Fourteen-year-old Parker Baer has it all, courtesy of a rich family and indulgent parents, and as a result, he’s bored with his life. Having everything he could want, everything except actual love and tenderness, he’s eager for anything that could disrupt his existence and give him something new and interesting to think about. Enter Tara Herpecheveux, a sunglass-wearing, dreadlocked rich girl who moves in next door. With her nonchalant nature, and dismissive attitude towards personal property and boundaries, she’s just the disruption Parker needs. They become friends, of a sort, and Parker soon introduces her to his friends. However, over the weeks that follow, people who Tara meets begin to act … strangely, drinking uncounted gallons of milk, eating dirt, and becoming lethargic. Then it gets worse, and Parker begins to understand Tara’s true nature, what she’s doing to those people, and what she has planned for him as well. When Tara’s gaze falls upon his own family, Parker realizes that even he can’t stop what’s coming, and he’s not sure if he has the strength to do what he must. Should he win, it’ll be a fate worse than death. Should he lose … well, that’s also a fate worse than death.
Dread Locks is the first in Shusterman’s “Dark Fusion” series, a collection of tales which merge fairy tales and classic myth to produce something new and disturbing, giving us a fresh, horrific look at stories we thought we knew. It’s easy to see where he was going with Dread Locks; the true story is in how he gets there, and what Parker does along the way. I think he may be on to something here. Dread Locks presents a great twist on at least one familiar story, and I’m looking forward to Shusterman’s next offerings in this line.