Thank you for the e-arc from NetGalley for this novel. I was intrigued by the description of the novel. It is very much Stranger Things meets X-Files. I loved the friendship that evolved over the story. It was a weird wild ride.

Rae is moving to a small town called Whispering Pines because her family is downsizing after her dad disappeared. Except that kids in this town are disappearing too. The story opens with a completely terrifying monster attack and doesn't let up on the action the entire story. The characters are very likable and relatable. I think the kids are going to love this one.

Rae’s father vanished without a trace—and Rae knows what happened to him. But no one believes her when she says that her father didn’t run off, that he was actually taken. Now, a year of therapy later, Rae’s mother decides they need a fresh start, and so they move to a new town in the hope that life can return to normal.

The problem is, there is nothing normal about the town of Whispering Pines.

No one knows this better than Caden. He’s lived in Whispering Pines his entire life, and he’s seen more than his fair share of weird—starting with his own family, as the town is the perfect home base for his mother’s ghost hunting business.

When several kids go missing and then show up like zombies with their eyes removed, many locals brush it off. Just another day in Whispering Pines. But Caden has a dark secret, one that may explain why someone is stealing eyes. And Rae, who knows how it feels to not be believed, may be just the person Caden needs to help him put things right.- Goodreads

Let's appreciate this gorgeous cover. It is amazing work and I love everything about it. How creepy it is as well as inviting and the details? * happy sigh* 

The book itself wasn't what I hoped it would be.  While it began really well and it was just as inviting as the cover, the book was drawn out and extremely slow. Nothing happens until the last maybe 10 chapters (the book is 41 chapters). I can't even say there is a lot of details because the characters surrounding Caden and Rae and what they tell them are vague. 

Which is unfortunate, because I love Caden. Despite the fact that everyone in town didn't like him, spread rumors about him, he was witty, smart and cautious. Unlike Rae who really didn't care for others around her when it came to doing something she wanted. She repeatedly put Caden, and her other friend Vivi in harms way because she didn't listen to either one of them, didn't listen to her gut or even listen to the obvious danger. She was selfish and its not that I don't have some form of pity. She wants to find the truth about her father (and let's me real finding out the truth about Whispering Pines is more so she can find proof the other exists so she can find her father) but she was willing to sacrifice her friends and that isn't right. 

I would have to say that this book is creative when you break it down to its bare bones but it lacked context, it lacked the details that a creepy town should have.  Things were brushed over and there was this feeling that "well that is the way things are around here" way too many times in this book. 

As I mentioned the book starts off really well but dies off just as fast. I rather read the book from Caden's point of view with his history, insight and magic than read about Rae who doesn't care about anyone else. 

Overall, 

2 Pickles

Overall rating--5⭐

Plot--5⭐
Pacing--5⭐
Worldbuilding--4.5⭐
Ending--5⭐

Others

Diverse cast--0.5⭐

Character description--0.5⭐

All in all this middle grade horror was a fast read that I truly loved it. The pacing was phenomenal, it never lagged for me and the beats were all hit really well.

Every character had a distinct voice as well which I appreciated.

Rae, her sister Ava and their mother have moved to Whispering Pines after the disappearance of her father.

Caden is a boy from a family of occultists whose brother vanished and the rumor is he killed him.

Whispering Pines is a strange place and the strange place and the strangeness is just accepted by the inhabitants.

I will be recommending this to my younger sister who loves horror and this is right up her alley.

The worldbuilding only gets four and a half stars because too many things were going on. Too many things were true.
My disappointments with this book comes in the form of the cast itself. There are two characters with an East Asian name, a mother and daughter. That's it.

Character description is sparse when it happens and it doesn't happen often. It's been proven that when a reader isn't given descriptions about a character that they'll assume they're white. There are also authors who think they don't have to describe their character because the reader will just make up how they look which ties into my previous point.

In a town as strange as Whispering Pines, the strangest thing is that there aren't any characters that young Black and Brown readers can see themselves in. Yes, this happens often, and kids are used to it, but at this point, readers deserve better.

Thank you netgalley and publisher

This is a clever entertaining young-adult urban fantasy story. It is creepy and mysterious delightful for students who are fond of any speculative fiction. While I won’t use this as a whole class novel, I will purchase a copy for my classroom library and recommend for kids who like imaginative fiction.

#NetGalley
Note: I received an

Oh man this book was such a fast read and so good and creepy. This is the first in a series about a town called Whispering Pines and which is an epicenter for weird things happening and kids going missing. Rae and her family move to Whispering Pines a year after her father goes missing, everyone thinks he ran off but Rae doesn't believe that she thinks he was taken, for a fresh start. The problem is that the town isn't normal and we meet Caden Price her neighbor who has some physic abilities and who's family is in the ghost hunting business and who has an older brother who has been missing for about a year during a ghost hunt. But then kids start going missing and then turning up alive but like zombies with their eyes taken. While the town shrugs it off as the usual town weirdness Caden and Rae decide to investigate and figure out what is doing this. There was just such creepy imagery with the woods and when they are investigating and stumble into something they shouldn't have. Also there is a green energy company GreenOn which employs most of town that keeps showing up and taking the victims of the attacks with them because they have better medical facilities to help them if that doesn't sound suspicious and like they are probably experimenting on them. There is definitely more to come since they only solved this one mystery and there is still a lot unresolved. It was just so good and creepy and I loved it.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book in e-book form. All opinions in this review are my own.

This book was way too dark and scary for my 30-year-old self, way scarier than I would expect for a middle-grade book. The horror level is definitely more adult, and it was a total shock to start reading and find small children brutally attacked with graphic injuries on page two, just for starters. I had to go back and double-check the description to make sure I hadn’t accidentally downloaded an adult fantasy horror book instead of middle grade. If I were actually a seventh-grader who’d purchased this book, or the parent of one, I’d be freaked out and upset by the misleading advertising. Hoped it would get better but stopped reading after a few more chapters because I need to sleep tonight. I would recommend this be advertised, at a minimum, as a more mature young adult category and the horror emphasized over mere suspense to prevent traumatizing any twelve year olds.

Whispering Pines is a town full of secrets, and newcomer Rae Carter and her spooky neighbor Caden have a secret or two of their own. Ghosts, aliens, witches, and evil from beyond our dimension all combine in an excellent well-written middle-grade tale of friendship, bravery, and fright. The book leaves itself wide open for a sequel or two and I can't wait to see what happens next in Whispering Pines.

I want to thank NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Whispering Pines ended on such a cliffhanger that I am certain there is a least another book that students will be clamoring to get their hands on. For fans of the show Stranger Things, the book Small Spaces, and the Lockwood and Co. series, this is your next great read. Even though you can see ties to other stories, it was original and creative in its presentation. This story has an ending, but a larger even more interesting story arc is left out there for readers to anxiously await the next book. I am very curious if this book will be a series or not. Now, this book is not for the faint of heart. The paranormal creepiness was too much for me. I don't really like paranormal, but this is somewhat like the X-Files a mix of sci-fi/fantasy. The book changes point of view between two protagonists, Rae (new girl in town that moved across the country after her father went missing) and Caden (the town freak that is rumored to have killed his brother and has hidden his body in the walls of their home). Rae finds out very quickly that this is not a normal town. The reader is hooked right away with a very disturbing game of hide and seek. For students that like horror stories or have trouble getting into a book, this is the perfect title to start off the school year. If you are scared easily and don't like horror, you may want to skip this one- it will give you nightmares.

Fantastic book for students who are fans of creepy stories and horror. This story will keep readers engaged and the ending will have them hoping for more. Highly recommend.

I’d like to thank Simon and Schuster, and NetGalley for letting me read an advanced ebook copy of this book. The book is suspenseful, fast-paced, (a good kind of) scary, full of intrigue and also, a little bit gross! What 4th-6th grader would not love that?! I didn’t want to put it down. The POV of the story switches between the two main characters, Caden and Rae, who were very well developed. Sometimes that switching can get distracting. But each time the switch happened, I thought, NO! Then I would quickly get caught up into the other character and have the same reaction when the switch happened again. The adult characters, the other children, and some storylines were left undeveloped or incomplete. The Epilogue ended on a very exciting cliff hanger. There will obviously be a sequel. I can’t wait!

This book was very good but also very extremely creepy, perfect for fans of mystery, fantasy, and horror. The writing was good but not exceptional, and the characters were both well-developed and intresting. I didn't guess the mystery until it was revealed, and then it seemed completely obvious, which makes very good read. I would easily recomend this book to anyone who likes scary stories, mysterious murders, government conspiracies, and magic spells. Hope the author eventually comes out with a sequel!

Whispering Pines was SUCH a great read. The opening alone pulled me in and was such a great hook. Following Rae and Caden was a treat, and they had such interesting perspectives. The book felt VERY scary at times, and while parents may find that difficult to buy for their kid, I know so many middle grade readers who would absolutely devour it (much like the demons in this book)! It is also a great book for someone who is looking for something that is between MG and YA, and would happily recommend this for some YA readers themselves.

The plot is a great mixture of Stranger Things, The X-Files and even IT (the town reminds me of Derry, particularly in the newest films!) and I hope there is more to be seen for Whispering Pines. I am so excited to handsell it!

Kids will love this sci-fi, supernatural, mysterious, fantastical story! Very suspenseful and full of intrigue. I loved the character development and the flow of the plot. I'll be recommending this for my students who love this genre!

Excellent horror story for upper middle grade to YA readers. I can even think of several adult horror fans who might enjoy it! I look forward to hand selling this title.