Reviews

I really enjoyed reading this. It reminded me of a combination of the Scary Godmother movies and The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury, with some added flair of a heist novel. There's a quirk to middle grade that goes away in YA and adult fiction, where there are fun and interesting work arounds to avoid killing off characters. I liked having a reprieve from character death. This book also does a good job addressing bullying and anger issues without becoming a PSA. Esther is a fun character, and I was very much like her as a Halloween-obsessed youth (minus the scary movies. I do not like visual gore). Fink weaves a really fun and pleasantly spooky narrative about growing up and learning to face your fears, and I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a middle grade fantasy novel for a middle grader or otherwise! My only critique is that thirteen is most definitely not too old to be trick or treating.

Content Warnings

ka99's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

It's pretty obvious that this is a middle grade book. I think i would've enjoyed it more of I was the same age as the main character

jodimat's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted mysterious tense

4.5

upstartcrow9803's review against another edition

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3.0

Great little read for the middle schooler in you who grew up with “goosebumps” and “are you afraid of the dark ? “

bsadgarlicb's review against another edition

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adventurous dark lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

schnooglefaceduthie's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced

3.5

pizzamyheart's review against another edition

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2.0

DNF at 1/2 way mark

I wanted a nice little spooky children's book to set the mood for Halloween. This wasn't it. The first half was an absolute chore and I found myself more interested in reading my credit card privacy statement than continuing this story. The store is full of cliches and the moments that should have been scary were written in such a way that it took all the spook out of the moment.

I think I'll go search for a random goosebumps instead.

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