An intense, disturbing read as likely to give nightmares as to become a new favorite.
After a mysterious black tube slide appears at their school playground, kids start going missing.
If Griffin goes down the Black Slide, becoming the first kid to try it out, then bully Ozzie says he will lay off him for the rest of the year. The subsequent surreal, painful, too-long tumble through darkness drops Griffin in an alien world before he snaps back to reality with a broken arm and nightmares for his troubles. In the following days, fifth graders go missing at an alarming rate, their absences unnoticed by adults; two of them Griffin observes go down the Black Slide but never come out. Trying to prevent his hypnotized best friend, Laila, from going down it too, Griffin ends up taking his second trip with her, and they land in the Painful Place, a hard world of rock and metal where children are subjected to painful experiments by the sadomasochistic inhabitants. Accurately described in the acknowledgements as “Hellraiser for kids,” the descriptions focus on the way pain feels rather than physical injuries, and emotional pain is given equal weight. Griffin and Laila must find a way to escape and save their classmates in a plot packed with endless dangers and unexpected alliances. The “happy” ending shows the consequences of their ordeals before landing on a final stinger. Physical descriptors of the kids are absent.
An intense, disturbing read as likely to give nightmares as to become a new favorite. (Horror. 10-14)Pub Date: Aug. 16, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-299055-6
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
A heartily satisfying string of entertaining near-catastrophes, replete with narrow squeaks and spectral howls.
Three young ghost trappers take on deadly wraiths and solve an old murder case in the bargain to kick off Stroud’s new post-Bartimaeus series.
Narrator Lucy Carlyle hopes to put her unusual sensitivity to supernatural sounds to good use by joining Lockwood & Co.—one of several firms that have risen to cope with the serious ghost Problem that has afflicted England in recent years. As its third member, she teams with glib, ambitious Anthony Lockwood and slovenly-but-capable scholar George Cubbins to entrap malign spirits for hire. The work is fraught with peril, not only because a ghost’s merest touch is generally fatal, but also, as it turns out, as none of the three is particularly good at careful planning and preparation. All are, however, resourceful and quick on their feet, which stands them in good stead when they inadvertently set fire to a house while discovering a murder victim’s desiccated corpse. It comes in handy again when they later rashly agree to clear Combe Carey Hall, renowned for centuries of sudden deaths and regarded as one of England’s most haunted manors. Despite being well-stocked with scream-worthy ghastlies, this lively opener makes a light alternative for readers who find the likes of Joseph Delaney’s Last Apprentice series too grim and creepy for comfort.
A heartily satisfying string of entertaining near-catastrophes, replete with narrow squeaks and spectral howls. (Ghost adventure. 11-13)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4231-6491-3
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 28, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
Folk horror for younger folk.
Kids stumble into a strange, remote community watched over by a huge, ominous scarecrow.
Twins Oliver and Trisha are three days into a five-day canoe trip with their dad to celebrate their 12th birthdays when their father is knocked unconscious in an accident. They’re virtually alone in the remote Missouri wilderness, and there’s no cell phone signal, but the siblings eventually find a dock on the river. From there, they follow a trail to the small town of Escrow, population 999. An enormous scarecrow stands in the town square; locals claim it keeps them all safe. Dad is taken to a strange medical facility and subjected to treatments that don’t seem to make sense for his injuries. The adults in Escrow behave oddly, getting angry when the twins don’t eat all their ice cream and casually suggesting that their father might die. The witchlike woman who takes them in for the night warns them not to go outside after dark. Meanwhile, both Oliver and Trisha can hear the threatening voice of the scarecrow inside their heads. They resolve to rescue Dad and get out of town, but the townspeople will go to extremes to keep them from leaving, ramping up the tension. The resourcefulness, cooperation, and affection displayed by the twins offset some truly scary moments, and a genuinely surprising ending provides macabre humor. Main characters read white.
Folk horror for younger folk. (Horror. 10-14)Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781728277592
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Sourcebooks Young Readers
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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