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The Graceview Patient by Caitlin Starling

Margaret lives with a rare autoimmune condition that has destroyed her life, leaving her isolated. It has no cure, but she’s making do as best she can—until she’s offered a fully paid-for spot in an experimental medical trial at Graceview Memorial. The conditions are simple, if grueling: she will live at the hospital as a full-time patient, subjecting herself to the near-total destruction of her immune system and its subsequent regeneration. The trial will essentially kill most of, but not all of her. But as the treatment progresses and her body begins to fail, she stumbles upon something sinister living and spreading within the hospital. Unsure of what's real and what is just medication-induced delusion, Margaret struggles to find a way out as her body and mind succumb further to the darkness lurking throughout Graceview's halls. PUBLISHER: St. Martin's Press YEAR: 2025 LENGTH: 320 pages AGE: Adult GENRE: Horror RECOMMENDED: Highly Queer Rep Summary: No canon queer rep. *I...

Animorphs Book 11: The Forgotten by K. A. Applegate

The Forgotten puts the Animorphs through the ringer, with existential threats and body horror and also more mundane dangers. The plot mechanic is executed well and the ending is suitably dark. This is one of my favorite books in the whole series.

It is part of a shift that has been slowly forming over the last couple of books where they introduce mechanics that can warp reality above and beyond the basic level indicated by morphing technology. The Ellimist and Chee are other examples that get more play, but I like this one a lot.

It really grapples with the burden of leadership, especially since it's easy to forget that the kids are in middle school (approximately ages 12-15) at this point. Jake's storyline grapples with having responsibility beyond his years because he's the leader of the group, and this book gives him a taste of the emotional weight his decisions could have at any point without delving too deep into it.

If you're trying to get a feel for the series as it gets going but don't want to commit to the whole thing, this is a book you could read by itself to get a taste without spoiling major plot points.

A boy (Jake) turns into a jaguar

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