Tales from Cabin 23: Night of the Living Head

Gr 5 Up–Alia has bad luck—really bad luck. She’s always losing homework and tripping over her own feet, and her parents didn’t even ask her before moving the family from Kuala Lumpur to a small village. Even her birthday is unlucky; she was born on Friday the 13th, and now that she’s turning 12 her birthday falls on Friday the 13th again. Her parents might think she’s just superstitious, but Alia keeps seeing dark shadows out of the corner of her eye, and her classmates whisper stories about penanggalan, women whose heads fly through the night, drinking children’s blood and strangling them with their entrails. And now, as if things couldn’t get worse, her estranged older sister is moving back in. Something is different about her now, something uncanny. Set in Malaysia, this horror story also explores themes of family and what it means to be home. The writing is evocative and suspenseful, even when painting everyday scenes, such as a sunny living room or a moonlit garden. With just the right amount of eerieness, this is a perfectly crafted horror read for tweens that celebrates determination, resilience, and making one’s own luck.