A spooky paranormal middle grade read, but not for the faint of heart. The beginning chapters set the mood for a creepy book that will scare young readers who love to read novels about things that go bump in the night.
As friends bond together to set the wrongs of the past right. They must battle an evil entity in order to set the spirit of their friend free, but she is not the only soul that is trapped in the old haunted house across the street.
I was not expecting this book for younger readers to be so fearfully mesmerizing. Definity not for young readers who can be scared easily by ghosts, hauntings and demons.

*Thank you to Karen Strong, Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing | Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers and Netgalley for the copy. I am freely leaving my honest review.

Wednesday Thomas has never really had friends. She’s always kept distance between herself and others, not wanting them learning the truth – she can see ghosts. Having a nomadic lifestyle also helped. Since her parents split up, Wednesday and her artist mother have been living in an RV, living nomadically in the southwest. But a terrifying encounter with a wicked spirit changes everything for Wednesday. She no longer wants to interact with ghosts. She no longer wants her gift. And she will now stop living nomadically, instead moving with her mother to take up residence in her great-grandmother’s infamously haunted house. At the same time that she is trying to reject her gift, ignore the ghostly happenings around her, and make friends, however, she also learns that she is not the only one who believes in and can see ghosts in this town. She is not the only one who has encountered a wicked spirit. And there is a force out there that is making even the ghosts afraid.

This was a beautiful, spooky story that addresses grief and loss, navigating new friendships in the oh so difficult middle school years, and finding the strength to embrace your true self. It was well written, had good pacing, and just enough creep factor without being overly scary for more sensitive readers. I do wish we had learned more about Caleb and his own gift or seen more of him throughout the book given it is his story we learn first and get roped in with. I had expected him to play a larger role and did find myself wanting to know more; but given the focus of the story is Wednesday and her new friends, it ultimately makes sense not to focus too much on him. Overall, I highly recommend this book for middle grade, especially grades 4 through 7 and will definitely be adding it to my school’s collection.

THE SECRET DEAD CLUB was so fun to read! I love my spooky books with a little bit of mystery and that's just what this story had.

A positively ghostly read that is perfect for spooky season! Wednesday is back in her mother’s home town and has quickly found out that she is not alone in her specter seeing abilities. I am such a sucker for a mystery story and The Secret Dead Club was a perfect one! Brimming with themes of friendship, celebration of diversity, grief, and growing up. Such a special story!!

This is exactly what I thought it would be when I saw this was described as The Babysitter’s Club meets Stranger Things lol It sounds weird, because it is. But it was also really, really good! And I really enjoyed this one!

Ok so bit about the Babysitter’s Club was spot on. There’s a club and they have meetings, but they don’t necessarily get calls. Unless you mean calls from the dead. Wednesday is kind of new to Alton and she has a secret. But when she meets Mili and Danni-Lynn, she realized its not so much a secret after all. She’s Which is strange because the secret she had? It’s seeing ghosts. But Miki and Danni-Lynn know that she can and invite her to their club. It was so cute!

What Wednesday doesn’t want to admit is the fact that something bad happened at the last place she was, so she doesn’t exactly want to talk to ghosts for a while. But then she meets the girls of the club….. And their ghost. Just when things are starting to feel back to normal, it seems there’s another malevolent ghost that she must banish. I was on the edge of my seat at this point. I don’t want to say who the ghost is for spoilers, so just know I was in shock lol

As for the creepy, I thought it was going to be super creepy because of the beginning (I mean they had a dead woman crawling on the ceiling?) But the rest of the book wasn’t nearly as creepy. This was a disappointment, but I had to remember this was a MG book lol So because of this, I wouldn’t say this was horror, but it was definitely a paranormal book with a little more on the spooky side.

This was a lot of fun! I do hope there’s a series here. I would love to see what other things they’re getting up to. And I really am interested in seeing more creepy in them. And I’m interested in how the other girls know everything. I just need more!

The switches in tenses and character perspectives were interesting, and middle grade readers who like their books slightly spooky may enjoy this. I thought the motivations of the main character were very hard to follow. Even though the book was mainly from her perspective, she always seemed to be reacting to things and then doing other things at random. I never could really understand how she came to her decisions, like why she wanted to be friends with anyone in particular, or why she decided to trust any person or ghost, or why she took most of the actions she took. Most of what she thought and felt wasn't really explained, so I felt kind of locked out of her thought processes.

The Secret Dead Club has all the makings of a great spooky read. It has a reluctant hero, a diverse friendship group, and a mission to stop a wicked ghost. The history behind Wednesday's family house is perfectly gruesome which works for middle-grade readers. It just took too long to get into this story.

At the 30% mark, I was still unsure if I would enjoy this by the end. The whole thing with Wednesday calling her mom Olivia was strange. How the story introduces lodestars (a gift that helps mediums escape wicked ghosts) as a memory didn't really work. There could have been an interesting connection with Wednesday and the Callahan ghost throughout the story but he only appeared at the end. The friendship dynamic was okay. The reasoning behind forming the Dead Club brings that emotional pull into the story but I didn't quite care for the members. Danni-Lynn's dad is going to jail but nothing happens with that storyline. Miki was a little too much. I can understand her motivations and hard-headedness but that didn't make me like her. Alexa was actually the most interesting side character but we hardly got to see her. I feel like there should have been more interactions with ghosts and a better way for Wednesday to form these new friendships. The pacing overall felt off to me as well.

I did like how Violet, the dead ghost from across the street, created an emotional and memorable ending to the story. She was what brought everyone together. Overall, I think The Secret Dead Club had a lot of potential but there were a little too many missed opportunities. However, I can see how readers who prefer stories with friendship drama and some supernatural elements would enjoy this.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers for providing me with a copy of The Secret Dead Club in exchange for an honest review.

As a kid I was into the supernatural. I wished I had telekinesis and I loved reading books where characters see and do things the rest of us couldn't - including, talk to ghosts. Strong's newest book is sure to be a hit with today's young readers who love ghosts, clubs and the unexpected. It's a creepy and fun friendship/horror story with a fascinating dual timeline. Well-crafted, and aside from a little bit of a dark opening (no spoilers!) the whole story is spooky fun.

A fantastic spooky middle grade that provides just enough chills to satisfy readers. Fans of ghost stories will love this one. It explores the middle grade theme of friendship perfectly and is such a fun, thrilling story. Highly recommend.

Another great ghost story from Karen Strong. Loved the diversity and the characters/relationships were well drawn. I think middle grade graders will love it!

Another great novel by Karen Strong. This book is filled with so many of the things I love: ghosts, Halloween, diverse characters, a celebration of differences, a heartwarming message of acceptance, and a loving nod to family and friends.

Fast paced and thoroughly engaging. This book kept me interested throughout.

I feel bad that I've been in such a reading slump because I haven't been able to care about a lot of these anticipated releases like this one. I really wanted this one to be the one to break the slump, but unfortunately, this wasn't it for me.

This book is a new middle grade horror book about a girl who can see ghosts. Wednesday moves to a new town and she tries to adjust to her new life and make new friends all while seeing ghosts.

This was a fun read! I loved the spooky elements throughout. I felt like it was spooky enough but not too much where it will scare kids too bad. I also liked the real stuff sprinkled in like friendship. I liked the writing and the characters a well.

I think a lot of kids will enjoy this book!

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

The Secret Dead Club
Karen Strong
In this tale we meet Wednesday Thomas. Wednesday has a unique talent or curse. She can see ghosts. Her mother, Olivia, is an artist and they lived in an RV until a belligerent ghost attacked Wednesday. Olivia decided it was time to sell the RV return to their home at Callahan House in Alton, Georgia. Wednesday’s mother and father are divorced; her father is in London where he is serving as a medical resident in London. Callahan House is where Olivia grew up; she was raised by her grandmother a psychic. Callahan House is haunted. Caleb Callahan is a banisher, in the 1940s a ghost killed Caleb and his sister. But Caleb sent the ghost packing. The experience in Arizonia left Wednesday shaken and nervous and leery of seeing ghosts.
Laura Tarkington was a teacher at the school; her spirit still lingers in the school. She was killed in a car accident. Violet Delgado died last year of meningitis; her spirit still lingers in the house across the street from Wednesday.
Wednesday makes friends at her new school and was surprised to discover a group of girls that know about the spirit world. Miki Okada and Danni-Lynn Porter asks Wednesday to sit with them for lunch. They ask Wednesday to join their secret club, the Dead Club. One of their previous members, Alexa, warned Wednesday to stay away from Miki and Danni-Lynn. Violet was the group’s medium before her death.
Violet’s spirit cannot leave the house, an evil spirit has captured her; the Dead Club must rescue her.
This is a great book for middle school students. It is well written, and the characters are well developed, multifaceted, and diverse. Miki and Danni-Lynn are friendly and welcoming. I thought it odd that Wednesday called her mother by her name. Wednesday had a strong support group; both her family and friends were there for her.
Thank You NetGalley for providing a copy of this book for review.

Moving to a new town is rough, but for Wednesday trying to make new friends is the least of her worries. Wednesday can see ghosts and her last encounter with one was NOT pleasant. Surprisingly, she meets other girls who believe in and want to understand the spirit realm and invite her to join their club. When a ghost appears across the street, all is not what it appears in the quite new town. With the help of her new friends, both living and dead, Wednesday learns more about herself and just how much her gift can influence not only her, but those around her.
The book was fun to read. Just the right amount of spooky and fear mixed with friendship. Reminds me of the old Joan Lowery Nixon type books. I hope there is more to come, would love to see this become a series!

his was so cute. I loved how diverse the characters were, and it was not force. right away this novel, explains to you where this gifts comes from and the fact that is not a secret. I enjoyed this, because it didn’t feel like a coming of age thing, and the fact that Wednesday’s family was pretty knowledgeable and accepting of this gift. While also understand her hesitations and drawbacks with the gift. The spookiness was perfect for the audience, middle grade. The way this book was establish, I am hoping we do get more because it was a little rush and I think it has potential to go in different adventures with these characters. My other issue was that sometimes the characters read older than their ages. Besides that, I will be buying this physically when publish and will recommend to clients during spooky season.

This will be publish on my fable, Goodreads and lemon8. Tentative date: May 26

This was a really fun, spooky middle grade novel. I thought the ghosts were just the right amount of creepy for middle grade readers.

I liked all the characters and thought the friendships were realistic. The world building could've been a bit stronger, but I don't think that will matter to the book's target age group. I know I really would've loved this book when I was about nine or ten. I could see this becoming a popular series for kids who like to be slightly scared.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Karen Strong for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for The Secret Dead Club coming out August 20, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author. I like to check out middle grade books now and then to see what they’re like. I definitely would’ve loved this book when I was in middle school. I loved the ghostly, creepy vibes. Wednesday is a bit of a loner because she sees ghosts, but she’s able to make some friends in her new school. I loved the themes of the book. The writing was great. I loved the dialogue. It felt real to what it felt like to be in middle school. The supernatural elements were a lot of fun. I would definitely check out other books in this series.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys spooky middle grade books!