I read a lot of scary books, especially for middle grade, so I thought that this book wasn't that special, and the writing wasn't that astounding for the emotions and message to get across.

This was spooky but sad. I loved the overall story arc with Zach moving to a new house and making friends with the local kids and their adventure into the local haunted house. However I found the storyline of Zak’s guilt over losing his best friend particularly haunting and thought that the book dealt with the theme of grief very well for a younger audience.

A delightful ghost story for middle grades. I started reading it before bed as a way to wind down, and I ended up staying up and finishing it all in one go!

2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

On the surface, this seems like a great middle grade book! It's about a by who moves to a new town, makes new friends, and goes ghost hunting to see if local legends and lore are true. This is something I would have absolutely loved to read as a kid (and even now, as an adult). However, the way it was executed and how the characters were written makes me unlikely to recommend it to any young readers in my life.

I feel as though the author was trying to write this book for boys. The main character is male and makes it clear he hates his room at the new house because it's pink and has ballerina wallpaper from the previous owner. He quickly makes friends with a girl at school because she "acts like one of the guys" yet compares himself to her in ways such as "if she, a girl, is not scared of ghosts then I, a boy, am not allowed to be." It was exhausting to read the stereotypical behavior these characters were given, and not something that I personally would want young readers to experience.

The story itself was fun, but I wanted more ghosts and creepy atmosphere. I did appreciate how the haunted house allowed the main character to reconnect with his deceased friend and have one last conversation, and explore themes of grief and regret. However, it felt rushed, and I would have loved to see it explored more instead of having him suppress his feelings.

While I enjoyed small pieces of this story, overall, it was underwhelming for me.

Thank you to the publisher The Wild Roses Press Inc for sending me a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Though this is a ghost story about four friends trying to find a disappearing house, it's also about loss, grief, and moving forward. It's a quick read and the plot seems like it would appeal to middle grade readers. It's fun and exciting, with parts about family and friends that I think kids can relate to.

I like the inclusion of Zach working through his emotions and realizing that it's okay to be sad and also okay to move forward and have happy moments. I do wish the ghosts and mysterious house were featured a bit more, it took the majority of the book before the kids found the house. If the ghosts had been featured sooner, it might have been a bit more entertaining.

One thing I didn't like was that Zach used the word "spook" in reference to ghosts at least twice. That word has been used as a racial slur in the past and I think the author should have used another term in it's place.

Overall a cute book that reminded me just a little of the friends on Stranger Things.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book and all opinions are my own. Thank you to The Wild Rose Press and NetGalley for the copy

4 1/2 Stars

This is a great read about friendship, loss, and healing. I highly recommend it to both its target audience all the way up to adults. I enjoyed it from cover to cover, and absolutely loved the ending. If you like ghost stories and messages for the heart, you just found your next must-read!


Much Thanks Netgalley and Wild Rose Press for this Arc.
The review and opinions are solely my own

Happy Reading :o)

I really enjoyed this fun, creepy, ghostly adventure. The way Coyer wove dark secrets with loss and the way kids just want to see the spooky was really well done. Zach was a character I could really connect with, and Coyer’s voice is spot on. The pacing was also nice and even throughout, making it for an easy read.

If you’re a fan of haunted friendship stories, then this book is for you!

Middle grade story.
I love this adventure story of finding a vanishing house. The spooky aspect mixed with found friendship makes this a great read.
I would love to see this as a movie.
I am a bit confused about the ending, I feel like it could have been more detailed.
If you like monster house and Goosebumps you will enjoy this story.

Colyer writes in the thank you section of this book, ‘I hope you had as much fun reading this book as I had writing it!’ and I definitely did. I loved this book. There were so many important themes rolled into this exciting, page-turning - and pretty scary story.

This narrative tells the story of its main 12 year-old character, Zach, and his journey towards accepting many changes to his life including: moving to a new house and school, missing his friend, Jeremy, and trying to make new friends in his new town. We join him on his journey to integrate into a new friendship group with long-time friends, Dom, Josh and Morgan. I love how their friendship evolves as we learn about them - and their ongoing quest to find the legendary disappearing house on Wayward Lane. This book actually took me back to my childhood memories; I could completely relate to the friendship dynamics and the characters’ relationships with their teachers and parents.

This book is a page-turner - the author provides the reader with many ‘bread-crumbs’ to key themes which are interweaved in the text, to maintain curiosity and interest. The addition of the supernatural further adds to the tension. I enjoyed this narrative so much, I am now reading this to my Year 5 class, who are already hooked, albeit slightly terrified.

My sincerest thanks to The Wild Rose Press, Inc., NetGalley, and C. L. Colyer for providing me with this eBook in exchange for my honest review.

This is a perfect middle grades and above book - honestly, many, many readers will enjoy this! If you read together with a middle grader, keep this one in mind! Friends to the End deals with the loss of a friends, as well as starting over and self-forgiveness - lessons which our younger people are having to learn more and more in today's society. It is a group-of-friends adventure, with a spooky atmosphere and a lot of different emotions. This is a fast read that will keep you hooked to the end!

This is the first book I have read from this author and I was interested in the cover of the book and I'm glad I picked it up. This is a grade schoolbook for young minds. I first thought from reading the blurb this will be a semi scary book and I was right. I love the suspense and mystery of the mysterious house and how Zach and his new friends must search this house to make sure it's not. Or is it? I received this book for a fair review.

Thoughts: Wow. This is a great story—one to tell on a dark night during a sleepover (preferably while safe in a parent’s house!). It’s happy/sad/funny/distressing and more, but has a good ending that leaves you smiling.

Zach and his family moved from Chicago to a suburb, Nothiningness (Interesting name). Zach lost his best friend Jeremy to a drive-by shooting that Zach blames himself for. He doesn’t want to move, to start a new school, to make new friends, but all those things happen. His friends—Dom, Josh, Morgan (a girl)—take him on and they go about their lives being kids—which means getting into mischief. Like looking for the legendary vanishing house on Wayward Lane. They’ve been ordered to stay away from there, so of course they go. At midnight. During a full moon. And end up in more trouble than they can imagine.

What I liked: The characters are all well-done and believable, though I wish the author hadn’t made the teachers so…stereotypically nasty. I liked the way Dom, Josh, and Morgan take Zach into their group and how Morgan keeps Zach’s secrets although she knows what happened to him. I especially liked Jeremy’s ghost telling Zach he was okay and at the end with the baseball. Perfect.

What I didn’t like: Just one minor thing: how do they explain the gash in Zach’s leg to the parents when they were supposedly sleeping in the basement all night? One minor thing I would have liked to have seen tied up.

Recommendation: Even if you don’t have kids, if you like ghostly stories, pick this one up. It’s well-written, has scary parts, and a good ending that leaves you smiling.

Disclosure of Material: I received a final and/or advanced reader copy of this book with the hope that I will leave my unbiased opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… My Opinions. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

I love a ghost story, but this was so much more. The story follows Zach, who’s moved to a new town and school. If it’s not enough of a struggle doing this, he’s also dealing with the loss and guilt over that loss of his best friend. Zach meets a new group of friends, and their adventures remind me a bit of Goonies.
At times it’s funny. At times a tearjerker. Then we are off on an adventure with these amateur ghost hunters, and it becomes scary.
I like the characters, world-building, and pacing. This book is for mid-graders, but I think everyone will enjoy it.

Fun and creepy read! I know if I had read this in my early teens (13/14)I would have been hooked and obsessed! Recommend to any middle school aged children who enjoy the creepy/horror genre!

As an adult reading this book I felt the way the author wrote about death and grief was great. Really raw and beautifully done. Something I think Is important for children and young people to read about as death and grief can affect us at any age!

My grandson and I enjoyed this one. It got a little more spooky than I liked but for an older child, they would enjoy that. My grandson is 7. Four friends looking to see whether the haunted house rumour is true. What they find is, well you read! Thanks #netgalley and #TheWildRosePressInc for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley #netgalley

Creepy but not too creepy. A perfect balance for any age.