Read at Your Own Risk

by Remy Lai

Overview

Read at Your Own Risk is the spine-chilling illustrated sketch diary of a kid who is being haunted after a game goes terribly wrong and an evil spirit starts conversing with her on the page.

"The journal format of The Diary of a Wimpy Kid meets the thrills and chills of R.L. Stine in this middle-grade horror." —The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Hannah and her friends were just having a bit of fun when they decided to play a game to communicate with spirits of the dead. Little did they know something would answer their call and crawl its way into the pages of Hannah’s journal. What started out as a game has turned into something much more evil. With dire, horrifying consequences.

Is there any way to escape the curse?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250394484
Publisher:	Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication date:	08/13/2024
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160
File size:	139 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Remy Lai absolutely does NOT recommend truancy, but when she was in high school, she sometimes skipped school with her friends to watch horror movies in theaters that were eerily empty (because… um… everyone else was at school). She lives in Australia with her two dogs, who sometimes freak her out by barking at nothing in the corners of rooms. She is also the author of the critically acclaimed Pie in the Sky, Fly on the Wall, Pawcasso, Ghost Book, and the Surviving the Wild series.

Editorial Reviews

07/08/2024

Seventh grader Hannah Lee finds herself cursed after sneaking out of an assembly to the school’s supposedly haunted attic with her friends. Constructed as Hannah’s illustrated sketch diary, which is filled with drawings by Lai (Ghost Book) rendered in b&w with blood-red accents, Hannah notes all the strange things that begin happening to her following the game. In biology class, a knife slips out of her hand and lands “smack-dab in the middle of my forehead,” while further investigation of an itch in her gums reveals centipedes “scratching my jawbone tingly and torturous.” When the sinister force at play starts communicating with her via her journal, Hannah must find a way to expunge the evil presence or face dire consequences. But even as Hannah investigates, the curse taunts her: “You ungrateful brat.... Without the villain, there would be no obstacles, no opportunities for the hero to become a hero.” Lai’s fast-paced, body-horror-centric tale sets up an accessible and eerie mystery through which the protagonist grapples with spine-tingling terrors, uncovers previously hidden personal potential, and forms stronger connections. Character skin tones reflect the white of the page. Ages 8–12. Agent: Jim McCarthy, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

* "An ominous yet irresistible story that will delight and distress in equal measure." —Kirkus, starred review

"Scares are guaranteed." —BCCB

"Spine-tingling terrors." —Publishers Weekly

"Frightfully fun. A masterpiece of storytelling." —Andrew McDonald & Ben Wood, creators of the Real Pigeons series

"Darkly funny with just the right amount of creepy tossed in." —Renee Treml, creator of Sherlock Bones

"Spooky and extremely clever." —Danny Katz, bestselling author of the Little Lunch series

Ghost Book:

"Remy Lai is a master storyteller!" —Christina Soontornvat, two-time Newbery Honor Winner

Pawcasso:

"Move over, Jeff Kinney . . . Lai’s finger is always precisely on the pulse of kid humor." —Horn Book

Fly on the Wall:

* "Henry’s character development . . . leaves Greg Heffley in the dust." —School Library Journal, starred review

Pie in the Sky:

“Perfect for fans of Gene Luen Yang and Victoria Jamieson.” —Shelf Awareness, starred review

From the Publisher

★ 2024-05-17
A young girl finds herself plagued by a dark spirit.

Seventh grader Hannah Lee and her friends skip an assembly for children’s horror author Leon Star and instead go to the school’s supposedly haunted attic, where they attempt to contact the spirits. Soon after, Hannah realizes she’s unwittingly released an evil curse. Now she must contend with bad luck such as accidentally being skewered by a scalpel during science class. Hannah suspects that Leon Star might know what’s happening and seeks help; unfortunately, he tells her she doesn’t have much time before she’ll succumb to the curse. This inventive tale is presented in journal format as Hannah chronicles her troubles in a mix of doodlelike scrawls and diary entries. Even the pages of her notebook aren’t safe from the malevolent spirit, who often interrupts her musings and responds in red ink. Readers will find much to enjoy in this fast-paced but extremely macabre tale. Body horror abounds. The book’s pages become spattered with blood as Hannah’s teeth fall out; later her dentist tells her that her gums are overrun with silverfish. Characters who initially seem merely unsettling become shockingly sinister-looking at times. Lai plays with the form and function of language, adding action and sound effects and deftly tying narrative and visuals together. In the cartoonish illustrations, characters have skin the white of the page.

An ominous yet irresistible story that will delight and distress in equal measure. (Horror. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews