Ride or Die by Delilah S. Dawson is a middle grade horror novel that follows Brie. Brie desperately wants to be a part of the cool girl clique at her school known as “the Ems” but it’s almost impossible. After she ends up in the Ems good graces, she gets to join them for a night of fun at a local theme park. But things don’t go according to plan and Brie ends up getting more thrills than she expected.

This was so fun. There is something so nostalgic about middle grade horror. This one takes place in an amusement park at night which I feel like was a dream of mine growing up but it made it terrifying! This book had some creepy elements that any reader can enjoy.

There are some great messages in here as well. Mainly around is it worth being a different person to fit in with the cool crowd? I think that’s something that a lot of middle schoolers have to deal with so this book is perfect for the age group it’s aimed for.

This was just a great time full of fun rides and scary encounters with some important messages for kids. I will be getting a copy of this to add to my home library for my kids to read!

4.5 Stars

I thought this was a really good middle grade book by Delilah S. Dawson. Its a quick read with interesting characters. I really appreciate how Dawson incorporated real life issues that young teens and teens deal with into this horror novel. What it means to change oneself to try to fit in with the popular crowd. How what someone think is a cool crowd can be just one person leading others because they are mean and bossy. The people in that group may have also changed their selves to try to fit in as well. It just becomes this viscous cycle.

The horror this book is well done. Its a right level of scary for this age group. I thought she did a great job describing some of the gory scenes without getting too graphic unlike some of her adult horror books. I would really recommend this to any middle grade of highschool reader. I think they would have a great time with this one and be able to easily connect with the characters.

Delilah Dawson has tackled Middle Grade Horror previously in books like "Mine" and "Camp Scare". This book, "Ride or Die", felt like it was the scariest and creepiest of the three, despite not dealing with as dark themes necessarily as "Camp Scare".

The plot of this book is basically that Brie goes to a popular kid as school's birthday party at an amusement park. She gets separated from that friend and wierd, creepy stuff starts happening to her. The story of the plot didn't engage me the whole book, although it did work well by the last 50 pages. What makes this book work is the sense of fear and dread and creepiness that pervades it. Delilah has an excellent grasp on atmosphere in this series.

The three teenagers that Brie meets were very interesting and dynamic, and while I figured out the twist very early on, I think the twist will work well for kids.

I don't know if the book will be too scary for the intended audience. If a younger reader who is a fan of scary movies/books reads this, it might work perfectly. However, unless your kid likes scary stuff, I would caution giving them this book.

Still, this was a very effectively scary book for kids that read very quickly. 7 out of 10!

I don’t think I’ve read a book that has given me the heeby-jeebies in quite some time, but OH BOY did this book absolutely spook me! While it is pitched as a Middle-Grade book, I know many teens and adults who will be absorbed by the thrill that this book is bringing.
Brie has just transferred to a new school because of an incident with her sister, and she is determined to join the popular girls and cover up her past. While she thought she would be attending a casual birthday party at the local theme park, Brie did not expect to learn about the horror from the previous park…or find herself trapped in its ruins and running for her life! While in the ruins, Brie finds a group of older teens who just want to hang out and spend the night going on all the roller coasters. But things are not as they seem, from the rotting ice cream to the deteriorating swings, and even the creepy mascot that keeps following them around. Brie and her new group of friends quickly find out that this night of fun may just be their last…
This book was full of action and totally gripped me from the beginning. Brie is trying to fit back in with a new group of students, and while she tries to be different at first, she quickly learns that she can be brave and being herself is the best thing.
Overall, totally spooky and now I’ll be checking out the author’s other books. Oh, and the cover? STUNNING! I mean, look at that and tell me you aren’t scared?

This was a really good (spooky) YA horror/suspense novel. The "Em's" reminder of the group of girls from Mean Girls, but enjoyed the title character as she figured out who she wanted to be through the course of the novel. Plus, I think an amusement park makes a great setting for an eerie/creepy story, and Ride or Die did not disappoint! Highly recommend for the teen crowd.

Brie is going to the Wildwoods Amusement Park with the Ems, the most popular girls in school. When a game of truth or dare goes terribly wrong, Brie gets separated from the girls. Now she’s locked in an abandoned area of the amusement park. There she meets a group of older teens. They seem friendly, but they warn her that she needs to find a way out of the amusement park. There is something sinister in the park. Can Brie figure out how to get out before it’s too late?

The plot is suspenseful, engaging, and well written. The characters are intriguing and draw the reader into the story. Readers who like the Empty Smiles series, horror, adventure, and after dark type stories will want to pick this one up. Recommended for most library collections. Grades 5 to 9, 5 stars

This is a great tale of overcoming fear of bullies, with one of Delilah S. Dawson's frightful twists!
An age-appropriate horror, this taps into your primal fears around circus/carnival/theme parks, and has you reading through your fingers out of fear!
A really fun read for younger people looking to get onto horror fantasy books.

"𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏 𝑬𝒎, 𝒏𝒐𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖. 𝑵𝒐𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚."

➡️ swipe for synopsis 👉🏼

𝙈𝙔 𝙍𝙀𝙑𝙄𝙀𝙒:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🎢 Bingeable
🎢 Suspensful
🎢 Bullying
🎢 True YA vibes
🎢 Amusement park

This one puts you right into your high school feels!
Love the rollercoaster setting (Amusement park) especially the lock in part. I would've loved that as a kid!
The almost paranormal happenings that only Brie can see are super freaky!

Paranormal ends up being "hanging out w ghosts that died 30 years ago at this Amusement park, but one of the 4 is hunting Brie. The others try to save her. But how do they get back to reality?

I loved every minute of this fast-paced read.

𝙋𝙐𝘽 𝘿𝘼𝙔:
Aug 5, 2025


ℚ𝕆𝕋𝔻❓️⁉️❓️ In school, were you a popular? Did you want to be a popular?

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#mysteryandthrills #thrillersandsuspense #thrillerfriendsunite #thrillerlover #thrilleraddict #thrillerjunkie #thrillergirlie #bookbuzz #upcomingthriller #yathriller #randomhousechildren #delilahsdawson #rideordie
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This is such an awesome novel as it details Brie's adventures in a haunted amusement park where she is invited by one of the "cool girls" to a birthday party. But what she encounters is frightening, crazy, and unbelievably weird as she attempts to figure out where these creatures--like Pickaxe Pete--have come from and what their motives may be! Kept me up long into the night!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

Thank you, Delilah S. Dawson NetGalley for the ARC. I leave this review voluntarily and happily. Also, thank you publishers for your hard work!

I really enjoyed reading this. It took me no time at all to finish it. The pacing is definitely fast the whole way, and the main character you can't help but like her. This definitely teaches he's you something important: Don't let your peers pressure you, and don't change yourself to make others happy. Also, just because you want to be popular doesn't mean you have to do things you don't want to do. Getting away from that, I really enjoyed the atmosphere and just the leading up to the big suprise. Things don't drag on, and I just couldn't tear my eyes away from the page. I just had to keep going.

What are you willing to do to be popular? Lie? Steal or play a dangerous game of truth or dare? It's so simple, but what could happen after? Brie finds out once she's locked in part of an abandoned amusement park, and as the sun goes down, things are not as it truly seems. What is really happening, and will she make it out alive?

Like I said before, I really enjoyed this book. Who cares if it's for teenagers. Adults can enjoy books like this, too. It's nice to read books like this from time to time and just let the nostalgia fly. Not only that, it's a fun kind of horror.

From the moment I picked up this book, I had questions. What had Artemis done that was so bad the family had to switch Brie to a new school? Why was Emily such a jerk? What happened in the park all those decades ago? It was such a fun take on a final girl story and I had a great time with this, I'm excited to share this one with my son who is the same age as Brie.

What I loved about this was how smart Brie was, she was young and her youth definitely showed, but she had a solid head on her shoulders and did her best to look at things with a level head, even in the most bizarre circumstances. I did find the plot twist that came a little predictable, but I'm chalking it up to the fact that this book was written for middle schoolers. Overall this was a fun book, with wild twists and turns, a real roller-coaster - pun intended - summed up with an important message to the young minds of it's intended audience.

The story was well paced, scary enough to fright a young person without being over the top or too scary, and ended in a satisfying conclusion that felt realistic for what the story was. A great blend of horror and self discovery!

Are you looking for a scary good time? have you heard scary stories about amusement park deaths? Do you wonder about the memorial plaques when you see them? This might be the book for you.
This thrilling ride is perfect for tweens or teens looking for a chilling story that doesn't delve too deeply into the macabre, or turn into a total gorefest. The characters are relatable and the message is on point, don't let the bullies (or psycho killers) win. The pace is perfect keeping you on the edge of your seat until like the roller coasters in the book it plunges and our heroine is forced to run for her life.

I would definitely read more Delilah Dawson YA. Loved the drama, the horror, the adventure. Touches on topics such as bullying, peer pressure, and belonging.
✅️ Suspenseful
✅️ mean girls
✅️ Ghosts & monsters
✅️ Some light body horror appropriate for kids who like a little gore

Ｅｂｏｏｋ Ｒｅｖｉｅｗ
5 ☆
The cover art is amazing and totally caught my eye. I will definitely be purchasing the paperback for my personal library! The premise also caught my attention. Brie is invited by the Ems, the most popular girls in school, to a sleepover at an amusement park. Brie thinks she'll have the best night of her life. But when the Ems take a game of truth or dare too far, Brie ends up alone in a creepy, abandoned section of the park. There, she meets a group of cool, older teens who invite her to join them. They seem friendly enough. Little does Brie know she's about to come face to face with a reawakened evil that wants to take her on a ride to her life or death.

This YA mystery was the right pace, had the right amount of suspense, and is right for a young adult audience. I would highly recommend it to middle school children. This book will keep their attention. I enjoyed this book myself as an adult.

Thank you, Netgellay, and Random House for the Ebook in exchange for my honest review.

This is a book that I will wholeheartedly recommend to my fifth grade students. Two of my favorite books when I was their age were the Goosebumps book "One Day at Horror land" and "The Beast" and this book is even better. The characters, the situation, the danger, they are all real and just scary enough to keep kids attention without going overboard. It also never plays down to the emotions and fears of the audience. The mean girls in this book are really mean, and will probably reflect a lot of what many readers have actually experienced. Once the scares and the creepiness begins, it really is scary and creepy and so much fun. Right until the very end of the book Dawson had me in the palm of her hands and I will definitely be revisiting this thrill park many times in the coming years!

Brie goes to a birthday party lock in at the local amusement park. Thinking this will help her gain access to the “in crowd” at school, her dare from the birthday girl sends her into a memorable visit at the park.

During a dare, she is intentionally separated from the birthday group, but quickly makes new friends. Throughout the evening she is taunted by the park mascot. But is pickaxe Pete’s weapon real?!

This contains a thriller, killer and supernatural theme to it and was a quick read!

Will Brie make it out of this horrific nightmare alive? Must read to find out!

I enjoyed this book immensely, and will be purchasing it for my middle school library in the fall. My Goodreads review is below.

While trying to fit into the Ems, the most popular girl group in her new school, Brie unwittingly signs up for a night of torture from her new friends as well as something more sinister. As the night wears on and Brie faces the unknown, she learns about herself and about life--she just has to survive until morning.

This novel by Delilah S. Dawson perfectly combines horror while addressing issues of self acceptance and peer pressure that her target audience faces on a daily basis. The setting of amusement park is the right amount of familiar and unknown to make the story suspenseful and add to the novel's fast-paced action. This quick read is perfect for a middle school library!

Thank you NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the ARC!

Great middle grades thriller. Nothing too scary, but enough gory details to keep my 6th graders enthralled. Love the growth of the main character, Brie and the underlying theme that you should be yourself. Will be ordering this for library circulation for sure. Well done!

Quick read that is engaging and fun.
Positives
Description of setting. The reader is taken right to the amusement park, riding the rides, smelling the foods, and hearing the noises.
Plot: Emotional to read about young people dying but the author does a great job hinting, describing, and revealing the circumstances.
Characters: Excellent mean girls and wonderful friend group who died.
Love the 90's references!

Could have used a little more explanation regarding Brie's need to join the Ems. Seemed rushed.

A scary but thrilling middle grade read. Loved the themes of courage and friendship. Put an unique twist in amusement park horror novels. Loved it a lot. Will check out more from this author.