The Dream Mystery Solvers are on the Case!: Don't Call Them Cute is a spooky and captivating tale of betrayal and revenge

 

Don’t Call Them Cute

Banunu and Yennie Fer

Independently Published, 2025

Ebook, 225 ppg.

ISBN: 9798293365821

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NOTE: This review is based on an ARC I received from the authors. This book is scheduled for release in November.

 

 

***Thank you to authors Yennie Fer and Banunu for this digital Advanced Reader’s Copy! This review is voluntary, and all thoughts and opinions are my own.***

 

Weird dads! Weird dreams! Blueberry muffins!

 

No, it’s not the world turned upside down. It’s the middle grade horror novel Don’t Call Them Cute by Banunu and Yennie Fer. In this novel, a group of four kids who are trying to make sense of a lot of strange dreams that keep happening, and which seem to be connected to two people in the group.

 

Emile Carter begins to have weird dreams on the night she receives a stuffed lamb as a gift. Is the lamb cursed? A tool used by aliens?

 

Only her best friend, Mary, also 10 and a budding detective who devours mystery novels, would be able to crack the case. But Mary has dark secrets of her own, which could tear her world apart if her friends knew all about them.

 

Then there’s Logan, age 9 and the only boy in the group (who, according to Mary, is not really a boy) and the one who has a crush on Emile. But Logan remains in the friendzone, and he’s still happy to be included in the group all the same.

 

Then there is Lucy, the 12-year-old practical and prim member of the group who is actually (gasp!) normal. Lucy seems to be more mature than her friends, but probably because she is the oldest of the group.

 

Together, this group of best friends decide to form a mystery solving club to get to the bottom of Emile’s strange dreams. Because they seem different from most “normal” kids, they are often bullied, but they stand together to fight off anyone who tries to tear them down.

 

Emile is the daughter of the school principal, and while her dad often tries to remind her that she should get her act together because she has to set an example (for real??), Emile is more interested in getting her own phone. Her FIRST phone, to be exact.

 

But the weird dreams keep happening, and after Emile is hurt in one of them, she and her friends realize that this is serious business. More serious than getting a phone.

 

Together, the friends investigate this mystery to try and find out why these dreams are happening, and if the lamb stuffy is connected!

 

Children are often faced with horrible circumstances that are much bigger than them and too terrifying to understand, but with her friends at her side, Emile finds a way to make sense of the scary situation she is in and find a way to get out of it alive!

 

Don’t Call Them Cute is a heartwarming story of friendship, family, and what it takes to be brave. This story will offer teachable moments to young readers and open the lines for discussion with their parents. A story that could be enjoyed by readers young and old, it provides an entertaining mystery and a good dose of suspense that will keep readers hooked until the very end.

 

 

 

Five stars

 

 

 

Disclaimer: Thank you to authors Yennie Fer and Banunu for this digital advanced reader’s copy! Reviews are totally voluntary. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

The One Thing You Can Tell Anything To: The Hidden Diary is a story of mystery and suspense for readers young and old

 

The Hidden Diary (Bone Chillers #2)

Cassandra O’Sullivan Sachar

Unveiling Nightmares Press, 2024

ISBN-13: 979-8304610063

Ebook, 210 ppg.

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When I was a kid – specifically, 12 years old, like the main character in this book – I always loved hearing a good ghost story. What’s more, I was always eager to play the role of detective and try to solve the local mysteries in the neighborhood.

 

I was always up for those things, as long as it didn’t involve the house that I lived in!

 

And that’s the case in the new middle grade novel The Hidden Diary by Cassandra O’Sullivan Sachar, where 12-year-old Alyssa Morgan, who moves into a house with her 6-year-old brother, Billy, and her newly-single mother that everyone in their new town assumes is haunted. In fact, anytime Alyssa tells the locals where she lives, they react with fear and mumble things like “I’ll pray for you.”

 

And you would think that would be enough to set Alyssa on alert on have her packing her stuff back up. But, nope! She doesn’t believe her new home is haunted – except that she does have doubts after she finds a diary hidden in her new bedroom. The diary was kept by a girl named Elaine, also, 12, who lived in that house with her family in the seventies. One day, they were there and the next day, they were not. The whole family plus a boy that lived with them disappeared just out of the blue, leaving behind all of their worldly possessions. So, yeah, that’s enough mystery to get people talking.

 

And as much as Alyssa tries to brush off all the rumors and stories circulating about her house, she can’t help but wonder what really happened to that family. As she ponders, what girl would want to leave behind her own diary?

 

I was asking myself the same thing as I read this story. And, like Alyssa, I was curious about what happened to that family.

 

And just like Alyssa, I, too, had misgivings about reading Elaine’s diary entries. Alyssa knows she shouldn’t, but her curiosity wins out. I think the diary might hold some clues as to what happened to the family, so, yes, reading it was probably the best thing to do.

 

After all, detectives do rely on journals and diaries to help them find clues about a missing person. It does feel weird reading another person’s diary, but in this case, it is one thing that could prove useful in solving the mystery.

 

I loved the part where Alyssa agrees to investigate the family’s disappearance. Of course, it took a lot of convincing on Jeremy’s part, but I think she wanted to know mostly because of what she read in the diary. And when she brushes off the possibility of paranormal involvement, determined to keep a level head about the whole thing, I suddenly pictured this duo as a young version of Mulder and Scully.

 

This was a really interesting story to read, even if it is for kids. I mean, it’s a detective story! It’s a murder mystery! It definitely kept me turning the pages, wanting to know what happened next.

 

I thought that Alyssa and Jeremy did a good job at trying to be detectives, even if their knowledge of detective work comes from TV shows or books. I also understood their frustration over constantly running into dead ends. This is something that can happen when doing detective work, and you just have to hang in there and keep going. Keep searching for clues and investigating leads. Well, Alyssa certainly does have a good lead with the diary she found in her bedroom, and as she kept reading this diary until the end, I was shocked over the information she uncovered! What a surprise!

 

The Hidden Diary is an un-put-downable mystery story that would entertain readers of all ages. Filled with suspense, surprises and plot twists, this story will keep readers young and old on the edge of their seats!

 

 

Five stars.

 

 

 

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

 

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.