Skip to main content

What Lives in the Woods


 
What Lives in the Woods
By: Lindsay Currie
Sourcebooks Young Readers, 2021. Middle Grade.

All twelve-year-old Ginny wanted was to attend her summer mystery writing workshop at home in Chicago, but her dad takes on a job doing historical restoration in an old manor in Michigan over the summer. When Ginny does her own investigating into the house they’ll be staying in, she finds out that residents of the town believe that there are mutant creatures living in the woods surrounding the old manor. Over the following days, a string of spooky incidents occur in Ginny’s room and the old ballroom. Mannequins seem to move by themselves, a tree crashes through a window, and a mysterious ticking seems to lead Ginny to the ballroom. This is a spooky story that will be enjoyed by horror fans but also by mystery lovers. Although there is enough action to make the book feel fast-paced, readers will also enjoy getting to know Ginny and her new friend Will and watching their friendship develop.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

If You Like...KPop Demon Hunters

KPop Demon Hunters has been one of the most talked-about movies of the summer. If you loved this movie as much as I did, you don't want the magic (or the music) to stop. Try reading these books that touch on some of the same topics and themes as the animated hit! Brick Dust and Bones By M. R. Fournet New York: Feiwel and Friends, 2023. Fiction. 247 pages. Orphaned Marius works in the family business--as their cemetery's ghost caretaker. However, Marius also moonlights as a monster hunter in order to earn the costly Mystic currency he needs to bring his mother back from the dead. As the window to bring his mother back begins to close, Marius's exploits get more and more dangerous, and he may have set his sights on a monster too big to handle on his own. Like Mira, Marius longs for familial connection, and his work as a monster hunter will satisfy the thrill of demon hunting for fans the movie. Where's Halmoni? By Julie J. Kim Seattle, WA: Little Bigfoot, 2017. Comics. W...

Dog Man Read Alikes

Dog Man  is a popular graphic novel for middle graders all about the adventures of a half-man, half-dog police officer. With 14 books in the series, many readers can't get enough of these hilarious stories! If your child is looking for more books like Dog Man, here are some great options to try out.  Dex Dingo: World's Best Greatest Ever... Inventor By Greg Foley Los Angeles: Disney-Hyperion, 2024. Comic. 157 pages.  Dex Dingo doesn't know what he wants to do when he grows up. His classmates all seem to know, but he just doesn't feel like he is the BEST at anything. When a class assignment challenges him to figure out what he wants to be, he decides he wants to become the world's best ever inventor! Filled with beautifully drawn spreads and kid-approved humor, this book is sure to please any Dog Man fan.  Troubling Tonsils Written by Aaron Reynolds Illustrated by Peter Brown  New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2025. Fiction. 71 pages.  ...

Review: Floor It!

Floor It! Written by Bex Tobin Fine Illustrated by Federico Fabiani New York: Random House, 2025. Picture book. The racer approaches the starting line, gets set to race and then ... floor it! Baby is on the way! With dynamic text and entrancing illustrations, we see a baby hard at work crawling through their living room. As they race through the room, everyday obstacles become fantastical thanks to illustrations that show the living room as it appears and how it might be imagined during play time. The race finishes with a checkered flag (a sock on baby's parent's foot) and a lift up to a warm embrace and snuggle.  This playful, high energy book is a read aloud of a family at play! Baby's play feels fun and realistic, and shows how littles can explore independently while still within the secure reach of a caregiver. High energy illustrations and naturally rhyming text make a perfect read aloud and gender neutral language used throughout make this a great book for families wi...