Why am I passionate about this?
I’ve always been intrigued by the way night transforms familiar landscapes, creates a sense of loosened boundaries, and seems to be rich with almost magical potential. One of my most beloved books as a kid was The BFG, partly because of its magnificent passage about the witching hour, “the special moment…when all the dark things came out from hiding and had the world to themselves.” Later, I discovered Hamlet’s take on it and was equally charmed. It’s no surprise that many of the key moments in my debut collection, Here in the Night, take place after dark. Here are my five favorite books that capture the beguiling power of nighttime.
Rebecca's book list on night’s tantalizing and terrifying potential
Why did Rebecca love this book?
Night takes on special significance in any werewolf narrative.
In this gorgeous novel, the narrator is descended from a line of werewolves, but is yet to transform himself, despite being past the age it might typically happen. He desperately wants to transform, and each moonlit night offers him the hope that he might feel like less of an outsider within his own family. This surprisingly tender coming-of-age story deftly explores what it means to exist on the fringes of society, and the deep-seeded need to belong.
I’ve always loved books that resist the confines of any one genre, and this book could easily be categorized as a bildungsroman, a work of literary fiction, or a horror novel.
3 authors picked Mongrels as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
A spellbinding and darkly humorous coming-of-age story about an unusual boy, whose family lives on the fringe of society and struggles to survive in a hostile world that shuns and fears them. He was born an outsider, like the rest of his family. Poor yet resilient, he lives in the shadows with his aunt Libby and uncle Darren, folk who stubbornly make their way in a society that does not understand or want them. They are mongrels, mixed blood, neither this nor that. The boy at the center of Mongrels must decide if he belongs on the road with his…