Author: Guadalupe Garcia McCall
Genre: horror
Similar books: The Smashed Man of Dread End by J W Ocker
Fuzzy Mud by Louis Sachar
Rating:
Summary (provided by publisher): James always knew moving from Texas to Oregon was going to be horrible.. But no sooner have he and his family arrived in their "perfect" new home in their "perfect" new town than he starts getting mysterious letters from someone called the Keeper. Someone who claims to be watching him. Someone who is looking for “young blood.”
James and his sister, Ava, are obviously in danger. But the problem with having a history of playing practical jokes is that no one believes James—not even his parents. Now James and Ava need to figure out who is sending the letters before they become the next victims in their neighborhood’s long history of missing children.
Because one thing is clear: Uncovering the truth about the Keeper is the only thing that will keep them alive.
My opinion: Middle grade horror is a tricky thing. You have to find the right level of spooky without becoming extreme or unbelievable. This is especially difficult when you aren't dealing with ghosts. While I can understand the desire to tread new ground, it's much harder to create a convincingly scary atmosphere without ghosts. This book goes too far, going to weird horror cliches for the threat. And until the danger is revealed, it's not especially frightening. The town is more uncanny than truly creepy. I think for a middle schooler, I would stick with a ghost story.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
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