The Nightmare House

Author: Sarah Allen

Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux

Pages: 272

Release Date: 8/Aug/23

Reviewer: Kathie

Happy book birthday to THE NIGHTMARE HOUSE, and thank you to Edelweiss+ and Farrar, Straus & Giroux for an eARC of this book.

It’s not often the words “psychological thriller” come to mind when discussing a middle-grade book, but that’s exactly what I thought as I went on the emotional roller coaster ride of THE NIGHTMARE HOUSE. The Fear Maker has haunted Penny since she first encountered him when she was seven. Her anxiety has progressively worsened, and the blank-eyed people have started appearing more frequently. After her grandma suffers a heart episode, the fear quickly spreads, and Penny realizes she has to face the Fear Maker in his own house if she wants to save her family and those she cares about. Although Penny has a new friend to help her and finds courage from The Gardener, she must draw on her inner strength to face her nightmares and the Fear Maker before he destroys her world.

I most enjoyed the prominent role that poetry plays in this story. Penny shares several poems throughout the book, which help root the story in Penny’s mind. The lyrical writing is something I’ve come to love from this author, and though this book is very different from her previous ones, her keen understanding of the Fear Maker and his power is clearly reflected by it. Despite the dark aspects of the story, there is enough hope and light to keep the reader walking toward it, and Penny’s grandma and her friend Aarush provide a counterbalance to the fear. I love a book that has the power to mess with my own mind, and I think readers who experience fear and anxiety in their lives will relate to so many aspects of it. As some of the story takes place on Halloween, it’s a fantastic book to add to your collection for the upcoming spooky season.

Favourite quote:

“Do you think monsters are real? I ask quietly. I’ve talked to her about monsters many times before, but never asked her this question so directly.

Grandma considers, closing the book she has in her hands. Hmm, she says. I’m not sure. Possibly. But I do know that fighting the monsters is very real.”

The Bellwoods Game

Author: Celia Krampien

Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Pages: 400

Release Date: 1/Aug/23

Reviewer: Kathie

I’m very glad I read this gripping #MGLit horror book by Canadian author Celia Krampien during the daytime! Set in the woods of Fall Hollow, Bailee and her classmates are (sort of) ready for the traditional Bellwoods Game that takes place each Halloween for three randomly chosen kids from the sixth grade. It’s well known that Abigail Snook, a girl who went missing several years ago, haunts the woods that night, but if one of the kids can race to the bell and ring it, they’ll protect the town from Abigail’s wrath for another year. Bailee is selected to play, but she’s more interested in the wish that the winner supposedly gets to make, and with her recent status as a social outcast, she would like to make things go back to how they used to be. No one can remember what evil has happened in the woods in years past, but none of the kids will leave them the same as they went in…if they leave at all!

I most enjoyed the numerous illustrations in this book by the author, a highly accomplished illustrator who also created the book’s cover, as well as others such as The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeihart, The Gray by Chris Baron, and Those Kid From Fawn Creek by Erin Entrada Kelly. Not only did the visuals add to the story, but they helped to break up the text and make the book feel shorter than its 305 pages. I also enjoyed Bailee and her classmates becoming unexpected allies and confronting their issues while facing the sinister force working against them.

I highly recommend this book to readers who enjoy spooky stories set in haunted woods with sinister twists around every corner.