Nightbooks by J.A. White is a slightly spooky mystery about witches, friendship and self acceptance.
Alex loves all things creepy and spooky. So much so, that is room is filled with zombie posters and LEGO haunted houses. But this also makes him the "weird kid," especially since he makes up and writes his own scary stories. Even though he is drawn to all this nightmarish stuff, he never thought any of it was real. That is, until he is trapped by a witch and forced to tell her one scary story each night in order to stay alive!
Now Alex, along with a standoffish girl and a moody cat, must find a way to keep the witch happy all while figuring out how to escape and apartment with no exits.
I don't know why but I tend to gravitate towards spooky/scary juvenile literature when I am looking for something to read that isn't for my 4-6th grade book club. Which is funny because it is so not my go-to adult genre. But this was a nice spin on a classic tale--but I won't tell you which one because that's part of the surprise!
There were a lot of really neat, original elements to this story and the more I think on them, the more my rating for this book goes up. Bone keys and magic doors, nightmares and feline familiars--all familiar concepts but spun in new ways. I also loved that the kids are drawn to this apartment by the thing/scent/sound that they love most.
Alex, Yasmin and Lenore have this great relationship that builds as the story does. Alex also learns to embrace his "weird," which is a great lesson in self acceptance. And the twist at the end with the witch, was unexpected and really well done.
This one gets a high 4 stars from me and may just be my October book club pick, when I can actually get away with something a little spooky!
That's all for now!
-M-