Scream All Night

Gr 10 Up—Dario's dad, Lucien, is a tyrannical, nonagenarian filmmaker with a cult following and a vast oeuvre of B-list horror flicks, all produced at an isolated castlelike complex called Moldavia Studios. Dario, a former child actor in his father's films, is a self-emancipated orphan who broke from Moldavia to escape Lucien's abusive, dictatorial directing, intending to never return. But when Lucien ceremoniously buries himself alive, Dario inherits the financially and morally troubled studio. Dario has to decide how to handle the cast, the crew, and his family legacy. The appeal of the campy, creepy, and highly original setting may charm some readers. But others will be put off by an unconvincing romance and by the ineffective and occasionally sexist humor. Furthermore, the plot stalls under Dario's repetitive confrontations with his older brother—a character whose extreme eccentricity will strain the credulity of most readers. Psilocybin, marijuana, and swearing that is casual to the point of sloppiness makes this appropriate for older teens.