Twelve-year-old Jenny thinks she has a big problem. Her sixteen-year-old sister Shari has taken over the house. Shari is too busy with her boyfriends and her social schedule to worry about mere chores. So she pushes them off onto Jenny. Shari spends all night on the telephone and sometimes all weekend, too. Jenny and her parents have to tiptoe around and whisper. But when Jenny dares to complain, Mom and Dad say only, "Wait until you're sixteen. Then you'll understand, honey."
But Jenny hadn't seen anything yet. One day Shari brings her new boyfriend home. He seems to be tall and thin, but when he turns aroudn and stares at Jenny -- he's a horror. His face is palle and waxy white. His lips are blood red. And Daren has a red light glowing from the pupils deep in his dark eyes. Jenny doesn't know what he is. But he's definitely not normal.
Not only does Daren look weird, he acts like a goon, too. Shari invites Daren over for a picnic to meet the family. Daren doesn't seem hungry despite the grilled burgers with all the fixings and chocolate frosted brownies. So Jenny follows him into the kitchen. He gets out raw hamburger patties and gobbles those down instead. Blood drips down his chin! For dessert he eats one of her hamsters.
Even worse, Jenny and her friends Gretchen and Mack have been finding stranger things in the woods. There are dead snakes and raccoons lying around everywhere. Bridges are chopped down. And they find -- gulp! -- a skull in the bottom of a hole in the ground.
Jenny gets the idea it's kind of dangerous for Shari to date the creep. But of course Shari wn't listen. Not that her sister is her favorite person, but Jenny isn't going to let Daren mess aruond with her family.
Jenny, Gretchen and Mack follow Daren and Shari to a school dance. Before they can stop him, Daren has put Shari into a kind of trance. Now she obeys only him. She doesn't eat. She doesn't sleep. She walks around like a zombie. And Shari eats -- only raw hamburger meat!
Is Shari becoming a creature like Daren? What are they going to do? Jenny, Mack, and Gretchen have only a day to solve the mystery before Shari is lost to them forever. But they think they have the answer.
But Jenny hadn't seen anything yet. One day Shari brings her new boyfriend home. He seems to be tall and thin, but when he turns aroudn and stares at Jenny -- he's a horror. His face is palle and waxy white. His lips are blood red. And Daren has a red light glowing from the pupils deep in his dark eyes. Jenny doesn't know what he is. But he's definitely not normal.
Not only does Daren look weird, he acts like a goon, too. Shari invites Daren over for a picnic to meet the family. Daren doesn't seem hungry despite the grilled burgers with all the fixings and chocolate frosted brownies. So Jenny follows him into the kitchen. He gets out raw hamburger patties and gobbles those down instead. Blood drips down his chin! For dessert he eats one of her hamsters.
Even worse, Jenny and her friends Gretchen and Mack have been finding stranger things in the woods. There are dead snakes and raccoons lying around everywhere. Bridges are chopped down. And they find -- gulp! -- a skull in the bottom of a hole in the ground.
Jenny gets the idea it's kind of dangerous for Shari to date the creep. But of course Shari wn't listen. Not that her sister is her favorite person, but Jenny isn't going to let Daren mess aruond with her family.
Jenny, Gretchen and Mack follow Daren and Shari to a school dance. Before they can stop him, Daren has put Shari into a kind of trance. Now she obeys only him. She doesn't eat. She doesn't sleep. She walks around like a zombie. And Shari eats -- only raw hamburger meat!
Is Shari becoming a creature like Daren? What are they going to do? Jenny, Mack, and Gretchen have only a day to solve the mystery before Shari is lost to them forever. But they think they have the answer.
Used availability for Linda Cargill's Stay Out of the Woods