Winner of the Oregon Book Award's Leslie Bradshaw Award for Young Literature, 2022
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Gould's debut is haunting... Characters are the focal strength of this book, which is a slow-burn story with an immersive setting that feels like a character in and of itself. The darkness spreading over Snakebite exposes the truth about small-town ideology and oppression, loneliness, secrecy, and what makes a family or a home.-
Booklist A complex and sophisticated thriller with haunting real-world connections. -
Kirkus (Starred Review) Gould's supernaturally spooky debut is filled with all manner of creepy inventiveness...an intriguing read. -
Publishers Weekly Spooky atmosphere seeps out of every pore of this slow burn ghost story. -
Buzzfeed
There are plenty of ghosts in
The Dead and the Dark, but they're not necessarily the villains. Instead, the story is about how hatred and fear go hand in hand. -
Paste A thoroughly creepy ride from start to finish...Gould has a gift for supernatural storytelling. The story is fast-paced and quick-moving - it's easy to find yourself lost in its pages and finish the book in just a day or so. -
Culturess Courtney Gould's setting descriptions create a blistering, tense atmosphere in an isolated and spooky town. -
Geek Girl Authority It's perfectly written to give us a slow burn while simultaneously teasing a new aspect of the mystery in every single chapter...But this book was so much more than the mystery--it's also about that feeling of darkness and depression that lives in all of us; it's about standing up to hate and realizing we're not as different from each other as we might think; and it's about queerness, love, acceptance and, most importantly, hope for the future. -
Hypable Imagine
Riverdale crossing streams with Stephen King's
The Outsider and you'll get a sense of this gripping supernatural mystery...Gould's debut begins as a snappy paranormal yarn and unspools into a profound story about the complex interplay between grief, guilt, and identity. -
Oprah Daily Gould's atmospheric writing mesmerized me while reading... In the veins of V.E. Schwab and Courtney Summers, Gould delivers a spine-chilling and eerie debut with
The Dead and the Dark that will leave readers hooked from the first page. -
The Nerd Daily For fans of books like authors like Courtney Summers and Lisa Jewel, Courtney Gould's debut novel
The Dead and the Dark packs a chilling story of a murder conspiracy, family bonds, and the darkness that exists within the seams of society and even inside the most purest of people. -
The Young Folks Gould's debut is an utterly dreamy romance in the midst of a living nightmare, and a true testament to the power of love in a world of hate. It's exactly the book we need right now. - Dahlia Adler, author of
Cool for the Summer and editor of
His Hideous Heart An absorbing mystery and wholly original ghost story. Gould's writing is mesmerizing, drawing you into Snakebite until it slips under your skin and lingers like the Dark itself. A haunting story I won't shake off anytime soon. - Emma Berquist, author of
Devils Unto Dust and
Missing, Presumed Dead The Dead and the Dark has something for everyone: thrills, chills, a mystery that'll keep readers guessing and a romance they'll absolutely love rooting for. Snakebite is a setting as unforgettably alive as the characters who inhabit it and once it gets hold of you, it won't let go. A riveting, spooky and expertly-crafted debut from a talented new voice in YA fiction. - Courtney Summers,
New York Times bestselling author of
Sadie Gould's debut has everything you need in a book: an engrossing mystery, a compelling love story, and a setting so utterly alive you won't believe it isn't on a map.
The Dead and the Dark will keep you in its grasp until the last perfect page. - Erica Waters, author of
Ghost Wood Song The Dead and the Dark gave me everything I want from a great supernatural murder mystery: a haunting small town, a fresh new romance, and the very best kind of monster--the kind we make ourselves." - Francesca Zappia, author of
Now Entering Addamsville and
Eliza and Her Monsters