Aden Polydoros – författare

The World’s Fair has packed up, the tents and food stalls disappeared. And the dybbuk, a restless spirit that possessed Alter, is gone. Life returns to normal for Frankie and Alter, as both boys inspire each other to start a detective agency—using skills from Frankie’s dark past and Alter’s desire to do good in their community. But when children start to go missing, Frankie is certain the supernatural is once again to blame, as they race to track down a sheyd, a demon-like entity. But in order to save his future with Alter, Frankie will have to confront his past.

Winner of the 2022 Sydney Taylor Book Award for Young Adult2022 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel finalist2021 National Jewish Book Award finalistA Lambda Literary Award finalist2021 Bram Stoker Award Preliminary Ballot for Young Adult NovelsA New York Public Library Best Book for Teens 2021"An achingly rendered exploration of queer desire, grief, and the inexorable scars of the past." —Katy Rose Pool, author of There Will Come A DarknessDeath lurks around every corner in this unforgettable Jewish historical fantasy about a city, a boy, and the shadows of the past that bind them both together.   Chicago, 1893. For Alter Rosen, this is the land of opportunity, and he dreams of the day he’ll have enough money to bring his mother and sisters to America, freeing them from the oppression they face in his native Romania. But when Alter’s best friend, Yakov, becomes the latest victim in a long line of murdered Jewish boys, his dream begins to slip away. While the rest of the city is busy celebrating the World’s Fair, Alter is now living a nightmare: possessed by Yakov’s dybbuk, he is plunged into a world of corruption and deceit, and thrown back into the arms of a dangerous boy from his past. A boy who means more to Alter than anyone knows. Now, with only days to spare until the dybbuk takes over Alter’s body completely, the two boys must race to track down the killer—before the killer claims them next."Chillingly sinister, warmly familiar, and breathtakingly transportive, The City Beautiful is the haunting, queer Jewish historical thriller of my darkest dreams."—Dahlia Adler, creator of LGBTQreads and editor of That Way Madness Lies

2024 Sydney Taylor Book Award Young Adult Honor "Haunting, exhilarating, and a howl of vengeance." —Andrew Joseph White, New York Times bestselling author of Hell Followed With UsFrankenstein meets Inglourious Basterds in this stunning Jewish historical horror novel from the award-winning author of The City BeautifulVera was made for vengeance.Lithuania, 1943. A father drowns in the all-consuming grief of a daughter killed by the Nazis. He can’t bring Chaya back from the dead, but he can use kishuf — an ancient and profane magic — to create a golem in her image. A Nazi killer, to avenge her death.When Vera awakens, she can feel her violent purpose thrumming within her. But she can also feel glimpses of a human life lived, of stolen kisses amidst the tragedy, and of a grisly death. And when she meets Akiva, she recognizes the boy with soft lips that gave warm kisses. But these memories aren’t hers, and Vera doesn’t know if she gets—or deserves—to have a life beyond what she was made for.Vera’s strength feels limitless—until she learns that there are others who would channel kishuf for means far less noble than avenging a daughter’s death. As she confronts the very basest of humanity, Vera will need more than what her creator gave her: Not just a reason to fight, but a reason to live.

Lithuania, 1943. Grieving for his daughter, one father uses kishuf—an ancient and profane magic—to create a golem in her image, not a real girl of flesh and blood but a nearly invincible avenging spirit of mud and steel.But when Vera awakens, it’s not only with a violent purpose, but with memories of the real girl killed by the Nazis. Then she meets Akiva, a boy she already remembers—the feel of his hand in her hair, his lips on her skin—and instantly joins him on a quest for revenge. But there are those who would channel kishuf for less noble means, and to triumph, Vera will need more than what her creator gave her: not just a reason to fight, but a reason to live.

"A heart-pounding adventure. Magic and monsters lurk in every corner as a headstrong trio search for their place in Aden Polydoros's haunting world." ––Chloe Gong, #1 New York Times bestselling author of These Violent DelightsFrom the author of The City Beautiful comes a haunting fantasy following Toma, adopted daughter of the benevolent undead, making her way across a civil war-torn continent to save her younger sister as she discovers she might possess magical powers herself. The Kosa empire roils in tension, on the verge of being torn apart by a proletarian revolution between magic-endowed elites and the superstitious lower class, but seventeen-year-old Toma lives blissfully disconnected from the conflict in the empire with her adoptive family of benevolent undead.When she meets Vanya, a charming commoner branded as a witch by his own neighbors, and the dethroned Tsar Mikhail himself, the unlikely trio bonds over trying to restore Mikhail’s magic and protect the empire from the revolutionary leader, Koschei, whose forces have stolen the castle. Vanya has his magic, and Mikhail has his title, but if Toma can’t dig deep and find her power in time, all of their lives will be at Koschei’s mercy.Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.Praise for The City Beautiful "An achingly rendered exploration of queer desire, grief, and the inexorable scars of the past."—Katy Rose Pool, author of There Will Come A Darkness"Chillingly sinister, warmly familiar, and breathtakingly transportive, The City Beautiful is the haunting, queer Jewish historical thriller of my darkest dreams." —Dahlia Adler, creator of LGBTQreads and editor of That Way Madness Lies

“Will keep you on the edge of your seat and grinning until the last page!” —Greg Howard, author of The Whispers and The VisitorsThis exciting and adventurous start to a middle-grade trilogy follows a queer boy and his family as they try to halt the chaotic effects of a mysterious ring, drawing upon Jewish mythology to navigate magic, mayhem and the search for pride in one’s identity.The little beachside town of San Pancras is not known for anything exciting, but when Zach Darlington buys a mysterious ring at the local flea market, his quiet little hometown is turned topsy-turvy by monsters straight from Jewish folklore and a nefarious secret society focused on upholding an apocalyptic prophecy.Zach discovers that the ring grants him strange powers, and he’s intrigued; maybe he can use the ring’s strengths to halt the slew of anti-Semitic and homophobic bullying he’s experiencing at school. But soon the ring brings unexpected visitors—Ashmedai, King of Demons, in the guise of a preteen boy named Ash, and the local chapter of the Knights of the Apocalypse, a secret society intent on completing a creepy prophecy that will bring three monsters to Earth to start the events of the end of times.Now responsible for the ring and its consequences, will Zach and his friends, with the help of Ash, be able to stop the Apocalypse and save the world?

A cemetery full of the restless dead. A town so wicked it has already burned twice, with the breath of the third fire looming. A rural, isolated bridge with a terrifying monster waiting for the completion of its summoning ritual. A lake that allows the drowned to return, though they have been changed by the claws of death. These are the shadowed, liminal spaces where the curses and monsters lurk, refusing to be forgotten.Hauntings, and a variety of horrifying secrets, lurk in the places we once called home. Written by New York Times bestselling, and other critically acclaimed, authors these stories shed a harsh light on the scariest tales we grew up with.

A dark and unsettling queer adult horror from the award-winning author of The City Beautiful. Perfect for fans of Eric LaRocca and Stephen Graham Jones.Ten years ago, the quiet mining town of Coalfield, Pennsylvania was thrust into the national spotlight when a boy at a local foster home was found brutally murdered. After the foster mother was arrested on suspicion of murder, the four remaining children were dragged in front of a court to explain what truly happened. There, Elliot Wolff—just eight years-old—testified.What emerged were disturbing tales of child abuse, the sacrifice of animals and infants, and strange rituals performed in the woods and mines of the town. And the Dragon, always the Dragon, a specter who lurked in the shadows of the home.Now on the cusp of adulthood, Elliot is still struggling to move on from the trial. He still finds his thoughts circling Coalfield, thoughts that he pours into writing music or drowns out with various substances.Then, he is approached by Dean Corvin, a washed-up grindhouse director filming a documentary on the Satanic Ritual Abuse allegations at Coalfield. While sitting in front of a camera and rehashing his trauma is the last thing Elliot wants to do, Dean makes him an offer he can’t refuse, an offer that might finally allow Eliot to escape his aunt’s stifling house and start over somewhere far away.But Elliot isn’t the only survivor joining the documentary: the other survivors are there, too, and each one has different memories of what happened.The first few days of filming are strange, with bizarre dreams and memories resurfacing that he had long thought lost to time. As Elliot begins to reenact his final days at Coalfield Children’s Home, he begins to wonder if there may be a grain of truth to the lies he told on the stand. If something sinister and otherworldly really did happen to them.If the Dragon is still out there, and intends to keep the past buried.