Sorry forgot to come back here and talk about this one. I did enjoy it. At first I was not sure about it as I am not a huge fan of short stories but with this one all the stories go together and are just sort of how the story is told and it all comes together in the end. It was a different story but and interesting one.

Scarewaves is exactly the kind of book I wish I could have read as a young person. It's unabashedly scary and reeks of the online communities surrounding urban myths and creepypasta. I hope beyond all hope that there are innumerable sequels to this book so I can read them all.

As a school librarian who often receives requests for truly freaky horror books, this is the perfect addition to our collection! Henderson does what he does best and gets scares through his work. I highly recommend this title for libraries serving middle grade populations.

I didn't realize this was middle grade and I don't like to read that low since I have no one in my life thats around that age.

This was a really fun read. I was particularly fond of the radio episode excerpts- incredibly creepy in the best ways definitely may favorite part of the book!

I did have an issue with the overall cohesiveness of the book. The first half of this book seemed more like a collection of short stories told within the same world as opposed to a connected story, and then when the characters came together to share their experiences and set up a "monster hunt" it seemed very rushed. I'd have liked to see more interactions from the characters leading up to this point. However, that aside I really loved the horror filled imagery, the unsettling descriptions of the monsters and the characters were a delight. Jennifer was hilarious!

This was such a good read for tweens, just enough spook to give them a fright but not enough to stay awake at night.

not a genre i generally read, middle grade horror books. but I follow the author on social media and was interested in checking this out. I really had fun with it, and have since bought copies for my neice and nephew. I'm slowly working on getting my own kid into horror (it's not working so well - but the horror genre was something me and my mom really bonded over when I was a kiddo and I have very fond memories of picking out horror movies with her on Friday night at Blockbuster, watching things like Dawn of the Dead, and rosemary's Baby, and The Exorcist, and I remember her an my dad arguing about me being too young for those kinds of movies... but my dad's always been a horror movies pussy....but I digress). MORE HORROR FOR KIDS!!

Multiple perspective characters is hard to pull off unless they are truly distinct in voice. In this case the one thing truly differentiating the characters is the horror they encounter. That's hard to follow. The mechanism of the haunting is unique and allows this one to stand out from the crowd but isn't explored to the depth that it could be.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scholastic Press as well as the author for this ARC.
#NetGalley #ScholasticPress #Scarewaves #TrevorHenderson

Title: Scarewaves
Author: Trevor Henderson
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Publication Date: October 3, 2023
Themes: Coming of Age, Small town, nostalgia
Trigger Warnings: Children in danger, small town horrors, adults not taking kids seriously, monsters, minor gore

Before even getting into the story, I want to talk about how many feelings of nostalgia this book gave me. Even reading the synopsis gave me Book Fair vibes. Some of my very favorite memories as well as favorite books were realized at my elementary school’s book fairs. I’m incredibly grateful to the author, publisher, and NetGalley just for giving me those feelings again. I also love Trevor Hendersons creepypastas.

Why is middle grade horror often so much scarier than adult horror? This book is right up there with “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” and “In the Dark Dark Wood”. While adult horror adds more layers of drama and usually more gore, middle grade horror tends to be straightforward about the horror. It’s terror stripped down to its most simple form. This book tells the story of a small town called Beacon Point. Beacon Point has a large amount of strange things going on that the adults don’t seem to notice. It’s up to a group of kids and an enigmatic radio host to destroy the horrors Beacon Point had been harboring before it’s too late.

This was a quick and fun read. The author’s use of imagery was a pleasure to read. His words painted an atmospheric picture that would be at home in the town of Castle Rock, MN, or even as a tapestry on the wall of Shirley Jackson’s Hill House. I enjoyed the coming of age aspects of this story as well. The nine year old that still lives inside me was right beside the kids in this story as they battled the monsters plaguing their town with the strength of their camaraderie on their side.

This book was delightful and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Scarewaves was the perfect book for any Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark...fans! Creepy and action-packed - it kept me on edge til the end! I love the cover as well. I just wish there was a little more at the ending! It seemed to end quickly. Overall, I enjoyed it and know my middle schoolers will as well.

I found this Middle-Grade horror to be great. I wish when I was younger this would have been available for me to read. I would recommend if you want a great scary story for a middle-grader, this book is it.

Fun and scary and direct! I really enjoyed the style of storytelling by the author. It’s meant for middle grade but fun for all ages and sure to give you pause and maybe a few jump scares. My kids really enjoyed reading it this Halloween season. They are very into SCPs and other internet horror newcomers like Huggy wuggy and five nights at Freddy and skibbidi toilets so I think if your young reader enjoys these sorts of things or Siren Head or the original Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark they would find theses stories equally entertaining and interesting. Nothing TOO graphic or intense but enough to keep you hooked on and turning pages.

A delightfully scary book.

I was a scaredy-cat, so I probably would have been completely unable to read it as a middle schooler--especially since Henderson's illustrations are absolutely terrifying! Not gonna lie, I'd love a movie or TV series adaptation of it.

If you loved the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark movie or the books, then you'll love this book!

What a creepy eerie cover! This story had so many spooky elements. I loved the deer monsters and the parts of the story that had the radio host talking about the scary history of the town. That was a fun portion to add to the story. If this turns into a series I’d love to read the rest and find out what happens with the rest of the kids & creatures. 👀

**thank you to the publisher for allowing me to review this book**

This is a great middle great thriller, in a genre that struggles to have them. My only complaint is that I wish there was more character development, but I feel like either way there was a lot offered here and I'm not sure your average MG reader will have complaints about the development.

Tis the season for all things scary and super creepy; allow me to introduce to you SCAREWAVES by Trevor Henderson . . .

‘Transcript of the BCON RADIO MYSTERY SHOW, hosted by Alan Graves Broadcast on May 19, 1994
[Atmospheric eerie music plays, ravens caw, bat wing flapping SFX] ALAN GRAVES: Hello again, dear listeners! Thank you once again for tuning in to my rancid radio show, my terror transmission. I hope that you’re ready for another slice of scary small-town horror. I know I am.’

An intense horror-filled ride from start to finish—Highly Recommend!

Ages: 9 – 12
Grade: 4 – 7

Thank you, NetGalley and Scholastic Press, for providing me with an eBook of SCAREWAVES at the request of an honest review.

This book reminds me of a 90's YA horror, You know like the ones that would have gotten from the school book fairs. I loved it as an adult and would have been obsessed with it as a kid (like I was all YA horror books). This book gave me all the nostalgic vibes that I needed. So many throwbacks and now let's talk about the Radio Show that was in the book, awesome!!! It was a great addition and added so much to the fun spooky vibes in the book.
Kids have a scary time, and Parents are not around or whatnot; typical for a YA horror book, yes but this book has so much more. The great imagery, I have read adult horror with less. The creepy parts were great and were def scary. Loved it all.
Oh and the characters, they were great. I loved the element of the new girl in town. That just stepped up this book in my opinion.
I have nothing but great things to say about this book, it is def a must-read for kids and adults. You will not be disappointed.

The above is my opinion/review. I am so glad to have the opportunity to have read this book as an ARC, thanks to the publishers and NetGalley. I can't wait to see what else this author writes next. My review is my own, honest and voluntary.

Scarewaves is a great middle grade mystery/thriller. I wish there had been a bit more character development and a little more to the ending.

Scarewaves was an absolutely refreshing read after DNFing and slogging through a stack of adult horror that was more literary mumbling than terrifying scenarios. I know some horror fans bypass middle grade and YA horror books for what they feel will be better scares and writing on the adult shelves but let me encourage you to try them out. I find middle grade horror to be a blend of nostalgia (both for my own childhood as well as a type of childhood I saw on tv and in movies that I never had), traditional monster horror, and some really creepy scares that might have you checking under your bed before you sleep at night. Henderson's Scarewaves is one of those gems.

We get a lot of the typical tropes for middle grade horror and horror dealing with kids. We got the new kid in town, the nerdy kid that people roll their eyes at for being a know-it-all, the mullet kid from the rural area of town that may or may not have an abusive parent (I honestly was really pleased with how Lucas was handled as I was worried we might have a Scud Farkus or Henry Bowers type when he was introduced), the bad ass babysitter taking care of her ward, and more. While the tropes might be ones we all know well, these were handled wonderfully. I felt hints of Coraline, with Mary that were more a wink and a nod than too on the nose. I also felt a strong leaning towards Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, a favorite among many kids and adults. So much nostalgia.

I am a huge fan of analog horror and having the Alan Graves BCON radio broadcasts separate story chapters was wonderful. We got lore drop about Beacon Point without the characters having to info dump. By the end of the book, I was deeply invested in this radio show and only wish we got more of Alan's story.

If I have one complaint about Scarewaves (other than wishing it was longer and hoping for a second book in the Beacon Point universe of monsters) is that I don't feel like we could really bond with the characters. There were several of them and by the time we get to the climax where they're all together and working on their plan to get proof of the supernatural entities bothering them, I found myself caring less for some of them and more for others. I think it might have been a more emotionally hitting book if Henderson had focused on Byron, Mary, and Lucas rather than bringing in the others. I get why he did it - one entity or type of entity per kid allowing for a variety of Beacon Point's terrors to be on display. However, I think it would have worked out with just three kids and the suggestions that others were dealing with similar things.

<b>Kids vs Monsters!</b>

I don't care how old I get, YA and middle grade books will always be fun. I've been following Trevor Henderson for a while and love his artwork, so picking this up was an easy choice.

The way the kids seem to be the only ones who notice that anything is really happening feels like something straight out of a Stephen King novel. The kids are also smart, and resourceful, and I found myself getting attached quickly.

The monsters are inventive and interesting as well. I would love to know more about them, their histories, etc. I don't know if there are plans for a series, or if this is a one off, but regardless, I would like to see more of Henderson's creations in the future.

Since this was an advance, I wasn't able to see all of the illustrations, and honestly can't wait to pick up a physical copy to check them out!