DOWN CAME THE SPIDERS

Creepy-crawlies take over a Halloween party.

Halloween is Andi’s favorite holiday—to her, it’s “serious business,” and she loves spiders almost as much as she loves her best friends, Carly and Devon. But now that they’re sixth graders, her friends are more interested in attending eighth grader Clementine’s party than going trick-or-treating as usual. Andi reluctantly agrees, lured by the promise of seeing the office of Mr. Mendez, Clementine’s science teacher dad, which is filled with spiders in terrariums. Andi recognizes the species in his collection—until she comes face to face with a spider that’s as big as a person’s head. Strangely, the more she looks into its red eyes, the more she wants to remove the lid and set it free. The party continues, but soon spiders start appearing out of every nook and cranny, all heading in the same direction. Andi and her friends follow them, discovering a giant funnel web where the adults are trapped. Andi suddenly fears spiders for the first time: Can she stop them before it’s too late? Russell’s sophomore novel balances slow-building creepiness with a genuine affection for arachnids and incorporates occasional scientific facts. The evocative descriptions of spiders and their webs make for some truly chilling scenes, and the explorations of loneliness and tween difficulties with making friends add human elements to the terror. Andi is Black, and there’s racial diversity among the secondary characters.

A well-spun tale that combines suspense with relatable emotional themes.