Review: The Saturday Night Ghost Club
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Genre: Cozy Horror | Publication Date: 8/14/2018 | Pages: 253 | Month read: September 2024
What made me pick this up?
I stumbled on this book last year in Barnes & Noble and was immediately drawn in by both the charming cover and title! I added it to my TBR and saved it specifically for this time of year. Being that I enjoy horror novels, cozy books, and vintage vibes a la Stranger Things, this was a no-brainer for me.
“And love is the great influencer, isn’t it? We will move mountains, shift space and time, for love.”
GoodReads Synopsis: A short, irresistible, and bittersweet coming-of-age story in the vein of "Stranger Things" and "Stand by Me" about a group of misfit kids who spend an unforgettable summer investigating local ghost stories and urban legends.
Growing up in 1980s Niagara Falls--a seedy but magical, slightly haunted place--Jake Baker spends most of his time with his uncle Calvin, a kind but eccentric enthusiast of occult artifacts and conspiracy theories. The summer Jake turns twelve, he befriends a pair of siblings new to town, and so Calvin decides to initiate them all into the "Saturday Night Ghost Club." But as the summer goes on, what begins as a seemingly lighthearted project may ultimately uncover more than any of its members had imagined. With the alternating warmth and sadness of the best coming-of-age stories, The Saturday Night Ghost Club examines the haunting mutability of memory and storytelling, as well as the experiences that form the people we become.
My Thoughts
“Cozy horror” is a new sub-genre to me and this book fits that description so well. With its centering around a group of kids and an eccentric uncle investigating haunting, local stories as the “Saturday Night Ghost Club,” it’s equal parts coming-of-age and comfortably scary. The horror elements err more on the spooky side but still felt digestible and not too disturbing, similar to Stranger Things (one of my favorite TV shows). I tend to not read thrillers or horror books too late into the night because I’m a scaredy cat but I was able to enjoy this as my bedtime read!
The conclusion of this story was unexpected, well done, and somewhat emotional! One of those endings that I didn’t see coming but when I reflected on the book overall, I could see hints of foreshadowing sprinkled throughout the story that led to the ultimate conclusion. I enjoyed the reading experience in and of itself but the ending added another layer of depth to the overall story, boosting this from a 3.5 to 4 star read for me.
I highly recommend this book for a fall read (top it off with a warm beverage and this YouTube ambience video), or as a first step into the horror genre!
Rating: ★★★★
Buy the book: Amazon | Bookshop.org
