Review by Booklist Review
With a brush of nostalgia, Meloy takes readers to 1980s Oregon, where a picturesque town is about to unearth something sinister. A construction project, led by 13-year-old Archie's father, grinds to a halt after digging reveals a destabilizing cave beneath the site. This discovery coincides with a surge in unusual occurrences around town and strange behavior among the adults, noticed primarily by the ragtag foursome at the novel's heart. A general sense of unease is elevated when Archie and his friends (Athena, Chris, and Oliver) sneak to the construction site for a peek at the cave and Oliver falls into a sort of epileptic fit. Meloy expertly teases out the suspense to foster an atmosphere of otherworldly mystery, while concretely establishing the story's sense of time and place. Delectable details stud the narrative with an '80s sensibility--a video store, a character wearing Jams, myriad music references--as the kids pedal their bikes madly to confront the increasingly dangerous threat besetting their home. Written for his young self, whose only horror option was Stephen King, Meloy delivers a solid middle-grade horror story with authentic chills and splashes of gore. The friendship between the four main characters drives it all, much like in Stranger Things and Stand by Me, ensuring readers' hearts are engaged as much as their adrenaline.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this aesthetically eerie novel by Meloy (The Whiz Mob and the Grenadine Kid), set in 1987 Oregon, it's up to a quartet of friends to save their small seaside town when a real estate development awakens a long-buried evil. The plan was to build a resort in place of the long-vacant Langdon House, a Victorian-era legacy of Seaham's founding family--until excavation reveals the nearby promontory to be permeated with holes. Thirteen-year-old Archie Coomes, whose father owns the construction company, is looking forward to a fun summer with friends Athena, Chris, and Oliver, including a much anticipated camping trip. But odd occurrences soon arise: an elderly woman mutters "They shoulda left it hid," local adults act strangely out of character, and Oliver's "unexplained episodes" turn into increasingly vivid visions. All that coupled with the arrival of three poetry-spouting newcomers in old-fashioned suits, and the friends find themselves delving into the town's history and the true nature of the mounting threat. Evoking 1980s adventures such as The Goonies, and referencing horror flicks of various eras via the town's resident sage--owner of a Betamax-only video store--Meloy constructs an oddly ambiguous menace within a nostalgic summertime adventure involving cinematic chase sequences, uncanny occurrences, and psychological unease. Characters cue as white. Ages 8--12. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Sept.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Kids save their town from an ancient evil. Archie, Oliver, Chris, and Athena live in Seaham, an economically depressed, small coastal Oregon town where many streets and landmarks are named after the Langdons, a reclusive, wealthy, 19th-century fur-trading family. Archie's dad was in charge of a multimillion-dollar project to develop a portion of the headlands, much to the dismay of Athena's environmentalist parents and others in the community--but it's been paused. Sinister happenings quickly take over the town and the adults in it after the appearance of three strangers who seem new to being human. Old photographs indicate some ancient evil at the heart of the town's founding, and the adults are suddenly replaced with sticky, odd-smelling replicants. The story, set in 1987 with a cast of bike-riding kids, their older siblings, a helpful adult nerd, one character with psychic powers, and an ending that leaves room for a sequel, feels like a middle-grade adaptation of the TV show Stranger Things. It's a fun, creepy, attention-grabbing story, but a long and slow buildup culminates in a rushed climax and resolution, and the incomplete-feeling worldbuilding doesn't quite allow readers to settle into the deliciously ominous truths introduced at the very end. Characters are cued as White. A fun read with a classic feel. (Horror. 9-13) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
