Gabriel Dylan

A Level One Stephen King Primer

Alex is new to the town of Shiver Point, and he's still not happy about moving.
With his mom on night shifts at the hospital, Alex is a little lonely, but he can't risk making new friends - what if they just have to move again?
A blaze of light falling from the sky changes everything.
When Alex races into the woods to find the meteorite, it turns out he's not the only one who's interested.
As things turn from weird to scary, it may be up to Alex and his new found crew of misfits to save the town before it's too late.

This children's horror novel, if I may be allowed to call it so, was such good fun. I found it easy to read, and very entertaining. The Stephen King references are numerous and delightful. This is just the kind of book I would give to a 12 year old who loves scary stories, but isn't quite King age yet.

The story is very cartoon in nature, but there is also a nice level of depth with the different kids going through the various struggles of childhood and family life.
I would read more by this author, and look forward to book two!… (més)

Brrr! Whiteout is a quick chilling read - in all senses - and has a exciting, if familiar, plot. The scene-setting was very good and completely brought me back to my holiday up in the Swiss alps...im glad i was there in summer and not during a terrible winter storm, like this school party. Its not long before the teachers and most of the locals vanish one night...but there's definitely something out there in the storm.
The characters were fine. The two main characters, Charlie and Hanna, got a bit of backstory to flesh them out, and a few of the other kids had personalities. They were perhaps a little cliched and basic, but then it's a fairly short book and...well, not everyone sticks around long enough to get attached to.
The plot was pretty good! It wasn't a difficult book to read or to follow and the action was exciting. I rolled my eyes a few times, but mostly at the kids not believing the supposedly nerdy one (he reads books and watches horror films...I'm not sure that's all that unusual).
What I enjoyed the most was how...cold I felt! That probably sounds odd, but I read this as autumn is Just getting chillies and I'm starting to think about Christmas. It never snows at Christmas here (south east UK!) But this really made me visualise the snow, from all the descriptions of it falling, the kids crunching through it, the wind flurrying it around and stopping visibility, it backing up in drifts against doors and walls - and I really loved it. The snowstorm itself was an important part of the plot and was really always in my mind. I bet this book would make a good film, set on a snowy mountain top...like I said, brrr!
I am grateful to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review.… (més)