Cover Design by Maeve Norton
Cover Art by Robert Ball
Published by Scholastic
Get ready for shivers, thrills and twists galore: House of Shivers is the start of a new Goosebumps series. Scariest.Book.Ever is a brilliant start to the series which I have no doubt will be extremely popular with young fans of scary, action-packed reads.
Twelve-year-old twins, Billy and Betty, are being sent to stay with their Uncle Wendell, who is a stranger to them, whilst their parents take a business trip for two weeks. Arriving at his old house in Wayward Forest, their Uncle quickly tells them that he needs their help. He is the custodian of a book which has been stolen – a dangerous book that, if opened, will unleash evil into the world – and he needs the twins help to find it and keep the world safe.
The twins soon find themselves following their Uncle into the forest to find the book thief where they come face-to-face with some dangerous creatures – can they escape manbats, cannibal crows, flying tree bears and other horrifying creatures – and escape the forest with their lives? Is their uncle telling them the truth about the most dangerous book in the world, or is there more to his story of theft than he is sharing?
This is an action-packed, fast-paced rollercoaster read with twists and turns galore, short chapters with plenty of cliffhanger endings that demand ‘just one more chapter’ … The balance between horror and humour is perfect for younger readers. I know lots of my class are always asking for scary stories, and I think this one will definitely delight them.
The tension is perfectly orchestrated as the reader is taken on a terrifically topsy-turvy journey of discovery as the plot unfolds to uncover unexpected truths and surprises aplenty. It’s no wonder I just had to keep reading until I got to the brilliant ending where every child will ponder: what would I do? A perfect opportunity for some creative writing in class!
An exciting start to a spine-tinglingly scary new series for younger readers of 8+.
Thank you to Scholastic for a copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
Book Craic 
Oh the nostalgia! I loved the Goosebumps books as a kid, though I found the Bonechillers series scarier (perhaps they were aimed slightly older). Can’t help but wonder if cannibal crows eat people, or if they eat other crows…
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I hadn’t read any Goosebumps books, but I thought this was great – not very scary at all so think younger readers would be fine with it. I was more freaked out by the man bats and worms!
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Man bats do sound freaky!
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