Today’s post is sponsored by Christina Matula and The Not-So-Uniform Life of Holly-Mei!
Title The Not-So-Uniform Life of Holly-Mei
Author Christina Matula
Intended Target Audience Middle Grade
Publication Date April 5th 2022 by Inkyard Press
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Packed with humor and heart, this debut middle grade series follows a girl finding her place in a brand-new world of private school and frenemies when her family moves to Hong Kong.
Holly-Mei Jones couldn’t be more excited about moving to Hong Kong for her mother’s job. Her new school is right on the beach and her family’s apartment is beyond beautiful. Everything is going to be perfect…right?
Maybe not. It feels like everywhere she turns, there are new rules to follow and expectations to meet. On top of that, the most popular girl in her grade is quickly becoming a frenemy. And without the guidance of her loving Ah-ma, who stayed behind in Toronto, Holly-Mei just can’t seem to get it right.
It will take all of Holly-Mei’s determination and sparkle (and maybe even a tiny bit of stubbornness) to get through seventh grade and turn her life in Hong Kong into the ultimate adventure!
I’ve done my best to include books that fall at different places on the spooky spectrum so that every reader can find the right book for them. Got a suggestion you don’t see in the list below? Please leave it in the comments – I’d love to hear from you!
Searching for further thrills and chills this Halloween? Check out the lists I created in 2020 and 2021 for even more scary (and not-so-scary) middle grade books to choose from in addition to the ones in today’s post!
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Publication Date January 4th 2022 by Scholastic Press
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For fans of Small Spaces, Doll Bones, and Mary Downing Hahn, a truly chilling (and historically inspired) ghost story from the award-winning author of The Forgotten Girl.
Celeste knows she should be excited to spend two weeks at her grandparents’ lake house with her brother, Owen, and their cousins Capri and Daisy, but she’s not.
Bugs, bad cell reception, and the dark waters of the lake…no thanks. On top of that, she just failed her swim test and hates being in the water ― it’s terrifying. But her grandparents are strong believers in their family knowing how to swim, especially having grown up during a time of segregation at public pools.
And soon strange things start happening ― the sound of footsteps overhead late at night. A flickering light in the attic window. And Celete’s cousins start accusing her of pranking them when she’s been no where near them!
Things at the old house only get spookier until one evening when Celeste looks in the steamy mirror after a shower and sees her face, but twisted, different…
Who is the girl in the mirror? And what does she want?
Past and present mingle in this spine-tingling ghost story by award-winning author India Hill Brown.
Publication Date January 18th 2022 by Knopf Books for Young Readers
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Men In Black meets middle school! A school project takes an alien turn when three kids uncover a secret society whose aim is to keep sneaks – mischievous interdimensional sprites – from slipping into our universe!
When Ben Harp sees his teacher’s watch crawling across the hallway, he thinks he must be dreaming.
But no, he’s just seen his first Sneak — an interdimensional mischief-maker that can borrow the form of any ordinary object.
He figured this school year would be bad — his best friend moved away, the class bully is circling, and he’s stuck doing a group project with two similarly friendless girls, Charlotte and Akemi. Still, he wasn’t expecting aliens!
And he certainly wasn’t expecting that the woman he and Charlotte and Akemi are assigned to interview for their “living local history” project would be a Sneak expert. Or that she’d foist an old book on them to keep safe…and then disappear.
Now Ben, Charlotte, and Akemi are trying to understand a book that seems to contain a coded map while being pursued by violent clothes hangers, fire-spitting squirrels, and more. The Sneaks want that book! And they want something else, too: to pull a vastly more dangerous creature into the world with them.
Can three misfit kids decode the book in time to stop an alien takeover? And if they do, will they get extra credit on their group project?
Publication Date January 25th 2022 by Feiwel & Friends
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In this action-packed mystery from award-winning author Jake Burt, Copper Inskeep holds Windydown Vale’s deepest and darkest secret: he is the ghoul that haunts the Vale, donning a gruesome costume to scare travelers and townsfolk away from the dangers of the surrounding swamps. When a terrified girl claims she and her father were attacked by a creature – one that could not have been Copper – it threatens not just Copper’s secret, but the fate of all Windydown.
Publication Date February 1st 2022 by Inkyard Press
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Readers will be scared silly in this spooky and hilarious middle grade series starter about a town chock-full of monsters and the kids who must unravel centuries of secrets to save it.
Will Hunter thought his life couldn’t get any worse:
● His parents just got divorced,
● His best (and only) friend now is his dog, Fitz,
● And his mom moved them from New York City to the middle-of-nowhere town called East Emerson.But Will was wrong — things are about to get way worse. Because East Emerson is filled with a whole lot of monsters, and he’s the only person who can see them.
When all the town pets (including Fitz) go missing, Will suspects there’s something sinister going on. So he joins forces with outcast Ivy and super-smart Linus to uncover the ancient secrets of East Emerson. Besides, nothing bad could happen when three sixth graders team up against monsters, magic, myths, and mad science…right?
Publication Date February 8th 2022 by HarperCollins
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Inspired by a terrifying true story, acclaimed author Guadalupe Garcia McCall creates a twisty tale about a boy desperately trying to survive in a new town with a secret past.
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.
Publication Date February 22nd 2022 by Aladdin
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In this third installment in the spooky and silly series that’s perfect for fans of Goosebumps and Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark, a kid home alone faces off against a giant spider!
Wolver Hollow is not a normal town. The adults are too busy shuffling off to work at the old coffin factory to notice or care, but the kids know all about monsters, ghosts, and strange lights in the sky. Strange things happen in Wolver Hollow. Creepy things.
Adults are always telling kids that spiders are more afraid of them than they are of the spider. But what about when that spider is the size of a dog? And your parents are out? And you just saw it scuttle past the open doorway to the living room? You know it’s waiting to jump out and eat you. You have no choice…you have to find it before it finds you!
Publication Date March 1st 2022 by Clarion Books
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Daniel doesn’t believe the woods behind his new home are haunted by an evil witch and her terrifying beast. But then his little sister disappears..and it’s up to him to find her. This chilling graphic-novel version of Mary Downing Hahn’s popular page‑turner will thrill readers who love spooky stories.
They say that a ghost witch lives in the woods, up on the hill. They say her companion has a pig skull for a face and stands taller than a man, his skeleton gleaming in the moonlight. They say that the witch takes young girls, and no one ever sees them again.
Daniel doesn’t believe the stories. He figures the kids on the bus are just trying to scare him since he’s new. Still, he wishes his family had never moved here — their house is a wreck, Mom and Dad keep fighting, and his little sister, Erica, spends most of her time talking to her creepy doll.
But when Erica disappears into the woods one day, Daniel knows something is terribly wrong. Has she been “took”?
Publication Date April 5th 2022 by Scholastic Press
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A magical adventure for fans of Amari and The Night Brothers and Nevermoor, about three witchlings who must work together to do the impossible if they have any hope of earning their full powers.
Every year, in the magical town of Ravenskill, Witchlings who participate in the Black Moon Ceremony are placed into covens and come into their powers as full-fledged witches.
And twelve-year-old Seven Salazar can’t wait to be placed in the most powerful coven with her best friend! But on the night of the ceremony, in front of the entire town, Seven isn’t placed in one of the five covens. She’s a Spare!
Spare covens have fewer witches, are less powerful, and are looked down on by everyone. Even worse, when Seven and the other two Spares perform the magic circle to seal their coven and cement themselves as sisters, it doesn’t work! They’re stuck as Witchlings ― and will never be able to perform powerful magic.
Seven invokes her only option: the impossible task. The three Spares will be assigned an impossible task: If they work together and succeed at it, their coven will be sealed and they’ll gain their full powers. If they fail…Well, the last coven to make the attempt ended up being turned into toads. Forever.
But maybe friendship can be the most powerful magic of all…
With action-packed adventure, a coven of quirky witchlings, Claribel A. Ortega’s signature humor and girl-power vibes, you won’t be able to put down this middle grade Latine witch story.
Publication Date May 3rd 2022 by Sourcebooks Young Readers
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When 13-year-old Glennon McCue, his mom, and his fragile sister are left with their uncle at his lighthouse on Isle Philippeaux, Glennon desperately wants leave the desolate isle and return home. But his father is away, so Glennon is forced to spend his break surrounded by fog, rats, and chilling myths. Nothing seems quite right…with the island or with his family.
A storm rocks the island and a ship crashes near the lighthouse, leaving behind a group of sailors. Something is off about the survivors, who seem more monster than human. Soon it becomes clear that there won’t be boats to take anyone home, and Glennon and his family are trapped.
It will take all Glennon’s courage to save his family from the curse of the isle and the real monster in his life.
Publication Date May 3rd 2022 by Random House Books for Young Readers
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A collection of terrifying tales from the thrilling world of Netflix’s hit series Stranger Things!
Prepare to visit the darkest and most chilling corners of Hawkins. Dustin, Lucas, Max, and their friends want to rent videos one night. But when a blackout changes their plans, they swap seven twisted tales based on their hometown. What secrets lurk in an old asylum? Does a mutant creature live at the bottom of Lovers’ Lake? Is a harmless teddy bear actually controlled by a supernatural force? These are just a few of the monstrous mysteries in this creepy collection that is sure to thrill fans of Stranger Things ages 8 to 12.
Welcome to the thrilling world of Netflix’s hit series Stranger Things. Follow Eleven, Dustin, Max, Lucas, and their friends for mystery, suspense, and supernatural adventures in 1980s Hawkins.
Publication Date May 3rd 2022 by Roaring Brook Press
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Tuck Everlasting meets The Village in this delightfully eerie middle grade novel about a boy trapped in a strange town where secrets turn deadly and the unnatural lurks in the night.
Twelve-year-old Arlo is afraid of fire, creepy TV shows, and even his own shadow ― but most of all, he’s afraid of losing his mother to the disease that nearly claimed her life a year ago.
During a Thanksgiving road trip, a sudden collision with a strange beast in the middle of the road totals the family’s car, and Arlo, his mom, and his sister end up stranded in a small town.
There’s something off about Livermore. No one has a phone or a car, and the townspeople aren’t exactly friendly. Without phone service to make a call for help, the family stays at the Samuels’ mansion, but inexplicable sightings at night set Arlo on edge. When he stumbles upon a dark secret that the town’s inhabitants will kill to keep, getting out of Livermore becomes a matter of life or death.
Publication Date May 17th 2022 by Amulet Books
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An equal parts heart-pounding and heartfelt middle-grade mystery about facing – and accepting – your fears, perfect for fans of Stranger Things and The Parker Inheritance.
Bones Malone feels like he can’t do anything right in his new small town: He almost punched the son of the woman who babysits him and his brothers, he’s one of the only Black kids in Langille, and now his baseball team (the one place where he really feels like he shines) just lost their first game. To make matters worse, things in town are getting weird. His mom isn’t acting like herself at all — she’s totally spaced out, almost like a zombie. And then he and his brothers have the same dream — one where they’re running from some of their deepest fears, like a bear and an eerie cracked mirror that Bones would rather soon forget.
Kyle Specks feels like he can never say the right thing at the right time. He thinks he might be neurodivergent, but he hasn’t gotten an official diagnosis yet. His parents worry that the world might be too hard for him and try to protect him, but Kyle knows they can’t do that forever. Even though he’s scared, he can’t just stand by and do nothing while things in this town get stranger and stranger, especially not after he and Bones find a mysterious scientist’s journal that might hold answers about what’s going on.
But when faced with seemingly impossible situations, a shady corporation, and their own worst nightmares, will Kyle and Bones be brave enough to admit they’re scared? Or will the fear totally consume and control them?
Publication Date May 17th 2022 by Andrews McMeel Publishing
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Welcome to the Island of Vorn, where mythical creatures roam free and only the brightest students are invited to study them. In Book 1 of this riveting new middle grade graphic novel series, a gifted young cryptozoologist-in-training must learn to tame powerful beasts — including her own inner demons.
For as long as she can remember, Sorceline has had a knack for the study of mythical creatures. Now a student at Professor Archibald Balzar’s prestigious school of cryptozoology, she’s eager to test her skills and earn a spot as one of Balzar’s apprentices.
But for all her knowledge of gorgons, vampires, and griffins, Sorceline is mystified by her fellow humans. While she excels in her studies, she quickly clashes with her classmates, revealing her fiery temper.
When one of her rivals suddenly disappears, Sorceline must set aside her anger and join the quest to find her. But the mystery only deepens, leading Sorceline on a journey far darker and more personal than she expected…
Publication Date June 7th 2022 by Scholastic Inc.
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Westworld meets Charlie and The Chocolate Factory meets Jurassic Park, as kids win a chance to enter the place of their dreams – and find that it quickly turns into a nightmare.
It’s all anyone talks about, and it’s all Cody dreams about. It’s the biggest adventure park in the world, and it’s more than mere rides and rollercoasters: At ESCAPE, you can do anything you want, be anyone you want, and there are no adults to tell you no.
Cody’s a nobody, but for some reason he receives an invitation and the opportunity of a lifetime. At first, it’s the most fun he’s ever had. But after a few days, everything in the park starts to go haywire. One at a time, rides malfunction. Simulations turn deadly. His fantasy world glitches, and the games become races for survival. A voice comes over the intercoms, then – ESCAPE was never a theme park for the rich and famous. It was a place for punishment. They have less than a week to escape from the park before it floods. Only five kids will be allowed to leave.
It started out as a fight to get to the coolest rides. Now, they have to fight to survive.
Publication Date June 7th 2022 by Delacorte Press
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A brand-new middle-grade mystery series that’s spooky, creepy, and filled with gothic twists! Meet the Sinister-Winterbottom twins, who solve mysteries at increasingly bizarre summer vacation destinations in the hopes of being reunited with their parents — or at the very least finally finding a good churro.
Meet the Sinister-Winterbottoms: brave Theo, her timid twin, Alexander, and their older sister, Wil. They’re stuck for the summer with their Aunt Saffronia, who doesn’t know how often children need to eat and can’t use a smartphone, and whose feet never quite seem to touch the floor when she glides — er — walks.
When Aunt Saffronia suggests a week pass to the Fathoms of Fun Waterpark, they hastily agree. But the park is even stranger than Aunt Saffronia. The waterslides look like gray gargoyle tongues. The employees wear creepy black dresses and deliver ominous messages. An impossible figure is at the top of the slide tower, people are disappearing, and suspicious goo is seeping into the wave pool.
Something mysterious is happening at Fathoms of Fun, and it’s up to the twins to get to the bottom of it. The mystery, that is. NOT the wave pool. Definitely NOT the wave pool. But are Theo and Alexander out of their depth?
Publication Date June 14th 2022 by Crown Books for Young Readers
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The uproarious next installment of the Ham Helsing graphic novel series sees Ham and his crew back to fight monsters at mysterious Camp Fish Head Lake!
After an invitation to “peaceful” Camp Fish Head Lake, Ham and his buddies arrive expecting to be guests of honor. But there are no staff to be seen, and with kids (and their overprotective parents) arriving, they decide to just go with the flow. How hard can it be to keep a few kids out of trouble?
But the camp turns out to be not so monster-free – and definitely not the kind of lake you want to go fishing in! Ham and his friends have their hands full as campers start to go missing and will have to work together and trust each other to figure out what’s going on – especially when old foes return.
Publication Date June 28th 2022 by Scholastic Press
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Sal and Gabi Break The Universe meets Supernatural in a heartfelt, hilarious adventure about a trio of tight-knit, monster-loving siblings from acclaimed author Zoraida Córdova.
It takes a special person to end up in detention on the last day of school.
It takes a REALLY special person to accidentally burn down the school yard while chasing a fire-breathing chipmunk.
But nothing about Valentina Salazar has ever been “normal.” The Salazars are protectors, tasked with rescuing the magical creatures who sometimes wander into our world, from grumpy unicorns to chupacabras…to the occasional fire-breathing chipmunk.
When Val’s father is killed during a rescue mission gone wrong, her mother decides it’s time to retire from their life on the road. She moves the family to a boring little town in upstate New York and enrolls Val and her siblings in real school for the first time.
But Val is a protector at heart and she can’t give up her calling. So when a mythical egg surfaces in a viral video, Val convinces her reluctant siblings to help her find the egg before it hatches and wreaks havoc. But she has some competition: the dreaded monster hunters who’ll stop at nothing to destroy the creature…and the Salazar family.
Publication Date June 28th 2022 by Atheneum Books for Young Readers
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Reminiscent of Doll Bones, this deliciously eerie middle grade novel tells the story of a girl who must enter a world of ghosts, witches, and monsters to play a game with deadly consequences and rescue her aunt.
Evie Von Rathe lives in Blight Harbor — the seventh-most haunted town in America — with her Aunt Desdemona, the local paranormal expert. Des doesn’t have many rules except one: Stay out of the abandoned slaughterhouse at the edge of town. But when her aunt disappears into the building, Evie goes searching for her.
There she meets The Clackity, a creature who lives in the shadows and seams of the slaughterhouse. The Clackity makes a deal with Evie to help get Des back in exchange for the ghost of John Jeffrey Pope, a serial killer who stalked Blight Harbor a hundred years earlier. Evie must embark on a journey into a strange otherworld filled with hungry witches, penny-eyed ghosts, and a memory-thief, all while being pursued by a dead man whose only goal is to add Evie to his collection of lost souls.
Publication Date July 5th 2022 by Papercutz
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According to Professor Angus, Estaban was found one day outside of the Sleep Lab one day as a young boy. He was lost and abandoned. Angus and his son Tristan quickly welcomed him into their family and into their field of work, exploring nightmares and allowing patients a good and safe night’s sleep. But, Esteban has been having his own nightmares of late where he wakes up in his old house, reunited with his parents as if they were never separated. To wake up and return to his real life, Esteban must travel into the woods and face his own fears. Can The Nightmare Brigade help one of their own awake from their own nightmares?
Publication Date July 5th 2022 by Random House Books for Young Readers
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The Terribles might be monsters, but they’re also kids just like you! Well, sort of. This hilarious peek into the world of vampires, mummies, swamp-things, and bigfoots (bigfeet?) is perfect for fans of the Hotel Transylvania movies.
Vampires, mummies, and gelatinous balls of goo (oh my!). That’s right, monsters are real and they’ve settled down on the quiet island of Creep’s Cove. It’s a pretty typical place: houses, stores, portals to various nightmarish parallel dimensions. And a school for the kids.
Meet Vlad, the fame-thirsty vampire,
Allie, a stuffed animal-dissecting alien,
Lizzie, a short-tempered kaiju, and many others!Told in alternating chapters, comics, poems, charts, and activities each focused on different classic spooky characters this book is the introduction to monsters you humans have been waiting for.
Want to be more like a monster? Check out the activities in this book that will help make life just a little more terrible!
Publication Date July 19th 2022 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
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For fans of The Okay Witch and Fake Blood, this hilarious middle grade graphic novel follows a half-vampire, half-lumberjack boy who feels torn between his parents and just wants to be a dancer.
Jack is in a pickle. His lumberjack mom wants him to go to Mighty Log Lumberjack Prep to learn how to chop wood and wear flannel. His vampire dad wants him to go to Sorrow’s Gloom Vampire School to learn how to turn into a bat and drink blood-orange juice. And Jack has a secret: what he really wants to do is dance.
When he finds out about Tip Tap Twinkle Toes Dance Academy from new friend Plenty, Jack feels he’s finally found the place where he can be his true self. But he’s too afraid of disappointing his family to tell them. What’s a half-lumberjack, half-vampire boy to do?
To summon the confidence to pursue his dreams, Jack will have to embrace every part of himself — his lumberjack toughness, his vampire eeriness, and most especially his awesome dance moves.
Publication Date July 19th 2022 by Clarion Books
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Kiki’s Delivery Service meets Cressida Cowell in this “exciting and imaginative” (Kirkus) middle grade fantasy about a non-magical girl who discovers she does, indeed, have magic — and she must choose between two warring witch covens or she’ll explode!
Willa lives in the Wild, in a city squished between two warring witch covens. The non-magical Wildians spend their days dodging wayward spells — from raining frogs to dancing chickens — all because of the witch war raging around them.
Being stuck in the middle of a magical war means the Wildians hate witches — none more so than Willa, whose parents were turned into clouds by a misplaced curse. Willa spends her days with her army of cats, dreaming of an end to the war and her parents’ return.
So when Willa is accused of being a witch after witnesses catch her accidentally stopping a spell midair, she’s certain there’s been a mistake. She can’t be a witch! Yet Willa is dragged to the palace, where she’s given one year to master her volatile magic and choose a coven to join. If she doesn’t, she’ll explode.
But her attempts to control her magic are interrupted when a rogue witch begins nefarious spells against the Ordinary Folk. What does the witch want and what does it have to do with Willa? She must unravel the mystery to save her city, her friends, and herself.
Publication Date July 26th 2022 by Disney-Hyperion
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Climb aboard the midnight train! Things wondrous and terrible await you…
Twelve-year-old Reggie Wong has a quick temper that’s always getting him into trouble at school, while at home his mom struggles to get out of bed – let alone leave their apartment. That’s why Reggie desperately needs his dad back. One problem: His dad is dead.
Enter the Conductor, a peculiar man who promises to make Reggie’s wish to see his father just one more time come true. All he must do is climb aboard the man’s subway train, which leaves St. Patrick Station promptly at midnight. Desperate to have his dad and happy family back, Reggie takes him up on the offer, only to discover the train is filled with other children who have lost a loved one, just like him. As he speeds through the wild, uncharted tunnels beneath the city, Reggie meets Chantal, an annoyingly peppy girl obsessed with lists and psychiatry, and Gareth, his arch-nemesis and bully since the fourth grade. As each kid steps off the train and into the arms of their lost family member, Reggie can’t believe his impossible wish is about to come true.
But when Reggie comes to the end of the line and sees his father waiting for him, he soon discovers all is not as it seems. He and his unlikely new friends have been ensnared in a deadly trap. Together, the three must find a way to foil the Conductor’s diabolical plot and find their way out of the underground subway where horrors worse than they have ever imagined lurk around every corner. The rats of St. Patrick Station have taken over and they’re absolutely ravenous.
In this stunning debut, author Derrick Chow reenvisions the tale of the Pied Piper. Both terrifying and hauntingly beautiful, Chow masterfully uses literal and figurative monsters to explore the themes of grief and how we handle loss.
Publication Date July 26th 2022 by Aladdin
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A group of kids from hell come to Earth on one of the craziest nights of the year — Halloween — in this snarky, witty middle grade adventure about teamwork, friendship, shattering expectations, and understanding the world (or otherworld) around us.
Mal and his friends are just your regular average kids from hell. The suburbs that is, not the fiery pit part. But when Hell’s Bells ring out — signaling that a soul has escaped from one of the eternal circles, Mal and his friends can’t help but take the opportunity for a little adventure.
Before they know it, they’ve somehow slipped through the veil and found themselves in the middle of Salem, Massachusetts, on Halloween night. And what’s even worse, they’ve managed to bring the escaped soul with them! As the essence of one of history’s greatest manipulators gains power by shifting the balance on Earth, Mal and his squad-mates — along with some new friends that they meet along the way — work desperately to trap the escapee, save the people of Earth from the forces of evil, and find the portal back to their own dimension.
If they can’t manage it before their parents realize they’re gone, they’ll be grounded for an eternity. And an eternity in hell is a very, very long time.
Publication Date August 2nd 2022 by Delacorte Press
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An eerie, twisty ghost story about twelve-year-old Parker, who only wanted a summer of fun and new friendship, and the nightmare she finds instead.
Don’t forget your flashlight…
Parker Nelson can’t wait for summer camp. She’ll have fun and make amazing memories, far away from the bullies who made seventh grade unbearable.
But then something terrible happens: The mean girl who made life a living nightmare is in Parker’s cabin. Soon all the other girls turn on Parker, too — no one wants to be her friend. Except Jenny.
Jenny’s the only one who is willing to listen. The only one who understands. The only one who feels the same way Parker does: That there’s a deep, dark secret to making friends and she’s the only one who doesn’t know it.
But there’s something else Parker doesn’t know. Something bad happened at the camp a long time ago, and it just won’t stay buried…
Publication Date August 2nd 2022 by Aladdin
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A young boy must unravel a curse to save his family’s beloved Maine motel in this spooky middle grade novel sure to delight fans of Whispering Pines and The Peculiar Incident On Shady Street!
Twelve-year-old Parker has grown up in his family’s Home Away Inn, nestled on a wooded peninsula in Maine called Spruce Point. His best friend, Frankie, has been staying at the inn every summer for years with her family. Together, they’ve had epic adventures based out of a nearby old treehouse that serves as their official headquarters for Kids Confidential Meetings.
But lately, business at the inn hasn’t been great, and Parker is pretty sure he knows why. It’s long been rumored that Mrs. Gruvlig, one of the few year-rounders on Spruce Point, has unique abilities of the supernatural kind. And Frankie is absolutely sure she saw a ghost on Mrs. Gruvlig’s property! As more and more spooky happenings occur around the Point, Parker and Frankie are convinced Spruce Point has been officially cursed.
Publication Date August 2nd 2022 by Razorbill
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A queer tale about kid werewolves, big bad mistakes, and terrifying creatures in Natalie C. Parker’s exciting middle grade debut.
Little wolf, little wolf, here I come.
It’s the eve of the first full moon of summer and twelve-year-old Riley Callahan is ready to turn into a wolf. Nothing can ruin her mood: not her little brother Milo’s teasing, not Mama N’s smothering, and not even Mama C’s absence from their pack’s ceremony. But then the unthinkable happens — something that violates every rule of wolf magic — Riley and four other kids don’t shift.
Riley is left with questions that even the pack leaders don’t have answers to. And to make matters far worse, it appears something was awoken in the woods that same night.
The Devouring Wolf.
The elders tell the tale of the Devouring Wolf to scare young pups into obedience. It’s a terrifying campfire story for fledging wolves, an old legend of a giant creature who consumes the magic inside young werewolves. But to Riley, the Devouring Wolf is more than lore: it’s real and it’s after her and her friends.
Publication Date August 9th 2022 by HarperAlley
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In this thrilling and spooky middle grade graphic novel companion to The Ghoul Next Door by New York Times bestselling author Cullen Bunn and Cat Ferris, Lavinia and Grey team up again to solve the town’s mystery.
Ever wake up in the middle of the night to awful nightmares about vampires?
When a mysterious blood bank rolls into town, Grey can’t help but get an eerie feeling. Could it be linked to his nightmares about vampires? After some investigating, Grey learns it’s something more sinister than he could ever imagine…and there’s only one creature who can help him — Lavinia.
Despite the fact they are forbidden to talk to one another again, this spooky mystery is bigger than any promises between the ghouls and humans.
This fun, lightly spooky adventure is a good Halloween read but is also the perfect graphic novel read all year round. It’s a wonderful escape from everyday life, providing readers with a good scare and plenty of laughter.
The Ghoul Next Door was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection and a Kids’ Indie Next List pick. “This fast-paced blend of humor and horror is essentially an against-the-odds friendship story.,” praised Kirkus.
Publication Date August 9th 2022 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
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New York Times bestselling author Katherine Arden thrills once again in the finale to the critically acclaimed, bone-chilling quartet that began with Small Spaces.
It’s been three months since Ollie made a daring deal with the smiling man to save those she loved, and then vanished without a trace. The smiling man promised Coco, Brian and Phil, that they’d have a chance to save her, but as time goes by, they begin to worry that the smiling man has lied to them and Ollie is gone forever. But finally, a clue surfaces. A boy who went missing at a nearby traveling carnival appears at the town swimming hole, terrified and rambling. He tells anyone who’ll listen about the mysterious man who took him. How the man agreed to let him go on one condition: that he deliver a message. Play if you dare.
Game on! The smiling man has finally made his move. Now it’s Coco, Brian, and Phil’s turn to make theirs. And they know just where to start. The traveling carnival is coming to Evansburg.
Meanwhile, Ollie is trapped in the world behind the mist, learning the horrifying secrets of the smiling man’s carnival, trying everything to help her friends find her. Brian, Coco and Phil will risk everything to rescue Ollie — but they all soon realize this game is much more dangerous than the ones before. This time the smiling man is playing for keeps.
The summer nights are short, and Ollie, Coco, Brian, and Phil have only until sunrise to beat him once and for all — or it’s game over for everyone.
Publication Date August 16th 2022 by Katherine Tegen Books
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From the author of Ghost Girl comes another standalone spooky middle grade for fans of Nightbooks and Ghost Squad, about a terrifying house and the girl haunted by her experience with cancer, grief, and healing. Are you brave enough to step inside?
For as long as anyone could remember there wasn’t a house at the dead end of Juniper Drive…until one day there was.
When Jac first sees the House, she’s counting down to the five-year anniversary of her cancer diagnosis, when she hopefully will be declared NED, or “no evidence of disease.” But with a house appearing, and her hands shaking, and a fall off her bike, Jac is starting to wonder if these are symptoms — or if something stranger is happening.
Two classmates dare Jac and her friend Hazel to enter the House. Walking through the front door is the way in. It’s definitely not the way out. There’s something off about the House; Jac can feel it. The same way she knows it’s no coincidence that the House appeared for her five-year marker. It wants something from her. And she won’t be able to get out until she figures out what.
Publication Date August 16th 2022 by Penguin Workshop
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From the co-author of the #1 New York Times bestselling series The Magic Misfits comes a spectacularly spooky novel that will keep you up way past bedtime. Perfect for fans of Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark!
Amelia is cleaning out her grandmother’s attic when she stumbles across a book: Tales To Keep You Up At Night. But when she goes to the library to return it, she’s told that the book never belonged there. Curious, she starts to read the stories: tales of strange incidents in nearby towns, of journal entries chronicling endless, twisting pumpkin vines, birthday parties gone awry, and cursed tarot decks. And at the center of the stories lies a family of witches. And witches, she’s told, can look like anyone…
As elements from the stories begin to come to life around her, and their eerie connections become clear, Amelia begins to realize that she may be in a spooky story of her own…
With hair-raising, spine-chilling prose, Dan Poblocki delivers a collection of interconnected stories that, if you’re anything like Amelia, is sure to keep you up late in the night.
Publication Date August 16th 2022 by HarperCollins
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An ominous new slide on the playground leads to a world of fear in The Smashed Man of Dread End author J.W. Ocker’s latest middle grade horror, perfect for fans of R.L. Stine and Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark.
Griffin Birch isn’t known for being brave, but there’s something about the new black slide on the elementary school playground that’s made him curious. Against his better judgement, he just has to follow his best friend Laila down.
But the Black Slide is no ordinary piece of playground equipment. What Griffin and Laila find at the other end of this strange portal is a cruel world, populated by bloodthirsty creatures on a quest to become immortal.
And it’s up to Griffin to save himself, his best friend — and the future of earth itself.
Fans of classic horror will devour this creepy adventure packed with more twists and turns than the ominous black slide itself.
Publication Date August 30th 2022 by Margaret K. McElderry Books
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Three best friends discover a haunted orphanage and get swept up in ghoulish shenanigans in this laugh-out-loud, spooky middle grade adventure for fans of Best Nerds Forever and the Fear Street series.
One haunted orphanage + two types of ghosts + three freaked-out friends = plenty of trouble.
Best friends Aldo, Pen, and Jasper are braced for a boring summer. And equally dull summer journal writing assignments.That is, until they see a slightly transparent boy with a bad haircut appear by the soccer field and then disappear into the woods beyond. The boys follow him and discover the long-abandoned Grauche Orphanage for Orphans, a house in the woods that is most definitely haunted.
But the ghosts are not the problem. They have been trapped at the orphanage by a cranky poltergeist who erupts into violent tantrums if they put even a spectral toe across the property line. The ghosts ask the boys to help free them — but who is the angry poltergeist and what does it want? To solve the mystery, the trio must investigate the orphanage’s dark past, evade Aldo’s ghastly older brother, borrow a skeptical librarian, and duck lots of flying furniture, all while failing to agree on almost anything. Can they defeat the evil entity and rescue the ghosts before their parents catch on and ground them for eternity?
Publication Date August 30th 2022 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
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This fourth wall–breaking middle grade collection of spooky, scary, and spoopy stories for fans of Lemony Snicket and Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark might just help you survive the night in a house full of vampires.
If you are reading this book, then you must be trapped in that spooky house with those vampires. Sorry about that.
But! You might just make it out if you manage to tell them one scary story each night in accordance with standard vampire rules. Don’t know any scary stories? Good thing you found this book! Every tale in this tome is true…more or less (more more than less).
You get a little bit of everything in this monster mash: from hitchhiking phantoms to women in white, a carnivore beast that loves a good vacation to a haunted mannequin with a bug problem, killer phones, concerned werewolves, you name it. Everything you need to keep those vampires on the edge of their seats — and well away from your neck.
But beware…don’t get too comfortable. Names have power, and if you whisper about too many things in the dark, they might just hear you.
Publication Date August 30th 2022 by Amulet Books
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The third book in the spine-chilling Fright Watch series follows the local monster mask maker — and a mask that comes to life on Halloween night.
Having suffered from anxiety attacks since she was eight years old, creating monsters has become a sort of therapy for Marion Jones: When she sculpts and paints, her fingers don’t tingle, the heaviness lifts from her chest, and she can actually breathe. So instead of grabbing pizza and milkshakes after school like most other kids in South Haven, Marion holes up in her room, working away on her monsters. And it’s paid off, because she’s just finished her first full-face mask: a gruesome sea monster she’s named Winston.
However, Halloween arrives with a Super Blue Blood Moon, and its powers somehow manage to bring Winston to life. To make matters worse, Marion’s crush, Tyler Dash, becomes the object of Winston’s possession as soon as he tries on the mask, turning him into a red-flannel and Converse high-top wearing Creature from Connecticut. Marion has no choice: She has to follow Tyler to the Halloween dance to try and stop him. Will she be able to figure out what’s happened to Tyler and stop the monster from wreaking further havoc on the school? Or has she made a real-life monster that’s here to stay?
Publication Date August 30th 2022 by Feiwel & Friends
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From New York Times bestselling author R.L. Stine, the master of horror for young readers, comes ten new stories that are sure to leave you shivering.
A boy who hates bugs starts to see them everywhere. A basketball player’s skin starts to almost drip off his hands ― but no one else can see it. Three friends find a hole in the ground that just gets bigger, and bigger, and bigger…And each story is introduced by Stine himself, providing a personal touch sure to delight fans.
Laced with Stine’s signature humor and a hefty dose of nightmarish fun, Stinetinglers is perfect for fans of Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark and Stine’s own Goosebumps books. These chilling tales prove that Stine’s epic legacy in the horror genre is justly earned. Dive in, and beware: you might be sleeping with the lights on tonight!
Publication Date September 6th 2022 by Aladdin
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In this fourth installment in the spooky and silly series that’s perfect for fans of Goosebumps and Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark, a boy ignites the wrath of the neighborhood squirrels!
The last thing Dillon Ford should have done was to throw a tennis ball at the squirrel. He didn’t mean to hit it. And he certainly didn’t mean for it to fall out of the tree. But now the squirrels are after him. They have the house surrounded. They’re on the roof, at every window, and coming down the chimney and through the mail slot. Dillon is a boy under siege and one thing is for sure…the squirrels are pretty nutty!
Publication Date September 6th 2022 by Clarion Books
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A chilling murder mystery lies at the heart of this page-turning thriller about a missing teacher, small town secrets, and turbulent tween friendships from master of middle grade horror Mary Downing Hahn.
When best friends Abbi and Skylar witness a clandestine meeting between a mysterious woman and someone in a dark van, they’re thrilled. Finally, a mystery to spice up the summer!
Who could these people be? Why are they meeting? Are they spies? Criminals? The two girls are determined to find out. But then a local woman goes missing and is found dead in the woods. And Abbi and Skylar realize that their detective work could hold the keys to solving her murder. Suddenly, sleuthing isn’t so fun anymore.
As tensions rise and their friendship frays, the girls find themselves in increasing danger, and must choose between keeping a secret or exposing a life-altering truth.
Publication Date September 6th 2022 by Sourcebooks Young Readers
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For fans of Small Spaces and the Goosebumps series by R.L Stine comes a chilling story about a twelve-year old girl who must face down the most notorious ghost in her haunted East coast town to stop a centuries-old curse that threatens to destroy everything.
Mallory hasn’t quite adapted to life in her new town of Eastport yet. Maybe it’s because everyone is obsessed with keeping the town’s reputation as the most cursed town in the US.
And thanks to the nightmares she’s had since arriving, Mallory hardly sleeps. Combined with the unsettling sensation of being watched, she’s quickly becoming convinced there’s more to her town. Something darker.
When Mallory has a terrifying encounter with the same old woman from her dreams, she knows she has to do something ― but what? With Eastport gearing up to celebrate the anniversary of their first recorded legend Mallory is forced to investigate the one legend she’s always secretly been afraid of…Sweet Molly.
Publication Date September 6th 2022 by Delacorte Press
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One magical inn, two kids with supernatural powers, and an ancient Celtic creature trying to destroy their world by Halloween night…
Halloweentown meets Supernatural in this spooky middle-grade series from the acclaimed author of the Storm Crow duology!
Thirteen-year-old Annabella Ballinkay has never been normal, even by her psychic family’s standards. Every generation uses their abilities to help run the Ravenfall Inn, a sprawling, magical B&B at the crossroads of the human world and the Otherworld. But it’s hard to contribute when your only power is foreseeing death.
So when fourteen-year-old Colin Pierce arrives at Ravenfall searching for his missing older brother and the supernatural creature who killed their parents, Anna jumps at the chance to help. But the mysteries tied to Colin go much deeper than either of them expects…
As the two team up to find answers, they unearth Colin’s family’s secret past and discover that Colin has powers beyond his imagination. And now the supernatural creature, one with eerie origins in Celtic mythology, is coming after him. If Anna and Colin can’t stop the creature by Halloween night, the veil to the Otherworld could be ripped open — which would spell destruction for their world as they know it.
Publication Date September 6th 2022 by Balzer + Bray
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A sweetly spooky ghost story about a Cuban American boy who befriends a pair of spirits and tries to break the curse on his island home…only to discover a seemingly lost piece of his family’s history in the process. This new middle grade standalone mystery from the author of the Muse Squad series is perfect for fans of Doll Bones and The Girl and The Ghost!
Frank Fernandez’s family never stays in one place for long. His parents renovate unusual buildings and turn them into homes, which means the family moves — a lot. This makes it hard for bookish Frank to make friends. So when his parents announce they’re moving to Spectacle Key, Florida, to live in a lighthouse — this time for good! — Frank is thrilled.
But Spectacle Key isn’t the perfect forever home they’d imagined. The lighthouse is falling apart. There are knocks on the door — but no one is there — and mysterious sighs and sniffles from nowhere. There’s even a creepy doll that seems to move on its own. Could Spectacle Key be haunted?
Then one day while exploring, Frank meets a girl in old-fashioned clothes, with no memory of who she is. What she does know, though, is that the island is under a curse — and she needs Frank’s help to figure out how to lift it. But what if learning the truth about Spectacle Key means losing the first real friend he’s ever had?
Publication Date September 6th 2022 by Knopf Books for Young Readers
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One teen’s summer job scaring tourists with ghost stories takes a terrifying turn when he accidentally summons the spirit of a dead girl — and she has demands…
The award-winning author of Airborn delivers a roller-coaster ride of a story about the wakeful and wicked dead.
Rebecca Strand was just sixteen when she and her father fell to their deaths from the top of the Gibraltar Point Lighthouse in 1839. Just how they fell — or were they pushed? — remains a mystery. And their ghosts haunt the lighthouse to this day…
Gabe tells this story every day when he gives the ghost tour on Toronto Island. He tries to make it scary enough to satisfy the tourists, but he doesn’t actually believe in ghosts — until he finds himself face to face with Rebecca Strand.
The true story of her death is far more terrifying than any ghost tale Gabe has told. Rebecca reveals that her father was a member of the Order, a secret society devoted to protecting the world from “the wakeful and wicked dead” — malevolent spirits like Viker, the ghost responsible for their deaths. But the Order has disappeared, and Viker’s ghost is growing ever stronger.
Now Gabe and his friends must find a way to stop Viker before they all become lost souls…
Publication Date September 6th 2022 by Rick Riordan Presents
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Best-selling author Rick Riordan presents best-selling YA author Roseanne A. Brown’s middle grade debut about a pre-teen vampire slayer with a strong helping of Ghanaian folklore.
For most kids, catching fireflies is a fun summer activity. For twelve-year-old Serwa Boateng, it’s a matter of life and death.
That’s because Serwa knows that some fireflies are really adze, shapeshifting vampires from the forests of Southeastern Ghana. Adze prey on the blood of innocents, possessing their minds and turning them into hulking monsters, and for generations, slayers like Serwa and her parents have protected an unknowing public from their threats.
Serwa is the best adze slayer her age, and she knew how to use a crossbow before she could even ride a bike. But when an obayifo (witch) destroys her childhood home while searching for a drum, do Serwa’s parents take her with them on their quest to defeat her? No. Instead, they dump Serwa with her hippie aunt and cryptic-obsessed cousin in the middle of Nowheresville, Maryland “for her own safety.” Now, instead of crossbows and battle armor, she’s dealing with mean girls and algebra, and for the first time in her life she doesn’t have to carry a staff everywhere she goes, which is…kind of nice, actually.
Just as Serwa starts to get the hang of this whole normal girl who doesn’t punch vampires every day thing, an adze infiltrates her school. It’s up to her to whip some of her classmates into monster-fighting shape before all of them become firefly food. And when she uncovers a secret that upends everything she thought she knew about her family’s role in the slayer vs. adze war, Serwa will have to decide which side of herself – normal girl or slayer – is the right one.
After all, seventh grade is hard enough without adding vampires to the mix.
Publication Date September 13th 2022 by Delacorte Press
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In this scary story for fans of Neil Gaiman, The Last Kids On Earth, and Goosebumps, the only way out is krazier than you could ever imagine…
Nathan used to be terrified of Krazyland when he was a young kid.
Now that he’s 12, the spooky-themed arcade games aren’t that bad. He even enjoys stomping on plastic spiders and battling a creepy doll with big plastic eyes. But things become scarier again when kids start to go missing from the entertainment park…
There’s another world exists beneath Kraztown’s ball pit. A world where the entertainment park’s games come to life. And if he isn’t careful, Nathan is going to be the next one sucked under!
Publication Date September 13th 2022 by Clarion Books
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In this spooky and atmospheric debut contemporary fantasy, Snow White and Rose Red meets the modern world after sisters Neve and Rose’s lives are upended when a swamp witch kidnaps Rose. Perfect for fans of Jodi Lynn Anderson and Katherine Arden.
For twelve-year-old Neve, it’s always been she and her older sister against the world, their lives entwined just like sisters in a fairy tale. So, if Rose loves tennis, Neve will play it too — even if secretly she’d rather be home turning cardboard boxes into offbeat art projects. Not even being moved to the piney woods outside Etters, South Carolina, can change what they are to each other — until a mysterious fog seems to swallow up Rose before Neve’s eyes.
Naturally, the adults don’t believe that something supernatural is at play. So, with the help of Piper, a classmate with a tomato fixation; Sammy, a boy with memories of an otherworldly stranger; and a stray dog that seems to belong to the woods, Neve discovers that her sister has been taken by a swamp-dwelling witch with a terribly wicked plan. It will be up to Neve to save her sister. Otherwise, she’ll be separated from Rose…forever
A gorgeous, haunting debut about sisterhood and finding your voice.
Publication Date September 13th 2022 by HarperCollins
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From the award-winning screenwriter-director Darren Aronofsky and his screenwriting partner, Ari Handel, comes Monster Club. Their debut novel is the first book in a thrilling, new adventure series about growing up, letting go, and facing down your monsters.
Like almost everything in eleven-year-old Eric “Doodles” King’s life, King’s Wonderland — the amusement park his great-great grandfather founded — was seriously damaged when a hurricane hit his beloved Coney Island neighborhood. Now hungry property developers are circling the wreckage of the once-awesome King’s Wonderland, and Eric’s family is falling apart from the threat of losing it all.
If it weren’t for Monster Club — the epic roleplaying game that Eric and his friends created — Eric’s life would be pretty terrible. Drawing his favorite monster battling with his best friends’ creations is the one thing that still gets Eric excited. So when his friends start to think of Monster Club as a kid’s game and get more interested in other things, Eric just can’t deal. But then Eric happens across a long-lost vial of magic ink that brings their monster drawings to life, and suddenly, Monster Club isn’t just for fun anymore.
The monsters Eric and his friends created are wreaking havoc across Coney, and it’s on the Monster Club to save their city, the amusement park, and maybe, just maybe, Eric’s family, too. It’s a hilarious, heartfelt adventure from the creative minds of Darren Aronofsky and Ari Handel that fans of The Last Kids On Earth and Spy School are sure to love.
Publication Date September 20th 2022 by Clarion Books
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In this graphic novel adaptation of master horror storyteller Mary Downing Hahn’s spookiest and most popular tale, two siblings must save their stepsister from the clutches of a vengeful ghost.
When their mom remarries, Molly and her brother, Michael, try to make friends with their new stepsister, Heather. But Heather only wants to make trouble for them. She lies and tattles and misbehaves, and somehow they always get the blame. They know she’s trying to drive a wedge between her father and their mother so she can have her father all to herself — and it seems to be working.
Then, Heather starts playing in the graveyard behind their new house. She claims she can talk to a ghost named Helen, and her behavior gets even stranger. Michael doesn’t believe in ghosts and thinks their new little sister is just looking for more attention. But Molly isn’t so certain, especially when Heather threatens that Helen is going to come for them and make them sorry.
It seems as though things can’t get any worse — but they do.
When Helen comes.
Publication Date September 20th 2022 by Bloomsbury Children’s Books
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In the world of the Vanquishers, vampires were history…until now.
Malika “Boog” Wilson and her best friends have grown up idolizing The Vanquishers, a group of heroic vampire hunters who wiped out the last horde of the undead decades ago. Nowadays, most people don’t take even the most basic vampire precautions – the days of garlic wreaths and early curfews long gone – but Boog’s parents still follow the old rules, much to her embarrassment.
When a friend goes missing, Boog isn’t sure what to think. Could it be the school counselor, Mr. Rupert, who definitely seems to be hiding something? Or could it be something more dangerous? Boog is determined to save her friend, but is she ready to admit vampires might not be vanquished after all?
No one ever expected the Vanquishers to return, but if their town needs protection from the undead, Boog knows who to call.
Inspired by Buffy The Vampire Slayer and The Watchmen, this adventure launches readers into an exciting new series.
Publication Date September 20th 2022 by Delacorte Press
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Get ready to scream with this collection of hillarifying — hilariously terrifying — tales, fully-illustrated and perfect for scary story lovers who are looking for a side of humor to go with their helpings of horror.
Stop!
Unless you want to be scared, do NOT read this book.
These tales of terror are so horrible, so alarming, they had to be bound up between these pages forever!
You’ll discover The Boogerman, an oozing horror that lurks in mirrors. You’ll read about Instagrave, a popular new app that tells kids how they are going to die. In Epizeuxis, you’ll learn what happens if you speak the name of a — wait. We’ve said too much already. The things between these covers are too dangerous to ever be let out. That’s why we’re warning you: stay away from this book, or else!
Of course, if you are reckless enough to open this book, then be sure to read these stories in a safe, indoor space, far from the beady, prying eyes of any birds*.
Now, on the count of three: 1…2…3…SCREAM!
*Is that a crow, a magpie, or an indigo bunting behind you? Be careful. Birds will do anything to keep people from discovering the secrets of this book!
Publication Date September 27th 2022 by Delacorte Press
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The spooky summer adventures of the Sinister-Winterbottom twins continue in another gothic mystery: can Theo and Alexander solve the secret of the Sanguine Spa in the little Transylvania Mountains? The second book in the new Sinister Summer series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White, called “perfect for fans of Lemony Snicket, Edward Gorey, and Roald Dahl,” by Shelf Awareness.
After leaving Fathoms of Fun, the kids are on their way to the next odd summer destination their aunt has chosen for them. This time, they find themselves dropped off at the Sanguine Spa in the “little Transylvania Mountains.” There they meet the owners: Mina, her mysterious little sister, Lucy (who is extremely pale, can’t go in the sunlight, and has an affinity for hanging upside down from the ceiling), and their intimidating guardian, the Count.
When the Count sends all the children in the spa on a scavenger hunt, the Sinister-Winterbottoms use the excuse to snoop around and discover that this spa may be more than just eerie — it might also hold clues to what happened to their parents. When Wil starts to show vampiric symptoms, the twins resolve to investigate what’s really going on at the Sanguine Spa.
The second book in the Sinister Summer series continues the adventures of the Sinister-Winterbottoms and their aunt who never saw a discount vacation destination she didn’t love.
Publication Date September 27th 2022 by Christy Ottaviano Books
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Two best friends. One goes missing. And a paranormal podcast that hopes to reunite them, but not before unleashing horror in many forms.
When Zeus’s best friend gets trapped inside the House of Mystery and Mirrors at Carnival Nocturne, Tobin’s existence is erased from the world, and Zeus is the only person who remembers that his best friend ever lived. Zeus is determined to return to the carnival and rescue his friend — that is, if he can only find it.
Together with Tobin’s sister, Jana, Zeus concocts a plan to conjure Tobin’s captors on Halloween night via his paranormal podcast, Odd Occurrences. Listeners are invited to call in and share their supernatural experiences with the audience. From ghostly encounters to haunted dolls, terrifying escape rooms with deadly consequences to alien lake creatures, Zeus hopes that someone’s story will produce a clue that leads him to the mysterious carnival — and ultimately, back to Tobin. But little does Zeus know that Tobin is almost out of time.
Publication Date September 27th 2022 by Inkyard Press
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Welcome back to East Emerson, a town chock-full of monsters, in this spooky and hilarious middle grade series about three kids who must unravel centuries of secrets to save the day.
Things are starting to look up for Will Hunter in East Emerson:
● He’s pretty much used to seeing monsters all over the place
● He’s become best friends with neighbors Ivy and Linus (the only people who can see what he sees)
● Together, they saved the town from a pet-napping vampire!But Will’s problems are far from over. Because there’s a werewolf on the loose in East Emerson, turning people into dangerous, mind-controlled animals left and right. And Will is one of them. Can Will, Ivy, and Linus find out who is behind this shapeshifter army before it’s too late, or will our hero be stuck as a werewolf forever?
Publication Date October 4th 2022 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
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Stranger Things meets Fake Blood in this deliciously charming and spooky debut novel about one girl’s choice to save her vampire parents or do what’s right for the greater good.
Twelve-year-old human Sophie Dawes lives a good life in Hopetown. There, vampires and humans live in harmony and Sophie and her adoptive vampire moms are living (or unliving) proof. There are a lot of rules that vampires must follow to keep the humans they live around feeling safe, but if regular visits from child protective services and abiding by a nightly curfew keeps their family together, Sophie will do anything to stay with her loving vampire parents. But then, normal, law-abiding vampires begin to go rogue.
After Sophie’s own mother — the sweetest person she knows — goes rogue, Sophie decides it’s up to her to find a cure. But taking matters into her own hands might be way more than she bargained for if it means braving a secret council of vampires, executing epic heists, and facing the true bad guys head on. With her best friend by her side, Sophie will fight for hope, freedom and a family bonded by a love that’s thicker than blood.
Publication Date October 4th 2022 by Scholastic Inc.
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From kid horror master K.R. Alexander, the story of a virtual friend that puts the fright into stage fright.
Naomi is petrified of the talent show her school is putting on. She can’t be out there alone in front of all those people…not without serious stage fright. How will she manage?
The answer arrives in a mysterious box – a ventriloquist’s dummy that transforms Naomi from a shy girl into a natural performer. It all goes well…until Naomi starts to want the stage for herself. When the dummy strikes back it raises the question – who’s controlling who?
Publication Date October 11th 2022 by Yellow Jacket
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In the mid 19th century, a religious movement called Spiritualism spread across America. Spiritualists believe that the living could communicate with the dead.
Complete with ghostly black-and-white photographs, this suspenseful book tells the story of twelve-year-old Liza Carroll and her little brother as they try to find answers and hide a secret while staying at a spooky Spiritualist commune.
After twelve-year-old Liza Carroll and her ten-year-old brother John’s parents die, they are placed in the custody of their uncle, a traveling photographer named Mr. Spencer. Mr. Spencer, realizing the gift he has in his young relatives, uses them to help create fraudulent spirit photographs, which he sells to the grieving.
Chased from one town to another, they arrive at a settlement that is different than the others they’ve been to – a Spiritualist commune in Pennsylvania named the Silver Star Society. Things feel different here. They are told they are at a Thin Place between the worlds of the living and the spirits. Shadows haunt the halls, and strange forms appear in Liza’s photographs. Is this real, or is she the one being tricked this time? As Liza and her brother begin to investigate, the Thin Place begins to break, threatening everyone at the society. Can they fix it in time? And will their secret they’ve been hiding be revealed?
Publication Date October 18th 2022 by First Second
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From Time Museum creator Matt Loux comes a sweet and gently macabre graphic novel for young readers.
There are whispers around the village that monsters are lurking outside the gates. Prunella doesn’t pay this talk much mind ― until she unearths a strange skull-shaped ring in her garden. When she places it on her finger she’s transformed into a skeleton girl, terrifying her monster-fearing town! Exiled, Prunella wanders the wilderness, where she discovers that monsters aren’t as bad as she’s been led to believe.
With her new friends, undead pirate Captain Rip Skeleton and Francis, a floating, fiery skull, at her side, Prunella is sure to find a way to reverse this curse…but does she really want to?
Publication Date October 18th 2022 by Scholastic Press
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A whimsical, body positive adventure about a witch with no powers figuring out where her magic truly comes from.
Adelaide Goode has never been good enough. Everyone knows she’s the weakest witch born to the Goode family in centuries. And now her mom is betraying her in the worst way possible: abandoning her in Cranberry Hallow, where she has no friends at all, for three whole months! And she’s pushing her to compete in the town Halloween pageant! If Addie is going to be stuck in this town, her mother won’t get away so easy…so she sets off the curse that’s been haunting her family for centuries. But she doesn’t plan on the curse turning her bones to glass and setting a 300-year-old witch hunter after her.
With the aid of a monster-obsessed neighbor and a twitchy-nosed, furry friend, Addie must hunt down the ingredients necessary to break the curse before the stroke of midnight. And if she doesn’t…she might just erase magic from her family, and her town, forever.
Publication Date October 25th 2022 by Aladdin
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An unlikely friendship forms between a young boy and vampire in this sweet and funny first book in the classic illustrated middle grade Little Vampire series — newly translated from the original German and perfect for readers who love Hotel Transylvania and The Addams Family!
Nine-year-old Tony loves ghosts and horror stories, but when he’s left home alone one night, he gets quite the fright as Rudolph the little vampire flies in the window! After a rough start, Rudolph stops trying to bite Tony and the two become fast friends. Tony even visits the little vampire’s family vault in the graveyard where he narrowly escapes the clutches of Rudolph’s fearsome Great-Aunt Dorothy.
But what will happen when Tony’s parents invite his new friend for dinner?
One Response
There are some delightfully creepy titles here! Love it.