Dread Locks: Dark Fusion

DREAD LOCKS by Neal Shusterman
Category: Horror
Age Recommendation: Grades 6+
Release Date: 5/5/05
Publisher: Dutton
Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"
Rating: 5 Stars

In Neal Shusterman's new DARK FUSION series, the author takes myths, legends, and fairy tales, mixes them up with
modern day tales of teen angst and horror, and comes up with an entertaining read. In DREAD LOCKS, we get a whole
stew pot full of retold stories--Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Medusa, King Midas. They're all there, and the finished
product is a quick, fun, and sometimes depressing read.

Parker Baer is the type of fifteen-year-old I both love and hate. He's always been given everything he's ever wanted, due to
the fact that his parents are wealthy. He has an obnoxious older brother, Garrett, and an irritable little sister, Katrina. For his
birthday, his brother bought him a motocross bike, and his parents gave him a statue. Yes, the teenage Parker is now
memorialized in bronze.

Then Parker meets his new next-door neighbor, Tara Herpecheveux, in the most surprising way--she's sleeping in his bed.
But Tara's strangeness, and undeniable attractiveness, is a hodge-podge of attributes--she's exotically beautiful, has the
strangest blond dread locks, always wears mirrored sunglasses, and has an aversion to the belief of personal property.

As Parker gets more and more entangled in the strangeness that is Tara, he begins to notice the ever-increasing weird
behavior of the students in his school. Odd cravings, incessantly strange behavior, and a general weirdness pervade the halls
of the private school for the rich. Once Parker finally accepts the truth of what's happening, it's too late.

The ending, although slightly predictable in some ways, was a surprise overall. It left me feeling sad, but then again, most fairy
tales have one or more tear-inducing scenes in them. DREAD LOCKS is an interesting retelling of some notable myths, and
if you're into horror stories, this one should definitely do the trick!