A Tap at the Window is the second in the young ‘horror’ series Shiver Point, and our young heroes the Shiver Squad are back to save their town again.
After saving the town of Shiver Point in It Came from the Woods, Alex, Mo, Oli, Riley and Sophia are getting rather bored, although it has to be said, Mo is quite happy without the ‘excitement’ that brought him together with his new friends. One night Riley is in her tree house trying to perfect her latest invention, when she spots some unusual activity at a long-deserted farmhouse late at night. When the newspaper offices are attacked the next day, spoiling a school trip for the young investigators, and a few of the villagers have their houses attacked, the Shiver Squad determine to uncover the latest threat to their village. It can’t be anything stranger than last time, can it?
The first book focused on Alex, this second book delves deeper into Riley and how she is worrying about her aged grandad. Author Gabriel Dylan has very subtly highlighted how isolated and scared young carers can be. Although Riley has very close friends, she knows there is nothing they can really do to help her, and inadvertently pushes them away further isolating herself more. This is a sensitive issue and is dealt with well. I presume future books will focus more on Oli, Sophia and Mo and we will get more of a glimpse into their home lives.
The plot is gain fast paced, with lots of thrills and excitement, not to mention peril for the young investigators. This time their nemesis is an evil scarecrow, which for me pressed all the buttons. I loath them, so even though I am way older than the target audience, I had shivers galore down my back. The denouement is particularly tense, and I held my breath until I knew they were all safe.
I particularly liked the way Dylan used different formats to show texts, and newspaper articles. This broke up the narrative nicely and made it more immersive as the readers sees the same as the characters.
This second book in the’ Shiver Point ‘series is just as entertaining as the first one. I look forward to reading the rest.
After saving the town of Shiver Point in It Came from the Woods, Alex, Mo, Oli, Riley and Sophia are getting rather bored, although it has to be said, Mo is quite happy without the ‘excitement’ that brought him together with his new friends. One night Riley is in her tree house trying to perfect her latest invention, when she spots some unusual activity at a long-deserted farmhouse late at night. When the newspaper offices are attacked the next day, spoiling a school trip for the young investigators, and a few of the villagers have their houses attacked, the Shiver Squad determine to uncover the latest threat to their village. It can’t be anything stranger than last time, can it?
The first book focused on Alex, this second book delves deeper into Riley and how she is worrying about her aged grandad. Author Gabriel Dylan has very subtly highlighted how isolated and scared young carers can be. Although Riley has very close friends, she knows there is nothing they can really do to help her, and inadvertently pushes them away further isolating herself more. This is a sensitive issue and is dealt with well. I presume future books will focus more on Oli, Sophia and Mo and we will get more of a glimpse into their home lives.
The plot is gain fast paced, with lots of thrills and excitement, not to mention peril for the young investigators. This time their nemesis is an evil scarecrow, which for me pressed all the buttons. I loath them, so even though I am way older than the target audience, I had shivers galore down my back. The denouement is particularly tense, and I held my breath until I knew they were all safe.
I particularly liked the way Dylan used different formats to show texts, and newspaper articles. This broke up the narrative nicely and made it more immersive as the readers sees the same as the characters.
This second book in the’ Shiver Point ‘series is just as entertaining as the first one. I look forward to reading the rest.