School Library Journal Review
Gr 3--7--Ethan Pitowski is scared of everything. So, when his classmate, Kevin Rook, invites the whole sixth grade to his basement to watch the scariest movie ever made, Ethan refuses to go, even when his best friends Harley and Olivia beg him. He eventually changes his mind, arriving at Kevin's house just in time to find his classmates hypnotized and frozen in front of the TV screen. To his horror, the TV transforms into a monster that climbs off the wall and eats the students' heads one by one, only there's no blood, and their bodies seem to still be alive and breathing. The monstrous TV Head appears to be unstoppable and intent on invading every home and building in the city. It is up to Ethan to face his fears and solve the mystery that will save the world. This imaginative horror novel for kids is suspenseful and engaging, with a truly terrifying monster--but also full of funny, exaggerated characters and descriptions that keep the tone light. Ethan is an endearing, unlikely hero who learns the importance of fighting for the things and people you love. The races of most of the characters are not identified, but from the descriptions, they are assumed white, with the exception of Olivia, Ethan's best friend, who is Black. VERDICT This funny, fast-paced celebration of horror movies will appeal to fans of "Goosebumps" and similar series.--Ashley Larsen
Publisher's Weekly Review
When 12-year-old Ethan feels overwhelmed by his anxiety, his best friends--devil-may-care goofball Harley and confident, pragmatic Olivia--help him overcome his fears. Such is the case when they convince him to attend a classmate's viewing party of Demons of Death 4: Death Fingers, an urban legend--inspired horror film that's "supposed to be the scariest movie ever made." Though Ethan arrives late, he's just in time to watch the television transform into a cyclopean creature that devours people's heads while leaving them alive yet unresponsive. Now Ethan must find a way to confront his own fears without Harley and Olivia if he hopes to rescue his friends and save the world from an unstoppable menace, along the way discovering the secrets behind the film and its monster. In this gleefully off-kilter ode to late-night B movies and classic kids' horror tales like Goosebumps, Wendig (Dust & Grim) skillfully tempers terrifying events with a tint of absurdity, playing them against Ethan's all-too-relatable worries. It's a fast-paced and intense adventure that never loses sight of its human elements. Ethan and Harley are white; Olivia is Black. Ages 8--12. Agent: Stacia Decker, Dunow, Carlson & Lerner Literary. (Sept.)
