Nightbooks

March 1, 2018

Gr 4-6-A spine-tingling dark fantasy about the power of facing down fears and choosing your own fate. Alex loves horror stories, but the night he sets out to destroy his beloved "nightbooks"-notebooks full of his original tales-he finds himself trapped by a witch in an enchanted apartment. Natacha, the capricious witch, requires Alex to tell her one of his horror stories each night, or else. As Alex runs out of stories, he enlists the help of the apartment's other trapped occupants, a cautious girl named Yasmin and the witch's begrudging cat, Lenore, to find a way to escape. White has crafted a chilling fractured fairy tale mash-up of "Hansel and Gretel" and "One Thousand and One Nights." The book is full of horror tropes such as bone keys, disappearing rooms, an unhinged but sympathetic villain, and a child-eating witch. But it's more than just a grisly fairy tale. Alex and Yasmin are never reduced to caricatures, and they react to their imprisonment in believable and nuanced ways. At its heart, it is a coming-of-age story about kindness and friendship and the importance of choosing to use one's own power for the good of others. VERDICT Fans of gloomy fare such as Lemony Snicket's "A Series of Unfortunate Events," Adam Gidwitz's "Grimm" books, or Neil Gaiman's Coraline will find an equally twisting and terrifying tale here. An excellent addition to any middle grade collection.-Bridgid Gallagher-Sauter, The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from May 14, 2018
In this clever synthesis of One Thousand and One Nights and “Hansel and Gretel,” a boy captured by a witch must tell a different spooky story every night if he wishes to stay alive long enough to escape her clutches. But even though he has notebooks full of nightmare-inspired tales, Alex needs to come up with new material to appease his captor, whose impossibly large apartment is filled with lurking terrors. He finds a reluctant ally in Yasmin, a fellow captive, but even she may not be able to help him outwit the witch and return to the real world. Too bad he’s suffering from writer’s block. White (the Thickety series) skillfully interweaves Alex’s peril with the stories he tells, which possess a juvenile gotcha horror in their own right. (Possessed teddy bears, ghost-filled playgrounds, and vampires who steal reflections all make appearances.) The blend of folk and fairy tale elements works extremely well under the circumstances, and the protagonists share an enjoyable camaraderie as they attempt to thwart their common enemy. Despite the dark premise, the narrative never quite crosses the line into horror, making it a safe bet for younger readers. Agent: Alexandra Machinist, ICM Partners. Ages: 8–12.

June 15, 2018
Imprisoned by a real-life witch, horror addict Alex's only hope for survival lies in his ability to spin his own nightly tales of terror.Alex Mosher knows that there is something wrong with him. Normal kids don't obsess over creepy things, and they certainly don't keep "nightbooks" full of their own scary stories. In an attempt to lose the label "weirdo," Alex sneaks out of his own apartment in the middle of the night, down the elevator to the basement boiler in order to destroy his work. But when the elevator stops on the fourth floor, Alex is beckoned into a bespelled apartment and trapped by the witch Natacha. Aided by fellow prisoner Yasmin, Alex is given the task of storyteller, reading nightly from his nightbooks for the witch's pleasure. He spends his days exploring the apartment and planning an escape even as he begrudgingly finds that he enjoys having an appreciative audience. When Alex discovers that his stories serve to appease an ancient evil that even Natacha fears, escape becomes even more urgent. White (the Thickety series) presents an engrossing and creepy tale that blends elements of "Hansel and Gretel" and The 1,001 Arabian Nights, explores the storytelling craft, and addresses perceptions of normalcy. Interwoven tales will thrill middle-grade horror fans. Alex is white, and clues indicate that Yasmin is Arab-American, while Natacha is depicted as having dark skin and spiky hair.A thrilling tale of magic that is just scary enough. (Horror. 9-12)

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Olivia M. - A boy named Alex got kidnapped by Natasha the witch oh no! Alex befriends a a girl named Yasmin. If you like adventure, suspense, and action read this book. Nightbooks is a book by J.A White and it was published in July,24,2018. If you like horror that is a bit scary but not that scary I recommend this book to you. In the story the character is a boy named Alex. An evil witch named Natasha trapped Alex in her magic apartment using magical illusions of Alex’s favorite things. Alex wanted to escape but Natasha had a magical key so Alex could not escape. When Alex was forced to write scary stories for Natasha he wrote them in the library. He saw notes from an unknown girl with directions on how to escape. Alex called this person a unicorn girl. Because she had a unicorn pendant. Alex made friends with a girl named Yasmin who Natasha had also trapped. Alex could not find all the notes written by unicorn girl so Yasmin decided to help Alex find the notes so they could both escape. When they found the notes they battled Natasha and managed to escape and live happily. In my opinion the characters in Night Books would act friendly once they got to know Alex better and that they’re all unique. Alex the main character is brave And kind. Alex is brave because even though he is going to get in trouble by Natasha the witch for trying to escape he is still trying to find a way. Alex is Also kind because in the book Natasha was going to blast Yasmin when she released an evil magic plant on accident but alex took the blame so Yasmin would not get hurt. This is my evidence on how Alex is kind and brave. Yasmin a secondary character is afraid and obeying at first but afterwards she is friendly And confident. Yasmin was afraid in the story because Natasha would hurt her if she made a mistake.Yasmin is obeying because in the story Yasmin would do all The chores and would act like a servant to Natasha. When Yasmin became friends with Alex she started to act friendly like in the story when Alex was look for Notes from unicorn girl Yasmin decided to help him. So Alexc could write stories To read to Natasha. She is also confident like in the story said there was a way to escape Alex was starting to lose hope. What i like most about the book Nightbooks is that is talks about making friends and being yourself. Examples that the book talks about my topic is that Alex would try and befriend people like lenore and Yasmin. Yasmin has a unique personality of before making friends she will have to trust them first and lenore’s personality is loyal because even though Natasha has hurt her many times she is still trying to help. These are my examples of the topic i said about Nightbooks. Nightbooks was a very intriguing book and if you like horror that is a little scary i recommend this book to you. I would most definitely recommend this book to people who get scared easily because the scares are mild. I would not recommend this book to people who love scares because the horror might seem lame and empty.