Read at Your Own Risk

by Remy Lai Narrated by Samantha Tan, Vikas Adam

Overview

Read at Your Own Risk is the spine-chilling sketch diary-adapted for audio-of a kid who is being haunted after a game goes terribly wrong and an evil spirit starts conversing with her on the page.

"The journal format of The Diary of a Wimpy Kid meets the thrills and chills of R.L. Stine in this middle-grade horror." -The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Hannah and her friends were just having a bit of fun when they decided to play a game to communicate with spirits of the dead. Little did they know something would answer their call and crawl its way into the pages of Hannah's journal. What started out as a game has turned into something much more evil. With dire, horrifying consequences.

Is there any way to escape the curse?

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

A 2025 CBC Middle-Grade Favorites Winner

A Kirkus Best Book of the Year

A Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year

* "An ominous yet irresistible story that will delight and distress in equal measure." —Kirkus, starred review

"For tweens seeking Diary of a Wimpy Kid meets Tim Burton, this is an enjoyable scare that may prompt readers to write their own." —School Library Journal

"Scares are guaranteed." —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (BCCB)

"Spine-tingling terrors." —Publishers Weekly

"[Lai] delivers scarily good entertainment." —Shelf Awareness

"Perfect for readers looking to play around with the horror genre." —Booklist

"Frightfully fun. A masterpiece of storytelling." —Andrew McDonald & Ben Wood, creators of the Real Pigeons series

"Darkly funny with just the right amount of creepy tossed in." —Renee Treml, creator of Sherlock Bones

"Spooky and extremely clever." —Danny Katz, bestselling author of the Little Lunch series

Ghost Book:

"Remy Lai is a master storyteller!" —Christina Soontornvat, two-time Newbery Honor Winner

Pawcasso:

"Move over, Jeff Kinney . . . Lai’s finger is always precisely on the pulse of kid humor." —Horn Book

Fly on the Wall:

* "Henry’s character development . . . leaves Greg Heffley in the dust." —School Library Journal, starred review

Pie in the Sky:

“Perfect for fans of Gene Luen Yang and Victoria Jamieson.” —Shelf Awareness, starred review

Kirkus Reviews

★ 2024-05-17
A young girl finds herself plagued by a dark spirit.

Seventh grader Hannah Lee and her friends skip an assembly for children’s horror author Leon Star and instead go to the school’s supposedly haunted attic, where they attempt to contact the spirits. Soon after, Hannah realizes she’s unwittingly released an evil curse. Now she must contend with bad luck such as accidentally being skewered by a scalpel during science class. Hannah suspects that Leon Star might know what’s happening and seeks help; unfortunately, he tells her she doesn’t have much time before she’ll succumb to the curse. This inventive tale is presented in journal format as Hannah chronicles her troubles in a mix of doodlelike scrawls and diary entries. Even the pages of her notebook aren’t safe from the malevolent spirit, who often interrupts her musings and responds in red ink. Readers will find much to enjoy in this fast-paced but extremely macabre tale. Body horror abounds. The book’s pages become spattered with blood as Hannah’s teeth fall out; later her dentist tells her that her gums are overrun with silverfish. Characters who initially seem merely unsettling become shockingly sinister-looking at times. Lai plays with the form and function of language, adding action and sound effects and deftly tying narrative and visuals together. In the cartoonish illustrations, characters have skin the white of the page.

An ominous yet irresistible story that will delight and distress in equal measure. (Horror. 8-12)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940160498546
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	08/13/2024
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

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