{"product_id":"the-lost-causes-of-bleak-creek-isbn-9781984822147","title":"The Lost Causes of Bleak Creek","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES \u003c\/i\u003eBESTSELLER • “\u003ci\u003eStranger Things\u003c\/i\u003e meets the South. Chilling, hilarious, and suspenseful—I loved it!”—Felicia Day\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom the authors of \u003ci\u003eRhett \u0026amp; Link's Book of Mythicality\u003c\/i\u003e and creators of \u003ci\u003eGood Mythical Morning \u003c\/i\u003e. . . \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt’s 1992 in Bleak Creek, North Carolina—a sleepy little place with all the trappings of an ordinary Southern town: two Baptist churches, friendly smiles coupled with silent judgments, and an unquenchable appetite for pork products. Beneath the town’s cheerful façade, however, Bleak Creek teens live in constant fear of being sent to the Whitewood School, a local reformatory with a history of putting unruly youths back on the straight and narrow—a record so impeccable that almost everyone is willing to ignore the suspicious deaths that have occurred there over the past decade. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e At first, high school freshmen Rex McClendon and Leif Nelson believe what they’ve been told: that the students’ strange demises were all just tragic accidents, the unfortunate consequence of succumbing to vices like Marlboro Lights and Nirvana. But when the shoot for their low-budget horror masterpiece, \u003ci\u003ePolterDog,\u003c\/i\u003e goes horribly awry—and their best friend, Alicia Boykins, is sent to Whitewood as punishment—Rex and Leif are forced to question everything they know about their unassuming hometown and its cherished school for delinquents. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Eager to rescue their friend, Rex and Leif pair up with recent NYU film school graduate Janine Blitstein to begin piecing together the unsettling truth of the school and its mysterious founder, Wayne Whitewood. What they find will leave them battling an evil beyond their wildest imaginations—one that will shake Bleak Creek to its core.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Lost Causes of Bleak Creek\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “\u003ci\u003eThe Lost Causes of Bleak Creek\u003c\/i\u003e is like your best friend from high school—kind of weird and a little twisted, but no matter how much trouble they caused, they always made you laugh. You don’t have to be a GMM fan to realize . . . \u003ci\u003eThe Lost Causes of Bleak Creek, \u003c\/i\u003eWill It Awesome Book? F@*# yeah!”\u003cb\u003e—Kurt Sutter, creator of \u003ci\u003eSons of Anarchy\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Most people don’t read books, let alone write them. That puts Rhett and Link in the top 1% of smart people in the world. Read this book.”\u003cb\u003e—Rachel Bloom, co-creator of \u003ci\u003eCrazy Ex-Girlfriend\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“It’s scary, it’s fun, and it’s one hell of a carnival ride.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal conjure up a heady brew of hilarity, friendship, and dark forces in the small-town South, where being the funny, smart kids might just end up as the fight of your life. Fans of John Green and \u003ci\u003eStranger Things\u003c\/i\u003e take note.”\u003cb\u003e—Gwenda Bond,\u003ci\u003e New York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author of\u003ci\u003e Stranger Things: Suspicious Minds\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“I cannot think of a more exciting novel to read—and share with my sons—than \u003ci\u003eThe Lost Causes of Bleak Creek\u003c\/i\u003e! Thank you, Rhett and Link, for this gem about friendship, courage, and adventure, which is touched by your humor, wit, and intelligence with each twist and turn!”—\u003cb\u003eMayim Bialik, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author of \u003ci\u003eBoying Up \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “I tore through all 324 pages of this book in one sitting—and I still didn't want it to end! I would have been willing to read as many as 325 pages, or possibly even 326. Though if I'm being totally honest, they probably could have stopped at 323. Either way, I loved this creative book.”\u003cb\u003e—Jimmy Fallon, host of \u003ci\u003eThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “\u003ci\u003eThe Lost Causes of Bleak Creek\u003c\/i\u003e reminded me, lovingly and longingly, of films like \u003ci\u003eThe Goonies \u003c\/i\u003eor \u003ci\u003eThe Lost Boys\u003c\/i\u003e—those kind of throwback narratives that make you recall what it was like to be a kid: the close friendships, that strange and needful breed of fear you only feel at that age, and the looming threat of adulthood lurking at the periphery. If, like me, you believe there's a power vested in books that can take you back in time, then this book is its own little power plant.”\u003cb\u003e—Craig Davidson, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Saturday Night Ghost Club\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“An entertaining narrative . . . Brimming with 1990s cultural references ranging from New Kids on the Block to Hypercolor t-shirts, the story is funny, spooky, and at times terrifying.”\u003cb\u003e–\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eRhett McLaughlin\u003c\/b\u003e and\u003cb\u003e Link Neal\u003c\/b\u003e, raised in North Carolina and best friends since the first grade, are a comedy duo known for creating the Internet’s most-watched daily talk show, \u003ci\u003eGood Mythical Morning; \u003c\/i\u003etheir award-winning weekly podcast \u003ci\u003eEar Biscuits;\u003c\/i\u003e and the instant #1 \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestseller \u003ci\u003eRhett \u0026amp; Link’s Book of Mythicality.\u003c\/i\u003e They share an office at Mythical Entertainment, the company they cofounded, but live separately with their respective wives, children, and dogs in Los Angeles.The boy raced through the woods, blood streaming from his hand.\u003cbr\u003e He was growing faint.\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eCan’t pass out. Just gotta make it to the fence.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e He heard his pursuers yelling. They sounded as panicked as he felt.\u003cbr\u003e He didn’t know if the dizziness was due to blood loss or the shock of what had just happened.\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eThey were gonna kill me.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e He’d known this place was twisted from day one, when they’d stripped him of everything, including his own name. But even with all the bizarre, disturbing things he’d seen, he had still assumed that the brutal punishments were designed to intimidate. Not exterminate. That’s why he’d been so calm, willingly letting them guide him along blindfolded and gagged, right up until the moment they’d sliced his palm.\u003cbr\u003e What if this particular test was no different? Maybe he was doing exactly what they wanted him to, running through the trees like a trophy animal. They had only cut his hand. No arteries. Plus, he’d surprised himself, getting away from the two men holding him, one of them enormous, much bigger than any of the adults he’d seen there. Had they purposely let him go? No, he shouldn’t sell himself short. He’d fought like hell. \u003cbr\u003e The boy felt a flash of pride. All those hours of memorizing Jean-Claude Van Damme’s moves had been worth it. \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eCan’t wait to rewatch \u003c\/i\u003eKickboxer\u003ci\u003e. \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e He couldn’t move at a full clip, as branches, rocks, and logs snuck up on him in the meager moon light. He dodged the obstacles, hoping he was heading in a straight line. \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eWhere’s the damn fence?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e He saw it just before he collided with it, the grass of the pasture on the other side of the chain links glowing a dull gray under the night sky. He started to climb without thinking, pain exploding as the metal wire slipped into his open wound. He stifled a scream, hoping to conceal his exact point of escape. While clenching his jaw to summon the resolve to hoist himself up the ten foot barrier, he saw it: a cut section of fence not five steps away. \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eLucky.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e As he pushed his way through the flap and stood up in the pasture, he heard the roar of an engine to his left. A pickup truck was hurtling across the pasture in his direction. \u003cbr\u003e They were trying to head him off. \u003cbr\u003e He broke into a sprint toward the cover of trees on the side of the pasture, seeing his own shadow in front of him as the headlights shone on his back. He was confident in his speed. Ninety-ninth percentile in the President’s Challenge Shuttle Run. He’d timed himself.\u003cbr\u003e But they were closing the distance fast. \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eGet to the treeline. \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e He knew there’d be a barbed wire cow fence at the edge of the field. He’d have to clear it in stride.\u003cbr\u003e In only a matter of seconds, they were upon him. \u003cbr\u003e He was steps from the trees.\u003cbr\u003e The headlights lit up the short fence, helping him judge his distance. He stutter-stepped to setup his leap, then threw his lead leg in the air. \u003cbr\u003e A clean jump. \u003cbr\u003e He heard the truck skid to a stop on the wet grass behind him, the doors opening. Men screaming.\u003cbr\u003e He knew this stretch of forest well; there was barely a patch of nature around town he hadn’t explored on his own. Another hundred feet or so and he’d make it to the clearing. \u003cbr\u003e He broke into the wide lane cut through the forest, a grassy corridor that followed the sewage line to the water treatment plant. He heard the men clumsily moving through the woods, crashing into branches and grumbling to themselves.\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eMorons.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Randomly choosing a direction, he dashed down the clearing, reaching a manhole in less than fifty steps. He grabbed a nearby stick and jammed it into the notch on the cover, just as he’d done a thousand times before, no longer thinking about his throbbing hand. The weighty metal disc lifted, at which point he grabbed the underside and raised the lid on its edge, releasing an acrid smell. He swiftly stepped down into the rank darkness below, skittering down the iron rungs as fast as he could.\u003cbr\u003e The disheveled men popped out of the trees ten seconds after he’d dropped the manhole cover in place.\u003cbr\u003e The boy listened as their cursing voices passed him.\u003cbr\u003e He waited until he could no longer hear them, and then sat for another five minutes. \u003cbr\u003e He hoisted the cover, emerging into the muggy night air.\u003cbr\u003e The boy fled deeper into the woods.A novel from #1 New York Times bestselling authors","brand":"Crown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46305223475429,"sku":"NP9781984822147","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781984822147.jpg?v=1767740321","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/the-lost-causes-of-bleak-creek-isbn-9781984822147","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}