Middle Grade Horror – BUBBLE BUBBLE BOOKS & TROUBLE

Hits!

It’s Watching by Lindsay Currie

When I saw the cover and read the dustcover promising a chilling YA ghost-hunting adventure in the infamous Bechelor’s Grove cemetery, I was all in! I really enjoyed how the group of tweens worked together to solve the mystery of the resident ghost who appears sitting atop a grave—a true legend, I might add! It’s all fun and spooky games until the trio of prospective journalists receives ghostly texts on their phones depicting a phantom farmhouse (another true legend!) that beckons them to come inside—and never leave. Borrowing the countdown-to-doom horror trope, the tension ratchets up when the kiddos learn they must solve the mystery before the house swallows them into the abyss. Yikes!

Overall, this is a fun middle-grade mystery, though I’m not really a fan of texting ghosts. It just seems a little silly, no? That said, compared to this author’s previous books, the lead character is much, MUCH more likable, and her passion for journalism feels genuine—which is more than I could say for little Ginny’s obsession with Agatha Christie and locked-room mysteries in What Lives in the Woods.

Props to the author for adding a history lesson about the old Chicago cemetery! Given the bleak reality of our public school crisis, these history lessons are incredibly valuable.

The Mystery of the Haunted Dance Hall by Charis Cotter

Shout-out to BookPeople for having the best selection of middle-grade and YA mysteries! This store is one of the few reasons I could never leave Austin.

I haven’t seen this book anywhere else, which is a shame because it’s such a great little magical mystery for young readers and… ahem… the young at heart. Finally, I found a book written by an author who clearly went to sleepaway summer camp! Everything about it reminded me of my sweet memories of camp in the Southern California mountains. So many scenes took me back to those carefree summers with my cabin of trouble-making friends.

I loved the main character, Bee, who deals with A LOT of BS from the mean girls—both at home and at camp. Ugh, this girl can’t catch a break. She has a “hearing problem,” meaning she can hear everything and anything from miles away. To cope, she uses internal walls and gates to block out the noise. When the girls catch on that something’s a little off with her, they make her life miserable. Mean girls are like sharks—once they smell blood in the water, they attack!

Anyhoo, things take a turn when Bee finds a new friend, Zippy, who doesn’t care about fitting in. And once Zippy enters the scene, the story takes off! They soon find themselves in a mystery. Why are the older girls (the Hawks) sneaking out every night? Where are they going, and why are their flashlights always dead?

Soon, Bee and Zippy discover hidden tunnels and a whole new world outside their beloved bird-watching summer camp. Somehow, the enigmatic camp owner catches on to their investigations—and she seems to have some secrets of her own. Oh, the intrigue!

Although this book wasn’t scary, I absolutely adored the summer camp atmosphere, the lovable characters, and the magical world-building. It’s an original, creative story set in the 1960s—a time before gadgets, bizarre teenage slang, and text talk. I loved everything about it and can’t wait to read another Charis Cotter!

Misses!

The Better to Eat You With by Tehlor Kay Mejia

Let’s start on a positive note: the cover is fantastic! The image of a dead girl with glowing eyes bobbing in a spooky lake gives me the willies!

Unfortunately… the cover is total false advertising. This is NOT a scary book, nor is it a mystery. It’s a very serious, emotionally heavy story about a girl grappling with an abusive mother and a life-threatening eating disorder. There’s a whisper of a supernatural element—a supposed monster lurking in the background—but it’s not what you’d expect, and the “reveal” left me scratching my head. It felt like the author wanted to write a book about disordered eating but added a horror hook to draw readers in.

I’m really disappointed. I went in expecting eerie vibes and mystery, but instead got an entirely different story that didn’t deliver on the premise the cover promised. I won’t be picking up another book by this author.

Field of Screams by Wendy Parris

Once again, I’ve been suckered into buying a book with an awesome cover, only to be disappointed by a lackluster story devoid of spooks and scares. Cornfields are inherently unsettling—thank you, Children of the Corn—and the setup promised a deliciously spooky tale: a girl trapped in a haunted house across from a sea of whispering stalks. Yes, please.

But alas, this one was a total dud.

It quickly became clear that the author’s true mission wasn’t to scare or thrill, but to deliver lessons about grief, guilt, and resilience. To be fair, these stories are helpful for young readers, but please don’t put them in the horror section when there are no actual horrors!

So, our protagonist, Rebecca, spends most of the book in a fog of melancholy. Things perk up slightly when she encounters a ghost in a nearby farmhouse and starts connecting with her late father’s interest in the paranormal—but even that spark fizzles fast when the story turns back to grief and struggles with her mom’s new romance. Come on, kid! Let your mom get her groove back. Yeesh!

I kept waiting for the story to kick into gear once the ghost appeared, but the supernatural thread felt more like a marketing hook than the actual plotline. It’s the kind of book that seems to have been written with one story in mind, then dressed up in ghostly garb to snag readers with a creepy cool cover.

Honestly, I’m struggling to write a more detailed review because I’ve already forgotten most of it. All in all? Boo. And not in the fun, haunted-house way.

Trigger Warning: Mushrooms 🍄 (Seriously, Why?)
Okay, first things first—why did no one warn me about the mushrooms? I mean, yuck. How do people eat those things without questioning their life choices? But once I got past the fungal horror, I dove into what turned out to be a stellar middle-grade horror novel. Sure, I’m a few decades past the target age group, but how could I resist a story from the twisted genius behind A Head Full of Ghosts?

Summed Up (No Spoilers, Promise):
Casey’s going through a hard time after a humiliating online classroom incident leaves him isolated and friendless. Things take a bizarre turn when a mysterious stranger shows up at his doorstep with an unexpected houseguest: a waxy, practically faceless boy named Morel. He doesn’t eat. He doesn’t sleep. He’s definitely not normal. Who—or what—is Morel? You’ll have to read to find out.

What Worked:
This book is unsettling in the best way—even for the young at heart!! Paul Tremblay doesn’t know how to write not creepy, and I’m grateful for that. The story kept me guessing, which is rare in middle-grade horror, a genre that often leans on predictable tropes. What are the dark forces swirling around Morel? Why is his appearance shifting so rapidly? And what’s going on with Casey’s parents, who seem to be drifting into some kind of dazed oblivion? I tore through this in one afternoon because I had to know.

Thoughts on Character Development:
Tremblay doesn’t just deliver scares—he builds characters you care about. Casey’s loneliness, his awkwardness, his desperate need for best friend – it all brings back so many memories from my mispent youth. He’s also navigating life with a visible disability, which Tremblay handles with authenticity. Seriously, so many YA authors need to take notes because it seems like they’re just ticking off some boxes to stay on top of the trends.

Final Verdict:
This debut middle-grade horror novel is eerie, emotionally resonant, and totally absorbing. Young readers will find themselves in Casey’s struggles—and older readers will appreciate the creepy foreshadowing and twist ending!