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Each of our protagonists was brilliantly developed and we saw each of them grow both as individuals and as a team too. I feel like I got to know more about Angelo the most, but this was mainly because it was him narrating the story, so we saw it through his eyes. Despite this, I felt like I found out what I needed to about Gustav, Hallie and Naira. They are all struggling with different burdens, and it was lovely to see how they all supported each other, despite what they were going through together. In my opinion, I feel that this experience made them stronger, and I’m interested to see where their newly formed friendship will take them in book two.
Dread Wood High is an old manor house, with newer buildings added once it became a school. It has a field and gardens plus animals for the students to tend to.
I found the manor on the property to be quite spooky, although I would have really loved to read more about it, have some more descriptions of it, as most of the plot takes place outside or in other buildings. I read the chapter from the second book in the series which was included at the end of my eARC, and I have a feeling that my desire of knowing more about Dread Wood will be sated quite soon. The creep factor gradually builds into the nightmare these teens must work together to defeat and save one another's lives, and the life of their teacher.
The banter between these teens is often funny, even in the middle of the all-out action. The relationship that builds between this mix of personalities is heartening. I would HIGHLY recommend this book to all, and thanks to The Write Reads tour for allowing me to be part of the tour! Full of wonderful flawed characters that you empathise with and a good dollop of humour. Jen is an incredible storyteller.' - Ness Harbour, author of Flight Without giving too much away, Dread Wood features an incredibly scary spider. Did you base it on a real-life creature?Dread Wood is absolutely Brilliant! Majorly creepy and hugely funny! Skillfully written, with a gorgeous cast of characters, great heart, and a moving and satisfying ending. I LOVED it!' - Eloise Williams, author of The Tide Singer The Primary School Library Alliance is calling on the government to match-fund the private investment it has brought into helping primary schools c... Normally when authors use modern slang in their books I am kind of iffy about it because it can take me out of the story but for this book it actually worked in its advantage. Because it a group of preteen kids and that's how they talk. It also wasn't forced in and if flowed well for me. Hallie, Angelo, Gus and Naira aren’t friends, just classmates. They know each other in that awkward way of school friends, where you’ve spent a lot of time in close proximity but don’t really know each other. And I like that a lot. It meant that I got to enjoy reading their friendships build and them learning each others strengths under… extremely creepy stress. I ended the book really loving all four of them, and I can’t wait to read more of the series to see more of their character arcs. This fast paced, spine chilling, gripping, horror/adventure with a added dash of humour is the first in a series and introduces the reader to The Loser Club, Angelo, Gustav, Hallie and Niara. A group of twelve year old class mates whose Saturday morning detention turns into a terrifying battle for survival within the grounds of their school Dead Wood High.
I honestly can see middle-graders, those that read MG aswell as those that don't typically read MG really enjoy this book. When an author can write something that will universally appeal to all age ranges that is a wonderful sign that you are getting a great story. Cut off from help and in danger each time they touch the ground, the gang's only hope is to work together. But it's no coincidence that they're all there on detention. Someone has been watching and plotting and is out for revenge. About This Edition ISBN:
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It's gruesome and creepy and funny, everything I've come to hope for and expect, as she just gets better and better with each book. Angelo and his friends are used to battling horrifying creatures at school – giant spiders that fire poison darts, brain biting worms that burrow into your flesh and vampire birds that drink your blood! These terrifying beasts were brought to life by crazed caretakers-slash scientists, the Latchitts. And they aren’t finished yet. . . I gave this book 4 stars and overall, I really enjoyed it. It was a great middle-grade horror read that kept me guessing and I just couldn’t put it down until I had gotten to the end as I was genuinely worried about each character once the action really got going.
In the story, we follow Hallie, Gustav, Naira and Angelo as they are forced to come into their school – Dread Wood High on a Saturday for detention. The foursome think things couldn’t get any worse, that is until their teacher is dragged underground, animals go missing and the creepy caretaker follows them humming the tune to Incy Wincy spider. The four of them soon discover that horrors are lurking within the school, getting stronger by the minute. The group must work together to put an end to the horror, and find out why they are being watched. I grew up on Goosebumps books, frankly, I still find some of them horrifying to this day. If I had read this 15 years ago and been told it had been concocted by RL Stine, I would believe you entirely. This reads like a Goosebumps book written for kids in 2022. It's spooky, fast-paced and it has characters I think a lot of kids would be able to relate to. There's the main character, Angelo comes from a working-class family and is strong-willed and headstrong, naturally taking leadership where he can, but he doesn't necessarily excel in school. Naira, is the hard-working princess of the group who is under pressure from her mother to do well and excel in life. Gus has a big energy and an even bigger heart. Finally, Hallie, the adrenaline junkie of the group throws herself head first into every scenario.
This book does have a nice dollop of humour and, under it's spidery body, there is a heart and this does touch on dark subject matter such as child poverty, bullying, disability, pressure from parents, and a few others, which shows that our leads aren't bad, but are fleshed out and there are reasons for the way they behave and react. The brand new must-read middle-grade novel from the author of super-spooky Crater Lake. Perfect for 9+ fans of R.L.Stine’s Goosebumps Dread Wood captivated me from the start. It is very fitting to be compared to RL Stine. I felt like I was watching an episode of 'Are you Afraid of the Dark?'
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