Middle Grade Madness! discussion

Another year, another superabundance of spooks!
Light your cinnamon candle and grab your pumpkin spiced lattes because we’re collecting spooky reads like a sugar-crazed 5 year old on Halloween night!

How it works:
- Recommend as many spooky books/graphic novels for our list as you want (read more about that below) OR you can just take part.
- There's no need to sign up to take part, just join in the conversation below.
- This readathon starts in October 2022 (countdown below).
- Create a new Goodreads shelf for the October Readathon so you can keep track of what you’ve read for it if you want!

- Recommendations for our list closes on 24th September.
- I will feed the books/graphic novels from our list into a random picker.
- Using the link below (not yet added), you can access the random picker, spin the wheel, and it’ll randomly pick a book/graphic novel from our lists for you to read.
- Read the book/graphic novel and let us know your thoughts on it below!
- Then spin the wheel of the random picker again and it’ll choose another book/graphic novel for you.
- Try to read what the random picker picks for you but if you don’t have access to that book/graphic novel yet or if it chooses something you’ve already read for the readathon or that you've already read before or that you don't want to read/have DNF'ed/aren't interested in, then spin it again and it’ll choose something different.
- Alternatively, you can just ignore the random picker and read anything on the list that you like, but the random picker makes it more fun and spontaneous!

IF YOU WANT TO RECOMMEND A BOOK/GRAPHIC NOVEL FOR THE LIST:
The Rules on Recommending:
- It can be a book or a graphic novel or even a manga.
- It MUST be spooky! That means it can belong to horror, supernatural, thriller, drama or belong to any other genre as long as it has some eerie vibes.
- The book or graphic novel must be in English or translated to English.
- They can be MG, YA, Adult or New Adult.
- If the book/graphic novel is part of a series please only recommend the first in the series.
- You can recommend as many books or graphic novels as you like to be added to our list.
- Please check our book lists from last year to give you an idea of the kind of spooky books we read for this event and also please try to recommend different books than those already recommended last year: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

The Book List:
MG:
Cirque Du Freak: A Living Nightmare by Darren Shan - Kadi
The One Safe Place by Tania Unsworth - Maddy
Stay Out of the Basement by R.L. Stine - Sophie
Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper - Capn
The Dollhouse: A Ghost Story by Charis Cotter - New Kid on the Book Reviews
The Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren Wright - Audrey
The Tell-Tale Start by Gordon McAlpine - Audrey
The Glass Children by Kristina Ohlsson - Amanda
The Ghost of Spruce Point by Nancy Tandon - Amanda
The Smashed Man of Dread End by J.W. Ocker - Amanda
This Appearing House by Ally Malinenko - Amanda
What Abigail Did That Summer by Ben Aaronovitch - Capn
The Wild Hunt of Hagworthy by Penelope Lively - Capn
The Satanic Mill by Otfried Preußler
The Amazing Mr Blunden by Antonia Barber - Capn
The Bone Collector's Son by Paul Yee - Capn
Ferals by Jacob Grey - Kadi
The Gravedigger's Son by Patrick Moody - Georgann
Gustav Gloom and the People Taker by Adam-Troy Castro - Georgann
Ghost and Bone by Andrew Prentice - Georgann
The Ghost of Graylock by Dan Poblocki - Georgann
Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney - Georgann
The Grave Robber's Apprentice by Allan Stratton - Audrey
The Owl Service by Alan Garner - Capn
The Thirteen Treasures by Michelle Harrison - Eden
The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud - Ilsen
Coraline by Neil Gaiman - Dalia
Spirit Hunters by Ellen Oh - Dalia
Spell Sweeper by Lee Edward Födi - Dalia
Ghost Squad by Claribel A. Ortega - Dalia

YA:
Into the Shadows by Cathy MacPhail - Kadi
Glass Houses by Rachel Caine - Kadi
*Locke & Key, Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill - Satrina
*The Graveyard Book, Volume 1 by Neil Gaiman & P. Craig Russell - Satrina
These Fleeting Shadows by Kate Alice Marshall - Amanda
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury - Capn
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi - Eden
Truthwitch by Susan Dennard - Eden
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas - Ilsen
*Squad by Maggie Tokuda-Hall & Lisa Sterle - Ilsen
The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones - Ilsen
The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas - Ilsen

Adult:
The Magnus Archives: Season 1 by Jonathan Sims - Chara
The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas - Kelly
The Dark by James Herbert - Dea
The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson - Dea
Carrie by Stephen King - Satrina
The Terror by Dan Simmons - Satrina
The Hunger by Alma Katsu - Satrina
Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix - Chara
The Chain by Adrian McKinty - Chara
⁺The Sandman by Neil Gaiman - Chara
°Naoki Urasawa's Monster, Volume 1 by Naoki Urasawa - Kadi
The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells - Grace
Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu - Grace
The Haunting of Ashburn House by Darcy Coates - Dea

Key:
* Graphic novels
⁺ Audiobooks
° Manga
(Names in italics are recommenders)

Countdown: https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown...
Link to Random Picker: https://www.classtools.net/random-nam...

This is our fourth October readathon! So I know it’s going to be hard to recommend books that haven’t been recommended before. But maybe this means it a great opportunity to recommend new horror books that published this year/last year or old books that have been forgotten about.

Either way, it’s totally fine if we get a few books on our book list that were also on past book lists but if everyone could please try not to recommend the same stuff they recommended last year that’d be great. Even I’m digging into my TBR to find something I haven’t seen in a while for our book list this year...

4th?! :D I think you need to update the banner (celebrating 2 years of...)! ;)

Congrats, Kadi! Looking forward to taking part this year!

Capn wrote: "4th?! :D I think you need to update the banner (celebrating 2 years of...)! ;)

Congrats, Kadi! Looking forward to taking part this year!"

Aaw thank you! I can’t believe it’s been that long since we started! And haha it’s nice to know people actually see the group banner and notice that!

I started the group in the middle of the year, June 2019, so according to the date calculator (and yes I really did have to use a date calculator😂) it’s been 3 years and 3 months since the group started. Which my brain doesn’t get because this is our 4th October readathon. But anyway maybe I will update the banner and make a new one once we hit 4 years. Maybe we can like vote on the colours or something and do a special kind of anniversary event. Could be fun...

I guess I'm participating in a whole 2(!) events this year! I only have access to library e-books right now & my typical TBR strategy doesn't work with e-books. (Normally, I go to the library & borrow every MG book that interests me, in alphabetical order [by author] starting with the first book on the "A" shelf). Thankful for the MG books on this list! Thank you, Kadi!

@Abigael we’re honoured to have you for 2 events!! Every little bit of participation makes it worthwhile for me so I always appreciate that.

Couldn’t you use your method for your library’s ebook catalogue? Like can the system not list the ebooks in alphabetical order and then you can scroll through them and get which ones you like?
I think that’s a pretty interesting method to use, it’s very methodical. I remember back when I was just a physical book reader I would go to a random shelf at my school library and search through all the books for one that sounded cool and you find so many unexpected hidden gems that way! I actually miss that. I’m so goodreads reliant now that when I rarely visit a library I always check the book’s reviews and ratings before I decide to borrow it. It sort of removes the spontaneity of library browsing.

Also to anyone waiting for the list, sorry, I was working on it yesterday but then I got distracted by a manga I was reading. I’ll finish it and upload it some time today.

The random picker is already up for anyone who wants to roll it though!

I wanted to recommend some!! Sorry, school sucks. I’ll try to do it today

No problem Ilsen! We’re all busy so I get it. If you do it some time today I can definitely still add them to the list.

Coraline
Spirit Hunters
Spell Sweeper
Ghost Squad

Ok I finally narrowed down my picks! It was really hard but I feel like I got a good variety:

1. Squad (I wanted more graphic novels on the list and I really want to read this!)
2. The Bone Houses (Such a quick read and it's perfect for the spooky season!)
3. The Darkest Corners (My best friend has read almost all her books and I've had this on my shelf for so long)
4. Cemetery Boys (I thought this list needed a bit more diversity and my best friends love this book! Very heartwarming while also perfect for Halloween)
5. The Screaming Staircase (I know this one was on last year's list but I'm still in the middle of the second book and I need a push. Also it's a great series and it's about to have a second book)

I hope you enjoy my picks!

Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay but the book list is finally up at the top of the page!

The random picker has also been included above so let’s get to some spooky reading!

So I spun the wheel and got:
Squad which I’m going to check is on Hoopla and if it is I’ll read it.
Coraline which I’ve read like 4 times so I’m not reading again.
Glass Houses which was my rec and I read it just a few months ago so I’m not reading it again
This Appearing House which looks super great so I’m hoping I can get round to reading it. Actually all of Amanda’s my horror recommendations look great! They all have such nice covers too!

I just started Naoki Urasawa's Monster, Volume 1 (which is one of my recs on the list) and so far it’s good👏🏻

Surprised to find one book that was on my TBR

and I checked it out at the library because they had it on the displsy stand. Havent read it yet.

I spun and got Ghost and Bone. Looks good!!!

Hi guys! I’m new to this group! I spun and got these five books. I’m going to try to get to all of them!
- The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
- The Bone Collector’s Son by Paul Yee
- The Tell-Tale Start by Gordon McAlpine
- Ghost Squad by Claribel Ortega
- Ferals by Jacob Grey

I am currently limited to library books but hopefully I can find all of them!

Taylor wrote: "Hi guys! I’m new to this group! I spun and got these five books. I’m going to try to get to all of them!
- The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
- The Bone Collector’s Son by Paul Yee
- The Tell-Tale..."

Hi Taylor!

I mostly only do library books too :) Regular books, e-books, and audio books! I hit up the used book store too sometimes.

I've only read The Graveyard Book from that list. I liked it a lot.

Dea~Country Girl At Heart wrote: "I rolled, and got This Appearing House by Ally Malinenko. I have never heard of this title, or this author, so should be interesting."

I got this one too! Just got myself a copy of it so hopefully I'll get around to it this month. I'd be interested in seeing what you think of it!
I actually recognised the author's name from her other spooky book Ghost Girl which I haven't read but I've seen around

Taylor wrote: "Hi guys! I’m new to this group! I spun and got these five books. I’m going to try to get to all of them!
- The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
- The Bone Collector’s Son by Paul Yee
- The Tell-Tale..."

Hi Taylor, welcome to the group!😊 Hopefully you can find the books that you've spun for at your library. For The Graveyard Book, Volume 1 the one on the list is actually the graphic novel adaptation but you can read the book instead if you want, so whatever you can get your hands on or prefer then go for it!

Also if you do end up reading Ferals I'd love to know what you think of it! I actually came across it because my library had it as an ebook on Libby and for about 2 years now I've been wanting to read it. Now you've reminded me of it I'm going to get a copy so I can try and read it this month!

My first spinning is done and I got:

The Hacienda
The Glass Children
The Ghost of Graylock

After I finish this ones I'll try to add The Graveyard Book, Volume 1 and The Terror

I have other books to read and finish as well, but I still want to try this one, so I will only read what I have on my tbr or what I find interesting.

I will turn the wheel and notate them in the order:

Books I think are interesting:
Spell Sweeper by Lee Edward Födi
This Appearing House by Ally Malinenko
The Smashed Man of Dread End by J.W. Ocker
The Gravedigger's Son by Patrick Moody
The Dollhouse: A Ghost Story by Charis Cotter
The Thirteen Treasures by Michelle Harrison
The Tell-Tale Start by Gordon McAlpine
The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones
The Ghost of Graylock by Dan Poblocki
The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas
Ghost Squad by Claribel A. Ortega
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
Spirit Hunters by Ellen Oh

Books on my tbr:
The Haunting of Ashburn House by Darcy Coates
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
Glass Houses by Rachel Caine
The Chain by Adrian McKinty
Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix
Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill
Ferals by Jacob Grey
The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud
Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney
Preludes & Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman (Sandman)
The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas
Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

Books I already finished in the past:
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Cirque Du Freak: A Living Nightmare by Darren Shan
Carrie by Stephen King
Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu

@Dana I actually got the idea to add Cirque du Freak to the list from you! That reminds me I need to get a copy of it.

So tonight I’m starting This Appearing House and I’ve seen in some reviews that it’s quite spooky so naturally I’ll be reading it in the dark for maximum effect! Looking forward to it!

@Kadi Have fun!

Hello Everyone so i just read lightning falls by Amy Wilson which altho not on this list rlly does fit the theme! I’m now going to start thirteen treasures which has been on my tbr for years so that’s exciting and its also my bday tomorrow so hoping for some books


Hope ur r all good xx

EdenB15 wrote: "Hello Everyone so i just read lightning falls by Amy Wilson which altho not on this list rlly does fit the theme! I’m now going to start thirteen treasures which has been on my tbr for years so tha..."
Happy birthday a little late! I hope you got all the books for your birthday!!

Happy (super late) birthday Eden! I hope you had a great one!

How’s everyone’s October reading going? Anyone read anything from the list?

I started Ferals yesterday and I’m a few chapters in. It’s actually not too bad so far! Lately I’ve noticed that if I’m not intrigued straight away I drop the book (hence my terribly disorganised currently reading shelf) and my attention hasn’t completely wained yet so I might actually finish this book!

Im going to read Spell Sweeper once I finish the sci fi book I didnt get finished last month it started out so slow but now I'm almost halfway through Dragon Pearl.

Kadi wrote: "How’s everyone’s October reading going? Anyone read anything from the list?

I started Ferals yesterday and I’m a few chapters in. It’s actually not too bad so far! Lately I’ve noticed that if I’m ..."

I just finished The Hacienda (review to come) and was going to start with The Ghost of Graylock but decided instead for Small Spaces

Nope! I won't get Small Spaces delivered today... So, The Ghost of Graylock it is.

Kadi wrote: "How’s everyone’s October reading going? Anyone read anything from the list?

I started Ferals yesterday and I’m a few chapters in. It’s actually not too bad so far! Lately I’ve noticed that if I’m ..."

Rocking along over here! The Satanic Mill (a.ka. Krabat / Krabat & the Sorcerer’s Mill / Krabat and the Legend of the Satanic Mill / Curse Of The Darkling Mill!), is very original - not terrifying, and certainly not balanced gender-wise (99% male characters!), but definitely a breath of fresh air. :)

I just finished my first read, The Gravedigger's Son and it was a 5 star read from me!! Also just read The Bone Collector's Son, but I didn't really care for it much.

Thank u guys xx I just finished reading hocus pocus adaption of the movie and also a 25th anniversary special so yes not on the list but spooky all the same

Georgann wrote: "I just finished my first read, The Gravedigger's Son and it was a 5 star read from me!! Also just read The Bone Collector's Son, but I didn't really care for it much."

I finished Krabat / The Satanic Mill and thought it was great. :)

Currently reading The Bone Collector's Son and... yeah. It's really more 'slightly spooky historical fiction' than 'MG ghost story'. Sorry for the weak recommendation. ;)

I've got Antonia Barber's The Ghosts (aka The Amazing Mr Blunden) lined up next, which is supposed to be very good indeed. We'll see. ;)

Capn wrote: "Georgann wrote: "I just finished my first read, The Gravedigger's Son and it was a 5 star read from me!! Also just read The Bone Collector's Son, but I didn't really car..."
I also thought it looked good. And, you can't be expected to know how good it is before you've read it! I did the same thing in another group, and gave the book I recommended a pitiful 3 stars. *shrugs*

Georgann wrote: "Capn wrote: "Georgann wrote: "I just finished my first read, The Gravedigger's Son and it was a 5 star read from me!! Also just read The Bone Collector's Son, but I didn..."

I've learned another valuable Goodreads lesson from this, as well - the high rating and glowing reviews for The Bone Collector's Son appear to be almost solely from teachers and educators looking for books that fit their required annual curricula. And because it's historical fiction, it checks rather a lot of educational boxes.

The LOW scores and negative reviews all look like they were written by 13 year olds forced to read it by said teachers! XD

So there you go - books can have an artificially high rating when they fulfill government-mandated educational criteria. ;)

As I wrote in my review, I think it was perfectly satisfactory as a reading assignment - I have certainly been forced to read more boring books than that - but it didn't quite cut it for the Middle Grade Madness October Readathon. ;)

The Amazing Mr Blunden aka The Ghosts, however, is right up there with The Satanic Mill aka Krabat, though! :D Younger audience, but just great so far!

The Ghost of Spruce Point was a five star read from me! Not even a little bit scary - was there a ghost? - read it to see!

Rereading the Scarlett and Ivy series and then starting the children of blood and bone :)

Someone please shake some reading spirit into me😩
I’m fed up of DNFing everything yet I don’t seem to have the attention span to make it past 15% of any book!

I’m 40% through Ferals and I’ve officially stalled. I’m so annoyed with myself like I just want to finish it but I also have no interest in reading it right now. Which is weird because I WAS ENJOYING IT

Kadi wrote: "Someone please shake some reading spirit into me😩
I’m fed up of DNFing everything yet I don’t seem to have the attention span to make it past 15% of any book!

I’m 40% through Ferals and I’ve offic..."

Is it context? Can you go to a new environment to read? Public square outside, or a library? :)

Or switch the medium - audiobooks, and a long walk or jog? :)

I saw that you had DNF three books, Kadi! I think Capn's suggesstions are good ones and might help. Good luck. I read Ghost. Gorgeous cover!

Kadi wrote: "Someone please shake some reading spirit into me😩
I’m fed up of DNFing everything yet I don’t seem to have the attention span to make it past 15% of any book!

I’m 40% through Ferals and I’ve offic..."

Great suggestions from others. I'll add a change of format. I've been listening to audiobooks as I walk, drive, clean, or cook. It's like someone is reading me a story. I've found it a lovely way to engage with a book without having to sit still.

I think it definitely is context Capn. Also you’re the second person this week to suggest I try audiobooks to read more! Alas, audiobooks don’t work for me because I need to see what I’m reading to comprehend it and I don’t have great hearing so I’ll either be on edge trying to catch every word or I won’t pay attention and it’ll be background noise.

Basically I think there’s 2 parts to the issue of why I’m not reading anything lately.
1. Because of work I get waaay less time to read and when I do have free time after work I’m really tired and don’t want to use my brain by reading. Reading is not the kind of activity where you can switch off like you have to be fully engaged whilst reading because if I just passively do it then I don’t retain any of what I’m reading and it’s meaningless.

And 2. There’s so much I want to do it’s overwhelming. Like I want to finish reading 4 diff books and 3 diff comics and watch this show and this movie and respond to everyone’s comments on this group and my Instagram friends and it’s so much that I get put off and feel like doing nothing.

I mean I’ve always known I can’t do so many things at once or else I just give up so now as Georgann’s noticed I’ve DNF’ed so many books to clear up my currently reading shelf and I’m just going to focus on 1 book and 1 comic at a time. And I finished watching the show and can’t find a new one to watch so that shouldn’t be a distraction I think. I want to read 2 books for this readathon. If I can manage that I’ll be happy.

@Jeanne I’m glad audiobooks work for you! I wish they could work for me because I love the concept of them but I always treat them like the radio so I don’t pay attention properly and then I’m bored.

Plus I feel like it’s really weird to hear a narrator reading a book. When I read it’s my voice in my head so to hear like an American guy or whoever narrating an audiobook in an accent different than mine really changes my perspective on the book because the narration adds to the reading experience.

Does anyone else find that some audiobook narrators immediately put you off the audiobook? Or change your opinion of the book in some way?

Kadi wrote: "@Jeanne I’m glad audiobooks work for you! I wish they could work for me because I love the concept of them but I always treat them like the radio so I don’t pay attention properly and then I’m bore..."

Audiobook samples are everything if the narrorator doesnt sound like how I picture the main character sounding or close to it, I just cant.
And the one audiobook for had music in the background sometimes, very cool since the characters play music, but sometimes it was hard to hear the narrarator so I would have to rewind it, but good audiobook other than that. Highly reccomend the book in novel form its amazing!

Where do you hear audiobook samples from? I had no idea those even existed Aurora!