Bad Creek

Three lifelong friends confront restless ghosts and malevolent family secrets in this fierce, propulsive debut young adult horror novel.‍

Iris, Gum, and Aidan are vacationing in Bad Creek, just like every summer. Except Iris’s older sister, Glory, drowned in the lake last year, and Iris can’t seem to move on; Gum is hiding his sexuality from his family while being viciously haunted by Glory’s rotting ghost; and Aidan is distraught over a drunken argument with Glory that he fears may have led to her death. When Iris sleepwalks to the dilapidated house that Glory obsessively sketched in her final days, she and the boys begin to uncover a sinister history in the very bones of the town. The trio must reckon with the events of last summer and uncover what lurks within Bad Creek before it takes Iris’s life next.

Gripping and vengeful, Bad Creek confronts the intersection of religion, sexuality, and feminism, and forces readers to reckon with monsters in all their forms—human included.

“June's debut is atmospheric and haunting, capturing the heart-pounding exhilaration of exchanging ghost stories around a campfire. The perfect spine-tingling read for summer!” —Tori Bovalino, author of My Throat an Open Grave

"The creepy, supernatural plot is intriguing on its own but also functions as an effective metaphorical exploration of conservatism, traditionalism, patriarchal structures, and the terror and allure of the old boys’ club... A creepy and thrilling mystery that skillfully includes timely social commentary." —Kirkus Reviews

"A grieving teen delves into the sordid secrets of a popular summer destination and uncovers more than she bargained for in this thrilling genre mash-up… In this eerie debut, June considers the effect that Grandpa Bill and the Clavey brood have on the town, injecting introspective examinations of religious trauma and wealth disparity into a bone-chilling paranormal plot." —Publishers Weekly

"The plot evolves slowly but smoothly, transitioning from mystery to horror before the reader notices while touching on power, religion, and sexuality. This is a stunning, eerie debut." —Booklist