The Gathering

Gr 4–6—Poppy, Dash, Dylan, Azumi, and Marcus each receive an invitation to a strange house that serendipitously seems to correspond to each of their hopes and dreams. Poppy, raised in an orphanage and whose only friend is a ghost, believes her visit to this peculiar place will lead her to her family. Azumi and Marcus each believe they are attending a school, while Dash and Dylan think they have landed a great acting gig in a horror film. Quickly after arriving, the tweens realizes they are trapped in a dark, dangerous house and begin to figure out how to escape. Some of the truly creepy aspects will be too much for young readers, but fans of Goosebumps-style tales will enjoy this. Dan Bittner does not disappoint in his performance, successfully changing voices for each character, which proves particularly helpful when the five of them are having conversations. Bittner also adds a sinister tone when reading the most horrifying scenes, which would make listening to this in the dark quite an eerie experience. Though this delightfully creepy book focuses much of its effort on introducing listeners to this clandestine world, it manages to deliver legitimate scares in addition to solid character development.