Reviews

The Book of Bad Things by Dan Poblocki

pwbalto's review against another edition

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3.0

Do we still have Fresh Air Kids? I guess so. Well, Cassidy is one. Every summer she leaves her eccentric mom in her Brooklyn apartment and travels by bus to Whitechapel, NJ to live with Joey, his older sister Deb, and their parents. But this year, nobody's there to pick her up, leaving her feeling insecure and unwanted. Even worse, Joey, usually her best summer buddy, is hostile and uncommunicative.

Why? Well, there's a dead dog, and a dead neighbor, and soon enough there are ghostly appearances and a couple more deaths, and what do you know, it's up to Cassidy, Joey, and their new friend Ping (Ping?) to investigate and halt the increasingly dangerous supernatural doings in Whitechapel. This is legit scary paranormal stuff - none of that Scooby Doo evil real estate developer BS, which, I have to admit, I kept waiting for.

There are echoes of Poltergeist and It in this suburban nightmare, but I was most reminded of Peter Straub. The death scenes, in particular, are drawn with Straub's knack for using setting to quickly define a character - and then terrify the crap out of him or her before that smash cut to black.



withthebanned's review against another edition

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4.0

Originally reviewed at Books Take You Places

Cassidy was a wonderful main character, it was easy to love her and I can’t tell you how much I adore how real Dan Poblocki’s characters feel. Cassidy certainly doesn’t have it easy in New York, and I really felt for her and the way that she needs this escape to Joey’s house and family. Joey is dealing with some issues of his own, most importantly the loss of his dog, and the belief that his neighbor Ursula Chambers isn’t all that she seems. Joey’s next door neighbor, Ping, was incredibly refreshing and fun, I loved the way these three interacted with one another and stood together to face down the “bad things” in the neighborhood. Probably my favorite part of the novel was the addition of Hal and his antics, I enjoyed his character thoroughly.

It is no question that I am a big fan of Dan Poblocki, I love everything about the way in which he weaves a story, drawing the reader into the world and moment as his characters experience them. I love being scared, and Dan Poblocki’s novels give me just the perfect amount of moments where I am looking over my shoulder in anticipation. I think The Book of Bad Things is an absolutely perfect read for its intended audience, upon finishing, I fell back to the same hopes that he will write something for adults and soon!

The horror wasn’t too horrific, and I enjoyed the way Dan Poblocki weaves the character’s different personalities together to create a much deeper storyline. Though a tad less atmospheric than The Ghost of Graylock, The Book of Bad Things is a perfect read for this time of year, it has a great amount of mystery, zombies, and friendship. I cannot recommend Dan Poblocki enough.

booksnorkel's review against another edition

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3.0

Would I read other books by this author? Yes.

The ending was a little weak but it's a kids horror book that had some scary bits in it. I didn't really like how her mother treated her, and how we didn't really get a resolution from her on that point.

A good book for fourth grade on up who are fans of scary books.

shanyreader's review

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5.0

I have read all of Poblocki's horror books save one, The Haunting of Gabriel Ashe, and this book is easily my second favorite (my all-time favorite being The Ghost of Graylock). Why did I like it so much? Well, I was really sort of worried for the characters almost the entire time. And it was actually a very mature book--with characters dying in violent ways, scary zombies, five-pointed stars, etc. etc. I love how Poblocki includes teenagers in his book; not just 12 and 13 year olds, but 17 and 18 year olds as well, which allows me to relate to the characters in the book as well. And
Spoiler The older kid's car accident actually made me so sad. I had been hoping he would be a main character, and then Poblocki just...HE KNOWS. The part where the zombies are chasing them and he appears in the doorway with the mannequin? It's genius!
. I love it when an author knows their audience and Poblocki consistently demonstrates that he knows his readers, both adult and young teens, and he knows exactly he needs to do to scare the bejeebies out of us! The stakes are high, we worry about our characters, and the scares are real and terrifying! Definitely for everyone who loves to read scary books!

sandylovesbooks's review

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4.0

I liked this book but not as much as The Ghost of Graylock and The Haunting of Gabriel Ashe. I did like Cassidy, Joey, and Ping. Cassidy is the main character and she had a scary thing happen to her in the past so she started writing the bad things in a book. And I love how the book of bad things was used at the end. But it just didn't keep me interested as much as some of the authors other books. Maybe it was just too much of zombies. Next to read is The House on Stone's Throw Island.

kayleesbookobession's review

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

jbojkov's review

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3.0

Good Stephen-King-lite for upper-elementary readers or maybe even younger MS readers. Short chapters interspersed with journal entries about supernatural phenomena make for a fast-paced and engaging read for reluctant readers- as long as they are looking for a spooky book.

pwbalto's review

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3.0

Do we still have Fresh Air Kids? I guess so. Well, Cassidy is one. Every summer she leaves her eccentric mom in her Brooklyn apartment and travels by bus to Whitechapel, NJ to live with Joey, his older sister Deb, and their parents. But this year, nobody's there to pick her up, leaving her feeling insecure and unwanted. Even worse, Joey, usually her best summer buddy, is hostile and uncommunicative.

Why? Well, there's a dead dog, and a dead neighbor, and soon enough there are ghostly appearances and a couple more deaths, and what do you know, it's up to Cassidy, Joey, and their new friend Ping (Ping?) to investigate and halt the increasingly dangerous supernatural doings in Whitechapel. This is legit scary paranormal stuff - none of that Scooby Doo evil real estate developer BS, which, I have to admit, I kept waiting for.

There are echoes of Poltergeist and It in this suburban nightmare, but I was most reminded of Peter Straub. The death scenes, in particular, are drawn with Straub's knack for using setting to quickly define a character - and then terrify the crap out of him or her before that smash cut to black.



corncobwebs's review

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He told me to write down what scared me. He said putting it all on paper would help me sort it out in my head ... I guess putting my thoughts, my fears into sentences helps me find … order in the world.

tja055f6's review

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4.0

Received from: Scholastic
Received Via: NetGalley.com


THE REVIEW

Why this book?

The cover grabbed me

What I thought

I really liked this book. It kept me at the edge of my seat. I couldn't wait to see what happened next. I read it one setting.It's equal parts mysterious and creepy filled with zombies and ghosts. I just wish I read this when I was younger it really would of creeped me out. I still enjoyed the creep factor though. Overall an enjoyable read.
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