A review by hannahcpk
The Spell of the Sorcerer's Skull by John Bellairs
5.0
Creepy little bedtime mystery, for days where it’s gloomy and you want to give yourself a non-traumatising scare!
Johnny boy goes on a trip with his beloved Prof. Childermass, only to get looped into another haunted item! Oh Johnny didn’t you learn something from the haunted church? Now with another two friends helping him to solve this supernatural history, Johnny goes on to figure things out and help the Prof out :)
I love short middle-grade stories like these which don’t require much thinking but brings you along for the ride. The plot may or may not be predictable, but at this point you don’t really care anyway because it’s FUN! A HEA is also often guaranteed, which ticks all my boxes. I also enjoyed how the characters aren’t all Mary Sues - Johnny is scared nearly all the time, the Prof has a temper, Fergie is a skeptic, Granny isn’t one of those all-sunshine-and-warm-cakes kind of person... It makes everything so much more realistic.
John Bellairs is a classic, perfect for someone like me who gets scared easily but still wants something spooky :)
Johnny boy goes on a trip with his beloved Prof. Childermass, only to get looped into another haunted item! Oh Johnny didn’t you learn something from the haunted church? Now with another two friends helping him to solve this supernatural history, Johnny goes on to figure things out and help the Prof out :)
I love short middle-grade stories like these which don’t require much thinking but brings you along for the ride. The plot may or may not be predictable, but at this point you don’t really care anyway because it’s FUN! A HEA is also often guaranteed, which ticks all my boxes. I also enjoyed how the characters aren’t all Mary Sues - Johnny is scared nearly all the time, the Prof has a temper, Fergie is a skeptic, Granny isn’t one of those all-sunshine-and-warm-cakes kind of person... It makes everything so much more realistic.
John Bellairs is a classic, perfect for someone like me who gets scared easily but still wants something spooky :)