It Watches in the Dark

by Jeff Strand

Overview

"She glanced over her shoulder. Had the scarecrow moved? It stood there, smile stitched on its face, but now it felt like a smirk."

Prepare to be scared silly in this creepy middle-grade novel! Twins seek medical help in a remote village after their father is in a canoeing accident...only to discover the scarecrow that stands watch in town may have a stronger hold over the residents than expected. Perfect for fans of R.L. Stine, Dan Poblocki, and Mary Downing Hahn.

Twins Oliver and Trisha love going on adventures with their dad. Canoeing and camping on the Champion River will be their best trip yet! But when they capsize in rapids, their father is knocked unconscious. Alone and without cell phone reception, their only choice is to continue down river for help.

Hours of paddling brings them to an old dock, and a narrow path leads them to a small village. The townspeople are kind and helpful, but strangely focused on the giant scarecrow in the village square. "He watches over us," the twins are told in whispers. "He keeps us safe."

An old woman warns the twins not to spend the night in the village. Not if they ever want to leave. But with the sun soon to set and their father not well enough to be moved, how can they escape? More importantly, can they survive?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781728277608
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	04/02/2024
Series:	Eek!
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	4 MB
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Jeff Strand is the Bram-Stoker Award-winning author of more than sixty books, which is a pretty good number but not as many as R.L. Stine. Cemetery Dance magazine said, “No author working today comes close to Jeff Strand’s perfect mixture of comedy and terror.” He loves barbecue, sugary drinks, sushi, and spooky stuff. You can visit his Gleefully Macabre website at www.jeffstrand.com. 

Editorial Reviews

01/15/2024

When their father is injured during a rafting trip meant to celebrate their 12th birthday, twins Oliver and Trisha happen upon a remote village with a disturbing ethos in this menacing thriller by Strand (How You Ruined My Life). After the vulnerable family arrives at the edge of Escrow, a disquieting if initially welcoming community home to a 50-foot-tall scarecrow that citizens believe will protect them from “whatever might cause us harm,” unconscious Dad is immediately whisked away to a suspiciously bare infirmary. An innocent transgression and incessant questioning about their father’s condition land the kids in hot water with the mayor, who orders them to sit still and “bask in the protection of the scarecrow.” Here, the folk-horror-inflected tale takes on a supernatural bent as the hulking protector begins speaking to Oliver and Trisha, taunting the petrified tweens with gruesome threats and forcing the duo to consider what it will take for them and their father to escape the clutches of the scarecrow and its severe and dedicated constituents in this darkly comic, Goosebumps-esque tale that wields enough grisly chase scenes to lend substance to a lean plot. Characters default to white. Ages 10–14. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"Sure to spike curiosity in young readers" — Youth Services Book Review

"[A] darkly comic, Goosebumps-esque tale" — Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

2024-01-05
Kids stumble into a strange, remote community watched over by a huge, ominous scarecrow.

Twins Oliver and Trisha are three days into a five-day canoe trip with their dad to celebrate their 12th birthdays when their father is knocked unconscious in an accident. They’re virtually alone in the remote Missouri wilderness, and there’s no cell phone signal, but the siblings eventually find a dock on the river. From there, they follow a trail to the small town of Escrow, population 999. An enormous scarecrow stands in the town square; locals claim it keeps them all safe. Dad is taken to a strange medical facility and subjected to treatments that don’t seem to make sense for his injuries. The adults in Escrow behave oddly, getting angry when the twins don’t eat all their ice cream and casually suggesting that their father might die. The witchlike woman who takes them in for the night warns them not to go outside after dark. Meanwhile, both Oliver and Trisha can hear the threatening voice of the scarecrow inside their heads. They resolve to rescue Dad and get out of town, but the townspeople will go to extremes to keep them from leaving, ramping up the tension. The resourcefulness, cooperation, and affection displayed by the twins offset some truly scary moments, and a genuinely surprising ending provides macabre humor. Main characters read white.

Folk horror for younger folk. (Horror. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews