The Headless Horseman Rides Again: The Sleepy Hollow Gang is an Awesome First Book in a New Series for Kids with a New Sleepy Hollow Tale

 

 

The Sleepy Hollow Gang: Shivers #1

Robert P. Ottone

Weird House Press, 2023

ISBN-10: 1957121645

ISBN-13: 978-1957121642

152 ppg., Ebook

Buy links:

Amazon

WeirdHouse Press

 

If you have been around for a while, you may have heard the stories surrounding Tarrytown, a village in New York and the setting of Washington Irving’s novel, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. You may have even read this story in school and have seen the many different versions of this story in movies and on TV. Indeed, there is nothing quite as spooky as the specter, The Headless Horseman, one of the most famous ghosts in American literature.

 

Tarrytown is real and so is Sleepy Hollow. It’s actually a small part of Tarrytown and the townspeople had voted to have an area of Tarrytown named Sleepy Hollow in honor of the story. It’s also where you will find the famous Old Dutch burial ground, containing the graves of some of the people the characters in Irving’s story was based on (well, except for Ichabod Crane, who is buried in Staten Island).

 

I have always wondered what living in Tarrytown must be like, knowing it’s famous for being so close to Sleepy Hollow.

 

Well, after reading Robert P. Ottone’s latest book, The Sleepy Hollow Gang, I found out!

 

The Sleepy Hollow Gang, Book One, by Robert P. Ottone is told from the point-of-view of a character who moves to Tarrytown, so we are treated to Tarrytown as we have never known it before. Derek Houseman is a seventh-grader who moves to New York from Georgia, and not only does he have to adjust to living somewhere vastly different than the Southern state he grew up in, but he also must adjust to being “new” to a town rife with ghosts, legends – and a dark past. Fortunately for Derek, he makes new friends at his new school, but one of these friends, Herman, is so obsessed with monsters that he wants to try out a ritual called “Wake the Dead” on Halloween night – right at the grave of the person the character of the headless horseman is based on (who died headless in real life!). And that’s where things go terribly wrong.

 

But it’s just a game, right? That’s what Derek thinks. Just some harmless fun. But young Derek will soon find out, and he’s in for a night of thrills and chills!

 

One thing I really liked about the group of kids in the story is how they are each unique in their own way. While Herman is the “monster kid,” Annabelle is the diabetic educating her friends about the virtues of carob brownies, Zoe is the badass fighter who is not afraid to stand up to bullies, and Lucy is the kindhearted and empathetic voice of the whole group. And, of course, there’s Derek, who has some kind of strange attachment to Sleepy Hollow that he struggles to understand. As a group, they make a great team!

 

And for a group of kids battling the Headless Horseman, I couldn’t help but chuckle when, at one point, Annabelle defends her lack of emotions by saying, "One of us has to keep their head on straight." (page 92)

 

There was just so much other stuff in the story that I loved too. Hermy ordering a SALAD at the diner – and how it’s his “usual.” How Lucy sets things right with her and Derek after she reveals her true self.  And like Derek, I was laughing when the Headless Horseman was electrocuted, because I could picture the whole thing happening like in a cartoon (although Derek notes he didn’t see the Horseman’s skeleton, how disappointing!). I also loved the show of compassion Zoe has for her alcoholic mother.

 

This story is definitely full of scares, action and excitement. The action picks up as the Headless Horseman closes in on Derek. It was definitely hard to stop reading at that point! And then there was the epic, mind-blowing ending. It was AWESOME!

 

I definitely recommend this book to kids who enjoy reading stories about ghosts, Sleepy Hollow, and the Headless Horseman. But grown-ups would probably enjoy reading this story too. It is, after all, another Sleepy Hollow story. Another action-packed and scary tale of the Headless Horseman. So, take it from me. Read this book no matter how old you are, because while some of America’s oldest legends may pass on to the bygone days of the era, they can always be made new again with new stories of adventure, friendship, excitement, and one VERY popular and scary headless creature!

 

 

Five stars

 

 

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

 

Surviving a Childhood of Hell: Not Dead Yet is a Harrowing Account of Torture and Abuse

 

Not Dead Yet

Tracey Nudd

Independently published, 2023

ISBN: 979-8868334139

54 ppg., softcover

Buy link

 

In a perfect world, all children would be loved and cared for by their mothers and stepparents the way an innocent childhood calls for. But, sadly, in the real world, many children endure relentless physical, verbal, emotional and sexual abuse at the hands of the people not only who brought them into this world but also those responsible for caring for them.

 

And while Bella’s story of physical, verbal and sexual abuse is horrifying and gut-wrenching, it is just one of many stories of children suffering years of such torment.

 

This book is definitely not for the faint of heart. There are graphic scenes of child sex abuse wrought upon Bella by her stepfather and his friend. There is even psychological abuse, as he pressures Bella to say “yes, Daddy” when he asks her if she is a whore or if she likes what is being done to her. Bella knows better than to say otherwise.

 

One may ask if the person in such a situation ever tries to escape. The story is told in first person, and Bella recalls her many failed attempts to either hide from her abuser or run away.

 

Bella’s mother could be her rescuer but, instead, only adds to the abuse. She physically and verbally abuses Bella, though the story is mostly focused on the abuse Bella receives from her stepfather. She keeps Bella alive and around only because of the food stamps she receives, which she sells for drug money. She also jokes with her husband that if his many rapes of her daughter results in pregnancy, it’s more children to use for food stamps as well as for abuse.

 

Tracey Nudd writes a story of a child who endured years of brutal and horrible abuse in her home. Many readers are warned of triggering content in this novelette, and for good measure. Most of this story was hard to read but it is also close to the reality of what many children being abused endure. We cannot turn a blind eye to such things. This kind of material may be hard to expose ourselves, to but it is harder still for the children in real life who are forced to experience the same kind of horror.

 

Not Dead Yet is a haunting story of a child’s horrifying experiences of rape and abuse. It captures just one of many stories out there, except other stories will never be told by the victims. This particular victim-turned-survivor lived through the kind of hell no one should ever endure, with the kind of spirit holding out hope to get out of that hellish nightmare alive.

 

 

Five stars

 

 

 

Disclaimer: I purchased this book from the author and my review of this book is completely voluntary.

Honoring a Lost Love: Poems for the Dead is a Heartfelt Tribute to a Soul Gone Too Soon

 

 

Poems for the Dead

By Hart D. Fisher

PsychoToxin Press, 2023

ISBN 9798871900611

146 ppg., Ebook

Buy link

 

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: 

"There's a limited signed edition available for pre-order online at this link"

 

There is so much pain in these poems. I read these poems wanting to shed the same tears and scream at the injustice of it all, just as Hart does with his verse.

 

The wording of these poems may at first glance seem scattered, but they are the only way Fisher is able to put his pain into words. They are very raw, very emotional and full of sadness.

 

But they are also full of rage. Grief can do that to a person. They can make us suddenly view the mundane and the everyday sameness with bitterness and sarcasm. Grief compels us to see all the BS, all the hypocrisy and all of the little ways other people drain us and empowers us to call it out for what it is. Grief gives us a voice to speak up and speak out, and that’s what Fisher does here. He will no longer hide his feelings, his opinions or his judgments because, as a man who feels like he has lost everything in the loss of his beloved, he feels like he has nothing else to lose.

 

Except for his life. But even as he tiptoes around suicide ideation, cradling a gun in his hand for example, he knows he can’t give into that temptation to end it all. Even as he wants relief from his pain in the worst way, he won’t do it. Still, that temptation lingers, worsened from the pain if his grief.

 

He struggles with the loss of his beloved, as he writes on page 88:

 

"I’m trying so hard

so hard to live

without you."

 

It is indeed a difficult task to keep going. He sees reminders of her everywhere. Memories of her linger. He misses her touch, her voice, the feel of her lips against his.

 

The artwork included in this book is both beautiful and painful to look at. Some of the art is also stark and bears no meaning or definition. All of them are amazing pieces of work and I feel they all add a nice touch to the collection.

 

There’s a lot of heartbreak and anguish towards the end of the book. Readers get a glimpse of the life of a talented and beautiful soul who was taken before her time. Memories of her will live on in this book of poems, a heartfelt testament to a love whose light went out too soon.

 

Poems for the Dead is a unique and brutal cry of pain from someone grieving loss. The poems in this book are unforgettable tributes to someone loved very much and glimpses into the torment and angst of trying to live life without that person. Moving on from loss is hard, and Fisher puts into words the struggle to come to terms with his loss while also cherishing the love he once had.

 

Five stars

 

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.