Another great read from JK. A group of children who find their place with each other and have a scary adventure. Keep them coming.

Characters: I really loved the group of characters in this story. They are a bunch of misfits who don't don't along but when things start to get scary and weird i love seeing them come together.

At the beginning I wasn't sure if I liked any of the characters as they seemed annoying and mean but as we continued through thus story I fell in love with all of these characters.

They have all done some things they aren't proud of and it's nice to see them admit to those wrongs and learn from them.

Atmosphere: This book is so atmospheric. This story gave me a lot of fall vibes so it's a great book for spooky session.

Although the atmosphere does become quite dark and scary the characters within this novel provide a lot of comic relief throughout which I enjoyed.

Writing: The writing is excellent in this story! Jennifer has done such a great job writing from this young boys perspective and did so well creating multi dimensional characters.

Plot: This book is so so creepy. For a middlegrade book I became very spooked out. This story explores a big phobia I have that I was not expecting so I think that's why this story freaked me out so much more.

Intrigue: Although I was scared of what the heck was happening in this story I was very Intrigued to figure out what was going to happen.

Logic: This story made a lot of sense and nothing pulled me out of it.

Enjoyment: I loved this book and cant wait to read more from this author!

Dread Wood is a fast-paced Middle Grade drama set in a school called Dread Wood High. Four kids meet at the gate on a Saturday, having earned themselves a ‘consequence’, something like a detention. As they wait to be let into the estate (because an estate it is), we are introduced to Angelo, the main character. He and his classmates have landed themselves in trouble on one fateful day earlier in the week, and now it is time to make up for their bad behavior. In the course of the morning, the group gets to know each other as well as uncover some secrets around their school, the ground specifically.

I expected Dread Wood to be an adventure, with more of a fantasy twist than a scifi one, but that was my mistake. I actually quite enjoyed the way the plot and characters were written and the setting and pace of the novel was well done. Through the different characters – Angela, Hallie, Gus and Naira, I got a glimpse of the different kinds of kids that study at the school. It also gave the kids an opportunity to realize how they are the way they are – why Angelo is aloof, why Naira is so driven to get to the top, why Hallie is always protesting about something, and why Gus is a self-conscious sweet guy. I loved their troop and enjoyed how the story built their camaraderie while putting them in tough situations.

Though the group starts off with a teacher, an impromptu investigation into a missing pig leaves the kids unattended and fearing a monster. I was reminded of the tales that buildings and forests often hold for young minds, and Dread Wood reminded me of my time in school. My Grade 1-10 school was close to a cremation ground where dead bodies were burned and I am sure you can imagine how that can run imagination wild. Anyway, while the narrative is sinister and creepy, the danger isn’t of a supernatural nature. With Angelo’s keen interest in animals, the kids soon realize that there might be a strange extra-large spider living under the school grounds. What follows is their quest to save themselves from being taken/eaten, getting some clues on how the creature came to be and a way to connect to adults – because now that Mr C is out of the picture, it’s just the grounds keeper and his wife who could help but they are giving a Witch in Gingerbread house vibe.

Overall, Dread Wood is an engaging read. I enjoyed the cast and liked how they personally evolved as well over the course of the story. It has a good mix of humor, suspense and spookiness. This was a quick read that creates some memorable characters!

Many thanks to the publisher, FarShore, and The WriteReads for providing me with a complimentary digital review copy for an honest review. This review was first posted on my website, Armed with A Book.

If you hate spiders, then Dread Wood by Jennifer Killick might not be the book for you!

Angelo, Hallie, Gus, and Naira are having to spend their precious Saturday serving detention at their secondary school: Dread Wood High, after all being involved in a massive food fight that has already been immortalized as “The Dread Wood Riot”. However, not long after the teacher in charge has signed them in and locked away their phones, he vanishes entirely, leaving behind only his cap and evidence of a disturbance.

The kids, who have now named themselves Club Loser, set out to investigate but are soon even more deeply disturbed when they spot the caretaker’s wife throwing a live chicken into a well on the property while whistling Incy Wincy Spider to herself. It doesn’t take the group long to figure out that the school’s creepy caretakers are somehow involved in their teacher’s disappearance, and that something is lurking below the ground, something that can sense their movement whenever they touch the ground and attack in an instant.

With their phones confiscated and the gates locked, the four of them quickly realize that they’re in much bigger trouble than just detention, but as they begin to talk, they begin to understand that it’s no coincidence that the four of them are all stuck there that day. Someone has been watching them and planning everything that has happened, but who is behind it all and why have they been targeted?

This was a brilliantly creepy middle-grade horror that will make you nervous about ever walking across your school playing field again! The slow build-up of tension was well-written and the reveal, while slightly bonkers, was a lot of fun and sets up for the next book: The Fear Ground which will be book two of a planned four-book series.

Recently I’ve been reading some fantastically creepy books, especially those from the middle grade and young adult brackets, and Dread Wood certainly fulfilled that brief.

The group of four students are not those naturally inclined to be friends, and are very different from one another. Put under extreme teacher-eating-monster-stress however, they find that they have more in common than they realised, and, more than that, are forced to trust one another due to the circumstances they’re facing. Their interactions feel believable and honest, as does their character development, together and separately.

While I did find the evil scientist trope a bit of a disappointment, and feel this book would have actually been better to have had a supernatural / paranormal background to it, the other scientific aspects of the story were interesting. That the school had animals that they took care of, and one of the little group happened to be really knowledgeable about the spiders and insects was genuinely interesting. I even learned some spider facts!

With a fast-paced plot, characters you will come to very much care about, and absolutely scary things happening, this will well go down as a modern Goosebumps-type read.

Creepy and full of horror for the younger readers. I was a little disappointed that this was more sci-fi than it was ghosts but enjoyed it all the same!

I had been recommended Jennifer Killick’s books whenever I asked for ideas for children’s horror, and this was perfect! If you’re looking for well-written, modern, spooky (but not too terrifying!) books for 9-12 year olds, she is perfect. Dread Wood is set in a school where 4 classmates have to spend a Saturday in detention. Over the course of the book the four children learn to appreciate each other’s skills, and untangle the mystery of why they were all assigned detentions. The story is properly scary, with teachers disappearing underground and some strange scary creature trying to kill them, who seems to be in league with the creepy caretakers. This will appeal to children who enjoy Goosebumps, but is a high quality book you could read to a class- as long as nobody is too afraid of spiders!

Thank you so much to The Write Reads and Farshore Books for providing me a copy of Dread Wood to read and review.



As I mentioned above, I read Crater Lake by Jennifer Killick last year and I loved it! It’s the perfect combination of humour and horror. I jumped at the chance to dive into another one of her books!

The blurb to Dread Wood really doesn’t give you any clues into what this book will involve, and I think that works really for the novel! The creeping sense of unease coupled with neither us as readers or the characters knowing what is going on really adds to the drama and the scariness!

Boy does this book deliver on scariness!! I was genuinely freaked out at times reading Dread Wood and had to put the book down. Points in this novel made my skin crawl, and I’m not that squeamish really!

This novel has some amazing representation, including having a character with a stoma! I rarely see this in middle grade fiction so this was a brilliant touch when it appeared!

I love the main characters of this book. As we get to know them throughout the novel it is impossible not to grow attached to them as you read.

Overall I really enjoyed this spooky middle grade novel a lot, it was action packed and really kept me on the edge of my seat! I would highly recommend!

I absolutely LOVED this book! Creepy middle grade is totally my thing, and I would say I’ve read pretty much every book in the genre so far (okay, probably not every single one, but there can’t be many that I haven’t read yet!) and this one was sooo good!

Four kids in school – on a Saturday of all days. The children couldn’t be more different from each other, but they all have something in common: they are all there for detention. Their teacher, Mr. Canton, is quite annoying – too happy, too enthusiastic, but then he disappears… and not only him. A pig disappears too.

What does a pig do on the school grounds, you ask? Well, this school has them. And many other animals too. Many of them. SO many.

I loved to see the children slowly bond. Hallie, Angelo, Gustav and Naira are so different from each other and not the biggest fans of each other, but after being forced to work together to find their teacher (not even just once!), outrun the more than creepy caretakers of the school grounds (their continuous humming sent tingles down my spine!) and find out what exactly is happening there, what the gooey stuff on the fields is and … there is really soo much to say, and I don’t want to spoil your fun of reading this incredible book and find out for yourselves, so I won’t say anything else. Just…trust me when I say this is one of the best creepy middle grade books out there!!

I loved all the twists and turns, the sarcasm, the bonds of friendship that grew stronger with every chapter, the secrets and mysteries…basically everything! If you’re a fan of creepy middle grade, then this is the book for you – you are in for a thrill ride!

5 stars from me – it really deserves it.

This is absolutely brilliant, an easy read in one day, unable to put down book.

Four kids heading into detention on a Saturday of all days, with a cast including a fabulously enthusiastic detention teacher, some pigs, chickens and the creepy caretaker. You just know it’s going to be a great read…..what is going on?!!!

Brilliant!

My thanks to Netgalley and Farshore/Electric Monkey for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review

Another excellent horror story for children from Jennifer Killick, with a great new cast of characters, a fast paced plot, and monstrously modified monsters. The novel is well plotted, various strands pulling together to create a story that deals with far more than just monsters and survival. THere is the complex issue of bullying, who does it, why, the repercussions, and possible consequences. There are issues of poverty, parental pressure, disability etc. all mixed in, alongside genetic engineering and revenge. It's just a great read, fun, creepy, but with things to think about . Can't wait for the next one!

When 4 teenagers are given a Saturday morning detention at Dread Wood High, they know it's going to be the worst time ever. However, until their teacher disappears underground, they have no idea of just how bad it will be...

Dread Wood is a perfectly creepy story for older children. The relationships between the teenagers as they have to work together to uncover the secrets of the school are well told and realistic.

Looking forward to the sequel!

What school kid doesn’t look at the school they see everyday and wonder what it’s like when no one is there?

Teachers are vampires, the books in the Library come to life and oh, the many ghost and horror stories that crop up and spread like wildfire.

Dread Wood and the setting of the book Dread Wood High is the perfect location for a Horror book because places that are so used to being inhabited by people and noise, is utterly creepy when the table flips over. It’s so easy to imagine spiders and creepy crawlies sneaking up on you, to think the rarely seen janitor is more than they look like. It’s such a brilliant setting to add to the ambiance of the story and to highlight the main cast!

The main thing I loved about this book is how real it felt for many kids. Angelo, Hallin, Naira and Gus are kids who come from working class families and they have the problems that come with that.

I know growing up we didn’t get as much representation in that department, a lot of Children’s books had considerably comfortable families and I love that we’re getting more of that representation.

That kids would see Angelo and feel understood that he looks after his brother and needs to earn money.

That Naira is trying her best so her and her mother can live a comfortable life when she grows up, that means fighting for any extra credit or opportunities that she can to get the best.

I think that their upbringing works so well in this novel because all of the kids, they’re in detention and basically it has all gone terrible. The caretaker is creepy and may be trying to kill them, and there might be gigantic spiders?! How do they get out of this mess alive?

But they are surprisingly level-headed about it, more so than most people would be. Yes, their fear takes over them at times but with the helps of the others, it becomes easier to manage and when they come up with a plan? They’re all very clever and help figure out what is happening.

Well this was a fun read! I really enjoyed this book. It was fast-paced, fun, and creepy in parts, and I didn’t guess what was happening. The characters were great to read. I loved seeing how their relationships evolved from page 1 to the end, and how they overcame the events of the book. I think that Angelo was a great main protagonist, and I liked that we didn’t know the full reason as to why the characters ended up in detention in the first place. I loved seeing such different personalities working together so well throughout this book. All 4 classmates were so different to each other, but all had elements in common. I think this really helped them seem more realistic!

I enjoyed the setting of this book. The school itself seemed really cool: I love the idea of having loads of animals in school, I wish we’d had that when I was in school! The school grounds were huge, and I could really picture the characters running from place to place. My favourite part of the book was seeing what genius ways the characters got out of different situations, using whatever they had to hand to do so.

Overall I gave this book 3.5/5 stars, and would recommend it if you enjoyed the Goosebumps series when you were younger. It was a really fun read with lots of twists – an excellent middle-grade story!

Dread Wood is named after school where Hallie, Angelo, Gustav and Naira spend their Saturday in 'detention.'

Each child is at school for a different reason - which becomes apparent as the story unfolds. Killick's characters are realistic and she is a master of setting the scene and creating tension with her carefully crafted words.
I particularly liked the 'chicken' scene with the creepy caretakers - I'll never listen to 'Itsy, Bitsy Spider' again without thinking of this scene.

The book is fast paced, each chapter leaving you on a cliffhanger and the ending isn't rushed but is 'left open' for a sequel!

Though quite short, this book is a great reminder of the kids horror i used to devour, like darren shan and barry hutchinson. It's different, since it's 'real' monsters rather than demons or whatever. It perhaps wasnt the scariest, but it had a great feeling of suspense and made me keep reading, and i'm pretty certain i'll read the rest of the series.
minor spoiler warning, but also phobia warning: this book contains massive spiders. it's revealed relatively early on, so it's not too big a spoiler. But just in case someone is really scared of spiders, to the point they couldn't read about them, i thought it was worth mentioning.
i liked all the characters, and the way they talked to each other, for the most part, seemed pretty realistic.
so i recommend this if you need a bit of horror. It's scary, but not so scary that you would have nightmares afterwards.

That was one creeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeepy book, jeez i had goosebumps reading it, absolutely hated reading it but couldn't put it down cause i wanted to know what's gonna happen next.
let's just say that i was glad to close the book by the end of it ^^

It's as if The Breakfast Club turned around and said "make it spooky". Angelo, Hallie, Gustav, and Naira have been thrown together for Saturday detention and as soon as they arrive at school something doesn't feel right. The ground rumbles, their teacher goes missing, and one of the class piglets is nowhere to be seen, can they find their way out of danger?

Thank you to The Write Reads and Farshore for arranging this excellent blog tour and sharing this outstanding middle-grade horror with me! My fellow reviewers are already posting excellent reviews and you can find them via The Write Reads on Twitter!

Middle-grade novels are always such an endorphin booster for me because the underlying message just hits me right in the heart, and even though Dread Wood is based in horror it still gave me such a warm, fuzzy feeling. I'm not sure if that was Killick's intention but the friendship that developed between the four main characters was written so well that it was actually my main takeaway from the novel itself. As with 'The Breakfast Club' the characters started not really involved with each other and ended up (spoiler) bonding under intense pressure and creating what will clearly become life-long friendships. With that being said, the way Killick has written a book intended for middle-grade children that actually creeped me, a 24-year-old, out is incredible. In our blog tour group chat we could all agree that this was beyond creepy and it made my skin crawl whilst reading.

Killick created an exceptional atmosphere from the first sentence, I have always loved a single setting story that doesn't extend past the world created and this just reinforced that love for me. By using an immersive writing style that is ideal for transporting children into the story Killick manages to bring a whole new world to life in this book. Whilst it is a tad scary in places the comedic relief that the characters provide was exceptionally well timed and incorporated into the narrative.

Creating an intense villain backstory was perhaps a touch too far for a middle-grade novel just for the level of understanding from the target audience. Without giving it away it is one thing to play on the fear of spiders, and another to involve the complex matter of experimental science on animals.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, it was a quick read for me and that was purely based on the fact I couldn't stop without reading just one more chapter, and before I knew it I had finished the final page! If you know a middle-grade-aged child that wants a bit more of a thrill with their books then this is definitely one to pick up for them! Just make sure you're prepared to buy them a nightlight...

If you ever had detention as a kid I highly doubt you would ever think your day would be spent trying to stay safe from humongous spiders. Let’s just say I’m not a fan of those creepy crawly creatures and kept getting the feeling they were crawling on me while reading, haha. The author really made me feel like I was right along with our characters.

The cast of characters is what really made this book amazing for me. We don’t know much about them at the beginning. Only that they all did something to give them detention on a Saturday morning. Angelo, Hallie, Gustav, and Naira aren’t friends, but must spend the day together. We read from Angelo’s POV and learn a bit about him from the start, but slowly see more of the characters. I loved seeing them get to know each other and start to bond while trying to save themselves and get out of detention alive. I really believe a friendship developed here and that’s one of my favorite things about middle grade books. Also, I loved that they all really thought about what they did and in the end tried to make it right.

That being said I definitely got a mad scientist vibe from Mr. & Mrs. Latchett. They really gave me some creepy vibes and the author really portrayed them well. And even though most of this story is wrapped up I love that it leaves us with the feeling that there could eventually be more. All in all, I really enjoyed Dread Wood and read it in one sitting. Horror isn’t my go to genre, but if I got more stories like this I would definitely read this genre more.

DREAD WOOD.

Such an awesome read, that made a 4-hour Eurostar journey fly by.

Jennifer has a brilliant knack for fusing a chilling story with important social messages and an additional sprinkling of humour for good measure.

Absolutely brilliant author and terrific for UKS2.