“Welcome to Feral“ with story and art by Marc Fearing is a graphic novel in the Frights from Feral series.

Feral is a small town that has its secrets. Joining a young resident as he tells you the stories. Among them, you’ll learn to obey the signs in the park…or else. You also may not want to buy ice cream in the creepy forest. And you never, never want to get detention.

The stories are great and super creepy. I loved the art style and I’d love to read more of these. These are great for middle school readers.

I appreciate the idea of this book. It is a fact that children of a certain age can be absolutely transfixed by horror. I was one of them. We get a delicious thrill from safe fear. And that's what this book is going for. Small cases of bad things happen in slightly ridiculous, vaguely supernatural ways. There's a moral and a hint of humor.

Definitely a fun read for a younger audience. I would have loved to have picked this up as a kid. High recommendation to children that want something fun and spooky.

This was a cute graphic novel horror book for kids. It was several stories told by Freya about her town and the strange things that happen there. I wasn't a huge fan of the cliffhanger type ending but it was still okay.

This intends to open a new series of portmanteau horror books – there is a kind of linking introduction, but the bulk of them will be self-contained nastiness for the young audience. So we start with a playground slide that's a wrong 'un, then three kids find an unusually sited ice cream van, a camp leader might just be a vampire, and a bicycle discovered in the undergrowth might just be the most bizarre way out of town invented...

The middle piece is a salutary lesson in getting your school reading assignments done promptly – but I didn't find any of this particularly indicative of something to be read urgently. It's fine – there is certainly a decent amount of invention here, the stories go through with what they suggest and aren't mere ideas lacking a narrative, and it all looks fine. I just felt the blurb, with talk of clues and mysteries, rather misleading – there is nothing for us to follow or solve, just five stories to sit back and enjoy the ride with. And as they have a typical swoop in quality, from very good to just very daft, there is a bit of a missed opportunity. Three and a half stars, though, for the pages that show what this series can aspire to.

If you're tripping through a dimension of sight, sound, and the imagination, and you happen to come upon a signpost that says, "Welcome to Feral", it's probably best to turn right around, and find a safer dimension to hang out in. You see, as our pint-sized host explains, weird things happen in Feral. People have a way of disappearing . . . for good. Stay away from the playground, don't buy any ice cream, and for gosh sakes - DON'T get detention!

Fearing's frenetic artwork works well with the eerie tales, and his imagination conjures up just the right amount of spookiness for middle-grade readers, though be warned - nothing seems to end well for anyone who lives in Feral.

Welcome to Feral features several short graphic stories that center around creepy things happening in a small town. The stories are very original and the art is fun and creative. This reminds me of a Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon show and I can’t wait to read more!

Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.

This is a really good graphic novel for middle schoolers. The stories were gone and a couple were pretty scary.

This was an absolute surprise. I wasn't expecting this to be this good! It is surprisingly dark, but still definitely suitable for kids (as long as they like horror thrills) I can see kids LOVING this as it is cool, funny, creepy, scary, but still so much fun! I appreciated that the stories weren't afraid to go there... but enjoyed the last one best, with its twist. Overall this is an absolute romp of a book, and I recommend it to kids of any age (including adult ones).

Welcome to Feral. Little Town. Big Scares!

I absolutely loved the drawings and each of the mini-stories in this book. Reminded me a lot of watching shows like Tales from the Darkside, Unexplained Mysteries, and the Twilight Zone. Each of these stories, all set in the fictional town of Feral, has strange twists. From spooky midnight playgrounds, eerie forests where kids disappear on their way to the local swimming hole, and scout leaders who aren't really what they are supposed to be. It is the perfect graphic novel to kick off Hallowe'en! Definitely recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of this graphic novel.

This is a collection of five odd, scary, or creepy stories involving the fictional town of Feral. Middle-grade readers should beware, follow rules very carefully, and remain on well-mapped and travelled roads at all times. (Well, not on the road itself, that's dangerous, but you know what I mean.)

A Long Way Down: Two boys think they can flaunt the rules on the posted sign at the community park. Don't let a friend dare you to go down the slide of terror!

Ice Cream Screams: Don't cut through the dump on your way to anywhere! You may think a treat is what you need most, but you're wrong!

Detention: Putting off writing that book report? The kids in detention (basement) room B-25 will never make that mistake again!

The Old Bike: Big Hill is a giant temptation to kids in Feral County, but if you find a strange bike called a Rocket, you should think again before using it!

Ferret Frolic: Ferret Troop 13 prepared all summer for the week-long campout, and although their new leader showed signs of being odd, they followed his orders. On the last night, somebody forgot the troop motto; "A Ferret is always ready."

These stories are funny, ironic, scary, and strange. Just the sort of thing kids will enjoy any night of the year when they have a blanket for a tent and a flashlight to read by. I enjoyed the illustrations as well!

4.4/5 Stars

Thanks to Holiday House Books and NetGalley for the temporary digital version of this graphic novel; any review is voluntary an completely my own opinion.

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This was a really fun collection of short spooky stories taking place in the town of Feral. I enjoyed that there was a character narrating the stories and giving some background or closure between each story. My personal favorite stories were ‘Ice Cream Screams’ and ‘Ferret Frolic’.

I definitely think middle grade children will enjoy this one especially if they are fans of scary stories.

I look forward to more stories from Feral!

Although this book’s description says it is for middle grade age (so, implying it is suitable for 8-12yr olds) my 9yr old asked me if I’m sure it is really suitable for her age. She called the book terrifying and disturbing – and this coming from a child who loves a good scare says a lot. Probably more suitable for older kids. The pictures are nice though. Super nice. I read it myself later also, and it is well written, the story is fun, but yeah, I’m afraid it is more suitable for someone slightly older than that.

Release: November 22, 2022

*Thank you to @netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

💭 Did you ever tell or enjoy scary campfire stories? OR - Whatcha reading?

This kids graphic novel is something I need to get my physical hands on. We've talked about how my oldest (almost 10) so badly wants to hear and watch scary things, but then chickens out. Well, this did the trick! The stories were "silly-scary" and he LOVED them.

Our favorites (as if we could really pick), were the ice cream truck one and the scout troop one! We were giggling through the whole thing.

And the illustrations... *chef's kiss* 🤌🤌

Can't wait for the sequel!

Review to come at the end of November nearer to the release day.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

While writing this one it is mid-October and I was hunting around for some more Halloween books to read! I came across this one and was instantly curious! This sounded just like too much fun. A mysterious town. Spooky tales! Sign me up!

In this book we meet with up with Freya who has 5 mysterious stories to tell us about the town of Feral. Where spooooooky things happen. And she is keeping track of it. Yep. Just like Dipper and his great-uncle did from Gravity Falls. Which made me squee in happiness. I absolutely LOVE Gravity Falls and this just gave me so much vibes!

First story was a 4 stars for me. It is about a playground. Two boys are visiting just when the dark sets in. At first just to play and tease each other (or well, the lanky guy does most of it), but then things get spooky when they decide to go go to the slide. Now I hear you say, but girl? What is scary about a slide? Well, you will have to read it, but I was already noping before the kids got into that thing. XD It was a great story and a great start.

The second story was a 4.5 stars for me! This time we are going into a place named the Forgotten Forest, which already screams OMINOUS (in that voice) to me, but then we hear Freya dish up some other things and I was like, OHH, we are going for this one! Plus, it has a spooky ice cream truck? Come on! This story was absolutely creepy and scary (with a dash of gruesome) and dang these kids should have listened to their friend. I mean, boo, if you find an ice cream truck in the middle of a forest? Plus, you just found some bones? RUN RUN RUN!

The third story was a 3.5 stars for me. This time we are going to the middle school! Detention! Spooky things! This one was pretty fun. I love that it takes place in a dark, abandoned (or seemingly so) basement and that there is even a creepy janitor and an even creepier teacher! While I didn't know the MC of this story that well, I was hoping she would get out alive. [spoiler]Though given the previous two stories and that the writer is clearly going for ending things with death... mmmm. [/spoiler] It definitely ended with a surprise. It was both awesome and sad seeing all those different times (I just cannot think of a word, my English is leaving me) presented. That is all I will say.

The fourth story was a 4 stars for me. I love this quote from Freya that made me very curious about the story we were about to get: "Every kid in Feral rides a bike down Big hill but not every kid does it twice." OK. Let's go! A kid totally invested in space and constellations finds a dirty bike next to the road. Given the nature of the stories before this one I was just like NOPPPPPEEE don't do it! Don't do it kid! Just keep on playing spaceman and such. I did like the name of the bike though. Very spooky coincidence. I wasn't a fan of Crane's dad. I think if Crane's dad was a bit more kind towards his family maybe things wouldn't have escalated. The ending was typical for the book, oh no, by no means do I mean that as bad. Definitely not. I am loving these endings. Some are unexpected, some are expected. All of them are great.

The last story gets a 4.5 stars from me. This time we are following a troupe of scouts as they go camping. Man, that troupe leader just gave me the heebiejeebies. That tent of his was cool though. XD One of the kids sees the scout leader doing something spooky and abnormal and so begins the suspicions of the troupe and we see them try to figure out what is going on with their troupe leader. I loved how they were preparing for anything. From running to wood carving (and not something cute, oh no, something pointy). It was great fun and I was very curious to that last night of the camp. What would happen! But did I expect what happened at the end? HECK NO! I was super surprised and all giddy! This was a twist! This was good!

The ending to it all? Now I want the sequel even more! I mean, I was already hyped for more of Feral after the first story, but now with that ending? I need to know! Give me the next book!

I am giving bonus points for adding a map! I just LOVE it when a book adds a map to the book. It just gives the book something extra, plus, I love that next to the standard things like here is a school or here is a bridge there were little bits here and there that had things on it that said: "The mosquito monster" or "Gnomes Sighted". I also like that we had 3 types of notes. The white ones seemed to be spooky buildings/spooky sights. Then there is blue which is the normal stuff. And lastly we yellow oval/circles that list monsters and spooky creatures. It was just oodles of fun and I absolutely poured over the map. Soaking it all up and wondering which stories we would get!

The artwork was a bit odd at times, not in a bad way, it was just a bit rough. But as the stories continued I started to like it. And thought it fit well with the weirdness of the stories.

All in all, HECK, this was just tons of fun and I flew through this one. Highly recommended!

The art is crisp and inviting. Our narrator/guide is engaging. The stories are appropriately creepy, although fairly predictable.