Hello and welcome to my stop on the Dread Wood blog tour!
It’s basically the worst school detention ever. When classmates (but not mate-mates) Hallie, Angelo, Gustav and Naira are forced to come to school on a SATURDAY, they think things can’t get much worse. But they’re wrong. Things are about to get seriously scary.
What has dragged their teacher underground? Why do the creepy caretakers keeping humming the tune to Itsy Bitsy Spider? And what horrors lurk in the shadows, getting stronger and meaner every minute…? Cut off from help and in danger each time they touch the ground, the gang’s only hope is to work together. But it’s no coincidence that they’re all there on detention. Someone has been watching and plotting and is out for revenge…
I loved Crater Lake and its sequel, so I was absolutely delighted to receive a copy of Dread Wood to review. Jennifer Killick is a master of middle grade horror and Dread Wood was fantastic! I read this book in one afternoon and felt right on the edge of my seat throughout. There were so many spine tinglingly scary moments through the whole novel and I will never look at a spider the same away again. I know that Dread Wood will be a hit with the years 6 and above as kids love a chilling story. I know that I definitely want more.
The gang of misfits develop nicely through the story and their different personalities shine through with some excellent depth. Jennifer writes fantastic characters that seem very real (I can completely imagine a group of children acting just like this!) Most of the story is told through the point of view of Angelo and I found him a strong main character who led the breakfast club esque group. The others are great and I particularly liked Naira and her dilemma of trying to stay on the straight and narrow and maintain her model student image (obviously didn’t work out well, given she has detention in the story!) Make sure you keep an eye on the creepy Latchitt’s who are incredibly intriguing, but also seriously evil…
Gripping and chilling, Dread Wood is a fantastically scary story that does not let up. 5 out of 5 stars.
Thank you to The Write Reads for allowing me to be part of the tour. Dread Wood by Jennifer Killick is out now and you can buy it here.
Vicky's Never Ending TBR 
Fantastic review!
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