I loved Jimmy Juliano's debut novel, so when I got the chance to read this new book, I jumped! I loved following our main character, Piper, through an increasingly bonkers ride through the days of early dial up internet and Blair Witch style horror.

Piper is an outdoorsy kid who finds herself in a librarian role for her first job out of college. She's in it to support the kids, so she notices right away that things seem a little off with the new girl in the eighth grade class she's visiting. Avery's mom is insisting that she be in the class with her daughter at all times-- and the other kids are whispering that Avery's dad and sister died under weird circumstances. It is a haunting? A possession? Avery is definitely scared of something, and she starts writing short stories for Piper that seem too fanciful to be real explanations...

Since this is the early 00s, Piper starts live journaling/micro blogging her whole experience, and soon a whole host of anonymous fans are following along throwing out suggestions for Piper to investigate or intervene. She gets a little too close to the action and things spiral out of control.

I obviously don't want to spoil anything, but if you're an elder millennial like me, or interested in the early 00s like my college students are, you'll have so much fun seeing what Piper downloads from Napster and getting a little glimpse of how dangerous the internet was back then... we really had no idea what we were doing, did we?

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this one! I am a sucker for nostalgia, and creepy reads are my fave. Plus, I am a librarian in Meservey, Iowa, where a small portion of the book was set! Right up my alley. I found myself genuinely creeped out toward the end, so much so that I had to turn on The Office in the background to offset the scariness! The story within a story…within a story? did not confuse me - it was written in a very easy to follow way. A concerned librarian becomes involved in the life of a high school girl after observing her strange behavior seeming to relate to computers. I loved the whole virus thing, the touch of Exorcist vibes, and the metaphor about misinformation being a virus many people are all too eager to spread via a simple click. Super smart, compulsively readable, and just a fun time!!

I’m such a fan of this authors work. I adored Dead Elecen and couldn’t wait to get my hands on his new book. This one was just as good as I was expecting. I love the way this author tells stories, I love the mixed media elements added, I feel like it really brings his stories to life.

This is a fun and nostalgic horror book. I enjoyed the cursed media angle, it reminded me of The Ring, as well as all the 90's and early 2000's references. This is definitely a great one for Halloween!

Fun, nostalgic, and creepy!

The book takes a bit to get going- the period pop culture references aren't subtle- but once Piper gets into the mystery that is odd student Avery Wallace and her clingy mother, things get good and creepy. The mystery of the supposed haunting sucks you in, and the reality is even worse. I thought both the origin and effects of the haunting were original and creative, and Juliano did a great job keeping the stakes (and body count) high throughout. The ending was somewhat predictable, yet still very satisfying.

As I said above, the pacing is a bit uneven. Pipers lengthy inner monologue does drag, especially in the first 3rd. Pipers blog and Averys diary chapters help to break that up, though.

The real strength here is the well developed and disturbing paranormal elements combined perfectly with the early days of modern technology.

If you like nostalgic reads and/or or media-based horror, this is the book for you!

I really liked Dead Eleven, so I was absolutely thrilled to be approved to read the newest from Jimmy Juliano, 13 Months Haunted. I'll say, I mostly enjoyed it.

This waffled between a 3 and 4 star for me, but ultimately there were just a few too many irksome components to go higher than a 3. First being, I get this is set in 2001, but I just don't understand why the references have to be so heavy-handed. This book brought to you by Napster? The endless song lists felt forced and honestly became gimmicky after the first one. I also just don't understand and can't believe Piper would continue going online and posting even after believing it's all revolving around the internet. It also felt so wildly inappropriate to blog about a traumatized, bullied child. Posting her stories? Posting about her family's death? Crazy unprofessional and just morally gray asf. The addition of the crazed father at the end felt so over the top to me.

There were definitely some creepy parts, and I enjoyed the nostalgia, but the internet being a death vehicle has been done many times. Juliano is a talented author, and I've enjoyed his books, but unfortunately this one just didn't fully click for me. It's still recommend this to my horror friends and y2k fans.

I enjoyed the story and how the author utilized the setting taking place in 1999/2000. I liked how Piper's blog was integrated in the narrative; it would have been interesting to see the comments left below on the blog pages as well. Many passages left me feeling suspenseful and eager to see to the next chapter, though I didn't necessarily felt scared or fearful. I wish that Piper had more of a presence in the text, and that the audience could know more of her personality compared to the other characters. I really felt that Avery and her struggles were fleshed out in various scenes with her and her family, and I was very invested how everything plays out for her. I wished I could have felt the same for Piper, especially towards the end of the book.
I really enjoyed how all the loose ends were tied together at the end, and how big of a role the internet played in this story. This was a great, quick read!

Fantastically creepy and steeped in nostalgic small-town vibes, this chilling tale of isolation and dark secrets keeps you turning the pages. Piper and Avery’s bond draws you in, but the shadowy tension never lets up. A perfect blend of supernatural suspense and eerie twists.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for providing me with an eARC of 13 Months Haunted prior to its publication.

AYO!

Jimmy Juliano has done it again!!!!!

I am so thankful to Dutton Books, Netgalley, and the author for granting me advanced digital access to this blast-from-the-past horror before it hits shelves on August 12, 2024. I know there's quite a long way until this one is available to the public, but I was a HUGE FAN of Juliano's last work of art, Dead Eleven, and I just KNEW I needed to consume and digest this one ASAP (if not sooner).

13 Months Haunted is everything my 2000s self loved about the decade -- though I was a bit young for the days of AOL and Napster, I still so appreciated the various pop culture references and dial-up internet memories.

Piper, our main protagonist of this tale, is new to town and working at the Clover Creek public library, shelving books and getting by. In her role, she's able to visit the local middle school and introduce a writing contest for the students there -- and upon her arrival, she's caught off guard by a particularly ghastly looking girl, Avery, who has become the talk of the town after her dad and sister mysteriously passed away in their old hometown. Rumors spread like wildfires in this small town about her bizarre nature and that her mother lives, breathes, and walks in her living shadow, even at school.

When things start to go awry in class and around town, everyone places blame on Piper and her "witch" of a mother, saying they are casting spells and setting curses so sinister that children are passing away after opening up chain emails, supposedly sent from Avery herself.

This sparks Piper's investigative intuition, blogging about her findings, unveiling devilishly coded computer viruses, and getting in WAY over her head with something likely not of this world at all.

Though this book is set to be published in August, I really feel this is the perfect nostalgic read for the Halloween season when colder temps roll around.

I know quite a few teens and younger adults who will gobble this up. Crazy premise, reminds me of the movie “The Ring”.

While I confess that I wanted a bit more of the frame story (this is a story within a story - and sometimes another story within that), I really enjoyed this.

I was very curious about what was going on in this town and who was involved and I found myself pleasantly surprised.

I'd like to compare this to a particular movie/book series, but it would be a complete spoiler. I'll just say that it was a fun take on that kind of supernatural event.

Plot and characters are both handled well here.

A unique and very good read!

First I love the cover and titles it really draws you in
But the story definitely keeps you
I enjoyed it it’s not something I normal read but i Couldn’t put it down. I like how how unique this was
It was a little bit creepy which I loved
A brilliant horror I could not put down!

This is a creepy read but so much fun! Piper is a blogger in Clover Creek where odd happenings have been reported. Shy student Avery is being bullied at school and Piper volunteers there and would like to help but Avery's mother is very protective and wont let her out of her sight, Avery is a talented writer and her "ghost stories" are really good but is there more to them than just her imagination??? From Avery's perspective we see a black mist, a virus, and something "unspeakable." You may want to take a break from your computer after reading this one!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

Having really enjoyed Juliano’s first book I was eager to read 13 Months. I have to admit I didn’t care for the writing, or going back to the stone age in computers where all programs were slow. The plot was a little too far fetched for me.