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cmbohn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Good and creepy. This one is a perfect read for autumn. Watch out for scarecrows!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Grief, Death of parent, and Death
ireadinbed's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is a fantastic middle grade horror! I am going throigh a lot as book research and it stands out for sure!
Love the authors writing style and loved the characters. Genuinely spooky! Not terrifying but the vibes are chilling, full of dread. Reminded me of over the garden wall in a lot of ways. Maybe the aesthetics.
Love the authors writing style and loved the characters. Genuinely spooky! Not terrifying but the vibes are chilling, full of dread. Reminded me of over the garden wall in a lot of ways. Maybe the aesthetics.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
Minor: Vomit and Blood
aformeracceleratedreader's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
A great, spooky middle grade! Just the right amount of spooky without making me feel like I can't sleep at night. Scarecrows can creep me out every since Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark so having another creepy scarecrow story is not my favorite thing, but it's great for the mood/aesthetics/atmosphere. And it was def less scary/unsettling than the one from Scary Stories.
Also liked it touching on grief throughout through different characters.
Also liked it touching on grief throughout through different characters.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Kidnapping, and Bullying
fernyfh's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, and Death
maeverose's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.0
I hoped I would like it more. Granted I’m not the target audience but I don’t think that’s why it didn’t work for me. I went in expecting a middle grade story and that’s what I got, so I had the right expectations.
I think one of the things that bothered me was this definitely had the ‘not like other girls’ trope, a little bit. Ollie is tough, a bit of a tomboy, has an attitude, etc. Which obviously would’ve been absolutely fine on its own, but then she found Coco - a very feminine city girl - to be annoying at first, largely because of her feminine traits or tendency to get emotional easily. Coco was nothing but sweet to Ollie, I didn’t understand why she disliked her. Yes Ollie saved her from being bullied that first time, but she just watched it happen for a while first, and didn’t save her the other time (granted she was a bit distracted by more pressing things in that scene…). She continued to be annoyed by her until she found out that she was a rock climber. Then she was like ‘oh, you’re not just a girly girl, so i guess you’re fine’. Coco also suddenly became more brave and less emotional after that reveal. And there was even that scene where Ollie thought something like ‘Coco doesn’t cry because she’s weak, she cries because she feels’. Which ??? What does that even mean? Literally why else would someone cry? Feelings are kind of what makes people cry. To me that seemed to say that Ollie thinks people’s feelings are invalid if they cry easily. Also, she didn’t think Brian was weak when he cried… interesting. I know it’s probably Not That Deep™️, but it bothered me. Like, you can have a tough female protagonist without bringing down other girls.
There’s also fatphobia and ableism in some scenes…
Besides that though, the story was definitely reminiscent of goosebumps, which was nostalgic. I liked the descriptions of fall. I’m hoping I’ll like the second book more, based on the synopsis I’m most excited for that one. But I’m going in with slightly lower expectations now…
I think one of the things that bothered me was this definitely had the ‘not like other girls’ trope, a little bit. Ollie is tough, a bit of a tomboy, has an attitude, etc. Which obviously would’ve been absolutely fine on its own, but then she found Coco - a very feminine city girl - to be annoying at first, largely because of her feminine traits or tendency to get emotional easily. Coco was nothing but sweet to Ollie, I didn’t understand why she disliked her.
There’s also fatphobia and ableism in some scenes…
Besides that though, the story was definitely reminiscent of goosebumps, which was nostalgic. I liked the descriptions of fall. I’m hoping I’ll like the second book more, based on the synopsis I’m most excited for that one. But I’m going in with slightly lower expectations now…
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Bullying, Child death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Ableism, Fatphobia, and Violence
Plane crashemily_mh's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
The premise of this book hooked me right from the start and I tore through it. Arden created great atmosphere and a fast-paced and intriguing plot. However, I finished the book still wanting a little more from it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Grief
Moderate: Death and Bullying
Minor: Ableism, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Suicide, Murder, Violence, Child death, and Body horror
Minor content warnings for mass death and financial difficulty. Moderate content warning for loss of a loved one.bitterseason's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Cursing, and Death
lapis's review
emotional
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I've heard that reading horror can help with anxiety (Though I think the person who mentioned that had grown-up horror books in mind) and I have to admit, reading this was one of the most "Relaxing" reads I've had in a long time. I didn't get super terrified (note that I finished it over the course of two days and not one) and I think I'm starting to get a taste for horror.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
nuin_giliath's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was a really fun and spooky tale! 🎃👻 I don't like anything that's too scary and Katherine Arden managed to tell a perfect Halloween-esque story with just enough spine tingling moments. One of the major strengths of this book was her writing. Page after page, I felt transported to a crisp New England fall with how everything was depicted so vividly. I loved the use of a story within a story and I became just as frustrated as Ollie every time someone made her (and me) stop reading it.
While I may not be within the target age group, I still appreciated the messages of friendship and looking beyond appearances that were highlighted throughout the text. I also liked how this book dealt with grief and overcoming its negative effects.
There were two aspects that kept me from rating this a full five stars. First, the conclusion felt a bit rushed and then ended abruptly. The build-up to the final confrontation had been great, but then we hardly spent anytime with the villain after the reveal. Second, something happened about halfway into the story and I didn't realize exactly what until I got closer to the end where it was explained more explicitly. Maybe I'm just dumb (or had been trying to read so fast that I hadn't been paying attention), but I feel like it was easy to overlook this when it first occurred. 🤷🏼♀️
Overall, I really enjoyed this and I'm sad that it was over so quickly.
While I may not be within the target age group, I still appreciated the messages of friendship and looking beyond appearances that were highlighted throughout the text. I also liked how this book dealt with grief and overcoming its negative effects.
There were two aspects that kept me from rating this a full five stars. First, the conclusion felt a bit rushed and then ended abruptly. The build-up to the final confrontation had been great, but then we hardly spent anytime with the villain after the reveal. Second, something happened about halfway into the story and I didn't realize exactly what until I got closer to the end where it was explained more explicitly. Maybe I'm just dumb (or had been trying to read so fast that I hadn't been paying attention), but I feel like it was easy to overlook this when it first occurred. 🤷🏼♀️
Overall, I really enjoyed this and I'm sad that it was over so quickly.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief and Bullying
Minor: Death
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