Publishers Weekly
05/22/2023
Following car trouble, two teens find themselves stranded at a haunted motel in Metoui’s eerie paranormal debut. Layla, a photographer, and her best friend Mira, both 17 and of Arabian heritage, are on a spring break road trip when their car breaks down. Stuck in Indiana and forced to wait for a mechanic to finish the vehicle repairs, the girls check in to Wildwood Motel. They’re given Room Nine, which Ellis, the motel’s white teenage receptionist, informs them is infamous for the eight suspicious deaths that have occurred within. When Mira begins to see ghastly apparitions of her late brother, the trio determine to solve the mystery before Room Nine claims another victim. As further harrowing incidents occur, the girls contend with private issues surrounding familial expectations, their sexual identities, and their growing feelings for each other. Layla and Mira’s introspective alternating POVs capably relay the ominous happenings alongside individual struggles, while an unnamed third perspective watches the girls from outside the room. Though truly frightening scares are minimal, Metoui nevertheless delivers both a ghostly mystery and an impactful exploration of grief and loss. Layla’s haunting b&w photographs feature throughout, strengthening the narrative’s spine-chilling ambiance. Ages 14–up. Agent: Jennifer March Soloway, Andrea Brown Literary. (July)
From the Publisher
★ "Readers will have trouble putting this one down even for a minute." –School Library Journal, starred review
"Metoui masterfully handles perspective...themes of grief, fraught and romantic queer connections to a friend, and familial expectations are thoughtfully explored."—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"A ghostly mystery and an impactful exploration of grief and loss." —Publisher's Weekly
"Introspective, character-driven, and—most importantly—haunting."—Kirkus Reviews
“Terrifically haunting. A Guide to the Dark delves into the complexities of grief and the frightening metamorphosis of ghosts that aren’t put to rest. Meriam Metoui has created something spectacular.”—Chloe Gong, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of These Violent Delights
“Meriam Metoui’s exquisite debut is a bone-chilling story about grief, guilt, and what happens when our deepest secrets refuse to stay hidden in the dark. A Guide to the Dark will crawl under your skin and stay there long after you’ve closed its pages.”—Aiden Thomas, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Cemetery Boys and The Sunbearer Trials
“Chilling, sultry, and smart. . .this slow-burn horror story hooked me with its portrayal of two friends navigating an attraction amidst fears both earthly and uncanny. . .as well as its probing of the fine line between grief and guilt."—Jodi Lynn Anderson, New York Times–bestselling author
“Fabulously creepy and compulsively readable. Part roadside horror, part cozy mystery, Metoui breathes life into the genre by exploring the tangled roots of friendship, love, and guilt. Chilling photography complements beautiful prose for an altogether innovative storytelling experience. I’ll think twice before checking into a motel again."—David Arnold, New York Times–bestselling author of Mosquitoland
"Peppered with black-and-white photographs, this emotionally raw story explores loss, grief, queerness, and family expectations through contemplative alternating-narrative perspectives. A delightfully haunting and insightful debut for horror and thriller fans." –Booklist
School Library Journal
★ 09/01/2023
Gr 8 Up—When a freak car accident derails Mira and Layla's spring break college visit road trip, the best friends check in at the nearest motel; at first glance, it seems charming enough (and so does Ellis, the cute front desk clerk). But almost immediately, Mira senses something off about their room; the nightmares she had after her brother drowned reappear, and not just when she's asleep. Unfortunately, there is nowhere else to stay while the car is being repaired. When Ellis reveals that his father was actually the most recent in a string of deaths in Room 9, Mira can't resist the chance to solve the mystery of why her brother is appearing and Layla, well—Layla would do anything for Mira, including put her life at risk in an effort to destroy the malignancy they've discovered. Mira and Layla's as yet unspoken feelings for each other give rise to a tender tension from the very beginning that heightens as they slide closer toward honesty, but the disturbing things that have happened and are happening in the hotel room provide a strong contrast to that tenderness. Metoui's use of the nuances of Mira and Layla's Muslim American family dynamics to explore the coming out experience is skillful and compassionate. Black-and-white photographs taken by the author and asides from the perspective of the darkness break up a compelling narrative, and readers will have trouble putting this one down even for a minute. Readers should be aware of mentions of suicide in the book. VERDICT A first purchase for any teen collection.—Allie Stevens
OCTOBER 2023 - AudioFile
Narrators Ariana Delawari and Vaneh Assadourian portray best friends Layla and Mira after a road trip mishap leaves them stranded in a motel. Their room is inhabited by a dark force, voiced by narrator Ramiz Monsef. The room wants Mira because she carries the burden of her brother's death; Assadourian's mature and measured voice works well for the mourning teen as she and Layla plot to destroy the space. Delawari's softer and more youthful voice is an ideal fit for the introspective Layla, who quietly hopes she can save Mira in time to express her growing feelings for her. Monsef gives a chilling performance as the sentient room; his deep voice is delightfully villainous and menacing. Listeners are sure to enjoy this dark and enticing tale. J.E.C. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2023-04-24
Best friends run afoul of a cursed motel room.
Layla and Mira’s spring break college-visit road trip comes to a sudden halt with a nighttime car crash in a small Indiana town. Little do they know that Wildwood Motel’s Room Nine, their impromptu lodging, has been steadily claiming lives for decades. To Layla, Room Nine’s just a room. She’s far more concerned with getting to show her portfolio at her dream college, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, at an event the following day and hopefully getting off their waitlist (even though her parents want her to stay close to home in Michigan—the same parents Egyptian American Layla can’t come out to for fear of losing their love). But Mira—deeply grieving her younger brother’s drowning death last summer during a visit to family in Tunisia—immediately feels the weighty wrongness of the room and starts experiencing impossible things. While trying to figure out if it’s concussion, grief, or something else, Mira befriends the teenage son of the motel’s owner, a boy who lost his father to Room Nine. As their investigation deepens, so does the sense of doom and danger. The prose is punctuated by Layla’s black-and-white photographs, lending a lovely sense of immersion. The ending balances emotional growth (and a touch of romance) with pain and a horror stinger. Layla and Mira are both Muslim and grapple with their immigrant parents’ expectations and their sexualities.
Introspective, character-driven, and—most importantly—haunting. (Horror. 12-18)
