Read At Your Own Risk was a horrifyingly good time! With just enough spookiness and humor, Lai weaves a fun narrative that children will enjoy time and again!

The illustrations that accompanied the story were amazing and the splashes of red were an exquisite touch that really popped and seemed very realistic.

Read at Your Own Risk can definitely hold its own with the likes of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Dogman and I hope to see more from Lai soon!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing for the ARC!

a spooky middle grade read. i appreciated that the author was able to incorporate some pretty gruesome body horror in something targeted at kids, but that was thing i liked most about this story. there was some stuff that i felt was rushed in experimentation and some of the words that hannah used when writing felt a bit out of place (i sure didn't know what magnanimity meant in middle school). still, i feel like young readers will get a kick out of this one.

The perfect blend of sort-of-lighthearted narrative and hair-raising, deeply weird illustrations. This will warm the heart of every single Weird Kid who loves spooky stuff (and those of us adults who were once those kind of kids ourselves.)

Absolutely loved this graphic novel. Young readers who want a truly creepy story will enjoy this title. This will definitely satisfy MG readers who find much of the horror marketed for their age group not actually scary.

"Read at Your Own Risk" is the story of a girl who has been cursed and is being haunted by an evil spirit after playing a spirit summoning game with her friends in the haunted attic of their school. Hannah, our protagonist, writes an illustrated diary about her experience so that at least someone will know what happened to her after she inevitably dies as a result of the curse. The story is entertaining, with a mild dose of body horror. The evil spirit writes in Hannah's diary as well, with Hannah using black ink and the spirit using red ink. The spirit is especially entertaining, and the ending of the book is especially amusing. Highly recommended for middle grade fans of horror and the illustrated diary format.

3.5 ⭐️
A combination sketch diary with novel in verse. A scary story, one that teaches the reader NOT to play with the paranormal. What starts out as a "fun" game with a Ouija type board game turns almost deadly for Hannah and her friends. Can she break the curse or will it take her down...The sketches were reminiscent of Tim Burton's Corpse Bride and Nightmare Before Christmas.

First, thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing group for an advanced reader copy of Read At Your Own Risk by Remy Lai.

I was surprised by how dark this one was. It was very creepy and triggered my trypophobia multiple times. Therefore, I did not personally enjoy this.

However, I can think of several kids who visit the library who will love this one. It will make a great rec after publication.

Honestly, I think this is better suited for a young adult audience, in part because its protagonist alludes to "teen feelings" and in part because it is viscerally disturbing - which is great! It's a really fun, spooky read, but I think it's too dark for most younger readers. Some kids love that, though.

I loved this creepy, spooky book. This is the kind of thing that is right up my alley because my favorite flavor too is "grim and giggles." After a game of 'Spirit Coin' goes terribly wrong, Hannah finds herself haunted. Not just haunted, cursed. She decides to start keeping a journal so there is a record of what is happening to her. Of course, that doesn't mean she is immediately forthcoming with the truth. And it doesn't do anything to stop the evil spirit from inhabiting her journal as well. This book is legit pretty creepy and the sketch diary format works really well. A twist at the end that serves as a larger metaphor is handled pretty nicely. Remy Lai never misses, so this is obviously very good.

Middle schoolers are going to love it! Kids will love the suspense, the humor and the gore. It’s a combination of graphic novel, verse and prose. Super fun!

This was delightfully creepy and something I feel I can hand to my middle school students that they’ll enjoy. I found bits of the ending just a little confusing but that might just be my adult brain trying to make sense of something that is purposefully set up to be vague. The diary format is great and the addition of the blood splotches is a disturbingly perfect addition. Overall, a fun offering for the horror genre for middle grade readers.

Engage in a risky venture that results in haunting experiences, explore Hannah's diary detailing her unintended encounter with spirits after a harmless game with friends.

Watch as events take a perilous turn, with the spirit revealing ominous surprises, the horror unfolds making it an ideal chilling read, especially for younger audiences, a great October read.

Fun, entertaining, intriguing, and loved the illustrations.

Remy Lai does it again, with an engaging, creative graphic novel in a totally new format than her others. This horror graphic novel had me chilled to the bone! The scenario of a demon released from the underworld, harming the main character and her friends was really scary! I think this would be great for those kids who want the scariest book I have in my library, and also want more of a visual format. Although for those who are squeamish, the visual format includes gore and loss of teeth.

There is psychological horror as well, as the demon writes messages, and you are never really sure what is real. The book ends on a cliffhanger, and I thought it was really well done. So scary!

I am always looking for new books to add to my classroom and this one definitely will fit in well! I have a lot of kids that are going to enjoy this one!

A creepy little book that I think the 4th/5th graders at my school will be into -- love the illustration style -- simple but very much gets the gross/upsetting/creeeeeepy [SILVERFISH OMG ((vomit))] feelings across. And the little twisty bit at the end was awesome.

Playing a dangerous game that leads to you becoming haunted? Read the diary of Hannah as she recounts what happened to her and see if she survives or not. Hannah only meant to play a game with her friends and communicate with the spirits of the dead. Yet things spiral out of control as the spirit that answers them has many dangerous things in store for them... and the game is only just beginning. This is a great little horror read and it's so fun. Itd make the perfect spooky read for October for any younger readers!

*Thanks Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*