For today’s indie love post, I would like to talk about a favourite of mine: Kevin Johns’ The Page Turners trilogy, a YA horror series set in a rural Canadian town. A group of boys, all avid readers, calling themselves “The Page Turners”, meet at school on a regular basis to discuss books they love. One is fascinated by alien stories, another loves horror – at this moment, classic vampire monster horror – and the third loves a particular epic fantasy series. When they find an old book and read from it, strange things start happening – and getting deadlier by the minute. The monsters which captured their imaginations in the books they so love come to life, and wreak havoc over their neighborhoods and families. The boys find out that monsters are a lot more dangerous than they thought they could be – but that they might also be the only ones equipped to deal with them.

This series has a LOT of things to love about it. It has that sort of 80s feel to it – it reminded me a lot of movies I loved like Monster Squad and Fright Night (original and reboot) but also has the self-deprecating humour of shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Supernatural. Most of all, though, it is extremely reminiscent of the recent (amazing) popular Netflix hit series Stranger Things (though the books predate the series, of course). A group of boys sharing a passion that is generally regarded as geeky or nerdy (in Stranger Things, Dungeons & Dragons, in Page Turners, reading) who try to resolve a very bad situation of which they are the only ones who seem to be aware, by riding their bikes and their unique, geeky knowledge which derives from their passion.

There is a lot to love in the Page Turners trilogy, not the least of which being that it perfectly combines a very original storyline with an atmosphere reminiscent of all the 80s and 90s classic horror we love. If you enjoyed Buffy, An American Werewolf in London, Monster Squad, Fright Night, Stranger Things or my Family by Choice series, definitely give these books a try. The first two are available on Amazon, and the third should be coming out relatively soon!