Ravenous Things by Derrick Chow

Reggie Wong has lost his father.  His mother doesn't seem to be dealing well with it and has basically closed herself off from everything.  When Reggie meets the Conductor, who promises him his hearts desire to get his dad back, he goes on a subway with all the other kids who have been promised the same thing.  After he is reunited with his dad, he realizes something is not right and that his dad is not the same.  They start to relive the same day over and over and Reggie finds out it is all a hoax, however when he tries to return home he and his friends realize the Conductor has taken over their lives and their town.  They wonder if things will ever go back to how it should be.

This is loosely based on the Pied Piper.  Great creepy, crawly book.  I listened to the audio book for part of it and read the rest because I just had to finish to find out what happened.  Great for grades 4 and up.

The Keeper by Guadalupe Garcia McCall

James and his family move from Eagle Pass, Texas to Oregon.  That is a big culture shock.  James decides not to play baseball, because he feels he would be disloyal to his friends from Texas, but his sister Ava ends up getting him to join a group of kids playing in the neighborhood.  James and Ava have a LONG time prank war going on, so when some weird things start happening they think the other one is pranking them.  As they start to unravel the weirdness, they don't know who they can trust and it becomes a race against survival.  

I liked this book for the spooky/ mystery factor, but it was off putting with Spanish words thrown in and that this was based on a true story, but didn't really give any detail in the author's note.

 

What Comes Next by Rob Buyea

Thea lost her best friend Charlie and a terrible accident during spring break.  She can't even go back and finish 6th grade, so her parents homeschool her.  Her family decides to move to another town to give her a fresh start and her dad decides to get a new dog.  They go to the rescue to pick out a dog and Thea ends up selecting, a little dog with a lazy eye...just like Charlie had.  They name him Jack, or Jack-Jack, or Jackson.  They all call him various versions of the name. :) Thea has gone mute since the accident, but slowly Jack gets her talking again and then she meets her little sister's teacher Ms. Stacey, who helps her out, but also introduces her to Rory.  With all their help, she is able to start living again.

By the end of the book there are so many ties that I didn't see coming.  I just love that it is a window into grief and how people handle things differently.  The little supernatural touch of the dog is just perfect.

 

The Hiddenseek by Nate Cernosek

 Holly and Hector Thorn were playing a game of hide and seek and were never found, so they ended up in a alternate universe called "The Hiddenseek".  There they meet several other children who were also playing hide and seek and never found.  When IT finds you she turns you to stone.  As Holly, Hector and the others try to stay away from It, they begin to discover the history of how and when Hiddenseek was created and they try to fix it so they can get home, but things spiral out of control pretty quickly and it becomes a ticking clock of who will survive and make it out. 

Pretty good book.  Similar to Hide and Seeker, which I read and reviewed, but a little more historical feel to this one.  

Mine by Delilah S. Dawson

 Lily and her family are moving from Colorado to Florida for her dad's job.  Something happened in Colorado, and Lily's parents are always telling her to settle down and not be so dramatic.  As Lily moves into their new house she realizes why they could afford it, a hoarder lived there and it is in pretty bad shape.  As she and her mom begin to clean the house out, weird things happen.  green gook bubbles up out of the toilet, sink and shower and then disappears.  Lily's room  is tossed and messed up, things she knew she put in one place find their way back.  As Lily and a friend begin to investigate the house's history they discover there were deaths there and one little girl who died there is not happy Lily is there.

Super creepy!  Ghosts, danger, and a book that kept me reading.  

Hold Back the Tide by Melinda Salisbury

 Disclaimer:  I listened to the audiobook.

Alva lives with her dad, who is a murderer.  He killed her mother when she was 8.  Now she is 15 and she tries to make sure he doesn't kill her by making herself very useful.  He is in charge of checking on the loch and he has nets in, but keeps finding them cut.  As she repairs them for him and replaces them she notices the loch is loosing water quickly from the paper mill in town and sees a hole in the bank that she thinks is an otter den.  As she and her friend Marren start to discover there are things her dad hasn't told her and she sees a large, white, skeletal being, her dad becomes extremely cautious to the point of locking her in the house.  She and Marren wonder what in the world is going on?  What was the creature?  Where did it come from?  And mostly what really happened the night her mother died.

Could not stop listening.  Wow.  What a ride.  So many things were thrown in that when I thought I had it figured out, I was WRONG!  Was a little slow to start and I kept thinking get to the point, but don't quit it is AMAZING.  

Dead Wednesday by Jerry Spinelli

Robbie, AKA Worm, is in 8th grade.  Every year the 8th graders participate in Dead Wednesday where the students are assigned a teenager who died in the previous year by things that could be avoided, such as drugs, alcohol, texting while driving, etc. The students always look forward to it because they become "invisible" and can pretty much get away with anything, burping in people's faces, climbing on desks, you name it and they get out 1/2 a day early.  Robbie and his best friend Eddie along with the entire 8th grade is planning on going to watch a huge fight at 12:30, but Worm's mom keeps texting him that she needs him to come home and help with the writer's retreat they own.  As Worm starts his day he gets his assigned dead kid, Rebecca Finch.  Things are kinda weird as the teachers don't talk to them, make eye contact with them, or anything.  Worm really thinks it's weird that he keeps seeing a girl in raspberry colored pjs. Once he gets close enough to see her face he realizes it is Rebecca, his dead kid!  Is he going crazy or is something else at work here?  He and Rebecca try to figure it out.  

Wow.  What a great book.  Worm is insecure, shy, and defers to Eddie.  He thinks the whole Dead Wednesday is stupid, but in participating learns a lot about himself and life in general.  Such a great what if book for small choices we make everyday.

 

 

The Monsters of Rookhaven by Padraig Kenny

 Mirabelle lives in a big house with her family....family of monsters, but she is different.  She has no talent like the others, unless you count not sleeping or eating a talent.  All monsters come in from the Ether, it's kind of like being born.  Tom and Jemima, Jem, are running away from their uncle who was raising them, but abusive. Their parents are both dead and they have to steal and run to survive.  As their car runs out of gas, they discover Mirabelle's house and look to seek shelter there, but in the process stumble upon a weird, but wonderful situation.  Tom is sick and needs to recover and Mirabelle and Jem become friends, but as one of the house's inhabitants, Piglet, escapes to the outside world he attracts an evil they have never seen and one that can't be killed.  

I didn't care for the book at first because it had too many British English words like petrol and ration books and I didn't think kids would know what that was, but as I kept reading it was a superb story.  I really loved Kenny's creations and reminded me a little of The Graveyard Book by Gaiman.  Would definitely recommend to readers who won't be put off by the vocabulary.  

The Circus of Stolen Dreams by Lorelei Savaryn

 

Disclaimer:  I listened to the audio.

Andrea's little brother went missing from their house three years ago.  Her parents are divorced, and her mother has decided to get rid of Francis's things.  Andrea can't stand the thought of Francis being gone forever and his things so she leaves to take a walk and encounters a magical circus where the price of admission is a dream.  She pays the price and enters a world unlike anything she has ever seen. Penny shows her around and introduces her to a dream about flying, pirates and then challenges her to go into a nightmare.  There is always a way out, but don't stay in a nightmare too long.  The Dream Clock seems to never move time and as Andrea and Penny discover that something is amiss they have to figure out how to escape from the circus.

I liked this book, but it was a little slow getting into it.  Andrea is dealing with her parents divorce and loss of her little brother.  It has a dark feel to it, but good wins in the end.  

Remember Me by Chelsea Bobulski

 

Nell and her father are moving to the Winslow Grand Hotel for him to be the social director.  She starts to have weird "memories" and feelings like she remembers stuff from there.  Aurelea is also telling her story of how one summer she went to stay with her family and was marrying a wealthy man at the end of the summer to save her family from poverty.  Nell lives in 2019 and Lea in 1907.  Told in alternating voices from the past and the present until they collide into one another.

Really enjoyed the book, story and premise.  Has all the elements for me...horror, mystery, supernatural and then adds some romance to the mix.  

You Were Never Here by Kathleen Peacock

 Mary Catherine, Cat, hasn't been to Montgomery Falls, Canada, since she was 12 years old.  She is now 17 and her dad has sent her to stay with her aunt for the summer.  She had something happen in New York that he wants her away from.  As she arrives in town, she finds out her former friend Riley has gone missing.  He was the one friend who knew what she could do, which is when she touches someone she can see their fears or desire.  He helped her that summer figure out what was going on, but once they kissed, he never talked to her again.  As Cat stays with her Aunt, she becomes friends with some local teenagers, but Riley's brother, Noah, ropes her into helping him investigate what happened to Riley.  Rachel, a local teen, is found unconscious by the river and somehow Cat knows it is all tied together.  The more she digs into things, the more she becomes a target.

Would probably recommend this for 8th and up for language, violence, stalking, and murder.  I liked the book, but it wasn't a can't put it down until towards the end kind of book.  

Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar

 Disclaimer:  I listened to the audio.

Sheetal is half human, half star.  Her mother returned to the heavens when she was young.  She is now 16, almost 17 and she is hearing star song and feeling called to the heavens.  She has to dye her hair to cover up the silver shining tresses.  As she accidentally burns her father and gives him a heart attack.  Her aunt and cousin help her get to the heavens to her mother to try to get a drop of star blood to heal him.  As she travels to the heavens, she meets her mother and her side of the family.  She is wrangled into a talent competition to represent her house to be in charge of the heavens.

Not my favorite.  Lots of Indian mythology and words that were not explained.  I don't think this will appeal to many kids unless they are familiar with Hindu and know the history and language.  I liked Aru Shah series better.  

Whispering Pines by Heidi Lang & Kati Bartkowski

In the vein of Stranger Things type story with other dimensions...

Rae's dad went missing and her mom has moved them to Whispering Pines.  But there are weird goings-on there.  The summer before four kids were playing hide and seek and three of them ended up with their eyes missing... the fourth was left behind.  Caden is Rae's neighbor and kind of a loner who is considered weird because he has psychic abilities, his mother talks to ghosts, and he sprinkles salt to ward off evil.  But Caden also has a deep secret that he will need to share with Rae and his mother before they will be able to solve what is happening in the town.  

Great supernatural story, some gory parts (eyes missing), lots of action and mystery to solve.  Looking forward to the sequel.  

 

Scritch Scratch by Lindsay Currie

 

Scriiiiiitch Scraaaaatch...... 

Claire is a scientist, but her dad is a paranormal expert.  He has started his own ghost tour in Chicago and Claire has to end up helping him when the normal person can't.  She is mortified.  Claire is also dealing with her best friend, who seems to be making a new best friend.  As Claire finishes helping her dad with the tour she sees a little boy on the bus, but there were no kids on the tour.... The next thing you know weird things are happening:  marker writing on the wall, bathrooms flooding, broken picture frames.  Claire with the help of her brother Sam will have to find out what the ghost wants and Claire will have to learn to not judge people based on their first impression.  

Loved this for middle school.  Spooky factor, friendship struggles, has a crush on a boy, and just general middle school growing up struggles.  I also really loved learning about some Chicago history and things I didn't know.  

Shadow School: Dehaunting by J. A White

 Cordelia, Benji and Agnes are back. They discover the school has a dehaunter, which will send ghosts to their Brights and the kids won’t have to do that anymore, but as they try to finish building it based on Elijah’s plans things start to go wrong. They don’t know who they can trust or what exactly is going on. On top of all that Benji has a new friend, Viviana, and could it be that Cordelia is a little jealous?

Not as good as the first one, but I still enjoyed it and flew right through it.

The Puppet's Payback and other Chilling Tales by Mary Downing Hahn

Well, I love me some scary stories.  This was a great compilation of lots of weird, scary tales.  I was drawn in right away and couldn't put it down. Not all the stories are scary, but all of them have the woo woo factor.  The author also gives a Q & A at the end of how she comes up with her stories.  

Story titles in the book are: The Number Seven Bus; 213 Poplar Street; The Grounding of Theresa; Trouble Afoot; The Puppet's Payback; The Little Blue Jacket; The Last House on Cresent Road; The Thirteenth Pigeon

 

The Sisters of Straygarden Place by Hayley Chewins

 Mayhap is the middle sister.  Her older sister is Winnow and younger sister is Pavonine.  Their parents left a while ago and never came back, but told them to never leave the house or go into the tall grass. The house has taken care of their every need since.  Mayhap sees Winnow go into the grass and decides she will go out and look for her, but doesn't make it very far before the grass attacks her.  As Winnow returns that evening things turn for the worse.  Winnow becomes sick and starts to turn silver.  Mayhap starts to investigate things within the house and finds out how her parents came to be there, what happened to other occupants of the house and who she truly is.  

I really was intrigued by the summary of the book, but I just didn't love it.  It had good character development, a twisty middle/ end and lots of mystery/ clues, but it just didn't do it for me.