Welcome to this week’s M9B Friday Reveal!
This week, we are revealing CHAPTER ONE of
Super Freak by Vanessa
Barger
an MG title presented by Tantrum Books!
Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!
Thirteen-year-old Caroline is a freak. Her parents have uprooted her to a
town full of Supernaturals. You'd think she'd be thrilled. But, with someone without a magical bone in
her body, this daughter of tree sprites feels like even more of an outcast than she has ever before.
To make matters worse, her new home is cursed. But when Caroline takes to
investigating the mysterious and strange happenings of Harridan House, her BFF goes missing. Seems
someone doesn't want Caroline sticking her non-magical nose where it most certainly does not belong.
Determined to prove herself, Caroline uncovers a plot to destroy her new hometown.
Undeterred, Caroline can't give up. But what's a human without magical
powers to do? Caroline better figure it out fast, before she loses everything she has ever loved and the
whispers she's heard all her life prove true: Caroline is a useless superfreak.
Super Freak by Vanessa Barger
Publication Date: October 13, 2015
Publisher: Tantrum Books
Genre: MG, Fantasy
Chapter One
Twenty-five feet into town. That’s as far as we got before the first disaster happened. Dad turned onto
Main Street, and just as we pulled up next to Greywolfe’s Spells and Supplies, a huge puff of smoke and
flame burst from the front doors. Shattered glass and a large, hairy man shot into the path of our
over-packed SUV.
Dad slammed his foot down on the brakes and jerked the wheel to the left, throwing us around the
inside of the car. In the back, I covered my head, expecting the piles of wedged boxes to topple over,
burying me in an avalanche of dishes and teddy bears.
“Caroline! Are you all right?” Mom reached into the back seat, her horn-rimmed glasses dangling from
one ear.
“I’m good. Did we hit him?” I craned my neck, looking to see out the front window. Dad unbuckled and
leapt from the car to help the man who had flown in the road to his feet.
“I think he’s fine. You’d think he’d at least have the decency to let out a warning before coming out like
that. He could have been killed! We could have been hurt! Dishes might have fallen on you and
broken!”
I rolled my eyes. The dishes would be a high priority.
Mom shook her head, letting loose a shower of tiny green leaves. It always happened when she was
stressed. Dryads weren’t really known for their calm temperaments. You’d think, being tree spirits,
they’d have that stoic thing going for them. Maybe it was because Mom was a weeping willow, but calm
wasn’t really part of her vocabulary. Dad on the other hand, was solid as an oak.
Because he was an oak. After unhooking my seatbelt, I slid from the car. Mom followed suit. Her lips
compressed into a tight line and she shed another couple handfuls of leaves, but for the moment, she
contained herself.
Dad stood, tall and wiry, one arm hooked around a large, barrel-chested man with more facial hair than
I’d seen in my life. Had to be a werewolf. He pulled away from my dad and brushed at the gravel and
purple residue covering his gray suit.
“Thank you, Mr. …” The stranger held out one hand to my dad.
“George Bennings,” Dad said, shaking the stranger’s hand. “And this is my wife, Grace, and our
daughter, Caroline. We just moved here from Lost Creek.”
“My name is William Grouseman. I’m thrilled you’ve come to town, but glad you didn’t pull in a few
moments sooner.”I wanted to warn him that sarcasm was lost on my parents, but he seemed to get the message when
they didn’t share in his chuckle. They exchanged a confused glance and smiled blankly at him.
He offered his hand to me and I shook it. “Nice to meet you, sir.”
He frowned, looking between my parents and then back at me.
Mom’s arm curved around my shoulder, nudging me forward. She sniffed. “She’s just a late bloomer.
We’ve got great hopes for her future.”
I sighed. She meant well, but it never failed. Supernatural people could sense the paranormal on each
other. But when they got to me there was nothing. A void. A great, empty space where everyone
expected some sort of natural magic.
The supernatural had been the normal since 1978 when an explorer by the name of Albert
Merriweather stumbled into a cave in Greece and found Pandora’s Box, and then opened it. Apparently
the myths about the box were off a little. Instead of holding all the evils of the world, it held all the
magic that had been pulled out of it. Releasing magic out into the world, well, now every person was a
little bit paranormal. It didn’t mean everyone could cast a spell or levitate. But everyone had something.
Kids were tested in elementary school.
The ones with lots of magic were usually the popular crowd. The rest of the population lived with it,
picking up what they could, where they could. You could ask to be retested anytime. Sometimes people
really did make progress.
Except me. I hadn’t just tested low, I’d flunked. So badly they brought in national analysts to make sure
there wasn’t someone tampering with the tests. It was a relief really. I mean, my parents were
powerful. Who wants to try and beat that?
My lack of powers drove my parents batty. Most people figured I was adopted. Two dryads–tree spirits
who could change shape, manipulate the natural world, and talk to trees–produced a normal child?
Impossible.
My parents were convinced I would show signs as I matured. I didn’t have the heart to tell them
differently, but I really didn’t think it would ever happen. And that was fine by me. Magic was
great–when it worked.
Maybe when I turned forty my parents would figure it out. Until then, I’d smile and nod when they gave
me their speech about reaching my potential and discovering hidden talents.
I met Mr. Grouseman’s chocolate eyes and gave him a weak smile before he turned to my parents.
“Ah, well, it happens sometimes. If anyone can draw out her gift, it’s our teaching staff at the school.
I’m the principal at Stein Middle School.” His eyes moved from them to me. I wished I were small and
hidden under a rock. “You look like you’re about middle-school age. What grade will you be in?”
I swallowed. This was not how I planned to meet the school principal. “I’m supposed to start eighth this
year.”
“I thought so. You’ll love the school. Excellent courses and teachers, and the students are some of the
best.”
Just like every other school I’d been to. They always said that. It must be in a rulebook principals get
when they start their jobs. Luckily, that was the end of his conversation with me. He told my parents
where the school was, and what the summer office hours were, then waved at us as he headed back
into the shop.
Mom raised a tentative finger and cleared her throat. “Are you certain it’s safe to go back in?”
Mr. Grouseman loosed a deep peal of laughter. “Of course! My nephew runs the store. What you saw
was an accident when a new display tipped over. Have a great day!”
I didn’t buy his story, and I didn’t think Mom and Dad did either. But clearly he wasn’t going to share
family quarrels with the new people in town. With a shrug, I climbed back into the car, put my
cryptogram book away, and watched the town unfold outside my windows. The buildings wound
around a central park with huge old-growth trees and the county buildings were the same as they’dbeen when the town was founded in the seventeenth century. My Dad gave me tidbits about the
history of Hecate Bay for the last two weeks, trying to pump up my anticipation. History was one
passion Dad and I shared.
Spell suppliers, voodoo parlors, psychic readers, and magical bookstores rubbed elbows with Food Lion,
florists, and churches. The human and the paranormal had merged and become just like the country–an
inseparable mix.
We headed for our new house. As we turned away from town, the library caught my attention. A huge
stone building that, based on the size, I knew held thousands of books. I started to drool at the
prospect. As I watched the people wandering down the street, and we passed another spell shop and
magical supply store, my excitement began to fade. I thought about what I’d seen so far, the encounter
with my new principal, and the new school year approaching, and my stomach churned with dread. I
knew that no matter what, Hecate Bay wasn’t the restful small town my parents told me about. I’d
hoped for one of those rare towns populated with only a few magical creatures and big magical talents.
This place, well, I could practically taste the magic in the air.
I was doomed.
Vanessa Barger was born in West
Virginia, and through several moves ended up spending the majority of her life in Virginia Beach,
Virginia. She is a graduate of George Mason University and Old Dominion University, and has degrees in
Graphic Design, a minor in Medieval and Renaissance Literature, and a Masters in Technology
Education. She has had articles published in Altered Arts Magazine, has had some artwork displayed in
galleries in Ohio and online, and currently teaches engineering, practical physics, drafting and other
technological things to high school students in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. She is a member of
the SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators), the Virginia Writer's Club, and the
Hampton Roads Writers. When not writing or teaching, she’s a bookaholic, movie fanatic, and loves to
travel. She is married to a fabulous man, and has one cat, who believes Vanessa lives only to open cat
food cans, and can often be found baking when she should be editing.
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