Out to Get You

June 15, 2019
A collection of curious incidents--13, naturally--for unsuspecting readers. A friend mysteriously vanishes. A kid runs into the devil on the way to school. The figures on a street sign change places. A stain on the school cafeteria's floor is more than just a stain--it has a mouth. A straight-laced teacher gets a creative form of discipline for her "problematic" classroom-management style. Paper-towel dispensers produce ominous messages. Someone's missing marker is used to make art that brings to life a new invasive species. Even the shadows get bad ideas. For everything, there's a price or a consequence. Which kids can beat the odds and figure out a way for their lives to go back to normal? Or, is normal the real myth in this wondrously eerie world? Allen's debut is mostly plot-focused, a quick (but not too quick) relay race from story to story--the longest of which spans 15 pages. Mostly creepy instead of bone-chillingly terrifying, the collection's overall tone is more Twilight Zone than Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark. It's also a textbook example of how horror contextualizes social anxieties, particularly those relevant to school-aged youth. Coleman mixes hand lettering with scratchy, sketchy linework to create single- or double-page black-and-white illustrations that accentuate each story. With a lack of racial descriptors, the cast presumes a white default. Tasty, bite-sized bizarreness for brave preteens. (Horror. 9-12)

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October 25, 2019

Gr 3-8-Move over "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark," you've got a new neighbor. These chill-worthy, macabre tales are sure to keep many a young reader awake at night. Take, for instance, the tale of Ivy, who found a greenish-black marker on the floor in her class one day. No one claimed it, so she took it for herself; the marker was ideal for drawing a tiny little vine with just three leaves on her hand. Imagine her horror the next day when she discovers the imaginary vine has begun crawling up her arm. Too late, she realizes that taking a shower "waters" the vine and causes it to grow. Desperately, she refuses to shower...for a long, long time. All her friends desert her in her smelly state but she doesn't care, she just wants the vine to stop growing. Horror and tongue-in-cheek humor meld seamlessly in these unique tales. The settings and characters-including preteens, parents, and principals-will make a lasting impression on readers. In the same vein as Stephen Gammell's illustrations for Alvin Schwartz's "Scary Stories," black-and-white drawings enhance the authenticity of the dark, shady, and grotesque. VERDICT A top-notch thrill-ride of creepy, crunchy horror. This collection belongs on every young horror shelf.-Julie Shatterly, W. A. Bess Elementary School, Gastonia, NC

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from August 1, 2019
Grades 4-7 *Starred Review* Dive deep into a nightmarish wonderland where everything and nothing is as it seems in this collection of short stories complete with creepy illustrations. This haunting anthology will plunge young horror enthusiasts into their darkest dreams, from evading the demands of a malicious genie to hoping not to be consumed by a hungry house to sympathizing with a shadow sick and tired of serving every whim of his human. Allen expertly weaves intricate, relatable details from the tween experience with elements of the supernatural to present readers with a baker's dozen of chilling tales, some of which impart contemporary life lessons such as being kind to animals, treating others how you'd like to be treated, and behaving well in school and at home, all with a spooky twist in time for Halloween. Selfishness, bullying, and cruelty have no place in this nevertheless scary world, which often changes in a blink. Adults nostalgic for The Twilight Zone or Alvin Schwartz's Scary Stories trilogy might enjoy sharing this book with the next generation of horror fans. Kids who can't get enough Goosebumps will revel in the anticipated but memorable twists of each story, as signposts shift, biology class becomes voodoo chaos, and devils and witches are revealed to reside among us.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)