Nightbooks

This book actually freaked me out a couple of time

I needed something for halloween! I just saw this on netflix and decided to read the book first. (I did end up watching the netflix movie and was disappointed by it BUT it would be a good intro. to horror for kids since it does keep the scary hag - which wow!)

ANYWAY, this book was thrilling and had some of my favorite troupes inside with a horror twist. A boy who enjoys horror finds himself left out from his peer group and the obsession concerns adults. He wants to get rid of his nightbooks (he is the author of scary stories) but finds himself tricked by a witch. He serves her by reading a scary story every night ~ He is plenty of supply and is using his time to learn how to escape. He mets a girl and must convince her to help, but she's lost hope and only wants to survive.

It has everything, it feels like a folk story because the kids use their wits to trick the witch and actively use what they know to their advantage. It has a nice mystery and I like how the story gives kids their credit and gives them agency over their situation. These children are not helpless, but the situation feels helpless and dangerous!
I like the diligent connection that was made with the characters (even the cat) and really everything paid off in the end!
The story with the witch I was on pins and needles...but things get much darker when (SPOILERS) they realize she's not the true witch and she's stealing her powers from a nearly dead candy hag.

I listened to this on audiobook, I speed up the speed to 1.6x which was great for me. I don't think I would have enjoyed this as much if I was unable to seed the narrator up. The narration was great!!

I tried, but something about this book just doesn't work for me. Things just happened and it felt weightless. So yes, I'm disappointed.

This was an exciting read! I love stories within stories and each of the little bonus tale is pretty chilling! What I loved about this was the originality and the fresh modern spin. No spoilers, but Alex is dealing with something that I had to deal with when I was younger and I have NEVER seen in print before-an adult giving BAD advice to a child without looking further into the situation.
There are a lot of great discussion points here for a book club to work with. Now I want to read his other series!