I feel a little guilty about how much I loved this. Hannah is a young girl who cuts class to play a game to summon the dead. She thinks she's cursed, but instead of being sensible, she keeps making things worse. The pictures are perfect for the story, and look the way a kid might really draw in a journal. This is a perfect book for kids who enjoy Goosebumps type of stories. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this.

I’m very sorry, but I just don’t care for this book. I do like the idea of a book about a girl who feels cursed. However, the plot was so confusing here that I couldn’t really understand what was actually happening. The illustrations were well-drawn, but very disturbing in my opinion. If you have a kid that likes blood and creepy crawlies, they might enjoy it.

I'm someone who grew up on urban legends and paperback spooks. Older kids would try to scare me (and others) by talking about Bloody Mary, Light as a Feather, or the supposedly haunted abandoned house in town. I curled up with copies of Goosebumps and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. I also am just young enough to have been a kid during the time of Dork Diaries and Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

Read at Your Own Risk felt like a fun mixture of all of those things. My younger self would have adored this book. The illustrations and formatting work perfectly. There's foreshadowing throughout. It's compelling to read. My main negative? I didn't feel that connected to any of the characters. My main praise? The ending.

This book is for all the young horror fans out there. It is a ouija board gone wrong. And Hannah gets “infected” with a ghost, who tortures her. When she writes in her journal, the ghost writes back to her in red ink.


The whole book is how she tries to remove the curse, as her teeth fall out, and she gets cut by a razor, and generally bad things happen to her.


It was spooky enough that I don’t think I would want to reread it, but then I don't generally like horror, so that just might be me.


However, if you or your kids like the sort of horror that is available for middle schoolers, then this would be an excellent book to give them. If nothing else, it shows the consequences for not sticking together and lying, which is always a good lesson to be taught. Oh, and listen to your teachers. Oh, and don’t skip school.


Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. This book is coming out the 13th of August.

3.5 stars rounded up

This story is like diary of a wimpy kid but horror. We follow a girl who becomes haunted and starts writing a diary to document.

I enjoyed this book. I loved the diary format and it was a quick read. I think the illustrations were fun too.

On the other hand, I don’t think kids will really like this one and that is the target audience. I think the body horror was too much and the blood was a bit much.

While I liked it, I don’t think it will work for kids.

Thanks so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

Cute! I think the bug in the skin imagery may be a little too much for some kids but the theme about storytelling is well done.

Once upon a time... What a fun children's horror story! Read at Your Own Risk is something between a book and a graphic novel, with art like Diary of a Wimpy Kid. It actually reminded me of something like a children's version of House of Leaves, as you're reading the main character's "journal" (with a bit of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secret's: Ginny's Story, lol). It CAN be a little gross at times, but it still remains kid appropriate.

The design of the book is a lot of fun, and I was pleased that it was also easy to consume digitally - though I'll be buying the physical copy for my niece and nephew who will love this. The story itself is actually pretty simple, and would fit in perfectly in a Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark collection, but Lai hides the reveals, drip-feeding to the reader all the little bits of truth. This leads into the lesson learning, which is not in your face or patronizing (something to look at for in children's books because kids DO pick up when they're being talked "at" rather than "to").

Lessons for readers include 'don't lie to your friends' and 'your teacher is trying to help you'. Very basic but perfect for kids lol I also liked the children's version of a Twilight Zone twist at the end haha

Read at Your Own Risk is fun, quick horror read for kids who enjoy spooky, gross-out scary stories and fun comic art.

The End!

This creepy story will delight spooky story fans. I loved the unique way Remy Lai tells the story. Just beware of the curse…

This was so cute. I loved the drawings and diary like entries. What happens when you are bored on day, and you go in the attic? You awaken a great evil, of course. If you like middle grade and a splash of horror this is for you.

Thank you, Remy Lai and NetGalley, for the ARC. I leave this review voluntarily and happily. Also, thank you publishers for your hard work!

Honestly, this was such a quick read, and I enjoyed it. Do I consider this horror? No, not really. I absolutely loved the art and splats of red here and there. This can be read at any age, but for full enjoyment, I do think a younger age is definitely intended for this book. I do hate that it kinda rushes into everything. It's no real build up it's just right into it with no catching your breath until it ends.

Friends going into the school attic to play a game to speak to a spirit. What happens? Do things go wrong? Does something evil get unleashed? Can something be done? Read and find out.

If not for the fact the book was too fast and not really a whole lot of plot, I'd give it more stars. I did like it, but it had more potential to have more umpth! This might scare a child but not a teenager or an adult. It's more humorous than anything, and if the idea was to be humorous, then scary it's spot on.

This short book (only about60 pages) is eerie, scary, and perfect for children who love horror. I do feel younger children may be too scared by the evil spirit and twist ending. I highly recommend this book for older elementary and middle school students who may not love reading. They'll be drawn by the narration style and subject matter.

Read At Your Own Risk was a horrifyingly good time! With just enough spookiness and humor, Lai weaves a fun narrative that children will enjoy time and again!

The illustrations that accompanied the story were amazing and the splashes of red were an exquisite touch that really popped and seemed very realistic.

Read at Your Own Risk can definitely hold its own with the likes of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Dogman and I hope to see more from Lai soon!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing for the ARC!

a spooky middle grade read. i appreciated that the author was able to incorporate some pretty gruesome body horror in something targeted at kids, but that was thing i liked most about this story. there was some stuff that i felt was rushed in experimentation and some of the words that hannah used when writing felt a bit out of place (i sure didn't know what magnanimity meant in middle school). still, i feel like young readers will get a kick out of this one.

The perfect blend of sort-of-lighthearted narrative and hair-raising, deeply weird illustrations. This will warm the heart of every single Weird Kid who loves spooky stuff (and those of us adults who were once those kind of kids ourselves.)

Absolutely loved this graphic novel. Young readers who want a truly creepy story will enjoy this title. This will definitely satisfy MG readers who find much of the horror marketed for their age group not actually scary.

"Read at Your Own Risk" is the story of a girl who has been cursed and is being haunted by an evil spirit after playing a spirit summoning game with her friends in the haunted attic of their school. Hannah, our protagonist, writes an illustrated diary about her experience so that at least someone will know what happened to her after she inevitably dies as a result of the curse. The story is entertaining, with a mild dose of body horror. The evil spirit writes in Hannah's diary as well, with Hannah using black ink and the spirit using red ink. The spirit is especially entertaining, and the ending of the book is especially amusing. Highly recommended for middle grade fans of horror and the illustrated diary format.

3.5 ⭐️
A combination sketch diary with novel in verse. A scary story, one that teaches the reader NOT to play with the paranormal. What starts out as a "fun" game with a Ouija type board game turns almost deadly for Hannah and her friends. Can she break the curse or will it take her down...The sketches were reminiscent of Tim Burton's Corpse Bride and Nightmare Before Christmas.

First, thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing group for an advanced reader copy of Read At Your Own Risk by Remy Lai.

I was surprised by how dark this one was. It was very creepy and triggered my trypophobia multiple times. Therefore, I did not personally enjoy this.

However, I can think of several kids who visit the library who will love this one. It will make a great rec after publication.

Honestly, I think this is better suited for a young adult audience, in part because its protagonist alludes to "teen feelings" and in part because it is viscerally disturbing - which is great! It's a really fun, spooky read, but I think it's too dark for most younger readers. Some kids love that, though.

I loved this creepy, spooky book. This is the kind of thing that is right up my alley because my favorite flavor too is "grim and giggles." After a game of 'Spirit Coin' goes terribly wrong, Hannah finds herself haunted. Not just haunted, cursed. She decides to start keeping a journal so there is a record of what is happening to her. Of course, that doesn't mean she is immediately forthcoming with the truth. And it doesn't do anything to stop the evil spirit from inhabiting her journal as well. This book is legit pretty creepy and the sketch diary format works really well. A twist at the end that serves as a larger metaphor is handled pretty nicely. Remy Lai never misses, so this is obviously very good.