Book 35 of 2009: The Dare by Brett WIlliams

Walking to school the day before Halloween, Davey and Dennis spot a cat hanging in front of the old, abandoned Bentley place. Dennis tells Davey the story of how the Victorian house is said to be haunted after old man Bentley killed his family several years ago and that their ghosts still live within. Davey is hesitant to believe his friend’s story, but later that day when they return to see if the cat is still hanging where they last saw it, Dennis still insists that it is true. About that time, Davey’s crush from school, Lacy, shows up and asks what they are up to. Dennis accuses Davey of being chicken and not wanting to go check out the house with him. Being teenage boys, this starts a back and forth argument and ends up in a DARE! Not wanting to look bad in front of Lacy, Davey agrees to the dare, but not in daylight where they could get caught going into the house. They all agree that the next night, on Halloween, when they are out trick-or-treating, that Davey and Dennis will go into the old Bentley place, but what will they find inside?

Brett Williams’ The Dare is a very fun Halloween read! The first part of the book is basically setting up the scene of who is who and getting the “dare” initiated. It also sets the stage for the “haunted house” that Davey and Dennis are to investigate. The second part of the book is where the kids are going around trick or treating, which is a lot of fun as you get to witness the antics of kids of all ages and also foreshadows to dangers ahead as Lacy and her friend run into a couple of creepy characters that are in search of the Bentley place. And the last part of the book takes place when they finally reach the Bentley place and Davey and Dennis venture inside. Williams does an excellent job with the flow of the story and building up to the final scenes of the book. This book seems to be aimed towards a young adult audience, but I think that fans of horror at any age would enjoy this great novel. Highly Recommended!

Contains: Violence

Review also posted at MonsterLibrarian.com