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Reading age
8-12
Genre
Horror fiction
Publisher
HarperCollins
Publication date
September 12, 2023
A spooky tale about a girl who needs to learn to love herself.
Binita Bakshi, or Bee as she likes to be called, is forced to go to a cottage in the middle of nowhere instead of the Betsy Chillers (a horror fiction series she and her best friend Kitty enjoy) amusement park.
Bee thinks her parents stick out too much, and she doesn’t want to make friends with eccentric Lucas.
One day, while wandering the abandoned lot, she meets a sly and brave girl named Alina, whom she makes friends with. Soon, strange dreams and feelings start to stir. Bee must get to the bottom of this cause.
What a tremendous, chilling, eerie debut novel right in time for the spooky season!
This book discusses friendship, cultural identity, and being yourself. Bee is always worried about what others will think about her family. As Bee’s parents are Indian, there were a lot of cultural mentions and yummy food descriptions. The Bee’s parents were amusing, and I felt she didn’t treat her parents fairly.
Throughout the book, Bee will be more confident and learn what a good friend is.
I also was amused by the idea of the Betsy Chillers series.
This book is supposed to retell Hansel and Gretel, but I didn’t get much of that fairytale vibe.
The setting, Storm Lake, was perfect and immediately gave you the chills.
Bee is a shy girl and your average teen. She wants to fit in to make more friends. Kitty seems like those posh girls. Lucas is sweet and reminds me of my best friend. Alina is daring and sneaky.
Give this book to a spooky story fan who cares to fit in and needs friends.
My rating
