Charlotte arrives at a house to baby sit, after the introductions and the parents leave she very quickly discovers that this house is more than a house. Great haunted house story with some very creepy aspects. Stephen Graham Jones is quickly becoming a must read for me, sometimes his style and story telling makes you think and a minute to get used to, but he always pulls it together in the end. Loved it.

The Babysitter Lives is a haunted house horror novel by Stephen Graham Jones. This book is currently only available as an audiobook, which clocks in at a little over seven and a half hours and is narrated by Isabella Star LaBlanc. The author also reads his own acknowledgements at the end of the book.

Charlotte is a queer half-Indigenous high school senior, studying for her SATs. It's the night before Halloween, and she's babysitting the six-year-old Wilbanks twins. Her most recent babysitting gig nearly ended in tragedy when the child she was watching sleepwalked unnoticed into the middle of the street, though her mother found him unharmed. Charlotte plans to be more careful this time. But the Wilbanks house is full of creepy noises and secrets, and she and the kids may not be alone in there. Will she be able to protect her charges and get all of them through the night alive?

As per usual, the author includes smattering of social commentary in this book about Charlotte's Indigenous status and the fact that she is a queer young woman. Also as per usual, I enjoyed SGJ's prose a lot. He writes things in such a visual way that I demand one of his books be turned into a movie or television show.

This book made me feel like I was watching a more confusing and adult episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark. I felt even more that way once I got to the ending, which didn't fully land for me. I get where he was going with it, but it felt a little off course.

I think things may have been a smidge less confusing if the narrator included the name of a chapter while she was starting it; things flowed together for me and I didn't feel any actual chapter breaks. (Not a dig at the narrator, though, because she did a great job.)

Tropes in this book include: sapphic main character, sapphic side character, slasher, ghosts, time travel/multiverse

CW: physical violence, body horror, blood, bugs (spiders, maggots), jack-in-the-box, murder, suicide, drowning, child endangerment, racism, sexual harassment

Special thanks to Simon & Schuster Audio, Simon & Schuster, and NetGalley for providing an audiogalley of this book for me to review. All opinions contained herein are my own.

3.5
Babysitter horror story with feel to real descriptions. I listened to this audiobook at night driving home and instantly regretted that many times when I thought a child would run out into the street at any moment. If you can wait to read this at the end of September beginning of October you won't regret it.

I’ve sat on this review for over a week. I think I need to read it again, IT’S THAT GOOD!

I feel like this story flowed onto paper from the author’s mind like a stream of consciousness because at times I was wondering, where am I … but everything circled around and connected in the end.

It’s a babysitter horror, haunted house, thrill ride with just the right amount of … chills, tension, jump scares & lasagna. I won’t compare it to but it has some similar non-horror vibes as Horrorstor, The Hollow Places but scarier … better. There’s shifts in time & reality … and a doppelgänger!

It reads like a movie it’s so visceral.

There is SO much in this audiobook that you’ll want to listen more than once. There were times I rewound but nope not really explained but it is later.

There’s a point when I was thinking this has to be an unreliable narrator! Then that gets turned on it’s edge & back again.

THIS IS A FUN BOOK!!

Just what I was looking for!!! I love haunted house stories & the scarier the better! If you do too, get your hands on a copy of this audiobook!

Great narrator.

Thank you #NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Audio Originals, I loved it!

When Charlotte shows up at the Wilbanks’ house to watch their twins, she’s expecting a calm night with plenty of time to study for the SATs the next day. However, her dream evening rapidly turns into a nightmare when she discovers that she and the twins are trapped in the house with a murderous entity, leftover from a long ago tragedy. Further, space and time are more than a little malleable in the house, and only Ronald, the Wilbanks’ son, can figure out how to navigate the house’s secrets. Racing against the clock, and with Charlotte’s own past, present, and future crashing together, she must use all the skills she’s been preparing for the SATs to find a way to escape the house, fight back against its spooky resident, and survive the night.

This book delivers on its premise 100%. Charlotte is assaulted on all sides by the dimension-twisting nature of the house and the entity that knows how to use the house to its advantage. She’s an average teenager, and it’s satisfying to see the way she uses her wits to get past each obstacle. I particularly liked the way this was tied into Charlotte preparing for the SATs, with her frequently pausing to consider her options like “If Babysitter X…,” approaching each challenge like a test problem. The house frequently screws with time, pushing her to relive the past or view the future, in order to disorient and frighten her, making her fight against the entity in the house even more difficult.

The situation Charlotte gets trapped in is connected to a tragic event that happened in the house 11 years ago, and I liked that there was a touch of mystery to that event. Charlotte vaguely remembers when the tragedy (a murder-suicide) took place, but no one really knows all the details, so instead there are a lot of different versions of the story that have circulated in the local community. Some layers are peeled away from the mystery across the first half of the book, slowly leading both Charlotte and the reader to realize what she’s truly up against.

This book also touches on a wide variety of topics, particularly racism, homophobia, and sexual harassment. As a queer, Native American teenager, Charlotte finds herself contending with all three through her interactions with the Wilbanks, and through her relationships with her mom and her girlfriend Murphy. I think the book manages to balance and explore all of these really well, and Charlotte’s experiences of each contribute to her experiences in the house, and how she approaches the obstacles put in her way.

My only gripe with this book is that I think there are a couple of threads left hanging at the end that are unsatisfying. In particular, I wanted to know more about Charlotte’s relationship with her mom because it was brought up a lot, but I never quite understood how it mattered in the context of the story or for Charlotte’s characterization. The other thing is that I never quite understood how Charlotte’s previous babysitting gig - in which a child escaped her notice and sleepwalked into the street - connected to the house, although it was clear that that memory was an important element. I think you should take these points with a grain of salt, though, because I think this could be a case of something going over my head, rather than it not having been explained in the book.

Overall, I think this book will appeal to anyone who loves a haunted house story, and in particular I would recommend this to anyone who read and was disappointed by You Should Have Left by Daniel Kehlmann. I think the two books have some similar elements (i.e., a house in which strange things happen as a result of some weird collapse of space and time), but The Babysitter Lives is a much better realized and more satisfying story.

P.S., If I could give this book 5.5/5 stars I would, just for the way I both was grateful that my desk faces away from the door of my cubicle so that no one could see the faces I was making at some of the scenes, while simultaneously being unable to rid myself of the feeling that someone was behind me, since I had my back to the door.

On her first night babysitting the Wilbanks twins, Charlotte has one thing in mind, extra study time for the SATs. She's taking the test the following morning on Halloween Day. Since the twins, Ron and Desi, are only 6-years old, she figures they'll be tucked safely in bed fairly early. The rest of the night she can dedicate to cramming for her test.

Once at the beautiful home, Charlotte receives a full tour from Mrs. Wilbanks and a word of warning, the kids may try to play tricks on her. They're in a bit of a phase. Mr. Wilbanks chimes in to list the off-limits areas of the house, his office mainly, and as the couple depart for the night, Mrs. Wilbanks secretly gives Charlotte one more tip regarding Mr. Wilbanks. She knew he was a creep.

Alone in the house, Charlotte's interactions with the children definitely start out with a bang. These kids are weird. Additionally, the house is unsettling. As it should be, considering its history. Charlotte quickly begins to feel out of sorts. Are the kids playing games with her?

The Babysitter Lives is a trippy, claustrophic read. This takes haunted house to a whole new level. I had no idea what was happening half the time, but I was eating it up. The imagery and depth kept me totally engaged, but I will admit to rereading entire chapters just trying to parse out what in the heck was going on.

It was horrifying. It made me nervous. Charlotte is a fantastic main character. She's haunted a bit by a previous babysitting job and you get little glimpses of that throughout, but now she's haunted by all new evils. I also loved the tiny details that kept coming back. Nothing was wasted. Everything has a point. I feel like you could read this three or four times and continue to discover new things each time. I love that type of narrative.

SGJ's writing never disappoints for me. I always enjoy his distinctive style. It feels classic and somehow cutting edge at the same time. It's extremely well-presented. This story is smart, graphic and really freaking strange. Seriously, some of the imagery presented here, I was cringing. Oh my goodness, eyes and bugs and a whole host of other creepy things. It just kept coming.

Currently, this is available on audio only. That worked well for me. The narration is great by Isabella Star LeBlanc. I definitely recommend getting your hands on this if you love unique, mind-bending, toe-curling Horror stories.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Simon and Schuster Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I had a lot of fun with this. My brain hurts.

The narration was fantastic. If you are looking for a quick multidimensional haunted house story and body horror, definitely check this book out.

The Babysitter Lives is the story of a young, studious woman named Charlotte, who babysits on the weekends to make money while she does her homework. It's her first time babysitting the Wilbanks twins so the parents give her a grand tour. After they leave, some unsettling things begin to happen.
Thankfully, Charlotte's girlfriend, Murphy shows up to help her get the twins in order but after being in the house for a while, Murphy has a startling revelation that explains some of the strange things that have been happening.
This might be my favorite Stephen Graham Jones book.
And I love all the Stephen Graham Jones books!
The narrator did an amazing job giving each character their own personality without changing her voice too much. I'm glad I experienced this read as an audiobook--I feel like it sticks in my mind better--this would make a scary movie.

I don’t care for this much it’s definitely amazing him and not a book thing just not my thingI don’t care for this much it’s definitely amazing him and not a book thing just not my thing

Have you ever been walked through a nightmare? Not guided, no. That would be too safe, maybe even slightly comforting, imply, even, a partner in crime of sorts, or at least someone you can actually rely on. That? Yeah, that’s not the case here. This is a one person terror labyrinth. This isn’t some Orpheus-Eurydice don’t look back and you’ll be okay situation, either.

Here, Jones blows the doors off the Haunted House, lets you waltz on in for a look –– you’ve always been curious –– and then, because he’s kind of sort of lagged behind, the need to get a rock out of his boot so very perfectly acted out, like it’s a joke, it’s okay, you can all laugh about this, hahaha, because he’s done that, disarmed you in such mundane fashion, you don’t see that, yep, he’s directing a full team in, swooping down from the air in helicopters, swifter than swift, and at his direction, they’re cask of amontilladoing you inside, only it’s one fell swoop per door of cabled in boulders, not bricks torturously slotted in place.

And this nightmare, THIS haunted house, it’s thoroughly psychotropic, though maybe they all are, yeah. And that extra level, it is haunting, but it’s also so absolutely, unabashedly terrifying, like losing one’s mind in an unending spiral, yet somehow being able to in the moment witness it, like it’s coming at you like some Peeping Tom murder device complete with mirror (for your eyes only), and it all makes me think just a bit of giallo is at play here, like All The Colors Of The Dark. Something mentally and emotionally sinister. But then, maybe that’s because of the so perfect giallo that never was title dropped into this book: The Lizard With The Glass Throat.

Like all good horror, there’s some laughs, too. I particularly love the “yeah, I don’t think so” nod to The Cabin In The Woods, and Charlotte’s sense of humor, when she’s still in possession of it, is pure joy. It’s good to have that release valve, and Jones knows precisely when to crank it shut and open the floodgates of horror once again.

The Babysitter Lives. Huh. Would I? Would you?

Mr. SGJ owes me dinner after completely mind ducking me. Loved this story so much, it had my heart pounding and holding my breath. Definitely recommend!

Pros:
Indigenous & Queer representation
Narrator was fantastic- great flow, expressive at all the right moments
Overall a great concept

Cons:
The story skipped around ALOT; plot line was blurred at times (Maybe better suited for print?)
Not enough / unclear supporting details to execute the concept
Storyline was a little juvenile; not much to distinguish it from every other haunted house story

Thanks Netgalley & Simon and Schuster for granting me access to read and review this title!

Thank you Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Audio for this advance listener copy in exchange for my honest review.

This would have been better in print. The audio made the book confusing with the alternating timelines. The book itself was good. There were just no chapter breaks and it got jumbled up. This was a classic haunted house story and it is the first book I've read from Stephen Graham Jones and although I wasn't a fan of the audio, I will read more of his work. I am also planning on keeping my eyes open for this book in print as I would love to reread it to see what I missed.

I'm giving this three stars because the story was good and the audio was confusing. The narrator wasn't bad, it was just the lack of clear breaks in the story.

When I heard that this book was only going to be published on audio, I figured it would be years before I ever got to experience this story. But seeing it available for requests on Netgalley, I figured it was a sign to shoot my shot. I’m so glad I did. The narrator did a fantastic job with their performance! The Babysitter Lives takes the haunted house trope and leans in. It feels like Stephen Graham Jones found an interesting thread and pulled, expanding out an idea to get to the story that was meant to be told. The story is full of twists and turns, body horror, an evil child and doppelganger. The babysitter is a staple character of the horror genre. And this babysitter is determined to save her charges. No matter what it takes.

A fun and quick horror read reminiscent of R.L. Stine’s Fear Street series I loved reading growing up. The story progressed quickly and I found myself wanting to listen to “just one more chapter”. Would recommend to anyone who likes horror/thrillers.

This book definitely will leave you feeling dizzy and confused.
Charlotte most likely never would have agreed to babysit the twins if she knew what permanent damage it would do to her life. Her evening started out like any other babysitting job. There was the traditional tour around the house, including rooms that were off limits to her and the children. There was the inappropriate look over from the husband that Charlotte ignored. The children were to be fed and in bed by a certain time, allowing Charlotte time to study for her big exam the following morning. Unfortunately for her, her night and life turned upside down as soon as the parents leave. First, the twins went missing and Charlotte had to search the house to find them, only for them to show up in a random area and be told a strange story. If only she wasn't so curious....
Charlotte decided to talk the kids into showing her where their secret place was that they hid. They went into the dark together, but Charlotte did not follow directs and return in time. Suddenly thrown into another house, the "wrong side" of the house, she had to try to find a way back. Unfortunately for her, there was also an angry soul there to make things more difficult.
This was an interesting story, but I am not a fan of books that leave a reader without a true conclusion. I appreciated the early audiobook in exchange for an honest review. This was my first book by this author and the narrator did an amazing job. While not my favorite book of the year, I found the story interesting enough, but did not quite enjoy the self mutilation for the sake of attempting to make the story sound darker or more edgy. Some of the characters' actions were not all that believable, while other characters felt as if they were just thrown in the blender of this book for random flavor but served no true purpose. I enjoyed Charlotte and how she though through the problems before her and tried her best to protect the children at all costs.

I just could not finish the book. I feel I gave it a good try, 25 percent and just could not go on. I'm all for creepy horror stories, but could not get into it. Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to the audiobook.

I have a bit of an odd relationship with Stephen Graham Jones. I thought the first 2 books that I read by him were just okay. For some reason though, I kept plugging along and read <u>My Heart is a Chainsaw</u> and freakin' loved it. I mean LOVED. I ran right to my favorite online signed bookstore and bought a signed copy of that book. Then I ordered a signed/limited edition from a British small press. Seriously, I can't say enough good things about that book!

I was not sure what I'd think of this one, but I dug in since I enjoyed his last so much. And I was not disappointed in the slightest.

Charlotte is planning on spending her babysitting shift studying for her SATs. However her babysitting charges, twins Ron and Desi, have another plan, starting with the trip on the "secret staircase..." Slowly, Charlotte begins to realize that things are not quite what they seem in the house. And by the way, isn't this the same house where a woman drowned her kids in the bathtub then hung herself the night before Halloween exactly 11 years ago...?

This book was just weird and I loved it. There are other dimensions, time travel, body horror, and creepy kids. I feel like I wasn't 100% sure what was going on half the time, so it was easy to empathize with Charlotte when she didn't know which side was up either.

Isabella Star LaBlanc did a terrific job at narrating. All in all, this was a great read! Hope it gets released in print so I can grab a physical copy for the shelf.

I believe I'm going to have to rethink our relationship, Mr. Jones!

The Babysitter Lives
Written by: Stephen Graham Jones
Narrated by: Isabella Star LaBlanc
Fans of horror will enjoy The Babysitter Lives; this is only available as an audio book.
When Charlotte agreed to babysit the twins while their parents had a night out, she did not realize the house had a gruesome past-according to rumor the mother drowned her two children and then killed herself. Charlotte knows something strange is happening in the house; the twins keep disappearing and reappearing. They are not alone in the house. Charlotte is trapped in a different version of the house.
I found this book extremely confusing. There was quite a bit of violence in this tale. Charlotte is depicted as a Native American Indian/Alaskan Native/Lesbian which added very little to the story. The tale takes place the night before Halloween which gives the children an excuse to put on their costumes. Ron’s costume is a nurse’s uniform and Desi’s costume is a squaw.

"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."

At times this story was confusing and hard to follow, but I think that was intentional. As Charlotte is trying to understand what exactly is happening in the house and with the children, the reader is trying to understand as well. This format did make it harder to follow and, although the narrator did a great job, I wonder if the physical book would be easier to follow along.
Be prepared for a rollercoaster of a story with creepy characters, spiders, a glass throat lizard, and body horror.
Overall I did enjoy this book. The story takes several twist and turns that I didn't see coming and had a fantastic ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Audio for this audiobook.
Release Date scheduled for August 9, 2022.