Review Detail

Truth or Dare (You're Invited to a Creepover #1)

Kids Fiction 410

The Ghost of Girlfriends Past

October 31, 2022

Overall rating

4.3

Plot

4.0

Characters

5.0

Writing Style

4.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

4.0

Abby Miller likes Jake, and tells her friends, including Leah, at a sleepover. Jake has a tragic past, however; the girl he loved, Sara, was killed about a year ago when a car jumped the curb and killed her right after she said goodbye to Jake. There is a dance coming up at school, and Leah encourages Abby to go out with Jake, who is her neighbor, but strange things are happening to Abby and she fears that they are caused by the ghost of Sara, come back to avenge her death. There are odd power surges, ghostly flickerings outside her window, and even texts from an anonymous number telling her to leave Jake alone. Leah and her other friends think that she is exaggerating, but when the blouse her mother has gotten her for the dance is returned to her closet shredded and ruined, what other explanation is there? It's got to be an evil ghost. Is it safe to go with Jake to the dance? And if that's okay, then clearly going to the cemetery where Sara is buried when a text instructs Abby to do this is perfectly fine. Will Abby and Jake meet a violent, horror movie end, or is there a more realistic explanation for all of the eerie happenings?

Good Points

There aren't a lot of horror graphic novels, although Hahn's Took and Wait 'Til Helen Comes have recent graphic novel adaptations, so I was glad to see adaptations of the Creepover series. The novels themselves are fairly short, and I'm hoping that after one or two of the graphic novels, my readers will pick up some of the 22 chapter books that have already been published (2011-2017).

The illustrations have a shadowy, creepy vibe to them, and I was glad to see that not all of the characters are white, as they seem to read in the originals. There's a lot of use of dark tones, swirling backgrounds, and eerie, glowing lights. The outside is always especially foreboding at night, and Abby's imagination makes everything appear darker and more threatening than it really is.

There is a good amount of friend drama that will appeal to middle grade readers, and romance is always a big draw as well. I thought it was fun that parents make an appearance in these, since most of the story is set at home rather than at school. Hand these to elementary and middle school readers who want a story that is scary but not TOO scary!