rebeccar9891's review against another edition
4.0
I received a galley of this book at the ALA conference.
This is a perfectly scary book for middle grade. Rafa is a well developed character, and his family life is relatable to many kids in America. His mom is incarcerated in prison and will be released soon for good behavior. Rafa and his sister have been living with their grandparents. Rafa loves to tell scary stories. When Rafa tells scary stories on a blood red moon the scary stories come to life and the caretaker is coming to him! Just enough spooky to leave readers leaving the light on at night. I would give this to fans of Ellen Oh or Linsday Currie.
This is a perfectly scary book for middle grade. Rafa is a well developed character, and his family life is relatable to many kids in America. His mom is incarcerated in prison and will be released soon for good behavior. Rafa and his sister have been living with their grandparents. Rafa loves to tell scary stories. When Rafa tells scary stories on a blood red moon the scary stories come to life and the caretaker is coming to him! Just enough spooky to leave readers leaving the light on at night. I would give this to fans of Ellen Oh or Linsday Currie.
mpplys's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
+ scary stories are the center of this middle grade horror diversity in representation
- not a memorable ending.
I received a galley of this book at the ALA conference.
This is a perfectly scary book for middle grade. Rafa is a well developed character, and his family life is relatable to many kids in America. His mom is incarcerated in prison and will be released soon for good behavior. Rafa and his sister have been living with their grandparents. Rafa loves to tell scary stories. When Rafa tells scary stories on a blood red moon the scary stories come to life and the caretaker is coming to him! Just enough spooky to leave readers leaving the light on at night. I would give this to fans of Ellen Oh or Linsday Currie.
- not a memorable ending.
I received a galley of this book at the ALA conference.
This is a perfectly scary book for middle grade. Rafa is a well developed character, and his family life is relatable to many kids in America. His mom is incarcerated in prison and will be released soon for good behavior. Rafa and his sister have been living with their grandparents. Rafa loves to tell scary stories. When Rafa tells scary stories on a blood red moon the scary stories come to life and the caretaker is coming to him! Just enough spooky to leave readers leaving the light on at night. I would give this to fans of Ellen Oh or Linsday Currie.
xangemthelibrarian's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Rafa shrugged and smiled. "I'm working on my happy endings."
Beautiful! I finished this in about 5 hours. It's a fast, super easy-to-digest read that is perfect for the spooky season! I would recommend this story to anyone who read and loved Nightbooks by J.A. White.
Rafa is a wonderful character that garners a lot of empathy. He works very hard to be that protector that he feels his little sister needs. He's angry. He feels like his mother has failed him and he's not looking forward to her being released from prison. He turns his trauma into scary stories to help him cope. And every scary story he writes ends with a happy ending. And while Rafa's mind is focused on his stress over his mother coming back home, this story itself is mainly about the ghost story. It is about a boy trying to break a curse and save not only his sister, but every child hurt by the Caretaker.
kristen_mk's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
4.0
Very spooky middle grade! The scary stories told in this were great and actually quite scary. I also loved how this book did tell the story from a child's POV of dealing with a parent that as an addiction and unfortunately serving jail time. I thought it was a great portrayal in an easy digestible way for a child to understand as well. I only wish the ending was a little longer to understand more about the Spooky Caretaker.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction
scarecrow2013's review
4.0
Thank you, Angela Cervantes, for the ARC. I leave this review voluntarily and happily. Also, thank you, Scholastic Press, for your hard work!
I truly enjoyed this book. It wasn't exactly scary as it was heartwarming, and it teaches a lesson. Listen to your elders even if it sounds crazy at times. They do know what they are talking about. Evil will always be overcome by love and family. Hope is one of the strongest motivating things out there, and second chances are always worth giving.
This book is fast-paced and very much worth the read. I enjoyed every moment, and when it picked up, I truly couldn't put the book down. I wanted to know what happened next, if anything was going to happen, just the atmosphere was building and was so exciting.
This book isn't truly horror. It's far more than that. It's second chances, hope, love, and just overcoming fear to protect those you love and keeping friends safe. Fighting evil and overcoming old fears. This book is definitely worth a read.
The main character was given a warning not to read scary stories on the night of the blood moon, and yet he does so anyway. Evil awakens, and bad things start to happen. Loved ones and friends are in trouble, and now Rafael must do everything he can to save them all before its too late, before the Caretaker takes them all away.
I truly enjoyed this book. It wasn't exactly scary as it was heartwarming, and it teaches a lesson. Listen to your elders even if it sounds crazy at times. They do know what they are talking about. Evil will always be overcome by love and family. Hope is one of the strongest motivating things out there, and second chances are always worth giving.
This book is fast-paced and very much worth the read. I enjoyed every moment, and when it picked up, I truly couldn't put the book down. I wanted to know what happened next, if anything was going to happen, just the atmosphere was building and was so exciting.
This book isn't truly horror. It's far more than that. It's second chances, hope, love, and just overcoming fear to protect those you love and keeping friends safe. Fighting evil and overcoming old fears. This book is definitely worth a read.
The main character was given a warning not to read scary stories on the night of the blood moon, and yet he does so anyway. Evil awakens, and bad things start to happen. Loved ones and friends are in trouble, and now Rafael must do everything he can to save them all before its too late, before the Caretaker takes them all away.
singerofstories's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
3.75
Rafi loves to tell scary stories. But when his neighbor warns him not to tell stories on the night of the Blood Moon, what is the one thing a kiddo wants to do?? Tell their latest scary story! With the Blood Moon comes a curse. A curse to bring stories to life. But Rafi sets out to break the curse in order to protect his younger sister and his friends and along the way he learns several important lessons: love will always triumph over evil, second chances are worth giving, and listen to your elders--they might just know what they are talking about. ;)
spookysarahsays's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Thanks Net Galley and Scholastic for the ARC!
The Cursed Moon was a really engaging read. Fans of Stranger Things, Stand By Me, IT, and Paper Girls will likely enjoy the dynamics of friendship found within this book. I also really appreciated how the author used food to forge connections between the characters. This is a great read for younger readers just starting to get into spooky fiction!
The Cursed Moon was a really engaging read. Fans of Stranger Things, Stand By Me, IT, and Paper Girls will likely enjoy the dynamics of friendship found within this book. I also really appreciated how the author used food to forge connections between the characters. This is a great read for younger readers just starting to get into spooky fiction!