annieb123's Review of Field of Screams

by Wendy Parris

A new pulse-pounding supernatural mystery about twelve-year-old Rebecca, who has always wanted to hunt ghosts . . . until she meets one.

“Chilling, thrilling, and full of heart!”—Kiersten White, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Sinister Summer series

Paranormal enthusiast Rebecca Graff isn’t happy about being dragged to Iowa to spend the summer with family she barely knows. But when she tracks a ghostly presence to an abandoned farmhouse, she starts to think the summer won’t be a total lost cause!

The trouble is no one believes her. Then Rebecca finds a note stashed in a comic belonging to her late father—a note that proves the same spirit haunted him when he was twelve. Suddenly she feels a connection to the dad she pretends not to miss, and she is determined to uncover the story behind the haunting.

But the more Rebecca discovers, the scarier the ghost becomes. Soon she is in a race to piece together the puzzle and recover a family legacy before it is lost forever and a horrible tragedy repeats itself.

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Field of Screams is an spooky and engaging paranormal middle grade thriller by Wendy Parris. Released 1st Aug 2023 by Random House Children's, it's 256 pages and is available in paperback, library binding, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats.

The author does a great job of making the book spooky and a little scary with great dramatic tension, and managing to do so in an age appropriate manner. The main character, Rebecca, is a scary movie and paranormal fan who loves ghosts. She's not looking forward to spending the summer with her extended family, looking after her little cousin and missing out on camp and fun activities with her best friend.

Then she meets a ghost.

The author does a great job with the premise and story. It's entertaining, and somewhat scary, and entwined in the story, the author manages to convey thoughts about responsibility, family, grief, growth, and trauma.

Four stars. Definitely a worthwhile tween/middle grade selection.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Reading updates

2 August, 2023: Started reading

2 August, 2023: Finished reading

2 August, 2023: Reviewed