I really enjoy a bit of middle grade reading, and middle grade horror is some of my favourite. It reminds me of the fond memories of Goosebumps books as a child, when I could get my hands on them, and the sliver of fear wrapped in the comfort of knowing that things would all be okay in the end. You don’t always get that reassurance in adult horror, understandably so, but comfort and creeps combined I love.
The book jumps around with different points of view, but we start off for a large chunk of the book with Alex. He’s unhappy about the move his mum needed them to make, and he misses her now she’s working such long night shifts at the hospital. Bored and unsupervised, this is how Alex finds his way into the Howlmoor Forest, to witness what he thinks – and hopes – is a meteorite landing. He quickly finds it’s something very different, however, and also finds another group of curious kids looking for answers.
The horror and supernatural aspect itself was delightfully creepy and a little bit gross – exactly what I would have hoped to read in the middle grade age bracket! I particularly loved the detail of what the infected adults had resorted to eating, and how Alex and co figured out what was going on based around that. It was a unique twist to the story that made it really stand out.
As much as it’s a story about the supernatural Thing they find and how it spreads into town, it’s also a story of found family, and deciding to take a turn on trust no matter how frightening it feels. The group of kids slowly find their way to a firm friendship, and having seen this well done in books like Dread Wood before, I’m sure the future books to come will be even better.
The book jumps around with different points of view, but we start off for a large chunk of the book with Alex. He’s unhappy about the move his mum needed them to make, and he misses her now she’s working such long night shifts at the hospital. Bored and unsupervised, this is how Alex finds his way into the Howlmoor Forest, to witness what he thinks – and hopes – is a meteorite landing. He quickly finds it’s something very different, however, and also finds another group of curious kids looking for answers.
The horror and supernatural aspect itself was delightfully creepy and a little bit gross – exactly what I would have hoped to read in the middle grade age bracket! I particularly loved the detail of what the infected adults had resorted to eating, and how Alex and co figured out what was going on based around that. It was a unique twist to the story that made it really stand out.
As much as it’s a story about the supernatural Thing they find and how it spreads into town, it’s also a story of found family, and deciding to take a turn on trust no matter how frightening it feels. The group of kids slowly find their way to a firm friendship, and having seen this well done in books like Dread Wood before, I’m sure the future books to come will be even better.