Reviews

Thanks to Penguin for a complimentary copy of the novel. Review originally posted on my blog: http://utahmomslife.blogspot.com/2019/07/the-saturday-night-ghost-club-book.html?m=1

Jake Baker is an awkward twelve year old with no friends and too many bullies. He spends most of his free time with his Uncle C who owns a novelty shop specializing in the occult in the 1980's town of Niagra Falls. That summer Jake will befriend the new kids to town and even though he suspects they will become his tormentors as soon as school starts, he enjoys welcoming the siblings into his Saturday Night Ghost Club.

Craig Davidson is an amazing storyteller. The Saturday Night Ghost Club is a fun and emotional coming-of-age story that was simultaneously thrilling and thought provoking. Set in an era, when kids still roamed the streets on bicycles and came home only for dinner, the book allows the young characters to be vulnerable and adventurous with freedom to roam. It was a great read to quell the hole after I finished watching Stranger Things 3.

The novel is short but so packed with skilled storytelling. And while it sets up as many coming-of-age stories, Jake, Billy and Dove are unique characters richly developed and bursting with adolescence and the coming adulthood. The Saturday Night Ghost Club wraps up in ways I didn't expect but left me marveling and changed.

daburckin's review against another edition

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3.0

This book had so much potential. I feel like there wasn’t a good plot line and what was there could’ve been flushed out more instead of all the fluff. However, I am a sucker for the “boys on bikes in the 80s” genre

clougreen's review

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adventurous dark mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

I think this in theory could be a really great book. I found myself struggling to connect with the main characters and the storyline the plot followed. The conclusion of the story did help me as a reader make more sense of story. That to me was the saving grace of the story. Everything had the starts of something I feel like I would really like, but I feel like I needed a bit more. In the grand scheme of things I didn’t feel connected.

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