Scream Site

by Justina Ireland

Overview

Sabrina Sebastian's goal in life is to be an investigative reporter. For her first big story, she researches a popular website called Scream Site, where people post scary videos and compete for the most "screams." While Sabrina's friends and her sister, Faith, talk nonstop about the creepy viral videos, Sabrina just hopes that covering this trend will get her the internship she's wishing for. But as she digs into the truth behind the website, she begins to suspect that these aren't only aspiring actors and videographers at work. Some clips seem a little too real. And when Faith goes missing, Sabrina must race against time to save her sister from becoming the next video "star."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781630791025
Publisher:	Capstone
Publication date:	08/01/2018
Pages:	264
Sales rank:	1,109,405
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Justina Ireland lives with her husband, kid, and dog in Pennsylvania. She is the author of both full-length books and short fiction and considers words to be her best friends. You can visit her at her website: justinaireland.com.

Interviews

• On-trend: Youtube/online videos are popular among tweens and teens • Biracial teen character that kids can relate to • Using technology to solve a crime will resonate with social-media savvy teen readers • Scary plot but has a safe and satisfying resolution

Editorial Reviews

06/01/2018
Gr 6–10—High school freshman Sabrina Sebastian loves journalism. Before sending in an application for a related internship, she searches for a story that will guarantee her success. Her best friend Evelyn tells her about a website that is getting buzz: Scream Site. Users post their own scary videos to win an all-expenses paid trip to California and a chance to work with Hollywood directors the Scarapelli brothers. However, a local girl has gone missing after uploading videos on the site, and Sabrina wants to find out if there is a link between the two. As Sabrina delves deeper into the mystery, her own sister disappears. Familiar tropes mire the plot: the ruined businessman who wants revenge; the naïve girl who needs to be saved; the helpful teachers hiding a dark secret; the abandoned, run-down amusement park as a setting for terror. The villain is obvious from the beginning and experienced readers will see plot holes. VERDICT Lightly recommended only for middle schoolers who have graduated from "Goosebumps" but are not quite ready for gory horror.—Pamela Thompson, Col. John O. Ensor Middle School, El Paso, TX

School Library Journal

2018-05-15
An aspiring journalist investigates a local horror website.Sabrina Sebastian is a smart, ambitious high school freshman, determined to get a summer newspaper internship, but her cafeteria exposés and charity fluff pieces for the school paper are too stodgy. Her best friend, the spirited Evelyn, suggests that she write about the gossip surrounding Scream Site, a trendy website for amateur horror videos. Sabrina hates scary movies but is intrigued by rumors that girls have disappeared after sharing videos. Could there be a grain of truth to the terrifying footage of girls screaming for help while evading nefarious pursuers? "This is real. This is real!" whispers one girl into the camera. Sabrina turns up suspicious ties between the website and missing local girls, but her detective uncle dismisses her concerns as unfounded even as Sabrina starts to receive creepy threats. Ireland (Dread Nation, 2018, etc.) maintains a steady pace of reveals as suspicion is cast on Evelyn's crush, an English teacher, and possibly even Sabrina's own uncle. Horror fans may be disappointed that homage is paid to the genre without any real terror, but they will appreciate the jump scares, the untimely blackouts, and the frustration when Sabrina's older sister, Faith, innocently decides that she wants to try to post some horror videos, too. Sabrina and her sister are dark-skinned, and Evelyn is Chinese-American.This mystery shines as a foray into modern investigative journalism. (Mystery. 12-15)

Kirkus Reviews