Tag Archives: Spooky

Ghost Town

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Eric Colossal, Abrams, (256p) ISBN: 9781419745850. Graphic Novel, read 02/04/25, Ebook ★★★★☆

Ghost Town

Ghost Town

Loved the palette and energy throughout this graphic novel, never slowed down and was completely supported by a palette that changed with the mood and energy of each episode.

Set in the town of Crater (which is old and falling to pieces, nothing ever changes) during the Summer that Lily has to move, going to a new town and a new school away from her friends and everything she has ever known, and she doesn’t want this change, not at all.

At the start of the vacation there is an angry baseball incident which resolves itself with them having to go into a creepy house, and of course in that house is where they discover that ghosts are real!

Also within that house they find the means of trapping the ghosts, phew! Let the fun begin.

Lily and her friends spend the next few weeks catching ghosts and figuring out Crater’s secrets.

A great ghostbusting adventure on pushbikes for all ages, lots about accepting change and trusting friendships.

I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Shadowhall Academy: The Whispering Walls

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Phil Hickes. Usborne. (224p) ISBN: 9781805314905
Shadowhall Academy: The Whispering Walls

Shadowhall Academy: The Whispering Walls

A really spooky middle grade ghost story brought to you by the wonderful author of the Aveline Jones series, though this one has upped the spooky just a little bit.

Lilian has just started at Shadowhall Academy, a creaking pile in the countryside and Phil leans into the boarding school tropes and has fun with them, there’s the dodgy food, the cold dorms, the cliques, and the cross country runs. Though the run in this book does come with quite a bit of a difference…

Lilian joins up with Maz (Marian), Serena as dorm mates and another new girl, Angela also come in. This is when all the spookiness starts to happen, knocking on the walls at night is just the beginning which for me culminated in a feel of the liver man from the X-Files for a moment. Thankfully it didn’t go that dark

But the house and the grounds are full of the secrets and tragedies of the ancient family that owned the house before it became a school and these are still causing problems now.

Will the new friends be up for the challenges that are thrown their way and be strong enough to look out for each other? Who is the spooky apparition, is there more than one malevolent spirit? Is this all just a Scooby Doo mystery with nefarious humans behind it all?

Well you’ll have to read the book to find out, but it is so well worth a read!

Though this spooky story was wrapped up nicely there are still a lot of unanswered questions, why did the headteacher and librarian return to work in the school after being students at the school together so long ago, what other family secrets are lurking in Mr Bullens office, and what other secrets will Lilian, Maz, Serena, and Angela find?

Really looking forward to the continuation of this series, Shadowhall Academy: The Whispering Walls is released on the 1st of February 2024.

I received this from NetGalley for an honest review.

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The Vanquishers

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Kalynn Bayron. Bloomsbury Publishing. (320p) ISBN: 9781526655974
The Vanquishers

The Vanquishers

A new middle grade horror series from Kalynn Bayron to fill that little gap I felt for horror after reading her wonderful “You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight” last month.

The Vanquishers is the start of a new series of vampire hunting antics set in a world were vampires are allegedly extinct at the hands of a team of vampire hunters called The Vanquishers who all disappeared after the final battle.

We follow a group of friends navigate their way around family and school but with the added twist of something weird starting to happen, dodgy teachers, anxious parents, missing friends, and the usual bullying and growing up to contend with.

Riffing off all the best vampire stories such as The Lost Boys and Buffy, this takes us on a tense and twisted adventure with much much more to come as you’ve probably realised by now vampires have risen.

I really enjoyed this start to a new Middle Grade horror series and so looking forward to book two to see where the story progresses.

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The Vanishing of Aveline Jones

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Phil Hicks, Keith Robinson. Usborne Publishing, (256p) ISBN: 9781474972161
The Vanishing of Aveline Jones

The Vanishing of Aveline Jones

I love the Aveline Jones series of books, and was so excited when I found out that this was coming out just in time for Halloween, and was so happy when I got approved for it on NetGalley.

I dove straight into this on the day my holiday began and had finished it by early afternoon, it is so well written with great illustrations from Keith Robinson supporting the story.

Previously Aveline and Harold had been involved with ghosts and witches, but this time they have something even more fiendish to contend with, the Fae!

Aveline, Harold, her mum, and Aunt Lilian have gone to her long lost uncles home to sell it as he has been gone for 10 years with absolutely no sign of him.

Along the way they team up with a new character called Sammy (paranormal expert and blogger extraordinaire) to figure out where Aveline’s uncle has disappeared to.

This third addition to the series is the creepiest of them all, much darker in tone than the previous two and so well paced. Sadly it was all over with much sooner than I was expecting as I just tore through the book in two sittings (breaking for lunch).

Another brilliant book in the series and now waiting for the next, hint…

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Amelia Fang and the Unicorn Lords

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Laura Ellen Anderson. HarperCollins. (240p) ISBN: 9781405287067
Amelia Fang and the Unicorn Lords

Amelia Fang and the Unicorn Lords

Amelia Fang and the Unicorn Lords is the second in Laura Ellen Anderson’s Amelia Fang series finds Amelia and friends travelling to the Kingdom of the Light and face their fears.

Amelia is on a quest to rescue Tangine’s mother, Queen Fairyweather who has been missing for a while now.

Disguises are donned, angel-kittens are faced, puns are plotted, unicorns are discovered. New friendships are forged and truths uncovered in the frightening Kingdom of the Light.

Once more a fast-paced, funny adventure that takes the traditional ideas of Dark and Light and twists and plays with it in a good-natured way.

Very popular and so many youngsters have been asking for Book 3 and were sad that it wasn’t out yet but pleased when I could tell them when it was coming out, none of us though are very good at waiting.

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Amelia Fang and the Barbaric Ball

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Laura Ellen Anderson. Egmont UK. (224p) ISBN: 9781405286725
Amelia Fang and the Barbaric Ball

Amelia Fang and the Barbaric Ball

Amelia Fang and the Barbaric Ball is the first in the Amelia Fang series by Laura Ellen Anderson, and with a beautifully illustrated cover (shiny!) and orange sprayed edges to match the orange theme on the cover it really makes you want to own it as an object in itself.

Then you get to the story and follow the adventure of Amelia and her friends; Squashy (a cheery pumpkin), Florence (I’m not a beast, I’m a rare Yeti), and Grimaldi (just a little Death) and are also pleased that it is a great, fun story.

Amelia is a Vampire but she (and other vampires) don’t drink blood as it makes your breath bad, and all our preconceptions of the creatures of the Kingdom of the Dark are shattered, they are kind, funny and caring. That is apart from Tangine who is extremely spoilt.

There are mysteries to uncover, clues to follow and revelations to come, all the while accompanied by wonderful illustration and peppered with great humour.

I loved this book and so has my niece who got to read it immediately after me.

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