The Sacrifice Box

Fantastic read! I can feel the stranger things link there, and Ive only watched the first 5 episodes of that haha.. spooky and twisted, keeping you gripped and wanting more.

Characters
I love all of the characters; each one was a unique and definable identity within the group. Something that must be hard to achieve when you have such a large ensemble.
Sep is my favourite; he is relatable and the primary focus of the story despite its third person narrative. His development and sacrifices are monumental to the plot and endears him to me just as a young Wil Wheaton once did in Stand By Me.

Arckle reminds me of Corey Feldmen in pretty much every filmic incarnation he’s had. I love the humour, and cursing, he brings to the group.
Okay, so I’m making reference to Stand By Me, but it’s so much more than that. The group represent the best of all teen ensemble movies; the Goonies, The ‘Burbs, IT and the modern day equivalent, Stranger Things. If it ain’t broke, why fix it, right? Except Stewart does fix it; we have a much more gender equal group and, not only that, they are characterised by their stereotypes. Both Hadley and Lamb are welcome editions that are not prom queens or cheerleaders.

Plot
A class horror plot, perfect for a night in when the air is crisp. With the supernatural element to set up the main part of the plot, you will feel a very creepy vibe from the very start.
The exploration of school friendships and how people drift is a refreshing change to many school based novels.
The action speeds to a crescendo in time for the final act of the book; well written and engaging. The whole book is resolved neatly and quite beautifully; the group going their separate ways while being closer than ever.

Writing
While the writing is engaging, I found the lack of establishing a location a little distracting. You see, in part it reads like a charming, sleepy, American town. However, there are also nods to British culture. It’s described as an island of the mainland, so I considered Scotland, Isle of Man and other coastal areas, but nothing really fit.
I even paused to google the named location in the book, but I wasn’t successful in confirming a location. It’s not something destructive to the plot and I once I reconciled myself with the idea that I was free to establish it as a perfect blend of UK and US I really quite enjoyed the location. (Turns out, all you really need to do is find the author on Twitter… that might give you a good indication it’s set on a island off the coast of Scotland. I’m so reading this book again come Halloween so I can read it as it was, i’m sure intended, with the characters having beautiful Scottish accents)
The use of third person was a strange novelty for me. I’ve been finding that most YA books lean towards first person narration. I don’t remember growing up there being so much first person, or a certainly a lack of third, but here I am having to get used to a form of writing that I was once comfortable with.
Obviously, this makes the writer a little omniscient; and that, I really like. It gave Stewart the freedom to travel in time and expand beyond Sep’s point of view.

This book was a really nice surprise and so on the current trend of eighties revival stories.

If you like Stranger Things, Goonies, E.T or Stand By Me this book is really for you, starting in the beginning of the 80's around 1982 five kids spend their summer together at the end of the summer they find a box, which they sacrifice an item each to celebrate there friendship and how important it is to them!!

There are rules with a sacrifice box, do not go back to it at night, do not go by yourselves and Do Not remove your sacrifices!!!

Now in 1986, the five friends no longer speak to each other they don't even acknowledge each other, but things start to happen which means the kids need to speak to each other!!

There is also things going with a group of adults, did they use the sacrifice box as well???

This is a great story with a really interesting plot, well written, with a coming of age story and how life moves on.

Well paced with a great mix of characters that will suit young and old readers.

This book had me intrigued from the start. Stranger things meets Stephen King. What's not to like? I read this in one sitting it was that good the slow build into a fast paced horror this book has all the premise of a brilliant film. September (short for September) has one amazing summer where he and his friends Arkle, Mack, Hadley and Lamb find a box in a wood and decide to sacrifice things that would make them be friends. However move forward four years later,that summer is forgotten and Sep is looking for ways to leave. Suddenly the four are at his side again and something is wrong. Someone broke the rules and the box is wanting revenge. On their hunt to right this wrong we see this group of strangers become something more their feelings of friendship slowly coming to the forefront. We go back further into the past, uncover more secrets about the box and the power it has. Dead things come back to life , loved ones are killed and finally Sep realises what he must do to stop this once and for all. Wow this book was good. So much so I was desperate to continue reading more of Martin Stewarts. I've already but in my preorder!

The blurb for this book lured me in; the story it told had me hooked from the start.

Tagged as reminiscent of Stand By Me, and Stranger Things will surely be enough to ensure a large readership. Perhaps that's a bit of a wide catch all, as the book is set in the 80's, and centres around a group of teenagers as they struggle with the supernatural. That's irrelevant though - the story is fantastic, and fans of those titles should love this.

The only part I found annoying in this was the sections set in 1941 were severely lacking in spaces. I'm not sure if this was intentional, or an editing error - whichever it is, it needs putting right. It made those sections really hard to read.

This book was a perfect mix of Stranger Things meets Stephen King.

It was not relaxing read, I found nd myself really tense, rushing on to find out how things would end for the 5 friends. The horrors they had to endure, I felt like I was a sixth member just along for the ride.

I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who does not mind a little gore and guts.

A spooky YA thriller that goes from creepy folklore to gut-churning horror. Grisly and disturbing, but with real heart and great characters, especially Arkle.

A love letter to the 80s in general, and 80s horror in particular.