Lindsay Currie does it again with a suitably scary, but not too scary horror story about ghosts, a missing boy, and a historic cemetery that holds its own secrets. I love how she incorporates Chicago history, and lesser known history into her novels, and balances a scary story with the resilience of her characters and their bravery.

I always recommend her books to anyone who likes a scary story!

thank you to netgalley for the e-arc! this was an okay read for me. i appreciate the author's tendency to incorporate meaningful friendships at the end of her stories, the way it was with scritch scratch. i also admire her research on history that inspire her works. despite being an okay read, it was cosy and heartwarming nonetheless.

It Found Us may be aimed at MG readers, but honestly I’d easily recommend this to anyone who enjoys a creepy tale. This was my first time reading one of Lindsay Currie’s books and it’s instantly made me a fan. It all starts with Hazel, an intelligent 12 year old who has some keen detective skills and a desire to start her own podcast. When her brother, Den, sneaks out of the house to meet his friends to play hide and seek in the town’s haunted graveyard, she follows. The game doesn’t go as expected and Den’s best friend goes missing. Did he run away or did someone or something take him? Hazel is determined to uncover the truth. As I mentioned this might be aimed at MG readers, but don’t think that doesn’t mean this isn’t creepy and that there aren’t thrills and chills to be had. Smart characters and a wonderful story make this one an enjoyable book for readers of all ages. Thanks so much to SOURCEBOOKS Kids, Sourcebooks Young Readers, and NetGalley for the chance to read and review It Found Us.

Once again Lindsay Currie delivers! I loved It Found Us. Spooky graveyard, scary hide and seek, ghosts and middle grade investigators! You cannot go wrong. Ms. Currie weaves a missing child story with an investigative ghost story perfectly. What I loved the most was the true back story that is the basis for this middle grade fiction. I loved looking up the true story after finishing the book. I was entertained AND educated!

This was a really fun middle grade horror book. It wasn't too scary, but just spooky enough for a middle grade reader.
It starts out with our main character Hazel following her brother Den to the rumored haunted graveyard for a game of hide and seek. Hazel fancies herself an amateur detective and wants to start a podcast and thinks that a story about the graveyard would make a perfect first podcast episode. But then a storm sweeps up, there is a lot of screaming and crying and Den's best friend Everett is nowhere to be found.
Hazel is determined and smart. She was a great main character and a great role model (for the most part) for the middle grade age when reading this. She does sneak out, but ends up really understanding how this effects her parents. Her relationship with her brother Den really shows growth in this book. They start out as the typical brother and sister who are siblings but not friends. They are forced to work together to help find Everett and gain a new understanding of each other. Hazel's best friend Maggie was also determined, Hazel tried to get her to stay away from the search to keep her safe, but she was loyal and wanted to help Hazel. Hazel and Den's parents were both very present and loving in this book. That is one thing I really like about middle grade, the parents are present and sane a lot more than YA and I think that is important for that age range.
Like I said, the plot was spooky, but not enough to scare the pants off of me which is also important for a middle grade. We knew immediately that the goal of the story was finding Everett and that he went missing in the haunted graveyard. Hazel put a lot of effort into her clue journal and it lead her to places and people that the police did not find. It was an extremely fast paced book where one event lead into another wonderfully and seamlessly.
The spooky in this book was actually based on a real event which I thought was very clever. While the reason what happened happened is not based on a real event, Currie managed to tie it in perfectly with what happens at the beginning of the book which really brought things around full circle.
If you are looking for a not so scary spooky book this season, definitely give this one a try!

I love middle grade horror books! Every fall, I read as many as I can leading up to Halloween. I previously read Scritch-Scratch and What Lives in the Woods by this author and enjoyed them both. So jumped right on this one!

First of all, the cover art is awesome! And, the story had all the elements for a creepy, ghostly story!

The Basics: Hazel Wood is always investigating things around town. She has a knack for following clues and getting to the bottom of things. But when her brother's best friend, Everett, goes missing after a game of hide-and-seek in a cemetery, Hazel discovers the whole thing may be tied to something that happened a century in the past.

A graveyard. Ghosts. A spooky disappearance. Perfect!!

I loved this story! The tale is spooky,but also age appropriate for middle grade readers. As an adult, the story kept my attention the entire time because I love ghost stories!

Another great book from Lindsay Currie! I'm definitely looking forward to her next book!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Sourcebooks Kids. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

I definitely had a great time with IT FOUND US by Lindsay Currie. It follows Hazel, a girl who embraces her inner sleuth from the beginning, trying to identify what they are calling "The Night Pooper." She just wants to help solve neighborhood crimes, okay?! But while this is being introduced, her brother, Den, decides to get a game of hide and seek together and lots of friends are invited. During this game, Den's best friend, Everett, is never found. So let's enlist Hazel to help!

If hide and seek WASN'T creepy enough as a kid... then they add this element of disappearing in a graveyard!? Sign me... not up. It was always so creepy for me just sitting around waiting to be found... I always got in trouble because I would want to hide in pairs.

We spend a lot of time investigating this graveyard and if there could be a ghost at the root of all this. A lot of it gave me serious vibes from the séance graveyard scene in the 90s movie, NOW AND THEN. Now, we just have to keep reading and find out if we have a true Dear Johnny situation on our hands or not. The rest of the book is totally like Ghost Whisperer for juniors. I had the absolute best time following Hazel and Den, watching them sneak around and try to avoid their parents catching them, investigating, keeping a journal of clues, etc.

There are also some historical elements at play here, but I won't go into them explicitly because it might venture into spoiler territory. But rest assured all can be explained in the Author's Note at the end. So it just made the story even better for me.

AND THIS COVER?! UM HELLO?? I absolutely recommend this for any lover of MG horror.

Hazel is a girl who loves solving mysteries and getting to the bottom of things. She tends to get in trouble for “snooping” but she just wants to uncover the truth! She’s been begging her parents to let her start a podcast about her mysteries. When she hears her brother sneak out to go to the graveyard for a game of hide and seek, she sneaks out to try and see this haunted graveyard for her podcast. However, things go wrong when her brothers friend goes missing and Hazel teams up with her brother and best friend to find the missing boy. What unfolds is a paranormal mystery about a real life graveyard.

I really liked this book and I think it will be a great read for this upcoming spooky season. Hazel, Maggie, and Den were all great characters to follow and were really lovable. I think the mystery was great as well. It threw in some paranormal aspects that were pretty spooky and scary (for a middle grade.) I loved that the graveyard is a real graveyard (one close to my hometown!) and reading about the actual story behind this graveyard was very interesting. It was a quick read and I kept wanting to read more so I could figure out the mystery. Also, like how creepy is this cover? I think it’s perfect for this book!

I highly recommend this book and I will be reading more by this author! Thanks so much to netgalley and sourcebooks for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I don’t know how a book can be so heartwarming and so scary but this one did it.

Hazel is an amateur sleuth, her parents call it snooping, when she follows her brother into a graveyard where he and another kid, Everett are playing hide and seek-only Everett goes missing. Hazel teams up with her brother and best friend Maggie to find Everett before it’s too late.

The perfect middle grade horror. Scary, mysterious and with some great characters.

Thanks to NetGalley and sourcebooks for an earc

I love a good middle grade horror, and the cover of It Found Us alone was enough to pull me in, so I was super excited to see what it had in store for me.

The story begins rather comically, with want to be detective Hazel Woods on a mission to find out who is getting their dog to poop in her neighbours front garden. A mission she succeeds on. But that night when she follows her brother to the graveyard where one of his friends goes missing during a game of hide-and-seek, the story takes a dark turn, and from that moment onwards it has you completely in its grip.

The atmosphere continues to build throughout the story, with moments that gave me goosebumps and made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. One of the main settings of the story is the graveyard, and what is more creepy than an old graveyard? especially at night, and even more so when it is known to be haunted!

Hazel is such an enjoyable character. Her attention to detail, her inquisitiveness, and her determination to always solve the mystery are a joy to read. Paired with Maggie’s fantastic listening skills, and Den’s strength and willpower, it makes them a perfect team. The description of the ghost that they see in the graveyard truly leaves a horrifying image in your mind, and I certainly wouldn’t want to come face to face with it.

I loved following the investigation process of Hazel, Den, and Maggie in their attempts to find Everett. I also enjoyed the way that it tied with the haunting and horror within the story. The story of the ghost was actually rather emotional, and the way that the book comes together at the end was not only frightening but also in a way a little heartwarming. A great way to wrap up a brilliant story.

This is a fantastic horror story that pushes the boundaries of middle grade as far they will go. It really is as chilling as the books cover suggests. If you’re a fan of R.L. Stine, this is definitely one for you!

Thank you to Sourcebooks Kids and Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy of "It Found Us" by Lindsay Currie in exchange for an honest review.

Twelve year old Hazel Woods is an aspiring investigator and podcaster. While her parents are trying to teach her the difference between investigating and snooping, Hazel loves investigating neighborhood petty crimes and dreams of creating her own podcast to discuss her cases.

One night, her snooping (in this case, legit snooping) leads her to eavesdrop on her brother Den, making plans to sneak out and play hide and seek with his friends in the local graveyard. Hazel's heard creepy stories about this particular graveyard and decides to follow Den and the others to investigate. Things immediately get weird, because as soon as the other kids begin their game of hide and seek, one of the kids disappears.

Not-so-spoiler alert: the cemetery really is haunted. Hazel suspects that a ghost abducted her brother's best friend Everett, but she's aware that none of the adults will believe her. What follows is Hazel's investigation, aided by her brother and her best friend. To complicate matters, their parents have (reasonably) forbidden them from leaving the house. Even worse, the ghost has noticed Hazel and Co, and makes its presence felt.

I keep going back and forth about how much I really enjoyed this book. On the one hand, I love ghost stories and I liked the way the author incorporated a real historical event. I was appropriately creeped out by several of the haunting episodes. I liked how the author made hide and seek into a plot point too. I think if I read this as a kid, I would have found it very satisfying.

On the other hand, if I'm considering it with my adult/parenting mind, there are several things that bothered me. For example, when Everett disappears, the police arrange search parties. Despite the real possibility that the missing child could have been abducted, both of Hazel's parents sign up for the search parties, leaving their children alone in the house for hours at a time. If I were in that parental position, there is NO WAY I would have left them alone like that. It's a necessary plot device, because how else would the investigation occur? Certainly not with a parent around, but it just doesn't feel real.

There are a few other details that kind of bugged me. Every time the kids visit the graveyard (I mean, EVERY time) a storm starts. Hazel notes that she heard that ghostly presence is often connected with storm activity but Den, Everett and their friends weren't the first kids to sneak into the graveyard for mischief. Seems like some meteorologists should have picked up on the extraordinary amount of bad weather, centered exclusively on this small geographic area. It creates a definitely tone and atmosphere in the story, but it doesn't feel real.

In general, it was a fun, fast read. I can see kids enjoying the thrills and creepy bits. If you're willing to suspend disbelief a bit, you may enjoy it too. I give it 4 of 5 stars because while *I* didn't love it, I can see others doing so.

Lindsay is the queen of spooky middle grade and this one did not disappoint. Hide and seek in a graveyard - it's like the game you always want to play and joke about playing but never actually do when you're a kid. Unless you're like overly brave. Her books are great for teaching mood, characterization, as well as rising action/climax/falling action.

“It’s kind of like the feeling you get from drinking one too many Cokes or eating a whole bag of Sour Patch Kids. A little bit shaky, a little bit sick, but a whole lot excited.”

It Found Us by Lindsay Currie

QUICK SUMMARY 🖊️
Twelve year old Hazy for a knack of sleuthing, or her mother calls it snooping.

One night she accidentally heads her brother planning to sneak into the cemetery with his friends to play hide and seek, so she decides to sneakily tag along, because this is the perfect opportunity to investigate the claims of the cemetery being haunted. Except when the hide and seek game ends. There’s something wrong, and one of the kids is missing.

FINAL THOUGHTS 💭
Thank you @NetGalley & SOURCEBOOKS Kids for the opportunity to read a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Lindsay is an MG author I wished I had when I was younger. She tells stories in such a way even adults can find them entertaining. This book is already preordered for my stepdaughter who I know will absolutely devour this, and I like this although it’s a fiction book it’s based on real events that I did not know about but feel like I need to know more.

So. Much. Fun. Every once in a while, I need some spooky middle grade horror to scratch my Scooby-Doo obsession itch. I loved the genuine characters, the graveyard setting and the chilling mystery of It Found Us. I can’t wait for the littles in my life to be big enough for Lindsay Currie’s MG books.

Instagram/Bookstagram review post to come.

I've read every book this author has published so far and am a huge fan of the authentic middle grade voice in each book. I enjoy the family and friendship focus in this book and how supportive and loving the adults are in the kids' lives.

This book, although fictional, is based on real events and places that I didn't know about before, but will be researching more later. The ghost story this book centers around is the right amount of scary for middle grade readers; although based on a terrible tragedy, the reader is not subjected to any violence or bloodshed. The mystery is fun to help piece together and solve with a time crunch suspenseful need to solve as quickly as possible.

I was disappointed by this book. I’ve read Currie’s work before and LOVED it but this one had such a big lead up and the climax was a big letdown. There were some loose ends at the end as well, leaving things unexplained.

I did like the character chemistry, though. I would like to read more books featured with the ghost team! They each have their own strengths. The siblings reminded me of my own older brother when we were younger. I also like the podcast aspect of it.

This book was creepy and spooky and it made my dark heart so damn happy. This book was so entertaining I definitely would like to read more from this author.

I love Lindsay currie's book! And this book is no exception. I don't know why but I love middle grade horror stories. Such a cozy feeling! And I love the cover so much. It found us has all the Halloween-y vibes I was expecting for. I'm looking forward to read more from this author and I have already ordered a hardcopy of this book!

I love Lindsay Currie's books. They are exciting and creepy and always have a bit of history that is fascinating to learn. It Found Us is so good!

Thank you to #Netgalley for the Advance Reader Copy. The opinions are my own.

When a group of middle schoolers decide to play a night time game of hide and seek in Woodlawn Cemetery of Forest Park, IL, they do not bargain for a ghost who joins the fun, and the abrupt disappearance of Everett. Over the course of 48 hours, Hazel, a budding sleuth, Den, her brother and best friend of Everett, and Maggie, Hazel's best friend and the person who has the pulse of the school and town, begin to follow the eerie clues and hopefully find Everett. IT FOUND US is author Lindsay Currie's fifth contribution to my annual middle grade scary story reading list, and like the others, it had all the right scary bits, as well as the historical facts to make the reader consider the possibilities. #ItFoundUs
Thank you to Sourcebooks Young Readers, an imprint of Sourcebooks, and Netgalley for the digital arc.