The Babysitter Lives is my first book by Stephen Graham Jones. This particular book is available on audio only. This one started out good and easy for me to follow along. As the story progressed there seemed to be so much going on it was hard for me to keep up with. It wasn't scary to me - it was just a bit confusing. This one might be better to read in print or read along with a print version. I think Charlotte was a good main character. - the kids were a bit creepy.. I did end giving up on this one and DNF'd it. I was just totally lost with what was going on.

A solid and effective piece, as always, from Jones, but this time -- unlike most of his other work -- this seems to go on a beat or two too long. I found myself drifting during the last third, rather than enjoying the crescendo as if usually the case. The narrator's performance is excellent; I've actually sought out other work. And even if it's not the strongest SGJ piece I've read, he continues to be one of the best storytellers in the field.

The Babysitter Lives is an amazing listen. Fully immersive and completely frightening. I took another listen immediately after completion of the first. Stephen Graham Jones is a god.

Stephen Graham Jones never disappoints and THE BABYSITTER LIVES is exactly what I expected from him. That is, I expect to be thoroughly creeped out and wandering firmly into WTF territory. I'll read anything this man writes and then I'll wonder how the heck he comes up with this stuff.

Charlotte just wants to hit all the right marks as a good babysitter, study for her SAT exam, and redeem herself after a previous near disaster. The family is weird. Nanycams hidden, locked doors, forbidden spaces, and a lot of rules, but she has it all under control, until she doesn't.

The house she's babysitting in has a dark history she was not aware of when she took the job. The kids are being seduced by a power they don't understand, playing dangerous games in the shadows, and nothing is quite what it seems.

Pitted against her past, her future, her memories and an impossible situtation, Charlotte has to find a way to protect the children, perform her duties and move on to the life that's waiting for her without ending up dead, in jail... or much worse.

This is Stephen Graham Jones at his darkest and weirdest, bringing the kind of terror that lingers and makes you check the corners and odd places wherever you go, wondering.

The Babysitter Lives is a great thriller and horror book for when the nights get a little darker and colder. I loved his writing and the fast pace of the novel.

It's hard to categorize Stephen Graham Jones' "The Babysitter Lives." Some may classify it as a YA story, especially since it centers around a teenage babysitter Charlotte. Others may call it a thriller since the plot twists and turns. But all will agree that it's a horror story and a babysitter's worst nightmare. Charlotte has been asked to watch 6-year-old twins while their parents enjoy a long-overdue night out. It's the night before Halloween, but it's also the anniversary of a murder-suicide in the same house. To say more .... well, discover all that bumps in the night on your own! With the help of an outstanding audiobook narrator, the plot will keep you guessing while you turn on all the lights in the house!

I enjoyed some parts of this audiobook as some parts were pretty scary and intense. Some parts I did not as I thought it was too cheesy.

Stephen Graham Jones does it again! One of my new favorites! Perfect for the Halloween season and the narrator is perfection. Bravo!

This book really went from 0-100 really quickly it wasn’t my cup of tea but I did like a few parts of it just the mystery and eeriness of it. But i was also confused most of the time. It was good but just not for me.

A twisty, winding horror to unfold the night before Halloween, with a fresh take on babysitter stories and the horror of caring for someone else's children.

TW: death of children, racism, smoking, drugs, language, scary scenes, underage sex

*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:When high school senior Charlotte agrees to babysit the Wilbanks twins, she plans to put the six-year-olds to bed early and spend a quiet night studying: the SATs are tomorrow, and checking the Native American/Alaskan Native box on all the forms doesn’t mean jack if you choke on test day.

But tomorrow is also Halloween, and the twins are eager to show off their costumes—Ron is a nurse, in an old-fashioned white skirt-uniform, and Desi has an Authentic Squaw costume, complete with buckskin and feathered headdress. Excitement is in the air.

Charlotte"s last babysitting gig almost ended in tragedy, when her young charge sleepwalked unnoticed into the middle of the street, only to be found unharmed by Charlotte’s mother. Charlotte vows to be extra careful this time. But the house is filled with mysterious noises and secrets that only the twins understand, echoes of horrors that Charlotte gradually realizes took place in the house eleven years ago. Soon Charlotte has to admit that every babysitter’s worst nightmare has come true: they’re not alone in the house.
Release Date: August 9th, 2022
Genre: Horror
Pages: --
Rating:

What I Liked:
1. Ah yes the plot is a fun one
2. The cover is pretty
3. Love Stephen Graham Jones books

What I Didn't Like:
1. It's boring
2.

Overall Thoughts:I just had to get my hands on this book. I have been falling in love with SGJ's books after reading

One part House of Leaves meets Caroline.

I seriously wanted to love this book but I thought we were going to get this exciting book with what happens to babysitter on her night with the kids. What you get this is this tame story of a "ghost" stealing the image of the babysitter. It's a shame because I think SGJ's is such a fantastic writer. I wanted more horror and less Sci-Fi elements.

Final Thoughts: This just wasnt it for me. Sorry. It is a short listen though and I got through it pretty fast. The writing is beautiful and SGJ's has a way with words that makes you see what he is seeing. I loved the authors note at the ending of the book. He has such a great voice and I could listen to him read his own books. It is seriously wonderful! You must MUST listen to it.

Audiobook Narration:
Read by Isabella Star LaBlanc
The narrator did a really good job at the book. I was able to understand what she was saying. And the pacing was really good.

Recommend For:
• Fans of the babysitter stories
• Isolated horrors

The Babysitter Lives is the latest offering by one of my favorite contemporary horror writers–Stephen Graham Jones.

The Babysitter Lives has a touch of social commentary reminiscent of Jordan Peele’s Get Out, the Willbanks’s home–a twisty and ever-changing monster of a thing–evokes Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House, and the book’s tone is similar to Neil Gaiman’s Coraline–with a sprinkle of Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street for good measure. The Babysitter Lives is clearly the brain stew made up of all the things Stephen Graham Jones loves most when it comes to horror, and luckily for us, he’s put it down on paper for us to enjoy.

It’s the night before Halloween, and Charlotte–a high school senior and our main character–has agreed to babysit the Wilbanks twins. Charlotte thinks it’ll be a simple night of babysitting. She’ll put the kids to bed early and have time to herself so she can study for her upcoming SATs the following morning. Charlotte’s plans quickly change when she learns the tragic history of The Willbanks house and finds herself stuck between two realities.
I thoroughly enjoyed The Babysitter Lives. It’s only available as an audiobook and was the perfect companion on my family's most recent vacation to Texas. A horror audiobook is a travel tradition for my wife and me. Some years back, we listened to The Shining on our way to California. In 2020, during a road trip to Montana, we listened to another of Jone’s books, The Only Good Indians, so it was nice to have another Jone’s offering during our most recent family vacation.

Narrator Isabella Star LaBlanc does a beautiful job bringing Stephen Graham Jones's words to life.
The Babysitter Lives is not perfect–but what book is? Sometimes, it felt like the tones of the book were conflicting. I don’t mean this negatively, but at times it read like a teen or young adult novel, but then a scene of extreme adult content–alligator, anyone?-would occur, which I found to be jarring. Also, and this could just be me, on long road trips, I’ll find myself drifting whenever listening to an audiobook, which caused me to possibly miss some vital details on the mechanics of the haunted house thing because I had some questions I never felt were answered.

Minor complaints aside, I enjoyed my time with Charlotte inside the Willbanks house. I hope The Babysitter Lives is released in a physical format so I can dive back into this world in my own time.
I think an illustrated edition of The Babysitter Lives is something Jone’s publishers should seriously consider.

Now this is what I call horror. I know I have been critical of Jones on his last bestselling novels because they did not meet the standards of my idea of horror. But with The Babysitter Lives, he hit the mark!
Scary, weird, gross, shocking, in your face spooky! A twist on the old haunted house troup that I haven't seen before
Available only in audio, but so worth it. If you haven't made the jump to audio this is a dang good place to start.
The Narrator, Isabella Star LaBlanc is fantastic. She keeps you engaged and invested in every minute of this story.
Highly recpmmended!
Thanks to @netgalley, Simon & Shuster Audio, Isabella Star LaBlanc, and Stephen Graham Jones for the opportinuty to listen to this audibook in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

ARC audiobook provided in exchange for an honest review.

I was really happy to get to listen to this before it released and it didn’t disappoint! The narration was amazing and the story held my attention the entire time. I love that the genre bothers paranormal horror because it made the story so much more unpredictable. I would definitely recommend to horror fans and will definitely be reading other books by this author!

This was such a crazy ride! We are following Charlotte who takes a babysitting gig for a set of twins. The twins let the babysitter in on one of their secrets and now it can’t be undone. My con for this book is that I was really confused during some scenes. I wasn’t 100% what was going on. However I’ve had this issue with other books by this author so it’s probably just me. Pros was that this was definitely a solid horror story and a great ending.

I did not finish this audiobook. This is the 3rd time I'd tried Stephen Graham Jones and unfortunately, his writing style is just not for me in print, so I thought I would give an audiobook a try and it still didn't work. I just couldn't keep up- everything was really disconnected for me. I know others love his work but I think this will be my last attempt.

"Funny thing about walls, feel along them long enough you find a door."

The Babysitter Lives by premiere horror author Stephen Graham Jones is definitely the most trippy haunted house ghost story I have ever heard. It was like horror on acid as this ordinary suburban home becomes a labyrinth of horror.

Exclusively on audiobook, narrator Isabella Star LaBlanc takes full advantage of her acting talent by making your heart race as she embodies high school senior Charlotte bravely fighting to save not only her own life but the six year old twins she is watching as well.

The author lures you in with a harrowing first scene of a baby boy floating face down in a bathtub as his six year old sister is being held face down in the scalding hot water screaming...to the doorbell ringing eleven years later as Native American Charlotte enters the same house for the first time to babysit for this family.

Once the parents leave we are bombarded with everything from screams coming out of bathroom drawers, a creepy jack in the box, too much SpongeBob to the realization that, "The house is eating her," and Charlotte's girlfriend Murphy showing up as a vampirish Harley Quinn. Oh yeah, did I mention it's Halloween eve?

Though this audiobook is only 7 1/2 hours so much happens, so much is revealed and the ending...well all I can say is the babysitter does live but... let's just leave it at the writer is a best selling author of horror thrillers for a reason.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from Simon Audio via #netgalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

As always, Stephen Graham Jones makes an incredible horror story.

Charlotte is spending her Halloween prepping for the SAT's and making some money babysitting a local family's twin children. She's the ideal babysitter and has made a positive reputation among the families in her area. She's prepared for another normal night that is hopefully uneventful. However, when the kids start to show her the quirky "fun" the house has to offer and learns the tragic history of the house she soon starts to feel uneasy. Next, this easy night of babysitting turns into a waking nightmare that she is not prepared for.

This quick audiobook gave me everything I wanted from a SGJ book. The FMC is smart and the things she faces are twisted and down right weird. However, she does it with wit and determination. If my focus wandered for just a minute I found myself rewinding the audiobook as I missed something small but important. The world created was wild and I had no idea what the conclusion would be.

Overall, I highly recommend for fans of horror. This audiobook narrator did a wonderful job bringing the story to life.

Only on Audio!

Charlotte thinks babysitting the six-year-old Wilbanks twins will be a walk in the park. She will put them to bed early and study for her SATs the next day. But the twins are excited as Halloween is tomorrow and they want to show off their costumes.

Soon, Charlotte begins to feel that something isn't quite right. The children are a little odd and then there are the sounds that the twins seem to know about. Plus, something happened in this house eleven years ago....

Halloween, haunted houses, spiders (the worst), lasagna (what?), SATs, and identity. Whew! SGJ threw everything in the mix with this one. Nothing is wasted and everything has a reason for being in the book.

This is a hard book to identify because it morphed and like the children, is here and there and all over, but in a good creepy way. Like Charlotte, I really didn't know what I was getting into. This is one where you just sit back and enjoy the creepy disturbing ride.

As this is only on Audio, choosing the right narrator is key and I thought the narrator did a great job.

SGJ fans will be very pleased with this audiobook. If you have not read/listened to his work before, this is a great place to start. It's different and horrifying and I found it hard to stop listening - so I didn't!


#TheLizardwiththeGlassThroat #NetGalley

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Audio, Simon & Schuster Audio Originals and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.