Today's WHAT'S THE BUZZ is a Middle Grade Fiction title coming to you TOMORROW via Aladdin/Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing and features a FANGtastic story that's just vaiting for you to sink your teeth into. 🧛 Sound like your cup of tea? Better be careful what you drink and from whom in this town, but prepare yourself as we dive between the pages of today's book of choice...
by
Christine Virnig
9781665946575
Aladdin
Release Date: August 6th, 2024
About the book...
When Caleb’s mom decides they are moving to her childhood home in Wisconsin, Caleb is not thrilled. Moving schools, states, and time zones would be bad enough, but Mom’s hometown is Samhain, a small and ridiculously kitschy place where every day is Halloween.
Caleb is not a fan of Halloween when it only happens once a year, so Halloween-obsessed Samhain is really not the place for him. How is he supposed to cope with kids wearing costumes to school every single day? And how about the fact that the mayor is so committed to the bit that City Hall is only open from sundown to sunup to accommodate his so-called vampirism? Sure enough, Caleb becomes an outcast at school for refusing to play along with the spooky tradition like the other sixth graders. Luckily, he manages to find a friend in fellow misfit Tai, and just in time, because things are getting weird in Samhain…or make that weirder.
But there’s no way the mayor is an actual vampire, and their teacher absolutely cannot really be a werewolf—right? Caleb discovers Samhain is so much stranger than he ever could have imagined. As one of the only people who realizes what’s happening, can he save a town that doesn’t want saving?
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This is a book that really gets under your skin. It makes you really wonder about that seemingly innocent little old lady down the street that likes to garden and prefers pointy hats. It makes you second guess that acquaintance that seems to have an affinity for nights versus days, and burns rather easily. It makes you think about those friends or coworkers that don't get sick often, but just happen to about once a month...around the full moon. This is a book that YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS!
Starting over is never easy, especially when prompted by a tragedy, but when you land in an unusual town where it's Halloween every day? Yeah, that's something else. I mean, you actually have to wear a costume every day...both children AND adults...because if you don't, THEN you're the odd one out! Sound like fun? Oh, I'm sure it could be...but then there are the oddities. The strange teacher that disappears once a month around the full moon, the neighbor that knows more about you than they should considering you're never talked with her before, and even the city government officials keeping VERY odd office hours (as in only when the sun is down!). Doesn't seem like a big deal, right? I suppose everyone needs to have a place to call home, and Caleb and Tai have a great connection to be besties for life...but what about those that go against the grain? What about those that don't agree with covering things up, letting missing person cases slide under the rug, and creepy SSS-ilencing business of anyone that asks the wrong questions? Yeah, that's definitely making my moral compass swing towards no, so I don't blame these two for questioning things, and digging for answers. The only real problem is...what will happen if they discover what they think to be true to be ACTUALLY true? And who can they trust so they don't become the next people to disappear? *dun dun dunnn*
While it's release is perfectly timed for the start of the SPOOKY reading season, and the story definitely has all the fine attributes we look for when reaching for that seasonal read (come on, a town that is ALL about Halloween, all the time?! With townspeople that make you second guess if it's a costume for them or every day life?), it also has A LOT of heart. We have loss of a family member (trigger warning for those that need it...though it's not in detail, it is definitely an underlying vein in the story touched on several times.), new beginnings, finding friends and being one, the power of promises, and learning how to follow the truth while being your true self. I loved the friendship Tai and Caleb built seemingly in a heartbeat. I liked Caleb's devil-may-care approach to the costume "rule", and I'm sorry, but his were totally punny! I enjoyed getting to know the town and the townspeople...well, MOST of them...and while the ending felt just right, I LOVE how it definitely left things open just in case the author wants to pay a visit to Samhain again (please, please, PLEASE!).
A great pick for Middle Grade Fiction fans of all ages, and a SPOOKTACULAR way to welcome the Halloween season that's fast approaching. You never know, you may even get a costume idea or two of your own!
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About the author...
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Christine Virnig is a fan of books, candy, spooky stories, poop jokes, and coffee…in no particular order. As a former physician, Christine now spends her days writing books, reading books, and working at a library where she is surrounded by books. Christine lives in southern Wisconsin with her husband, two daughters, a ridiculous number of dust bunnies, and one incredibly lazy cat. You can visit her on the web at ChristineVirnig.com
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Special thanks to Alex at Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing for the chance to share this title with you and for the copy for review! (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, or the publisher, feel free to click through the links provided above. This title celebrates its BOOK BIRTHDAY August 6th, 2024, so mark your calendar or pre order your copy today!
Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!
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