Just So Stories

Walker Books Australia

January 2023

ISBN: 9781760657192

RRP: $17.99

Think The Goonies. Think The Lost Boys. Think Stranger Things.

In fact, think 80s vibe horror for middle grade, and you will begin to get some idea about this fabulous latest from Meloy. Yes, it has been loitering in my brain since I read it early in the year. It was one of those caught up in the maelstrom of moving house etc so the draft of this review languished forlornly.

But don’t let my tardiness put you off because this is one great read, and your kids from around 9 years upwards are going to love it, especially if they’re up for a bit of real creepiness.

Seaham, Oregon, is a typical small and sleepy seaside town where nothing ever happens. But Archie Coomes is starting to think he’s watched too many horror movies. He’s beginning to imagine that mysterious pennies appearing on doormats, a man in a brown suit loitering, a persistent night-time sound of an axe chopping wood and adults acting strangely are really all happening.

There is actually a bit of unusual unrest in the town. Archie’s dad has had to stop work his construction company has been doing on the cliff where the old Langdon house has been since the town was founded. It seems there’s some kind of huge cavern underneath which could prove a real problem. There are wild rumours that something very strange was uncovered down there, but that couldn’t have anything to do with Archie’s imaginings or his friend, Oliver’s scary visions – could it?

Archie and his friends, in tandem with local video shop owner [fellow horror movie buff and nerdy font of historical town knowledge] set about piecing together clues and following their instincts, which all point to some really dark deeds of the past.

It is deliciously and atmospherically eerie, and though the action is quite slow and drawn out, and the climax rather rushed, it works really well as a super-spooky story for kiddos from about Year 4 upwards.

Recommended for the ones who don’t scare easily :-).