In 'Are You Afraid of the Dark?' Reggie has his life already changing on him way too fast. A year earlier, his father was killed, and he is off course still grieving. In comes Ivan, a cold-blooded hired killer, on the run for the police and shot in his abdomen. Reggie tries to take care of Ivan, and a bond grows between them during the next days.

Although the period Reggie and Ivan will know each other is brief, their relationship never feels hurried or too deep too fast. Because of their past, both want to have a bond with someone very much. Both of them, right? Because as a reader, you're never made to forget Ivan is a dangerous and cold man.

This book is very much worth reading!

This book is fast paced. As soon as you start reading it gets straight into it. I wasn’t sure which way it would go, but I wasn’t disappointed. Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

This book wasn’t for me. Felt it was a stretch to mention Stephen King and Ray Bradbury in the description based on the quality of writing here.

3 stars

This is an unusual story of a hitman and a fourteen-year old boy who has recently lost his father. His Dad finally found his true calling as a pastor in a local church. He was shot to death by a junkie who in his panic left the few dollars behind. Reggie (the boy), is understandably bereft and his mother in just going through the motions of daily life.

Reggie meets Ivan in the woods near his home. Ivan has been shot in the stomach and in need of help. Rather than tell his mom or the authorities, Reggie takes him to his treehouse and nurses him back to health. Ivan reveals that he is a hitman – he kills whomever for money. Reggie becomes fascinated and is entranced by Ivan's stories (gory as they are).

While Reggie believes he knows much about death, he turns out to be a novice in light of Ivan's stories. They form a rather unlikely friendship. When Reggie learns the scope and nature of some of Ivan's killings, he becomes uneasy and ponders turning the man in to the authorities. After all, they have been in the area looking for the man in Reggie's treehouse. But Reggie feels a kind of loyalty to the hitman and delays his decision.

As Ivan gets better, they set out for the border. Ivan wants to escape to Mexico. They set out on a rather odd road trip. When they reach the border, all heck breaks loose. Reggie has a decision to make.

This book is fairly well written and plotted. There are some unbelievable moments, especially Ivan's initial wound. My belief is that when a person is shot in the gut, they do not last long. Nor could they travel from Arizona to Mexico with the ease that Ivan managed it. It seems to be a miracle that he survived at all, let alone travel and get along as well as he did.

I agree with another reviewer that this may well be a young adult story. I can see it appealing to young-ish boys on the cusp of maturity.

I want to thank NetGalley and Harper Impulse and Killer Reads/One More Chapter for forwarding to me a copy of this book for me to read, enjoy and review.

When Are You Afraid of the Dark? begins, Reggie is a 14-year-old boy in Arizona who thinks he's learned a lot about death already. After all, his father died recently. Then he meets a man in the woods who has been mortally wounded by a gunshot. His name is Ivan, and he begs for no police or ambulance assistance. Ivan is a contract killer, and the police are on the hunt for him.

Reggie doesn't do the sensible thing and tell his mother, who is overprotective and on autopilot due to grief, or call the police. Instead, he brings Ivan to his treehouse and tries to nurse him back to health. That is why we have a novel. The boy strikes up a sort of friendship with Ivan.

Ivan is, unsurprisingly, creepy, but Adams renders his draw for Reggie understandable. Both the boy and the man have much to confess and discuss, and few other people available who will truly allow either to express himself. Though the dialogue is stilted, and some situations are a bit far-fetched, Adams' plot propels the reader along. What will Reggie become after his encounter with this dangerous man?

When I was a teenage girl, I fell in love with the work of Ray Bradbury and Stephen King, both of whom are invoked in the publisher's description of the novel. I find this comparison a bit flattering for Adams. However, the vibe in their early works is present in Are You Afraid of the Dark?. My Bradbury and King books eventually grew legs and mysteriously found their way into my younger brother's bedroom. Though this is not marketed as a YA novel, I can imagine a teenage boy being enthralled by Reggie's adventure. He would be given much to consider.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A rather unconventional buddy story, 14-year old Reggie meets a wounded hitman and makes the decision to help him. Following the sudden death of Reggie’s dad, and the hitman’s choice of career (and through his own childhood), they’ve both been affected by death. They’re both damaged and both incredibly lonely. And rather unusually, they see something in each other, sort of a kindred spirit that allows them to connect. And it’s in those conversations that are the most engaging. As the story develops and certain obstacles are thrown in their way, the balance of power in the relationship fluctuates, and their connection is affected.

An ok read - I felt the initial conversations and final conversations between Reggie and the hitman were the most engaging. I would have liked even more development into their relationship. I did like how Reggie’s character developed over the course of the story.

Thank you to NetGalley for a Kindle ARC of Are You Afraid of the Dark?

I've never read a book by this author before but I'm glad my request was approved.

Fourteen year old Reggie is mourning the recent loss of his father, a pastor, at the hands of an addict. When he comes across a wounded man in the woods, he opts to help him rather than turn away.

It doesn't take long for Reggie and the man, Ivan, a contract killer, to form a parental bond. Despite the terrible deeds Ivan has done, Reggie discovers a strange sense of kinship with him.

Still grieving his father, tormented by a bully and his own mother's lack of involvement in Reggie's life, he turns to Ivan for friendship, support and understanding.

As the authorities close in on Ivan's location, Reggie will realize that things are never what it seems, and find his own way out of the darkness.

I liked Reggie; he was relatable, angry, sad, sympathetic. I empathized with his man and admired him for helping Ivan, for not turning away someone in need, not unlike what Reggie's father would have done in the same situation.

The author captures the budding friendship between Reggie and Ivan in a believable way; Reggie needs a friend and Ivan, with his dark past and career, is strangely the one person Reggie can relate to, and who can help find his way out of the dark.

This is a dark coming of age story, shadowed by the loss of a parent, by death and the passage of time, a tale readers of all ages can relate to.

Reggie learns, not without making mistakes, that life is not easy, that we all live and die, but the right path is there for each and everyone of us. It's our choice to make.

This was such a good read, I read it as quickly as I could as I couldn't put it down. Overall the characters were great and I really enjoyed the atmosphere of it..

ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK? Is the new second novel from Seth C. Adams, author of IF YOU GO DOWN TO THE WOODS. ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK? is a stunner: deep and deeply involving, heartwrenching yet ultimately, deeply satisfying to the soul. At any given moment I could not be certain what would come next, so I was nearly as om edge as protagonist Reggie. Simultaneously coming of age in the kind of way we would wish on no one, and a marvel of remarkable character evolution, this is a definite re-read. The author excellently grasps the psychology of his characters. An unforgettable story.