“Nightbooks” By J.A. White (Katherine Tegen)

From the author of the Thickety series comes this chilling tale of sneaky witches and captured children.

Late one night, a boy named Alex heads out into the darkened hallways of his apartment building. His objective is to get to the basement and destroy his “nightbooks” in the furnace. He calls them this because he has spent countless hours recording his scariest nightmares and spooky stories in their pages.

Alex prizes his imagination, but it’s also the thing that sets him apart from his peers. And when you’re a kid, being different isn’t always a good thing. Alex hopes that destroying his stories will help him fit in, but what he doesn’t expect is a detour that will lead him into the heart of the scariest story he’s ever faced.

Captured by a witch, Alex must tell her a scary story each night, and these stories provide an extra layer of fun and thrills, while never venturing so dark in tone as to be too intense for younger readers.

At its core, J.A. White’s “Nightbooks” is a testament to the power of storytelling and friendship. The steady development of Alex’s friendship with his fellow captives is touching and well-paced, and the multifaceted characterization of the villain is refreshing. With a good blend of fast-paced fantasy and poignant emotion, “Nightbooks” is sure to please almost any reader, and it might even give them a few tips on how to craft their own stories along the way.