Dread Wood - Jennifer Killick

 

Angelo, Hallie, Gus and Naria are all serving a Saturday morning detention at school.  Things begin in a pretty normal way with their teacher, Mr Canton, confiscating all of their phones for the morning, storing them safely in his bum-bag so they can't be used.  He's an incredibly upbeat teacher who is trying his best to be trendy but just isn't endearing himself to the group.  The school is located in an old mansion and is set in its own grounds on the edge of Dread Wood, which means animals such as pigs can be kept and looked after by the students.  The group have only just handed over their phones when a scream pierces the air and Mr Canton races off to investigate, instructing the group to remain where they are.  Of course, they completely ignore his instructions and follow him.  They head to check on the pigs and quickly discover one of them is missing.  And then things really begin to get strange: before they know it, Mr Canton has been dragged under the field by an unknown creature and Mr Lachitt, the caretaker, and his wife are behaving in a very strange manner - and why on earth is Mr Lachitt constantly humming a nursery rhyme to himself? Alone, and with no way of getting help from the outside world, it's up to Angelo, Hallie, Gus and Naria to get to the bottom of these strange and terrifying goings on before it's too late.

I am a big fan of Jennifer Killick's books and loved the scariness of the Crater Lake series, so I was intrigued and excited to get hold of an early copy of Dread Wood.  This is a book that gets to the heart of the matter quickly, taking you in its hold and not letting you go until the very end.  It's creepy in the best way will have you both scared, chuckling and compelled to read on in equal measure.  

The characters are a group of mis-matched senior school students who have all been given detention for different reasons and their different personalities shine through from the very beginning.  There's a stand-offishness about them and they are all wary of revealing too much at first, but as things take a turn for the worst, they have to learn to trust in each other and they begin to open up about their lives and the reason they are in school on a Saturday morning. It's from this building of relationships that we get the banter that adds a lighter side to the rather terrifying events that are unfolding before their very eyes, revealing a human side to the children - I find Jennifer very good at this in all of her books: the way she creates that natural vibe between them feels very real.

I don't want to say too much about what is lurking beneath the surface of this book, but it's safe to say that I most definitely needed my teddy bear to keep me company whilst I read, and that reading in bed before I put the light out was definitely an error!  Jennifer has managed to create a completely fictional idea and make it sound totally believable and I, for one, will definitely be looking more closely at the school field when I arrive at work at the start of next term - you just never know!

Jennifer Killick is becoming known as the queen of funny/horror fiction in the world of middle grade and Dread Wood places that crown very firmly on her head.  This is a brilliantly funny/scary book about why you should behave in school, but also looks at friendships and remembering that we don't always know what other people are going through.  So grab a copy (and your teddy bear!) and get ready to be thoroughly entertained and terrified as you bravely enter Dread Wood.