Genre: Horror Age Range: MG Star Rating: 4 stars Series: Anthology
Blurb:
A spooktacular collection of scary stories by thirteen of the most exciting and diverse authors in children’s books today! A spooktacular collection of horror stories that will chill, thrill and delight middle-great readers, keeping them on the edge of (or hiding behind) their sofas! Do you dare to turn the pages and see what’s lurking inside…?
READ, SCREAM, REPEAT brings together thirteen bestselling, award-winning Kirsty Applebaum, Jasbinder Bilan, Aisha Bushby, Joseph Coelho, Rachel Delahaye, Kat Ellis, Phil Hickes, Polly Ho-Yen, Sharna Jackson, Jennifer Killick, Elle McNicoll, Dan Smith and J. T. Williams. The collection is curated by Farshore’s queen of middle-grade comedy-horror, Jennifer Killick!
Blurb taken from Goodreads. Add to you shelves here.
Review:
WOLF MOON by Kirsty Applebaum: What I loved about this tale was how obviously British it was. It perfectly captures the feel of a journey of over an hour that isn’t a fast, mainline service, rattling along in old stock.
CHARLIE’S TWELFTH by Sharna Jackson: This story is full of the tension created by the reader knowing something is a terrible, terrible idea but also knowing the character is going to do it, creating this sense of the inevitable tragedy. For this tale, the motivation is the desire to have and hold friendships, capturing just how be-all-and-end-all they can feel, twisting that desire into a nightmare.
GAME OVER by Aisha Bushby: This story was so so good (toss up between this and THE POND for my favourite). It’s set in an arcade at night but with real zombies. I loved how the horror came not only from the aforementioned zombies but also people.
THE LIGHT BULB by Rachel Delahaye: This tale was a really fun take on the “monsters in the dark” trope where the monsters cannot abide the light so batteries are in high demand. Not only are the monsters horrifying and have some great sequences, but there is also an element of horror thanks to people exploiting others in the midst of tragedy.
TALOS SPRINGS by Elle McNicoll: There is a very gothic feel to this tale (one of the shortest in the anthology). It features an institution where something is deeply wrong but it’s not obvious exactly what.
THE POND by Jennifer Killick: Jennifer Killick demonstrates in a short page count why she is the queen of MG horror. This tale contains a creepy doll, a creepy pond AND trademark nursery rhyme of DREAD WOOD series
UNDERLAY UNDERLINGS by Joseph Coelho: Who knew carpets could be so creepy? This story will make sure you never look at your carpet the same way, and tread very carefully on yours the next time you go to the bathroom in the night.
DEEP WATER by Dan Smith: This tale contains absolutely horrible rich twins and it was delightful to see them get their comeuppance. It is definitely the quirky/funny side of horror, reminiscent of A Series of Unfortunate Events.
THE GREEN GHOST by Kat Ellis: This next tale takes Welsh hills and the history of mining and combines it with a ghost whose intent cannot be worked out. The central question is whether the ghost is there to help or to harm.
THE GLASS HOUSE by Polly Ho-Yen: I really enjoyed how this took all the uncertainties of moving house and made them way, way worse. It also explores how such a move can cause tensions in a family. Plus many classic horror tropes including things coming to life and turning on themselves, and the classic breaking lightbulb.
THE ATTIC ROOM by Phil Hicks: This tale leans into classic haunted house trope. It is set in a stately home with a fun running commentary from a kid who is not into them, but his boredom leads him into danger.
HIDE AND SEEK by J. T. Williams: This is a tale of hide and seek going horribly wrong. I particularly liked the way it starts going wrong thanks not to anything unnatural, but thanks to very human guilt over not acting sooner paralysing someone into not acting at all.
A CRY FROM THE GRAVEYARD by Jasbinder Bilan: The last book in the anthology is a classic ghostly tale set in a graveyard. This one is about a ghost who wants to set right a wrong, but is being pursued by those who want to stop him.
Read my reviews of books by the contributors:
Sifa Elizabeth Reads 