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

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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

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Book Review | The Stonekeeper (Amulet #1) by Kazu Kibuishi

The Stonekeeper is the first graphic novel in the Amulet series by Kazu Kibuishi.

Graphic novel star Kazu Kibuishi creates a world of terrible, man-eating demons, a mechanical rabbit, a giant robot---and two ordinary children on a life-or-death mission.

After the tragic death of their father, Emily and Navin move with their mother to the home of her deceased great-grandfather, but the strange house proves to be dangerous. Before long, a sinister creature lures the kids' mom through a door in the basement. Em and Navin, desperate not to lose her, follow her into an underground world inhabited by demons, robots, and talking animals.

Eventually, they enlist the help of a small mechanical rabbit named Miskit. Together with Miskit, they face the most terrifying monster of all, and Em finally has the chance to save someone she loves.

I picked this up at the library for my son. I started reading it for curiosity's sake and knew right away I would be finishing the entire book before passing it on to him.

The Stonekeeper does a great job at gripping you emotionally from the get go. We are immediately dealt the "death of a parent" card followed by the hardships a family faces in the wake of tragedy.

Due to the financial burden of losing their dad, Em's family moves into an old abandon house that once belonged to her grandfather.

They, of course, happen upon a magic amulet as one does in old family homes.

Em's mom gets kidnapped into another realm so Em and her brother Navin set off to save her.

The graphics in The Stonekeeper are fantastic.

I wound up returning this to the library without passing it on to my son. I love my entertainment to be really dark, but he does not. This definitely wouldn't have been his cup of tea. I, on the other hand, have already picked up the second and third volumes of this series.

7/10: Recommended Read

Storybook Sunday | 100 Book Club

It's a new school year, and my middle son has started Kindergarten! Our elementary school has a "100 Book Club" for the Kindergarteners each year. If they read 100 books during the school year, they get a trophy at the end of the year. Reading books isn't a problem in this house. Tracking them, however, is another issue. We didn't do a great job tracking with my oldest, especially after he passed his 100 books read, so I'm determined to not let it slip this time around.



My kids are obsessed with Magic Tree House. The series is starting to fall apart for me, but they really love it. So far this school year we've read Dolphins at Daybreak, Ghost Town at Sundown, Lions at Lunchtime, and Polar Bears Past Bedtime.

Other books we've read together:

Who Lives Here? (a super cute book, and I can't find the book cover online anywhere), Mouse and Bear (another one with a book cover issue), Clifford's Bedtime Story, A Big Hug for Little Cub, Home for a Bunny (my childhood favorite), and Star Wars: Colors.

My kids love the Star Wars: Colors book. It's definitely a winner for those looking for color books more modern and exciting. Each color is a two page spread with a character from Star Wars with phrases like "Yoda is green" or "Darth Vader is black".

100 Book Club Total: 10/100

Did you read any children's books this week? I'd love to hear what you are reading. Let me know in the comments or leave me a link.

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This post is being shared as part of Teach Mentor Text's It's Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA.

Storybook Sunday | Valentine's Edition

Storybook Sunday is where I talk about what I'm reading with my kids. It's the lighter side of Book Den.

A couple of years ago I was shopping in Toys 'R Us for some Christmas gift exchanges including a book exchange. As I was perusing the books, I came across I Love You Through and Through by Bernadette Rossetti-Shustak and Illustrator Caroline Jayne Church. It's one of those mommy tear jerker I Love You books, and I fell in love with it crying right there in the aisle. Needless to say it came home with me, and I gave it to my son for Christmas. I still love reading it to my kids, and I've gotten a lot better about not crying while I read it.

I Love You Through and Through is a great book to read for Valentine's, but I was so excited to also stumble upon Goodnight, I Love You at Target this week!

*gasp* It's another I Love You book from the same illustrator (who is now also the author)! It went straight into the cart for Valentine's Day. There are so many things I love about this book. The tiny toddler boy is now older, and it feels exactly as though he has grown with my boys who share the same bedtime routine as the boy in the book. There is a little girl in this book, too, so it is perfect for any family whether you have boys or girls. (More on THAT in a minute!)

I love bedtime stories like Goodnight Moon and Guess How Much I Love You that end with characters saying goodnight and going to sleep. It just feels right. Good Night, I Love You isn't as epic as those two, but it's another great save-for-last read (since my kids won't allow me to read Goodnight Moon every single night like I would like).

Once I got home with Goodnight, I Love You, I noticed something else on the back cover:

Another one! How Do I Love You? And that's the little girl from Goodnight, I Love You. I'm so excited! I need to get my hands on it.

Some other books we read this past week specifically for Valentine's:



If you have any recommendations for next Valentine's Day (or general I Love You recommendations for the rest of the year), I'd love to hear them!

Additional Topics of Interest:
Storybook Sunday | Halloween Books

Storybook Sunday | Ten Creepy Monsters & Ten Little Pumpkins

Last week I mentioned ordering two new books for our Halloween book stash: Ten Creepy Monsters and Ten Little Pumpkins. I had a significant reaction to both books.

TEN CREEPY MONSTERS by Carey F. Armstrong-Ellis

The kids and I had a really good time reading Ten Creepy Monsters. Ten Creepy Monsters starts out just like the title says - with ten monsters. One by one something happens to each monster.

Ten creepy monsters met ’neath a gnarled pine.
One blew away,
And then there were nine.

The premise for Ten Creepy Monsters is so cute and each monster is eliminated in a creative way fitting to that particular monster. (In the example above, the one that blew away was a ghost.) My only complaint is it was a bit over my kids' head. I had to explain what happened to each monster. It's a small complaint because I enjoy having discussion while we are reading, but it would have been even better if my kids' joy wasn't delayed before catching up to mine.

My favorite part of Ten Creepy Monsters is the ending. I absolutely love when a simple picture book gives a surprise ending. The kids and I immediately turned back to the first page so we could read it again knowing how it ends.

8/10: Great Read

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TEN LITTLE PUMPKINS, Illustrated by Jay Johnson

If you are anything like me, Ten Little Pumpkins will drive you insane. My kids enjoyed it. They loved counting the ten pumpkins in each picture spread. I don't think they even noticed how hard it was for me not to make a complete mess of the story or the numerous looks I exchanged with my husband.

Ten Little Pumpkins is a "Sing and Read Storybook". The words are set to the tune of Ten Little Indians. The idea is you can open the book and sing through the pages. The first verse of pages were fine... One little, two little, three little pumpkins... concluding with ten little pumpkins in a patch. Just like the original ten little indian boys. After that, the book is all jacked up. The syllables in the verses get more and more unlike those of Ten Little Indians finally ending with ten trick-or-treaters on Halloween night. How on earth do you sing song that?

If you can make ten trick-or-treaters on Halloween night sound like ten little indian boys, could you please call me?

3/10: Didn't like it (but my kids did!)


Storybook Sunday is a feature here on Book Den where I talk about the books I'm reading with my kids. Let me know if you'd like to join in!