#TheWriteReads Ultimate Blog Tour Review: Dread Wood By Jennifer Killick @The_WriteReads @WriteReadsTours @FarshoreBooks @JenniferKillick #DreadWood

Hello bookworms!!

I am so excited to be participating in this blog tour today. Thank you to The Write Reads for inviting me to participate in this blog tour and to Farshore for providing me with a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Before I get into my review here is a little bit about the book.

Title: Dread Wood

Author: Jennifer Killick

Genre: MG Horror

Length: 304 Pages

Publisher: Farshore

Publishing: March 31st, 2022

Purchase here

Blurb

From Goodreads

Turn the lights on. Lock the door. Things are about to get SERIOUSLY SCARY!

The brand new must-read middle-grade novel from the author of super-spooky Crater Lake. Perfect for 9+ fans of R.L.Stine’s Goosebumps

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…

My Thoughts

I don’t read a whole lot of middle grade but the synopsis of this one had me intrigued. When I started the book I had planned on taking my time with it and reading it over a few days but once I started it I couldn’t stop reading it. I ended up reading this in one sitting and I don’t do that very often these days.

This book starts off with 4 kids going to school for a Saturday detention. Once the gates close behind them weird things start happening immediately. I don’t get scared or creeped out when reading books but I have to say what was revealed as the culprit kind of had me creeped out. I don’t like these things in real life and they are smaller than I am so I was imagining this happening in real life and ugh it just gives me the chills thinking about it. I don’t want to say what it is because I think you should go in not knowing about it like I did because it adds to the creep factor but you can read other reviews for trigger warnings.

I loved how the kids start off not being friends and each one of them are dealing with realistic problems outside of school and over the course of the book they all open up about their struggles and become friends because of it. I like how this book dealt with poverty, disability (one of which I have never read about in a book before), bullying (whether you mean it or not) and the pressures parents put on you. While it deals with all of these serious issues on top of them fighting for their lives there is also some pretty funny banter between the kids that lightens the mood a little bit.

Overall, this is a fast-paced book that I loved so much and can’t wait for the next book in this series. I will also be checking out other books by this author as well.

Rating: 5 stars

About the Author

Jennifer Killick is the author of Crater Lake, the Alex Sparrow series, and middle-grade sci-fi adventure Mo, Lottie and the Junkers. She regularly visits schools and festivals, and her books have three times been selected for The Reading Agency’s Summer Reading Challenge. She lives in Uxbridge, in a house full of children, animals and Lego. When she isn’t busy mothering or step-mothering (which isn’t often) she loves to read, write and run, as fast as she can.

Twitter: @JenniferKillick