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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
So I want to preface this by saying that I cannot, in good conscience, recommend this to anyone but early high school, MAYBE late middle grade at the OLDEST, because it gets pretty intense. Full content warnings at the bottom because they contain the heaviest spoilers, but for real, you might want to pre-read this one before letting a kid have it.
That said, as a grown adult, the escalation in this book is BONKERS. The jump from "oh, huh, haunted camera" to "r/niceguys goes r/NoSleep feat. Mothman" is so swift I got whiplash. Not necessarily in a bad way, though. I kind of appreciate that Christine Hayes throws you right in the deep end. The writing is pretty good and I'm a big fan of the illustrations. While some plot elements were MAYBE a bit too rich for my blood (I get uncomfortable when dark magic and curses come into play but since the perpetrators were all villainous and there's a happy ending, we're gonna let it slide), overall I'd say this wasn't bad.
But for real, carefully consider this book for young readers. Parental death, curses, black magic, murder, suicide, and child endangerment with the threat of death are all plot points. Just because they can read the writing doesn't mean they can handle the subject matter.
That said, as a grown adult, the escalation in this book is BONKERS. The jump from "oh, huh, haunted camera" to "r/niceguys goes r/NoSleep feat. Mothman" is so swift I got whiplash. Not necessarily in a bad way, though. I kind of appreciate that Christine Hayes throws you right in the deep end. The writing is pretty good and I'm a big fan of the illustrations. While some plot elements were MAYBE a bit too rich for my blood (I get uncomfortable when dark magic and curses come into play but since the perpetrators were all villainous and there's a happy ending, we're gonna let it slide), overall I'd say this wasn't bad.
But for real, carefully consider this book for young readers. Parental death, curses, black magic, murder, suicide, and child endangerment with the threat of death are all plot points. Just because they can read the writing doesn't mean they can handle the subject matter.
I very much enjoyed this book!! This is definitely one of my top favorite books I have read for this year. I am pleasantly surprised. I went into it expecting it to be a childish take on the Mothman Cryptid, but I found that the characters (though occasionally clichet) were very well fleshed out.
As a fan of Mothman, the creative liberties the author uses to tell a richer back story for the monster, was welcome. 5 star read considering it is meant for middle school level students. There is some references to suicide, guns, and murder, but nothing is in too much detail.
As a fan of Mothman, the creative liberties the author uses to tell a richer back story for the monster, was welcome. 5 star read considering it is meant for middle school level students. There is some references to suicide, guns, and murder, but nothing is in too much detail.
This review originally found at The Children's Book and Media Review
Josie lives in one of the most haunted towns in America, but she’s never seen anything paranormal until now. At one of the auctions her dad does, her brother Fox discovers a Polaroid camera that always has a picture of the ghost of John Goodrich. John tries to warn them against a curse that has been in the area of Athens, Ohio, for over a hundred years. Josie gets cursed by Mothman, an insect creature bent on proving that humans are selfish and will always choose to save themselves before saving someone else. Josie has to find out the history of the Mothman and his curse so that she can break it to save her own life and the lives of many people around her.
Based on a local legend in the area of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, and Ohio, Mothman’s Curse takes the story to younger audiences. The book is spooky, with scary encounters with ghosts, tales of murder, and Mothman selling his soul in exchange for revenge on the woman who broke his heart and the ability to curse people for generations. There is a lot going on with the background of the curse, sometimes making it difficult to follow along with everything that is going on. One of the best parts of the story is how close Josie’s family is and how willing her siblings are to help her, even when it looks certain that Josie will not succeed with her quest to break the curse. Mothman’s Curse is a heart-pounding story for readers who like to read spooky tales.
Josie lives in one of the most haunted towns in America, but she’s never seen anything paranormal until now. At one of the auctions her dad does, her brother Fox discovers a Polaroid camera that always has a picture of the ghost of John Goodrich. John tries to warn them against a curse that has been in the area of Athens, Ohio, for over a hundred years. Josie gets cursed by Mothman, an insect creature bent on proving that humans are selfish and will always choose to save themselves before saving someone else. Josie has to find out the history of the Mothman and his curse so that she can break it to save her own life and the lives of many people around her.
Based on a local legend in the area of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, and Ohio, Mothman’s Curse takes the story to younger audiences. The book is spooky, with scary encounters with ghosts, tales of murder, and Mothman selling his soul in exchange for revenge on the woman who broke his heart and the ability to curse people for generations. There is a lot going on with the background of the curse, sometimes making it difficult to follow along with everything that is going on. One of the best parts of the story is how close Josie’s family is and how willing her siblings are to help her, even when it looks certain that Josie will not succeed with her quest to break the curse. Mothman’s Curse is a heart-pounding story for readers who like to read spooky tales.
It was fineeeee. I didn't hate it. Some kids might like it. I wasn't a big fan of the writing style.
Ghosts, a curse, a cryptid creature, a disaster what else could you want in a middle grade horror? Fun book. I love Josie, Fox, and secondary characters like Mason and Aunt Barb. The family love and the willingness to do the right thing we're good. The paranormal aspects might be a little harrowing for some kids, but I think it had just the right amount of scares for a middle grade reader who enjoys a scary book. I personally would've loved this book when I was the target audience's age (8-12). However at that age I was already reading adult horror so I'm not sure. I probably would have related more to the characters. I really liked it.
I love the fact that this book takes place in Athens, Ohio! I attended Ohio University, and heard many ghost stories, but surprisingly didn't hear much about Mothman when I was there. Overall I thought "Mothman's Curse" was a fun haunted mystery with some super creepy moments and a badass main character, Josie. I loved the mix of fact, myth, and fantasy and the way Hayes tackled serious issues such as grief. Hope she writes more books!
Delightfully creepy. Enjoyed the characters. Good story. My kids at school will love it.
It was so funny. I started reading this book and told my 17 year old daughter about it. She said, "I've heard of Mothman...can I read it when you are done?" Sorry...I had never heard of Mothman...
In this book Josie and her 2 brothers stumble into the Mothman's Curse while helping their dad at an estate that is about to go up for auction. Their dad claims he saw the Mothman right before he got injured. While picking up after their dad's accident Josie and her brother Fox find papers and artifacts belonging to the mysterious John Goodrich. Josie also finds a moth pin.
By picking up that pin, Josie, unknowingly became the next victim of the curse. If she can't rescue the town from an upcoming accident many people will die. If she does manage to save them, she will die. Unless, she can somehow break the curse. Josie and her brothers - along with the ghost of John Goodrich - try to find out as much as they can about the curse and how to break it before it is too late.
This was a good read. I think students will like the creepiness and the urban legend that it relates to. My only concern is that the length (310 p) will be a bit long for some.
In this book Josie and her 2 brothers stumble into the Mothman's Curse while helping their dad at an estate that is about to go up for auction. Their dad claims he saw the Mothman right before he got injured. While picking up after their dad's accident Josie and her brother Fox find papers and artifacts belonging to the mysterious John Goodrich. Josie also finds a moth pin.
By picking up that pin, Josie, unknowingly became the next victim of the curse. If she can't rescue the town from an upcoming accident many people will die. If she does manage to save them, she will die. Unless, she can somehow break the curse. Josie and her brothers - along with the ghost of John Goodrich - try to find out as much as they can about the curse and how to break it before it is too late.
This was a good read. I think students will like the creepiness and the urban legend that it relates to. My only concern is that the length (310 p) will be a bit long for some.
Two years after the death of their mother, Josie and her brother, Fox, do what they can to occupy themselves while their dad runs their family's auction business.
But when an infamous local hermit passes away and they call dibs on a Polaroid camera from his estate, they end up with haunted photos and a hair-raising curse that must be solved before a legendary catastrophe repeats itself.
I scarfed the entire book in one go. This was spooky good fun that yanked my heartstrings and kept me on the edge of my seat.
But when an infamous local hermit passes away and they call dibs on a Polaroid camera from his estate, they end up with haunted photos and a hair-raising curse that must be solved before a legendary catastrophe repeats itself.
I scarfed the entire book in one go. This was spooky good fun that yanked my heartstrings and kept me on the edge of my seat.