What a fantastic book. It was the perfect combination of a Mary Downing Hahn Ghost story with the magic of Inkheart. The book was absolutely fantastic and definitely worthy of at least the Newbery Honor this year since scary books rarely win the Medal but I would advocate for it to be in my top 5 Newbery Contenders because I think it has enough depth and fun to make it a future classic.

The Cursed Moon follows Rafa, a boy who loves telling scary stories. He lives with his grandparents and sister because his mom is in prison. He has a bad past with his mom and him and his sister are trying to move on and live their lives with their friends. Their neighbor warns Rafa to not tell a scary story during the blood moon. But of course, he does and bad things start to unfold and Rafa and his friends have to save their families and town.

This book was just decent. It wasn't particularly scary or unique. It felt to me like any other middle-grade horror. I probably won't remember this book much down the road. That being said, it wasn't bad and I think people will still like this book. The characters were all likable and the story itself had promise. It just didn't quite come together. I also didn't like the "bad" mom part. I don't think it was necessary and I don't like that trope in books. I do really love the cover as well.

Thanks so much to net galley and Scholastic for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Check out my full review on my blog.

Thank you, Angela Cervantes, for the ARC. I leave this review voluntarily and happily. Also, thank you, Scholastic Press, for your hard work!

I truly enjoyed this book. It wasn't exactly scary as it was heartwarming, and it teaches a lesson. Listen to your elders even if it sounds crazy at times. They do know what they are talking about. Evil will always be overcome by love and family. Hope is one of the strongest motivating things out there, and second chances are always worth giving.

This book is fast-paced and very much worth the read. I enjoyed every moment, and when it picked up, I truly couldn't put the book down. I wanted to know what happened next, if anything was going to happen, just the atmosphere was building and was so exciting.

This book isn't truly horror. It's far more than that. It's second chances, hope, love, and just overcoming fear to protect those you love and keeping friends safe. Fighting evil and overcoming old fears. This book is definitely worth a read.

The main character was given a warning not to read scary stories on the night of the blood moon, and yet he does so anyway. Evil awakens, and bad things start to happen. Loved ones and friends are in trouble, and now Rafael must do everything he can to save them all before its too late, before the Caretaker takes them all away.

Goosebumps meets Inkheart.

The Cursed Moon follows Rafael, a boy who has had a bad hand at life. Having to take care of his sister due to a neglectful mother. Who, in my opinion, doesn't deserve another chance after getting sent to prison. Rafael, as a coping tactic, writes scary stories. On a blood moon night, he is warned not to tell any scary stories. However, he does anyway and what result are strange and spooky occurences.

I found the story to be interesting and I loved the premise. Especially as the story went on despite it going in the direction that I expected. I enjoyed all the characters, although I wish Rafael had been more honest with his sister. But I enjoyed the change in Cash. The level of creepiness was perfect for the age range targeted. It wasn't too much but still had enough eerieness to keep a reader's attention. Overall, I really enjoyed the read.

Really good, it was exactly the kind of horror I appreciate and enjoy. It had emotional depth and just enough scares to satisfy me. I'd highly recommend this to readers both younger and older.

I absolutely LOVED this book. It's spooky but it also is much more than just a horror book. First, the main character (Rafael) shares his experience as a child of incarcerated mother. Before she was incarcerated, they were homeless and often neglected and abandoned. Throughout the book, the character struggles with the fact that his mother will be released soon, struggles to believe she truly has changed, and struggles to forgive her. You can feel the hurt and pain and fear this character feels. You also can feel the sense of responsibility he feels for his younger sister. In addition to his experience, there is a lot of Hispanic culture and Spanish as well.

To cope with the battles he faces in real-life, Rafa makes up scary stories. As someone who uses horror to cope with my anxiety (as well as a writer myself), I saw myself in Rafa a lot. But then the Blood Moon comes, cursing his stories so they become real. Thus begins Rafael's fight to re-write his story to have a happy ending (both his real-life story and his scary stories).

This was a fun read! Middle grade has a way of coming off so eerie and the story telling coming true aspect is one I have always personally enjoyed

Rafa loves to tell scary stories. But with the blood moon (lunar eclipse) approaching, Mrs. Martin acts all creepy and insists he not tell any of his scary stories on the night of the blood moon. Of course he does the predictable thing and tells a scary story. In a treehouse. In a storm. Who wouldn't?

So basically, the story that pops into his head is about someone called The Caretaker. A creepy guy who steals children from the forest/park on blood moon nights, preferably children who write scary stories. And that's not the only story he told that night. There's also the story of a jaguar. And a story about hairy toes. And all these stories are coming to life. A jaguar is slinking around the neighborhood. A hairy toe is keeping a boy up at night. With more details from Mrs. Martin and some sleuthing in the library, he realizes there's a history of kids going missing. His story was not original after all. Now the problem is the upcoming campout in the woods. Rafa's sister is going on this campout. He has to stop the Caretaker before he lures another kid to his death.

It's an ok story. Nothing particularly outstanding, or scary, about it. It would help if the plot were tighter. It sadly meanders toward an anticlimactic ending, especially the part about the neglectful mother, which detracts, rather than adds to the story. My favorite scary MG book in recent years is Small Spaces by Katherine Arden, but the sequels are like this book. You're kind of left with nothing much to say but "Huh."

Such a fun cast of characters. This was actually a bit spooky which I loved too. Great book, highly recommend.

Rafael Fuentes is known for creating scary stories. He is the best at making up stories on the spot. Nothing fictional seems scary to him compared to his own real life. Raf and his sister moved in with their grandparents when his mom went to prison. Finding out that his mom will be moving in with him soon scares him. While riding home from school with his sister, Brianna, they find their elderly neighbor in the middle of the road. She warns him about not telling any scary stories during the blood moon that night and makes him promise her that he won't tell any. Of course on that same night he meets up at his friends. Trying to keep his thoughts away from his mom, Raf tells the scariest story he's ever created called The Caretaker. After he tells the story all the power goes out briefly and Raf starts to notice strange things happening. His neighbor's warning couldn't have been real...right? One two, the Caretaker’s coming for you!

This was such a fun and actually spooky book! I thoroughly enjoyed the characters and scary stories Raf and his friends told. I think the pacing and storyline were very good. It was equally heart warming and scary all at the same time. There is very good character development for Raf as he is trying to figure out if he wants a relationship with his mom when she gets out. Overall this is a great coming of age story with a lot of heart and freaky moments!

This was a lot more eerie and chilling than I thought it would and I loved that! The spookiness was immaculate and I loved the characters and storyline. I absolutely devoured this book.