Small Town Monsters

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Text copyright © 2021 by Diana Rodriguez Wallach

Cover art copyright © 2021 by Nicholas Moegly

Prom House excerpt text copyright © 2021 by Chelsea Mueller. Cover art copyright © 2021 by kid-ethic. Cover art used under license from Shutterstock.com. Beach house copyright © 2021 by Oleg Albinsky/Getty Images.

All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Underlined, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.

Underlined is a registered trademark and the colophon is a trademark of Penguin Random House LLC.

Visit us on the Web! GetUnderlined.com

Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at RHTeachersLibrarians.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Wallach, Diana Rodriguez, author.

Title: Small town monsters / Diana Rodriguez Wallach.

Description: First edition. | New York : Underlined, [2021] | Audience: Ages 12 and up. | Summary: “Outcast Vera and popular jock Max are up against dark forces that stretch much further than their small, coastal town—and into the very heart of evil.”— Provided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020056816 (print) | LCCN 2020056817 (ebook) | ISBN 978-0-593-42751-4 (trade paperback) | ISBN 978-0-593-42752-1 (ebook)

Subjects: CYAC: Demonology—Fiction. | Demoniac possession—Fiction. | Cults—Fiction. | Dating (Social customs)—Fiction. | Popularity—Fiction.

Classification: LCC PZ7.W15885 Sm 2021 (print) | LCC PZ7.W15885 (ebook) | DDC [Fic]—dc23

Ebook ISBN 9780593427521

Random House Children’s Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.

Penguin Random House LLC supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin Random House to publish books for every reader.

ep_prh_5.7.1_c0_r0

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Epigraph

Chapter One: Vera

Chapter Two: Max

Chapter Three: Vera

Chapter Four: Max

Chapter Five: Vera

Chapter Six: The Gift

Chapter Seven: Vera

Chapter Eight: Max

Chapter Nine: Vera

Chapter Ten: The Swim

Chapter Eleven: Vera

Chapter Twelve: Max

Chapter Thirteen: Vera

Chapter Fourteen: Max

Chapter Fifteen: Vera

Chapter Sixteen: Max

Chapter Seventeen: Vera

Chapter Eighteen: Vera

Chapter Nineteen: The Crash

Chapter Twenty: Max

Chapter Twenty-one: Vera

Chapter Twenty-two: Max

Chapter Twenty-three: The Storm

Chapter Twenty-four: Vera

Chapter Twenty-five: Max

Chapter Twenty-six: Vera

Chapter Twenty-seven: Max

Chapter Twenty-eight: Vera

Chapter Twenty-nine: Max

Chapter Thirty: The Explosion

Chapter Thirty-one: Vera

Chapter Thirty-two: Max

Chapter Thirty-three: Vera

Chapter Thirty-four: Max

Chapter Thirty-five: Vera

Chapter Thirty-six: Vera

Chapter Thirty-seven: Vera

Chapter Thirty-eight: Max

Chapter Thirty-nine: Max

Epilogue

The Truth

The Truth Sources

Acknowledgments

Excerpt from Prom House

To everyone who stands up to monsters