Review | City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab

Source: personal purchase. This is a review of my reading experience.

City of Ghosts is a middle grade horror novel by Victoria Schwab.

Cassidy Blake's parents are The Inspecters, a (somewhat inept) ghost-hunting team. But Cass herself can REALLY see ghosts. In fact, her best friend, Jacob, just happens to be one.

When The Inspecters head to ultra-haunted Edinburgh, Scotland, for their new TV show, Cass—and Jacob—come along. In Scotland, Cass is surrounded by ghosts, not all of them friendly. Then she meets Lara, a girl who can also see the dead. But Lara tells Cassidy that as an In-betweener, their job is to send ghosts permanently beyond the Veil. Cass isn't sure about her new mission, but she does know the sinister Red Raven haunting the city doesn't belong in her world. Cassidy's powers will draw her into an epic fight that stretches through the worlds of the living and the dead, in order to save herself.

Yay! I'm so happy to have finally read City of Ghosts. I have so many Schwab books that I still haven't read including this trilogy. To be fair, I bought the rest of the trilogy after my son loved this first book, but I have no good excuses for not having read them myself.

We had a bad storm here, and I needed a horror to lose myself in, and this book called out to me.

City of Ghosts is a middle grade horror novel, but it definitely has wide appeal. It has my favorite MG elements: ghosts and friendships.

Cassidy Blake has the ability to walk between worlds and see ghosts. There was a wonderful balance between the living and the dead. City of Ghosts is creepy but also an entertaining story and well crafted.

I'm absolutely adding City of Ghosts to my list of recommended middle grade horror books.

⭐⭐⭐⭐★
4/5 stars

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jen 📚 Reads Books (@bookdenjen)

Review | Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn

It's Read Across America week so I'm dedicating the blog to horror novels for children this week! If you have anyone young in your life, please make sure they have access to fun, spooky reads, OK?

Source: personal purchase. This is a review of my reading experience.

Wait Till Helen Comes is a middle grade horror novel by Mary Downing Hahn.

Twelve-year-old Molly and her ten-year-old brother, Michael, have never liked their seven-year-old stepsister, Heather. Ever since their parents got married, she's made Molly and Michael's life miserable. Now their parents have moved them all to the country to live in a house that used to be a church, with a cemetery in the backyard. If that's not bad enough, Heather starts talking to a ghost named Helen and warning Molly and Michael that Helen is coming for them. Molly feels certain Heather is in some kind of danger, but every time she tries to help, Heather twists things around to get her into trouble. It seems as if things can't get any worse.

I really can't explain what happened as a child. I was eight years old when Wait Till Helen Comes came out. That should have been the perfect age for me to have found and read and loved Wait Till Helen Comes. I spent my entire childhood – every single time I went to the library and every time I went to a book fair – searching for children's horror and specifically searching for ghost stories. How was Mary Downing Hahn not in my life? How was Wait Till Helen Comes not in my life? I can't explain it. Did I somehow forget it?

Regardless of this mystery, I have found Mary Downing Hahn as an adult, and I have made it a mission to catch up on reading all of her books. Wait Till Helen Comes is probably Mary Downing Hahn's most popular book, and I can see why.

One thing I have to confess is I find Mary Downing Hahn's characters (even the adults) to be generally annoying. But kids in real life are annoying, too, and I found myself loving everyone by the end of Wait Till Helen Comes.

This is a great ghost story, and I would have loved it as a kid. There is even some possible possession happening here which is amazing. I think this ghost story would absolutely hold up in 2023. The family in Wait Till Helen Comes is a blended family that has moved out into the country to live in a house that used to be a church. They are dealing with grief and trauma and learning how to be a family together while also having to deal with the haunted graveyard out back.

I've only read a couple of Mary Downing Hahn's books so far so I'm looking forward to continuing my way through the rest of her bibliography.

4/5 stars
⭐⭐⭐⭐★

Read more of my reviews of books by Mary Downing Hahn:

Deep and Dark and Dangerous by Mary Downing Hahn

The Doll in the Garden by Mary Downing Hahn

If you like Mary Downing Hahn, check out these books by Lindsey Duga:

The Haunting by Lindsey Duga

Ghost in the Headlights by Lindsey Duga

Review | The Clackity by Lora Senf

Source: preordered purchase. This is a review of my reading experience.

The Clackity is a middle grade horror novel by Lora Senf.

Reminiscent of Doll Bones and Small Spaces, this “delightfully eerie” (Erin A. Craig, New York Times bestselling author of House of Salt and Sorrows) middle grade novel tells the story of a girl who must rescue her aunt by entering a world of ghosts, witches, and monsters to play a game with deadly consequences.

Evie Von Rathe lives in Blight Harbor—the seventh-most haunted town in America—with her Aunt Desdemona, the local paranormal expert. Des doesn’t have many rules except one: Stay out of the abandoned slaughterhouse at the edge of town. But when her aunt disappears into the building, Evie goes searching for her.

There she meets The Clackity, a creature who lives in the shadows and seams of the slaughterhouse. The Clackity makes a deal with Evie to help get Des back in exchange for the ghost of John Jeffrey Pope, a serial killer who stalked Blight Harbor a hundred years earlier. Evie reluctantly embarks on a journey into a strange otherworld filled with hungry witches, penny-eyed ghosts, and a memory-thief, all while being pursued by a dead man whose only goal is to add Evie to his collection of lost souls. Will she ever find Des, or is The Clackity planning something far more sinister?

I bought The Clackity because it's a middle grade horror novel and the synopsis sounded awesome. In The Clackity, Evie's aunt has disappeared and Evie must enter a supernatural world filled with challenges to get her back.

I had managed to talk myself into thinking The Clackity had something to do with Halloween. I guess because it has the perfect Halloween cover with orange and black and greys and a wonderfully spooky illustration. The Clackity can definitely be read at any time, though. It's not set at Halloween, it just has a wonderful vibe to the book that does make it perfect for spooky season.

The illustration isn't limited to just the cover. The entire book has those awesome spooky illustrations sprinkled throughout the chapters. It really is a beautiful book.

As for the story, The Clackity is creepy and imaginative. In fact, The Clackity is so imaginative, I think it would appeal to fans of Catherine M. Valente. In the world that Evie enters, she has to go through all of these different settings and encounter different ghosts and monsters. It reminded me quite a bit of Coraline as well.

In the end, my rating for The Clackity is entirely subjective. I feel like I need to offer up some bigger explanation for why I'm only giving this three stars, but the truth is I loved getting to enter Senf's imaginative world and I loved the relationship between Evie and her aunt. Three stars means I liked it, and it just fits for me here.

 

3/5 stars

⭐⭐⭐★ ★ 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jen 📚 Reads Books (@bookdenjen)

Review | The Doll in the Garden by Mary Downing Hahn

Source: personal purchase. This is a review of my reading experience.

The Doll in the Garden is a middle grade horror book by Mary Downing Hahn.

From ghost story master Mary Downing Hahn, the haunting tale of a mysterious doll discovered in a young girl's garden, and its owner, a girl from seventy years in the past, who wants it back.

A suspenseful story of unexpected connections between present and past. Ashley and her mother need their new apartment to work out, but everything Ashley does seems to upset the irritable and unforgiving landlady. When Ashley makes friends with the girl next door, Kristi, they uncover a wooden box containing a well-loved turn-of-the-century doll. Ashley wants to keep the doll for herself, but Kristi has other ideas. So does the doll's original owner, a girl who died decades ago, but whom Ashley meets when she follows a mysterious white cat through a hedge. Can Ashley bring peace to the girl and resolve her own present-day challenges?

My journey through Mary Downing Hahn's books continues with The Doll in the Garden.

I adored The Doll in the Garden. It was emotional and wonderful and a ghost story I would have really loved as a kid. It's a ghost story I really loved as an adult.

One thing I am noticing about Mary Downing Hahn's books is the parents are present in her stories. I mentioned in my review of Wait Till Helen Comes that all of Hahn's characters are generally annoying – including the adults. But I loved the main character's mom in The Doll in the Garden. She was wonderful, and her relationship with the main character Ashley was wonderful.

Ashley's dad passed away from cancer, and she and her mom moved from Baltimore to Monkton Mills to rent the top floor of a grumpy old lady's house. After Ashley and her new friend Kristi discover a doll buried in the garden, a white cat takes Ashley on a journey to discover the original owner. I absolutely loved the magic that was used with the ghost elements. It was creepy and imaginative, and I can't get enough of that.

The Doll in the Garden packs a lot about death and grief and regret into this one little book. There are so many parallels between the ghost and Ashley's father. The Doll in the Garden really got me in the feels. It also has me excited to read more from Mary Downing Hahn.

I never see or hear anybody talking about The Doll in the Garden. If you or someone you know is a fan of Mary Downing Hahn, this is a great book to put on your radar. Honestly, the cover isn't that great, but the story is wonderful. Just be sure you prepare your heart for this one.

 

4/5 stars

⭐⭐⭐⭐★

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jen 📚 Reads Books (@bookdenjen)

Book Review | Ghost Girl by Ally Malinenko

Source: preordered purchase. This is a review of my reading experience.

Ghost Girl is a middle grade horror novel by Ally Malinenko.

Perfect for fans of Small Spaces and Nightbooks, Ally Malinenko’s middle-grade debut is an empowering and triumphant ghost story—with spooky twists sure to give readers a few good goosebumps!

Zee Puckett loves ghost stories. She just never expected to be living one.

It all starts with a dark and stormy night. When the skies clear, everything is different. People are missing. There’s a creepy new principal who seems to know everyone’s darkest dreams. And Zee is seeing frightening things: large, scary dogs that talk and maybe even . . . a ghost.

When she tells her classmates, only her best friend, Elijah, believes her. Worse, mean girl Nellie gives Zee a cruel nickname: Ghost Girl.

But whatever the storm washed up isn’t going away. Everyone’s most selfish wishes start coming true in creepy ways.

To fight for what’s right, Zee will have to embrace what makes her different and what makes her Ghost Girl. And all three of them—Zee, Elijah, and Nellie—will have to work together if they want to give their ghost story a happy ending.

I loved Ghost Girl!

Growing up I picked up every book I could find that possibly had a ghost in it. All of the amazing middle grade and young adult books that exist today weren't available back then. My inner Jen still gets excited every time I get to pick up a middle grade horror - especially the ones that center around ghosts.

While Ghost Girl is certainly a ghostly book, it is much, much more than that. And most important (to me) - it's scary! I love when a horror book turns out to be scary, and Ghost Girl joins the ranks of Hide and Seeker, The Girl and the Ghost, Root Magic, and Where the Woods End for having some amazing horror content!

Like Hide and Seeker, it will also hit you right in the feels. I love the characters of Zee, Elijah, and Nellie. Their character growth and their friendships are wonderful! I grew to love them so much.

If you read middle grade or have someone in your life who reads middle grade, I highly recommend Ghost Girl. I can't wait to read more from Ally Malinenko!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
5/5 stars

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jen (@bookdenjen)

Book Review | The Ghost of Midnight Lake by Lucy Strange

The Ghost of Midnight Lake is a middle grade horror-adjacent mystery novel by Lucy Strange.

From award winning author Lucy Strange comes a thrilling ghost story about a strong willed heroine who will follow even the most restless spirit in order to untangles the dark mystery of her own past.

It's 1899. The Earl of Gosswater has died, and twelve-year-old Agatha has been cast out of her ancestral home - the only home she has ever known - by her cruel cousin, Clarence. In a tiny tumbledown cottage, she struggles to adjust to her new life and the stranger who claims to be her real father. While adjusting to her new fate, she learns that the shores of Gosswater lake are haunted, and soon comes face to face with the spirit of another young girl who's soul will not rest. Could the ghost of Gosswater hold the key to Aggie's true identity?

I'm pretty sure I read The Ghost of Midnight Lake just because of that cover! Thankfully The Ghost of Midnight Lake was so much deeper than my reason for picking it up in the first place.⁠

Despite having such a lovely print copy, I decided to listen to this one on audio. It's narrated by the author, and I think this added an additional layer to an already wonderful book.

The Ghost of Midnight Lake opens up with Agatha finding out her parents who have passed away are not her biological parents, and she must uproot and go live with her "real father".

The Ghost of Midnight Lake is full of mystery, friendship, family, and villians.

This is the first book by Lucy Strange that I've read. I realized after finishing this that she's the same author who just released Sisters of the Lost Marsh as well. I look forward to reading more by Strange in the future.

⭐⭐⭐⭐★
4/5 stars

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jen (@bookdenjen)

Book Review | Ophie's Ghosts by Justina Ireland

Source: preordered purchase. This is a review of my reading experience.

Ophie's Ghosts is a middle grade horror/mystery by Justina Ireland.

The New York Times bestselling author of Dread Nation makes her middle grade debut with a sweeping tale of the ghosts of our past that won't stay buried, starring an unforgettable girl named Ophie.

Ophelia Harrison used to live in a small house in the Georgia countryside. But that was before the night in November 1922, and the cruel act that took her home and her father from her. Which was the same night that Ophie learned she can see ghosts.

Now Ophie and her mother are living in Pittsburgh with relatives they barely know. In the hopes of earning enough money to get their own place, Mama has gotten Ophie a job as a maid in the same old manor house where she works.

Daffodil Manor, like the wealthy Caruthers family who owns it, is haunted by memories and prejudices of the past--and, as Ophie discovers, ghosts as well. Ghosts who have their own loves and hatreds and desires, ghosts who have wronged others and ghosts who have themselves been wronged. And as Ophie forms a friendship with one spirit whose life ended suddenly and unjustly, she wonders if she might be able to help--even as she comes to realize that Daffodil Manor may hold more secrets than she bargained for.

Yes! Ophie's Ghosts is an Odd Thomas type of book for kids!

The night Ophie's father is killed is the first night Ophelia Harrison sees ghosts. Her father wakes her to insist she and her mother hide just before their home is burned down. Ophie and her mother then move to Pittsburgh to work in Daffodil Manor.

Ophie can see and communicate with spirits. Her relatives warn her against communicating with haints, but she wants to help the ghosts around her.

I really like Justina Ireland's writing. I enjoyed her YA duology Dread Nation and Deathless Divide, and I was excited she wrote a middle grade novel. I was not disappointed! 

I loved Ophie, and I would love to read more Ophie books in the future. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐★

4/5 stars

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jen (@bookdenjen)

Book Review | Ghost in the Headlights by Lindsey Duga

Source: Preordered purchase. This is a review of my personal reading experience.

Ghost in the Headlights is Lindsey Duga's latest middle grade horror novel.

In this modern-day retelling of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," an angry ghost haunts a small-town road in search of revenge...

When Brianna Jenson agreed to move in with her cruel uncle Shane in rural Pennsylvania, she didn't expect to find herself in the middle of a terrifying town legend.

Every afternoon on her walk home from school, as the sun begins to set behind the overhanging branches of Shadowrun Road, Brianna hears footsteps following her -- footsteps that belong to no one. Then there's the car that races along the narrow country road with blinding lights and almost runs her over! That's when Brianna realizes... there's no one driving. It's almost as if someone -- or something -- is trying to get her attention.

As Brianna investigates what happened on Shadowrun Road, she discovers a town tragedy that has never been resolved. Can Brianna get to the bottom of this ghostly mystery before it's too late?

Ghost in the Headlights is the perfect book to give a young reader starting out on their horror journey. This is exactly the type of book young Jen would have loved to read.

In Ghost in the Headlights, Brianna has to stay with her uncle while her mother is away training for work. Brianna finds herself wrapped up in the mysterious local legend of a missing girl.

I loved Brianna and her friendship with Jacob as they try to solve the mystery of the ghost girl.

As an adult who loves middle grade fiction, Ghost in the Headlights is not one I would really recommend to other adults. Like The Haunting, Ghost in the Headlights is filled with classic tropes that most adults have experienced numerous times but are absolutely perfect for an younger audience.

My youngest is entering the realm of middle grade reading, and Ghost in the Headlights is a book I am excited to pass down to him.

⭐⭐⭐⭐★
4/5 stars

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jen (@bookdenjen)

Book Review | The Ash House by Angharad Walker

Source: Preordered purchase. This is a review of my personal reading experience.

The Ash House is a middle grade horror novel by Angharad Walker.

 

An unsettling, gripping middle grade debut about searching for a sense of belonging in the wrong places, and the bravery it takes to defy those who seek to control us. This is Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children meets Lord of the Flies for fans of Neil Gaiman and Holly Black.

When Eleven-year-old Sol arrives at the Ash House, desperate for a cure for his complex pain syndrome, he finds a community of strange children long abandoned by their mysterious Headmaster.

The children at the Ash House want the new boy to love their home as much as they do. They give him a name like theirs. They show him the dorms and tell him about the wonderful oasis that the Headmaster has created for them. But the new boy already has a name. Doesn't he? At least he did before he walked through those gates...

This was supposed to be a healing refuge for children like him. Something between a school and a summer camp. With kids like him. With pain like his. But no one is allowed to get sick at the Ash House. NO ONE.

And then The Doctor arrives...

Strange things are about to happen at the mysterious Ash House. And the longer Sol spends on the mysterious grounds, the more he begins to forget who he is, the more the other children begin to distrust him, and the worse his pain becomes. But can he hold onto reality long enough to find an escape? And better yet, can he convince the others?

The Ash House did not work for me.

We are thrown into this story in this ash house with a bunch of boys who don't remember their names and go by weird given names that represent "nicenesses". Don't ask me why about any of this because I couldn't tell you.

The Ash House was not fun to read. The horror of the book focused on sickness and doctor horror without a point to it all.

I don't know what to say about the setting and the world building because I don't know what any of it meant. What was that house and why was it there? Why were the kids there? I was confused while reading it, and I'm left with no answers after finishing it.

There were times the wording felt like it was not written for a middle grade audience. "The children moved like clockwork." "The children stared back." Kids are reading about "the children"? The writing was super repetitive which is a pet peeve of mine.

I will say it's a beautifully made book. The cover got my attention right away, and I loved the interior chapter designs.

The Ash House is a debut middle grade, and I had high hopes for it. It's one of the best middle grade covers I've seen this year. Unfortunately, it's not one that I will pass on to my kids. 

1/5 Stars
⭐★★★★ 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jen 📚 Reads Books (@bookdenjen)

Book Review | The In-Between by Rebecca Ansari

Source: Preordered purchase. This is a review of my personal reading experience.

The In-Between is a middle grade horror novel by Rebecca Ansari.

Cooper is lost. Ever since his father left their family three years ago, he has become distant from his friends, constantly annoyed by his little sister, Jess, and completely fed up with the pale, creepy rich girl who moved in next door, who won’t stop staring at him.

So when Cooper learns of an unsolved mystery his sister has discovered online, he welcomes the distraction. It’s the tale of a deadly train crash that occurred a hundred years ago in which one young boy among the dead was never identified. The only distinguishing mark on him was a strange insignia on his suit coat, a symbol no one had seen before or since. Jess is fascinated by the mystery of the unknown child—because she’s seen the insignia. And, she tells Cooper, he has too.

It’s the symbol on the jacket of the girl next door.

As they uncover more information—and mounting evidence of the girl’s seemingly impossible connection to the tragedy—Cooper and Jess begin to wonder if a similar disaster could be heading to their hometown. Thus begins an unforgettable adventure about the forgotten among us and what it means to be seen.

The In-Between is a book you have to STICK WITH! The pay off is worth it in the end.

In The In-Between, Cooper and his sister Jess are trying to solve a mystery they discover on the internet.

Coop and Jess aren't very likeable in the beginning of The In-Between. The family dynamic is a hard one. It makes the kids bitter and they don't get along. Jess has diabetes which I did appreciate seeing here. The characters (and their friends) go through a lot of development in The In-Between, and I wound up loving them all by the end.

Honestly, I considered putting this down which would have been a shame because everything came together beautifully by the end.

The world building and the supernatural setting that was embedded in Chicago was interesting. The In-Between was a really unique ghost story and will probably wind up being one of my favorite middle grade releases from this year.

A quick note - after reading numerous ghostly MG books, I've finally learned MG ghosts usually equal child death. I should have realized this sooner. I loved this book and I highly recommend it; just know - much like Scritch Scratch, it was inspired by a real disaster. 

4/5 stars
⭐⭐⭐⭐★

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jen (@bookdenjen)