Holy wow, what a great read! I got this digital arc so long ago and I regret not reading it sooner. HOWEVER for those who love a spooky read at this time of year it is PERFECT.
Super fast paced, not a dull moment. A big, unusual haunted house, random weird fantastical animals, creepy grown ups and friends sticking together to solve a frightening mystery, this book has it all.
Eleanor moves to the town of Eden Eld to live with her aunt and uncle after a tragedy involving her mother, and weird creepy things start happening - things she’s been running from all of her life and thought she’d left behind. With the aid of her new friends Pip and Otto, she discovers a plot to hurt the three of them set to be put into motion on their shared birthdays - Halloween.
I see there’s 2 more books and I am OVERCOME with excitement.
5 scary stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you NetGalley.

Completely loved this book, I had a feeling I would. It outweighed my expectations though. It was genuinely creepy at parts and probably for older children, but boy was it fun! The three kids were awesome - I loved them all for different reasons. I can't wait for the second book.

Every thirteen years in the town of Eden Eld, three thirteen-year-olds disappear.

Eleanor has just moved to the quiet, prosperous Eden Eld. When she awakes to discover an ancient grandfather clock that she's never seen before outside her new room, she's sure her eyes must be playing tricks on her. But then she spots a large bird, staring at her as she boards the school bus. And a black dog with glowing red eyes follows her around town. All she wants is to be normal, and these are far from normal. And worse--no one else can see them.

Except for her new friends, Pip and Otto, who teach her a thing or two about surviving in Eden Eld. First: Don't let the "wrong things" know you can see them. Second: Don't speak of the wrong things to anyone else.

This is classified as a middle grade, but is a perfect spooky read for any adults who loved Goosebumps too. I highly recommend for anyone who needs a little suspense in their life. I look forward to the next book in the series.

My penultimate choice of middle-grade Halloween reads was Thirteens by Kate Alice Marshall, a story that certainly pushes into scary territory compared with the milder spooks present throughout most of these choices.

Elle has recently moved to the picture-perfect Oregon town of Eden Eld to live with her aunt and uncle after her mother lit a fire in their house, apparently in an attempt to kill Elle. Traumatized by the smell of smoke and the taste of ash, Elle simply wants to get by and attract as little attention as possible. She certainly wants to ignore all the Wrong Things she sees that no one else seems to, like the strange grandfather clock outside her bedroom door that counts backward, or the big black dog with glowing red eyes that keeps appearing around town.

At her prestigious new middle school, Elle unexpectedly befriends two other kids – Pip and Otto – and all three quickly realize that they are the only kids in town who notice the Wrong Things. Weirder, they all have the same key-shaped birthmark, palindrome names, and also share a birthday – all three will turn 13 on Halloween in just a few days’ time. When a strange book of fairytales that Elle thought lost in the fire appears on her bed and she learns about the mysterious January Society, Elle, Otto and Pip make a horrifying discovery. Every thirteen years, the town sacrifices three thirteen-year-olds to Mr. January in return for their utopian lifestyles, and this year, it’s their turn.

Thirteens was probably the most genuinely scary book I read out of all my middle-grade selections this year, keeping me up late at night wanting to just keep reading. The town’s secret is deeply disturbing, as is the way those residents not in on the plot have trained themselves to simply not see what is happening around them, and the creatures who follow the children are liable to give even the odd adult nightmares.

I really loved the depictions of teen/tween mental health in this book too. Elle is dealing with PTSD after the fire and this influences much of her decision-making along with her deep-seated anxiety that she may be headed down the same path as her mother who also saw the Wrong Things. Pip too has mental health issues and is open about seeing a therapist which I loved as it helps normalize something that can be a source of anxiety to anyone requiring the same.

As with Maya and the Rising Dark, I wish I’d known this was only the first book in a series, or at least I hope it is given both its ending and the lack of any information regarding a sequel.

Thirteens is the creepily fantastic story of Eleanor, Pip and Otto, who all turn thirteen in Eden Eld on Halloween. Which seems pretty harmless except that every 13 years on Halloween three kids go missing. It's just a little know fact that's happened well over a hundred years now that everyone likes to keep hidden.

Marshall pulled me into the Eden Eld world and I never looked back. We meet poor Eleanor first, who is living with her Aunt and Uncle after a mysterious house fire which her own mother started, or did she? Eleanor starts seeing things that don't make sense, and she is shocked to realize that her new friends Pip and Otto can see them too.

Marshall's pacing is fantastic and the story unfolds easily. I like how the clues are interspersed through the story within a book of "fairy tales" and the Ashford house where Eleanor's aunt and uncle live. I look forward to what happens to these three next and how they will outwit the Mr. January.

This was a delicious middle grade novel that reminded me of my favorite childhood book, John Bellairs' The House with a Clock in Its Walls. It had just the right combination of vivid atmosphere, spookiness, and spunky protagonists that kid me would have loved (adult me did too!). Highly recommended!

I received a digital ARC from the publisher via Netgalley.

The new girl in town bonds with two classmates to uncover the deadly secrets of Eden Eld in this deliciously atmospheric, creepy tale, the middle-grade debut of author Kate Alice Marshall and the first of a series.

After she was burned in a fire apparently set by her mother, Eleanor (who goes by Elle) has moved in with her very pregnant Aunt Jenny, who lives with her husband Ben in Ashford House, a rambling old mansion with two spiral staircases, "crooked hallways, skewed rooms, a stairway to nowhere." Eleanor notices an 8-foot clock, whose hands run backward, has materialized overnight opposite her bedroom door, although she has learned from hard experience not to comment on odd things she seems to notice that no one else does.

At Eden Eld Academy, with its creepy headmistress, Eleanor meets Pip and Otto who also are able to see the threatening black dog and other things others don't seem to notice. The three discover they were all born on Halloween, their names are palindromes and they realize they could be in danger when they learn the town's secret: Every 13 years, three 13-year-olds disappear.

Marshall offers a perfectly paced, thrill ride in this creepy tale perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman, J.A. White's "Nightbooks" and Katharine Arden's "Small Spaces."

What a perfect Halloween read! Creepy and a fun read that kept you guessing till the end. I hope there is more books to follow this!

While reading this book, my face could best be described as the eyes wide emoji. This was definitely one of the best books I’ve read this year.

If you’re an adult reader like me, and grew up reading and watching Goosebumps, and watching Are You Afraid of the Dark? then you will understand why I’m now fully obsessed with this.

If you’re a fan of Stranger Things, you will devour this book. Yes, it’s classified as middle grade because the characters are 12/13, but it seriously does read like an episode of Stranger Things. Same vibes.

If you have a middle grade reader in your life who is looking for something spooky and epic to read, I can’t recommend this enough. It’s heart poundingly scary but in a fun way.

I’m eagerly awaiting the next book!

Thirteens is a perfect Halloween/fall read for all ages. It was definitely creepy for a middle grade book, but also so much fun to read.

Eleanor moved in with her pregnant aunt and uncle after her mom tried to kill her. She grew up hearing weird stories from her mom. There was a book of fairy tales, but they were not what you would think of when you hear it. Eleanor saw things that weren't there and she was worried she was sick like her mom.

Eleanor meets two kids right away and they quickly become friends. Otto was the first and she met Pip later. This friendship was everything! Eleanor thought she was hiding things well, especially after seeing a large dog with glowing eyes. But Pip and Otto noticed. They could see the things, too. The kids talk in private about all the weird things going on in their town and find out about a curse. Every thirteen years, three children are taken. The kids are known at birth. Pip, Otto, and Eleanor all have the same birthmark and all were born on Halloween. They need to figure out what happened in the past to try to stay alive past Halloween. There are clues everywhere, but they also know there are adults in town that are all in on it. They have to survive the creatures, the strange places that shouldn't be there, and the adults around them.

I gave this book 5 stars. The ending frustrated me, so I really hope we get a second book.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for my review copy.

Thanks to Penguin and Netgalley for an arc of this book.

I had a great time with this book. To fully give this book justice I suggest reading it at Halloween if you can. It's pitched as Coraline x Stranger Things. To me, it reminds me much more of Sawkill Girls but for a younger audience.

I appreciate that this book moves so fast and keeps you so engaged. It easily falls into the MG ranks of Small Spaces and Ghost Squad.

I didn't realize it would be a series when I picked it up but I would definitely like to revisit these three!

I think that those who like a bit of a creepy story will love the unsettling setting of Eden Eld. I didn't realize it was a series set up until the end, and I did wish that the main character had used a bit less luck in discovering the town's secrets, but there were a lot of secrets to cover in a short amount of time. I also didn't quite understand how the January Society members who disappeared would be replaced at the end, but overall I'm interested in seeing how this story continues on, now that the trio of friends have bought themselves more time to find a way around the bargain.

Delightfully spooky and fun! I love the characters, the mystery, the enchantment is it all! I can’t wait to come back to Eden Eld (I hope there is more to come!).

After a house fire and the disappearance of her mother, Ellie moved in with her aunt and uncle in the little town of Eden Eld. She’s determined to show them that she’s normal, because she and her mom used to see things nobody else saw. She’s not going to tell them about the weird grandfather clock that just appeared outside of her room ticking backwards, and she’s certainly not going to tell them about the big, strange looking bird with a yellow eye that was staring at her while she waited for the bus.

At school Ellie becomes friends with Pip and Otto, who clue her into the fact that they can also see things no one else sees but she has to keep it a secret. It doesn’t take long to realize their names are palindromes, they’re all going to be thirteen years old on Halloween, and they all have the same birthmarks. These strange similarities don’t seem coincidental so, working together, they discover the town is hiding a strange secret. Every 13 years, three thirteen-year-olds disappear. They’re next on the list to disappear without a trace, so will have to pull out all the stops if they plan to make it to their fourteenth birthday.

Those of you who are regulars on my blog know I refuse to read books in a series unless I have all of them in front of me. However, the publisher tricked me. The description sounded really interesting on NetGalley and Goodreads. Neither site had the name of a series listed for the book, so I requested it. When I downloaded it, the very first page said it was part one of a planned series. I was upset I’d been hoodwinked, but gamely set about reading because I had to review it.

I actually enjoyed it, but the cliffhanger ending reminded me that nothing could be tied into a big bow until the series was completed. I don’t even know how many books will BE in the series! I can’t wait to find out what happens next to Ellie, Otto and Pip, and the first book hasn’t even officially come out yet!!

Grrr! However, despite all this angst, I will still recommend it for ages 11-14.

I received a digital advance reading copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.