Pumpkinheads by
A 2020 Tayshas Reading List Selection A 2020 Maverick Graphic Novel Reading List Selection In Pumpkinheads, beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author Rainbow Rowell and Eisner Award-winning artist Faith Erin Hicks have teamed up to create this tender and hilarious story about two irresistible teens discovering what it means to leave behind a place--and a person--with no regrets. Deja and Josiah are seasonal best friends. Every autumn, all through high school, they've worked together at the best pumpkin patch in the whole wide world. (Not many people know that the best pumpkin patch in the whole wide world is in Omaha, Nebraska, but it definitely is.) They say good-bye every Halloween, and they're reunited every September 1. But this Halloween is different--Josiah and Deja are finally seniors, and this is their last season at the pumpkin patch. Their last shift together. Their last good-bye. Josiah's ready to spend the whole night feeling melancholy about it. Deja isn't ready to let him. She's got a plan: What if--instead of moping and the usual slinging lima beans down at the Succotash Hut--they went out with a bang? They could see all the sights! Taste all the snacks! And Josiah could finally talk to that cute girl he's been mooning over for three years . . . What if their last shift was an adventure?
Only If You Dare by
Thirteen chilling short stories to keep you up at night--but only if you dare. You never know what's out to get you. Though you might think you're safe from monsters and menaces, everyday objects can turn against you, too. A mysterious microwave. A threatening board game. A snowman that refuses to melt. Even your own heartbeat has its secrets. Thu-thump. Thu-thump. When you stop to listen, each beat sounds more menacing than the last. Master storyteller Josh Allen brings thirteen nightmare scenarios to life in this page-turning collection that's perfect for budding horror junkies. In his wondrous world, danger waits behind every doorway . . . even in the most ordinary places. Eerie illustrations by award-winning artist Sarah Coleman accompany the stories, packaged in a stunning hardcover edition complete with glow-in-the-dark jacket. Readers will sleep with one eye open!
The Gathering (Shadow House, Book 1) by
You don't just read this ghost story. You step into it.Some houses are more than just haunted... they're hungry. Dash, Dylan, Poppy, Marcus, and Azumi don't know this at first. They each think they've been summoned to Shadow House for innocent reasons. But there's nothing innocent about Shadow House.Something within its walls is wickedly wrong. Nothing -- and nobody -- can be trusted. Hallways move. Doors vanish. Ghosts appear. Children disappear.And the way out?That's disappeared, too...Enter Shadow House... if you dare.Don't just read about Shadow House -- explore its haunted depths with the free app!
The fear zone by
If you don't stand up to your fears, they will destroy you. When five kids are invited to a cemetery at midnight, they think it's just a prank. When they find a gravestone that instructs them to dig up a grave, they think it's just a joke. It's no joke. An evil force is unleashed - a force that takes the shape of their worst fears. A shark in the water. A ghost in the walls. A nightmare of being buried alive. A snake about to strike. A sinister clown waiting in the woods. Once these fears are released, they won't go away. Not without a fight.
Charlotte says by
Penniless and orphaned, Jemima flees to the remote Isle of Skye, where she takes up a job at a school for girls. Here, she finds herself tormented by the mystery of what drove her to run away from her home. Then Jemima receives a box of Frozen Charlotte dolls and she begins to remember - a seance with the dolls, a violent argument with her step-father and the dreadful fire that destroyed their home. The arrival of the dolls also triggers a series of strange happenings. As the 'accidents' reach fever pitch, culminating in the death of one of the girls and a governess, can Jemima stop the demonic spirits that's possessing the dolls?
The Jumbies by
The start of an exciting series filled with Caribbean folklore and daring adventure. Corinne La Mer claims she isn't afraid of anything. Not scorpions, not the boys who tease her, and certainly not jumbies. They're just tricksters made up by parents to frighten their children. Then one night Corinne chases an agouti all the way into the forbidden forest, and shining yellow eyes follow her to the edge of the trees. They couldn't belong to a jumbie. Or could they? When Corinne spots a beautiful stranger at the market the very next day, she knows something extraordinary is about to happen. When this same beauty, called Severine, turns up at Corinne's house, danger is in the air. Severine plans to claim the entire island for the jumbies. Corinne must call on her courage and her friends and learn to use ancient magic she didn't know she possessed to stop Severine and to save her island home.
Spirit Hunters by
"Oh has crafted a truly chilling middle grade horror novel that will grab readers' imaginations." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Even more impressive than the shiver factor is the way the author skillfully uses the compelling premise to present a strong, consistent message of not rejecting what you don't understand." --Booklist (starred review) "This mystery thriller infused with diverse characters and intriguing themes will appeal to horror fans and to reluctant readers who enjoy a good scare." --School Library Journal We Need Diverse Books founder Ellen Oh returns with Spirit Hunters, a high-stakes middle grade mystery series about Harper Raine, the new seventh grader in town who must face down the dangerous ghosts haunting her younger brother. A riveting ghost story and captivating adventure, this tale will have you guessing at every turn! Harper doesn't trust her new home from the moment she steps inside, and the rumors are that the Raine family's new house is haunted. Harper isn't sure she believes those rumors, until her younger brother, Michael, starts acting strangely. The whole atmosphere gives Harper a sense of déjà vu, but she can't remember why. She knows that the memories she's blocking will help make sense of her brother's behavior and the strange and threatening sensations she feels in this house, but will she be able to put the pieces together in time?
Ghost Hunter's Daughter by
A spooky stand-alone middle-grade novel from Dan Poblocki, perfect for fans of John Bellairs and Mary Downing Hahn."They say if you see him, it's already too late."Claire doesn't believe in ghosts, even though her dad is a ghost hunter on TV. But then her dad disappears. And a strange boy in her class, Lucas, knows something about ghosts. One of them has a message for her: Her dad has been taken, and he's in grave danger.Together, Claire and Lucas set out for the town of Hush Falls, where her dad was last seen. Legend says that a tall man in a dark tattered coat lurks near the local reservoir, and anyone who gets too close to old Lemuel Hush is never heard from again.Claire and Lucas are determined to rescue her father. But how can they save him from the ghost of Hush when everyone knows that seeing the ghost means that you're destined to die...
The chronicles of Vladimir Tod : eighth grade bites by
Vlad has to keep his vampire urges under control while dealing with the pressures of middle school.
Thirteen-year-old Vladimir Tod really hates junior high. Bullies harass him, the principal is dogging him, and the girl he likes prefers his best friend. Oh, and Vlad has a secret: His mother was human, but his father was a vampire. With no idea of the extent of his powers, Vlad struggles daily with his blood cravings and his enlarged fangs. When a substitute teacher begins to question him a little too closely, Vlad worries that his cover is about to be blown. But then he faces a much bigger problem: He’s being hunted by a vampire killer.
Death and Douglas by
Douglas has grown up around the business of death. Generations of his family have run the Mortimer Family Funeral Home. The mortician and gravediggers are all his buddies. And the display room of caskets is an awesome place for hide and seek. It's business as usual in Douglas's small New England town. Until one day an incredibly out of the ordinary murder victim is brought to the funeral home. And more startling: others follow. On the cusp of Halloween, a serial killer has arrived. And unsatisfied with the small-town investigation, Douglas enlists his friends to help him solve the mystery. With sumptuous descriptions of a bucolic town and it's quirky people, fascinating yet middle grade-appropriate insider information about the funeral process, and a crackling mystery with a heart-pounding conclusion--Death and Douglas has something for readers young and old.
Thirteen Chairs by
A spine-tingling collection of ghost stories.When a boy finds himself drawn into an empty house one cold night, he enters a room in which twelve unusual-looking people sit around a table. And the thirteenth chair is pulled out for him.One by one, each of those assembled tells their ownghost story: tales of doom and death; of ghostly creatures and malevolent spirits; of revenge and reward. It is only at the end of the night that the boy starts to understand what story he must tell . . .
The Midnight Curse by
A deep, raspy voice whispered, "The midnight curse has been passed on to you!" Thus begins a frightfully wacky adventure that will have young readers turning every page in spine-tingling anticipation. Lacey and her twin brother, Charlie, are visiting England to find out if they inherited anything from their reclusive uncle Jonathan, but before long, Charlie realises he might not have inherited anything but the family curse. It's a bad one -- he'll shrivel up and die unless someone ventures to the attic to face a malevolent spirit. Curse removal is a complicated game involving a gothic cast of shifty characters. The twins sure have stirred things up, and the clock is ticking on Charlie's curse. Can they finish what they started? Ages 9-12
The last kids on Earth by
The Simpsons meets The Walking Dead in this hilarious post-apocalyptic novel. Forty-two days ago I was an ordinary kid, living an uneventful life. But now it's total monster zombie chaos and I'm battling beasts on a daily basis. Crazy, right? But I know exactly how to make it through the zombie apocalypse: locate Quint Baker, best friend and inventor; find and rescue June Del Toro, the coolest girl I know; defeat Blarg, the biggest, baddest monster in town; become a zombie-fighting, monster-bashing tornado of cool! Wish me luck - cos I'm gonna need a bunch of it.
Took by
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. 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"? Mary Downing Hahn is one of the most popular middle grade authors in the world, winner of numerous state awards as well as the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction (for Stepping on the Cracks) and the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award (for Closed for the Season). Also available as a graphic novel!
Wranglestone by
Winter was the only season every Lake-Lander feared... In a post-apocalyptic America, a community survives in a national park, surrounded by water that keeps the Dead at bay. But when winter comes, there's nothing to stop them from crossing the ice. Then homebody Peter puts the camp in danger by naively allowing a stranger to come ashore and he's forced to leave the community of Wranglestone. Now he must help rancher Cooper, the boy he's always watched from afar, herd the Dead from their shores before the lake freezes over. But as love blossoms, a dark discovery reveals the sanctuary's secret past. One that forces the pair to question everything they've ever known.
The Ash House by
An unsettling, gripping middle grade debut about searching for a sense of belonging in the wrong places, and the bravery it takes to defy those who seek to control us. This is Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children meets Lord of the Flies for fans of Neil Gaiman and Holly Black. When Eleven-year-old Sol arrives at the Ash House, desperate for a cure for his complex pain syndrome, he finds a community of strange children long abandoned by their mysterious Headmaster. The children at the Ash House want the new boy to love their home as much as they do. They give him a name like theirs. They show him the dorms and tell him about the wonderful oasis that the Headmaster has created for them. But the new boy already has a name. Doesn't he? At least he did before he walked through those gates... This was supposed to be a healing refuge for children like him. Something between a school and a summer camp. With kids like him. With pain like his. But no one is allowed to get sick at the Ash House. NO ONE. And then The Doctor arrives... Strange things are about to happen at the mysterious Ash House. And the longer Sol spends on the mysterious grounds, the more he begins to forget who he is, the more the other children begin to distrust him, and the worse his pain becomes. But can he hold onto reality long enough to find an escape? And better yet, can he convince the others?