Review by Booklist Review
Ethan Pitowski, self-described scaredy-cat and ball of anxiety, accepts the challenge to watch the "scariest movie ever made" with the entire sixth-grade class. His two besties, Olivia and Harley, won't let him miss out, but in true Ethan-like fashion, he shows up after the real scare happens, when everyone loses their head to the movie--literally: the titular "monster movie" is an actual monster movie, taking the screen as its body and chomping heads clean off (bloodlessly). Ethan makes ready to run, but when his besties are taken by the monster, he must risk his own head to help them. In this delightfully thrilling follow-up to his middle-grade debut, Dust and Grim (2021), Wendig leans into his signature wry humor while drawing up relatable characters in uncanny scenarios. And while this horror novel glows with enough gruesome detail to rival the best B-rated monster flicks, it's the sci-fi twist at the end that will keep readers up at night. Recommended for the Goosebumps crowd and fans of classic horror.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
When 12-year-old Ethan feels overwhelmed by his anxiety, his best friends--devil-may-care goofball Harley and confident, pragmatic Olivia--help him overcome his fears. Such is the case when they convince him to attend a classmate's viewing party of Demons of Death 4: Death Fingers, an urban legend--inspired horror film that's "supposed to be the scariest movie ever made." Though Ethan arrives late, he's just in time to watch the television transform into a cyclopean creature that devours people's heads while leaving them alive yet unresponsive. Now Ethan must find a way to confront his own fears without Harley and Olivia if he hopes to rescue his friends and save the world from an unstoppable menace, along the way discovering the secrets behind the film and its monster. In this gleefully off-kilter ode to late-night B movies and classic kids' horror tales like Goosebumps, Wendig (Dust & Grim) skillfully tempers terrifying events with a tint of absurdity, playing them against Ethan's all-too-relatable worries. It's a fast-paced and intense adventure that never loses sight of its human elements. Ethan and Harley are white; Olivia is Black. Ages 8--12. Agent: Stacia Decker, Dunow, Carlson & Lerner Literary. (Sept.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 3--7--Ethan Pitowski is scared of everything. So, when his classmate, Kevin Rook, invites the whole sixth grade to his basement to watch the scariest movie ever made, Ethan refuses to go, even when his best friends Harley and Olivia beg him. He eventually changes his mind, arriving at Kevin's house just in time to find his classmates hypnotized and frozen in front of the TV screen. To his horror, the TV transforms into a monster that climbs off the wall and eats the students' heads one by one, only there's no blood, and their bodies seem to still be alive and breathing. The monstrous TV Head appears to be unstoppable and intent on invading every home and building in the city. It is up to Ethan to face his fears and solve the mystery that will save the world. This imaginative horror novel for kids is suspenseful and engaging, with a truly terrifying monster--but also full of funny, exaggerated characters and descriptions that keep the tone light. Ethan is an endearing, unlikely hero who learns the importance of fighting for the things and people you love. The races of most of the characters are not identified, but from the descriptions, they are assumed white, with the exception of Olivia, Ethan's best friend, who is Black. VERDICT This funny, fast-paced celebration of horror movies will appeal to fans of "Goosebumps" and similar series.--Ashley Larsen
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A timorous sixth grader is the only one who keeps his head, literally, after a private viewing of the scariest movie ever made. This work is more allegory than unvarnished shockfest--but along with creating a monster creepy enough to squick even hardened readers out, Wendig expertly ratchets up the terror and suspense to a feverish pitch. Already subject to panic attacks, Ethan reluctantly bows to heavy pressure from best friends Harley and Olivia to take a quick peek at a classmate's showing of the legendary, impossible-to-getDemons of Death 4: Death Fingers. He arrives at Kevin's house just in time to see the TV sprout limbs and, horribly, a mouth to nip off the heads of his whole sixth grade, leaving their still-breathing bodies otherwise intact beneath necks covered in "smooth Silly Putty skin patches." TV Head next gets to all the adults who are at school for parents' night and then everyone else in town. Summoning the courage to tackle the eerie, seemingly irresistible monster head on and rescue its victims proves so life-changing for Ethan that he's even able, afterward, to persuade his parents to stop discouraging his interest in art. The book includes a pitch to let kids watch (developmentally appropriate) horror films as part of their preparation for real life: "It's like a vaccine." Olivia is Black; other major characters present white. A bit message-heavy, but top of the class when it comes to frights.(Horror. 9-12) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
