Amalie Howard does a fantastic job in writing this type of book, it had a great use of witches and how it worked with the concept. I thought it had a spooky atmosphere and was everything that I was looking for. I thought the monsters were wonderfully written and were unique for the story. I was engaged with the story and so glad I got to read this with the characters. It was great to get to know these witches and the Minders group. It left me wanting to read more in this universe and from Amalie Howard.

I adored this book. I am always up to read a books that draws from the mythos of different cultures and this was not different. The myths used in the story were really interesting and not something I would even considered without this book. The characters were great and I an definitely going to read more by this author.


Thank you netgalley for the arc!

Its a familiar construct - a girl gets caught up in magic and has to save the world. And maybe if you read a lot of these books this one will fail to thrill. But if you judge it on it's own merits, it's a solid read. It captures the setting and folk lore well. The characters are decently complex for a middle grade audience. It's action oriented with just a hint of spookiness for horror fans.

I am not a fan of horror novels, however, I love a good middle grade horror type book and this one perfectly scratched that itch. By far my favorite part of this book was the Trindad myth and lore mixed throughout the story. I have always been fascinated by different cultural mythologies and this was really cool. Then I was able to talk to a friend of mine from Trinidad who confirmed many of the creatures and characters and how their story was related to or different than how they were portrayed in this story. So much fun!

Otherwise, it was just an overall good story with great characters and an interesting plot. It gave me some Harry Potter vibes just from the final task in the Goblet of Fire. There was a similar type ordeal that our cast of characters had to go through with various tests, only they got to work together.

Greta book, highly recommend.

I enjoyed this. I liked the plot and ties to Trinidadian folklore. That is something I haven’t seen before and think a lot of middle grade readers would enjoy. For me though I wish there was a little more character development.

My Top 5 Reasons to Read:

A glimpse into the beautiful culture and landscape of Trinidad and Tobago 🇹🇹
A young girl searching for answers and belonging ❤️
New knowledge of superstitions and local legends 🧟‍♂️
Enthralling characters, including a special iguana 🦎
A vividly descriptive book that leaves you wondering what is imagination and what actually goes bump in the night 👻

“𝑭𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉𝒚. 𝑭𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒔 𝒖𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒄𝒕,”—𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 10

This is the perfect read for whoever craving folklore story with a little bit of spooky, magic, adventure, and riddles.

I love the writing style with mystical world building and some mysteries to solve.

I love children and middle grade spooky fiction. As a horror lover I love being able to give my students recommendations of books to read that will hopefully turn them into lovers of the genre as well and Bumps in the Night now tops my list of books to recommend.

I have to say this is about as high as I go on spooky level! However it is a middle grade awesomeness alert! A girl stays with her grandmother in Trinidad for the summer and discovers that she comes from a long line of witches. It only gets better from there, and I loved all the rep!

I have read quite a few middle grade books about Jumbies but they were nothing like Bumps in the Night which in my view was the best.

Every character from Rika who was annoying at the start to the side characters like Nox were all so well written they literally felt like they were real and omg don't get me started on the whole atmosphere which was AMAZING.

Amalie was not afraid to have such a dark story and then add to it the many many revelations really made it a stonking read

I am praying that there will be a sequel to Bumps in the Night and if there is I shall be buying a copy just for me.

For all the above reasons Bumps in the Night receives 5 big fat stars.

Highlights:
✨Trinidad: I had never read a book set in Trinidad before, but I fell in love with everything about this one: the tropical island setting, the vivid descriptions of food (don't read this while hungry), and the captivating folklore.
✨Cool Kids: Riki, our MC, along with her Minders set out to save some family members. The Minders have the ability to control elemental magic - Fitz controls earth, Monique controls fire, Hazel controls water, and Nox controls wind. In addition, Rikir and the Minders are accompanied by a talking iguana named Piku, who can sometimes offers some tough love. As the story progresses, these lovable characters learn that they must work together to save the people they love.
✨Narration: Yamin Mwanza gives each character a personality with attitude and Caribbean accents, immersing the reader deep into the story.

Quick loves: Magic, the devil tree which includes a maze, the trials (puzzles, riddles, vampires, evil creatures), a bag of Skittles (that helps save the day), and themes of climate change.

While the book is atmospheric, it's not too scary. I think any kid ages 9-13 will love this big adventure.

✨ Review ✨ Bumps in the Night by Amalie Howard

Thanks to Random House Children's, Delacorte Press, PRH Audio, and TBR and Beyond Tours for the gifted advanced copies of this book!

Top Five Reasons to Read Bumps in the Night

1. The book is set in Trinidad and immerses you in Trini culture, folklore, and the environment. Rika is sent to stay with her grandma for the summer, and instantly, you're transported into this world.

2. It's a middle grades book, but it's super creepy. From the earliest pages, the author creates a sense of looming mystery, horror and suspense! The magic in the book is fantastic and left me grasping for more!

3. The audio narration brings the voices and accents of these characters to life, immersing you fully in the story.

4. Rika loves skittles, her iguana sidekick, and painting and art, and is so relatable in her frustration at being packed off for the summer.

5. The book has strong messages of climate change interwoven with folklore and can create a perfect opportunity for talking to kids about the impact we are having on our planet.

(Note: Rika's mom is missing, if that's a trigger point for young readers)

Genre: middle grades horror / magical realism
Setting: Trinidad
Pub Date: 20 Feb 2024

The middle-grade horror debut from USA Today bestselling author Amalie Howard in which a girl stays with her grandmother in Trinidad for the summer and discovers that she comes from a long line of witches.

This was really fun! I loved the characters and the plot and the setting very much!

A fun adventure through mystical spaces. This book is rich in Trinidadian folklore and carries a distinct Caribbean ambiance. Lots of magic and supernatural elements, but ultimately this is a book about self-discovery, friendship and family.

Amalie Howard’s Bumps in the Night is a new middle grade fantasy adventure set in the Caribbean. There’s folklore, mystery, and endearing characters that, along the way, learn valuable lessons about teamwork, the environment, and importantly about themselves.

There felt like two discernable parts to the story.

In the beginning, we’re introduced to Darika Lovelace, who has landed herself in hot water and is sent to stay with her grandmother for the summer, in Trinidad. She doesn’t want to like where she is; not the people, food, or places—because she doesn’t want to enjoy herself. For the first hundred pages or so, some of the story can come across slightly repetitive with how much she denies what she sees. However, I understood what Howard was trying to do with her character, because Darika had internalized a lot of false concepts about herself—often feeling lonely, abandoned, and as if she isn’t really being heard. Even though she was surrounded by people who still cared and loved her, it was the absence of her mother—the mystery surrounding it, and the evasiveness of the adults in her life—that negatively affected her in a very significant way. This, arguably, had an effect on the way she dealt with the others as well as the obstacles thrown her way—particularly in situations she was woefully unprepared to deal with. It was a good scenario to begin with, though.

In the second half, all the groundwork—the clues, the strange and magical instances—starts to pay off, and the fantasy adventure arrives in full force. This is one of the areas where Bumps in the Night excels (for me at least), and I flew through the rest of the story. Mazes are obstacle-laden fun, especially when they’re done well. This one was a good one.

So in Bumps in the Night there were big concepts with higher, world ending, consequences. But the journey the main character, Darika, had to undertake was never far from sight either. There was a good balance between the two, and the overall story is as fun as it was meaningful. I highly recommend Bumps in the Night.

Disclaimer: this copy of the book was provided by the publisher (Delacorte Press) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you!

This is what middle grade books are all about! Rika goes on an adventure to save her loved ones and learns some valuable lessons along the way.

Darika Lovelace is a witch, only she doesn’t know this yet.
She’s been getting into trouble back home in Colorado so her Grandma has Rika spend the summer in Trinidad. Grandma Love has plans for Rika; clean the house and stay away from the woods! But Rika isn’t the best at following directions. She meets some neighbor kids and they head to the old silk cotton tree in the woods.
That’s when things turn banana-pants crazy and Rika starts to learn the truth— she’s a witch and her mom is in trouble.

A few things I absolutely loved in this book are:
1. Rika’s love of Skittles. They are the superior candy.
2. Piku, the sidekick iguana.
3. The definitions and educational information that was effortlessly placed through out the story
4. The underlying message of climate change and respecting our planet.
5. Trinidadian cultural representation and mythology.

Thank you so very much for this early copy to review. I truly loved it!

What an adorable spooky middle grade book! I enjoyed every minute of it and the character has so much sass she was instant favorite. Loved the culture that was brought into the book and can see this being a big hit with readers of all levels and ages.

Bumps in the Night follows a young girl who is a bit misunderstood. Rika's parents are divorced and she has a new stepmom and two new brothers. She starts to act out because she feels ignored and alone. When her dad sends her off to Trinidad to live with her grandma for the summer, she feels even more alone. However, while in Trinidad she discovers some family secrets and the real reason her mom has not contacted her in years. Along with her new friends, she has to go to great lengths to save her family, the forest, and the whole world.

This book is full of magic and love. It also has some evil and darkness in it. I think the magic was fun to follow and all of the different powers were interesting. The whole evil tree setup was a lot of fun too. There were many different levels and puzzles that the kids had to solve in order to escape. It was like a magical escape room and everything was described in great detail. It was easy to imagine the different puzzles and tricks that the kids faced. The kids were all fun to get to know throughout the story. I do feel like a few of them were a bit whiney and a little annoying but towards the ends everyone makes a good comeback. I also loved the animal sidekick that comes along in this book, he is so cute and fun! The description of the tropical climate and setting was very detailed and interesting as well. I love the cute cover of this book too!

I think this book touches on a lot of problems that adolescents have. A lot of children feel misunderstood and let out of family secrets. I feel like a lot of parents try to protect their children from things and the children feel like they are being lied to or treated like a baby. We also explore some friendship hardships as well that I think are pretty common in children. I think kids who read this book will be able to relate to the characters and their problems. I like how these problems were handled because it was not constantly in your face but the point was easily across. It was a good mix between fun and adventure and real life issues. The author did a great job balancing that.

I do wish it had just a bit more horror elements because the cover makes it seem more horror than it actually is. There are creatures and dark things but I would've liked just a bit more of the spooky aspect. It was not quite a five star for me but it was a solid middle grade read that I will recommend to the right age group! Thanks so much to netgalley and Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I will be posting a mini review in my Instagram story for this book sometime this week. I posted my review on Goodreads and will be posting a full review on my Instagram closer to the release day!

I enjoyed this book. I love the Trinidadian culture as it reminds me of the time I spent there. I’m not normally into fantasy books, but this one was enjoyable.

Rika has been sent to spend the summer with her grandmother after getting into trouble one too many times at home. Having reached Grannie's home, Rika discovers who she really is, and where her missing mother has been. Along with a trusty group of friends she must battle her way through a magical maze to save her family. The story can be gruesome at times, but reads like a page turning adventure. The characters are brave, intelligent and win the day using empathy and forgiveness as much as magic and skill.