, the Wolves and the Crypts. But when Red’s grandmother is mugged by some members of the Wolves, Red can no long sit on the sidelines. He decides to join the Wolves as a pledge so he can learn how to defeat them. Soon he uncovers their terrible secret: they are werewolves with a thirst for human blood. Instead of feeling horrified, Red envies the Wolves’ freedom and power. Even as he trains to kill them— under an unlikely but cunning werewolf hunter—he has come to see them as packmates. Finally he is faced with a choice at the next full moon: take up the Wolves’ murderous ways, or take them down."

Shusterman, Neal. Dread Locks: Dark Fusion #3. New York: Dutton, 2007.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardcover or paperback.

NOVEL: From the publisher: "Cara is so ugly, mirrors would rather break than show her reflection. Not even her own parents can deny her ugliness, and nothing can make up for the cruelty of her schoolmates. Tormented and tortured by the shallow people of Flock’s Rest, Cara’s life is miserable. Then Cara receives a shimmering note from some exotic place suggesting that there’s more to her than meets the eye. Cara wonders if her destiny has something to do with her recurring dreams of a beautiful green valley where the people are so accepting, her ugliness doesn’t matter. Soon, Cara discovers that her valley of dreams is real. It’s a place where the ugliest of ducklings can become swans. A swan, however, can have a serious taste for revenge . . . deadly revenge."

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