📖 Book Review 📖 Would you rather fear the wrath of the bullying of eighth grade mean girls or spend the night in an amusement park with a history of mystery clouding the abandoned section where teenagers tragically perished thirty years ago? What if you had to tackle both on the same night?
Brie wants nothing more than a fresh start at her new school - and the top priority for her is finding the popular clique to accept her into their fold. The perfect opportunity comes at a lock-in at the Wildwoods Amusement Park, she just has to keep it together (including her guarded house family secret) for one night…
But things quickly go awry and this night that was supposed to be epically fun quickly turns into a becomes a dangerous descent into something nefarious. While this may be a middle grade read, it’s certainly no kiddie ride. Delilah Dawson gives a fast-paced read that flies by like a high speed roller coaster, and Ride or Die is an absolute blast for all ages!!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's /Delacorte Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A cute quick read that I’m glad I got to experience. I love Dawson’s adult books and was excited to experience her more YA stories as well. While not perfect, it was cute and spooky and had a good moral. Did it push the moral a little too hard pretty much the entire book? Oh for sure. But I don’t know what kids need these days… it was over the top and exaggerated and therefore creepy cozy.

It’s spooky season, which means it’s time to read some spooky books. I got to read Ride or Die by Delilah S. Dawson. If you follow my content, you know I’m a big fan of her work. This book in particular is definitely the right book for you if you’re looking for something that feels like a Goosebumps book. Ride or Die is a middle school book where we follow Brie, the new girl trying to be popular as she joins the local mean girls at a lock-in in a creepy amusement park filled with legends about a giant alligator but also some extra hidden secrets of its own. When Brie finds herself alone after a prank, the tone of the book shifts and we get lots of creepy scares. I really found myself enthralled with the characters and while if you’re a bit older like me you might be able to predict some of the twists this will fit in very well for your middle schooler’s reading and they’ll likely have a good time following Brie’s adventure to just survive in an amusement park that’s seemingly trying to kill her. So I recommend Ride or Die by Delilah S. Dawson.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
This was a fun middle grade horror, and really felt nostalgic. Dawson creates a creepy atmosphere with a creepy amusement park with a lot of thrills, and a mystery with some solid twists and turns. This is tied perfectly with Brie’s personal arc as she navigates struggling to fit in and find herself, and whether being able to hang out with the “cool” kids is really worth it.
A solid read, and one I’d recommend to readers who enjoy children’s horror.

When I saw this book was a middle grade horror???? Set in an amusement park overnight??? I knew this would be my Summerween book of choice, and it did not disappoint!!!

🌟🌟🌟🌟/5 stars!!

Ride or Die is a quick, fun (yet simultaneously horrifying) read with a relatable and interesting cast of characters! It’s sort of a final girl type deal, if you toss in a couple undead teens and a raging axe murderer, along with a trio of blonde, beautiful popular girls determined above all else to look cool - even if it means leaving the odd-girl-out in the abandoned section of the park.

I think I read this in just a couple of days but could’ve easily read it in one sitting! The pacing was fantastic, and although a few twists were clear to me pretty early, other pieces of the puzzle only became clear as the plot went along. I was thoroughly creeped out as well, so don’t let that middle grade categorization fool you too much; there’s lots of creepy crawlers, rotten flesh, broken park rides, and more to keep the hairs on your neck standing up!

I enjoyed this one a whole lot, and it ended up being the perfect Summerween read!! If you enjoy movies like Fear Street or I Know What You Did Last Summer but maybe like your horror on the less gory side, consider this your next read!

This was very reminiscent of Goosebumps or Are You Afraid of the Dark. It was creepy and gross in the best ways while still somehow being wholesome. I loved all of the 90s nostalgia. I also think the slushie scene will haunt me forever. I love horror so this was really fun, and I think middle school horror fans will really love it. As an 8th grade teacher, I did find some of the beginning a little too middle grades- meaning, some of the dialogue/situations felt more aligned with how 6th graders might act, not 8th graders. I think some of my high school level readers might not give this the attention it deserves because of that. However, I think this is perfect for true middle grades horror fans.

Ride or Die by Delilah S. Dawson was absolutely fantastic.
A well written middle school horror novel.
The author’s writing is engaging and clear, and the suspense is real. I could NOT put this book down. The atmosphere is positively creepy.
An interesting and very entertaining story.

Thank You NetGalley and Delacorte Press for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7795635784
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Brie has recently transferred to a new school, and desperate to separate herself from being associated with an embarrassment of her past, she seeks to become friends with the most popular girls - the Ems. She is thrilled when she is invited to the queen bee, Emily's, birthday party at an amusement park. Once the sun goes down though, she discovers there might be something scarier at the park than the mean girls she thought she wanted to be friends with.

This was a fun, quick read! I didn't think it was the scariest thing for middle grade, but it had enough of the creepy factor to still meet the horror genre for me. It felt like the set up with the popular girls turned really quickly, like very early on she realized they were lame. But maybe that was so the focus of the rest could really be on the spooky factor!

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this as Ride or Die is the kind of chilling tale that dances between urban legend and raw adolescent truth.

Amusement Park is one of those words that when I see it in a synopsis, I'm instantly intrigued, add in words like abandoned and scary, and it's definitely ticking all my boxes. Ride or Die has all that and more.

The mean girls were mean, and the abandoned part of the amusement park had great spooky vibes. Brie was a great character to follow, and I really loved the teen friends she made along the way. There were some great twists, and while I did see them coming it didn't make me enjoy the story any less.
I loved this from beginning to end, and I'll absolutely be checking out more by her.

💕💕Quotes I loved💕💕
- Everything had seemed perfectly fine, until it started to go weird.
- “Good boundaries make good friends, as my dad, the school counselor, used to say,”
✨✨Onto the Review✨✨
I actually couldn’t be bothered to look away from this book, I read it in one afternoon I was so obsessed! I loved the sense of foreboding and dread I got once the FMC went to explore the abandoned part of the theme park. I truly hated the mean girls group she hung out with at the beginning and they really did give off the vibes of mean girls from the movie.
For a YA thriller this book surely did have me on edge. I did call the plot twist pretty soon in the book but it was hard to miss I was just delighted I was correct!
I think this book is perfect for anybody who wants to read a spooky book this fall season! Thank you to Toppling Stack Tours and the author for sending me this book! If you want to keep up with the rest of the tour head over to this website so you can see content from other wonderful creators! https://topplingstackstours.com/

Dawson's "Guillotine" was one of my favorite books I've read this year, so to see that she's coming out with yet another horror book, this one for kids, AND it's set in an amusement park? Color me hyped! I'm a sucker for amusement park horror! This book was exactly what I wanted it to be. Suspenseful, engaging, and containing good world building. Dawson is quickly earning herself a repeat reader.

Delilah S. Dawson definitely knows how to write horror! This one is about Brie, a young teenager who recently changed schools because of some drama caused by her older sister. She's in that new school participating in some sports event. Thanks to Brie's athleticism, Emily, who is one of the Ems (the popular girls), wins a competition. So Emily invites Brie to her birthday party celebration which is taking place at an amusement park where, 30 years ago, 4 teenagers died. The old side of the amusement park where the tragedy occurred is closed off by a big, impenetrable wall. Unfortunately, this afternoon of fun doesn't turn the way Brie had expected..

This book was quite scary, and it tackled themes of interest to me: how to deal with public opinion, how to handle bullies, why are popular kids often mean and cruel toward nerds and those who care about their academic accomplishments, what does it even mean to be popular at school. I loved this book: it was fun, freaking scary, a super quick read, and I'm going to keep reading anything DSD keeps releasing.

Ride or Die by Delilah S Dawson

Release date August 5th
Middle grade horror

Brie is the new girl at her middle school. She’s desperate to become friends with the infamous Em’s (the popular girls at school). After they win the three legged race Emily(head of the Em’s) invites Brie to her birthday party/special after-hours lock-in at Wildwoods Amusement Park with her and the other 2 Em’s Emma and Emerson. They play truth or dare and dare Brie to go into the walled off section of the park that’s been closed since 4 students deaths in 1995. There she meets 3 teens that decide to let her hang with them for the night. Little does everyone know that the evil from 1995 is back and ready for more.

This was so good. I’m a wimp when it comes to horror so I figured a middle grade novel would be a safe way to dip my toes in. This was so good. I really enjoyed the spooky amusement park atmosphere.

Highly recommend

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House Children's | Delacorte Press for my arc.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the E-book.
Our main character, Brie, is struggling to find herself at her new school where she has transferred because of something her older sister did (the reader doesn't find out until later in the book), and now Brie wants a fresh start. She really wants to become one of the popular"Ems" group so when she is invited to join them at a party at an amusement park, she is extremely excited. Unfortunately, she discovers, the girls are very cruel, and things go south when they start playing truth or dare, and Brie is dared to go into a closed section of the park, but then the Ems lock her inside with no way out. This is when the suspense begins and as she meets some other teens as she wanders around, things are very strange.

At first, I felt like I had already read several books like this...girl drama, girl trying to fit in, and then the author adds some horror to lure readers in, but essentially the book is focused on girl drama so students feel cheated and tricked. Once Brie gets locked into the closed section without the Ems, the book really takes off and becomes interesting. By the time this happened though, I'm concerned that students will give up on the book, so I will have to tell them to stick with it. I think students will enjoy the amusement park setting as well.

If you’ve ever tried a little too hard to fit in with the cool crowd, Ride or Die will hit close to home then chase you through a haunted amusement park.

Brie finally gets invited to hang with the Ems aka the school’s elite girl gang at Wildwoods, a creepy-cool amusement park. She’s hoping for funnel cake and friendship but ends up ditched in an abandoned section of the park during a game of truth or dare gone wrong. There, she meets some mysterious older teens who seem chill until everything goes off the rails into full-blown nightmare territory.

Think eerie rides, spooky ghost teens, and a reawakened evil that wants more than just your popcorn. Brie’s gotta decide who she really is and fast if she wants to survive the night.

Creepy, fast-paced, and secretly kinda empowering, it's a horror story with heart, neon lights, and a dash of girl power. Perfect for fans of haunted carnivals and scary stories with something to say.

⚡️Thank you Toppling Stacks Tours, Delilah S. Dawson and Delacorte Press for sharing this book with me!

Ride or Die is a suspenseful book with a surprising amount of heart and life lessons. It definitely leans on the younger side of things, but it’s obviously written for that audience. The atmosphere in the story was so eerie and even though I kinda had things figured out, it still was tense but extremely fast paced. The characters were great and the main character goes through a very important journey that is nicely fleshed out. Overall, anyone who enjoys YA or Middle Grade horror, I definitely would suggest checking this book out!

This was a super fun read! I picked this book solely on the title and artwork, and it did not dissappoint! This is like FNAF level horror. Not super gory, but more for kids who have outgrown Goosebumps. This is good entry level horror.

I don’t typically read middle grade horror, but I’ve really enjoyed everything I’ve read from Delilah Dawson so far, and after reading the summary, I knew this would be no exception. I LOVE amusement parks; a sleepover at one would be so much fun! Sans the reawakened evil of course…

And to no shock, I enjoyed this so much I read it in a day. I think my nephew, who loves all things scary, would absolutely love it and can’t wait to tell my sister so she can check it out. As expected, it was a perfect picture of creepy and thrilling. The scary or gory details were handled well for the age group. The overall message of trying to do anything to fit in and hang out with the “cool” kids is one that most kids in middle school could relate to. It’s a time in our lives when we’re trying to figure out who we are without knowing how. Speaking of the “cool” kids, I’ve never hated a group of teenagers more. I am not gonna lie, as wrong as it felt, I kept hoping bad things would happen to those *fictional* kids. And even though I’m used to Delilah’s adult horror, the ending still satisfied my need for revenge in a nice PG manner.

I absolutely love Delilah Dawson's previous book Bloom, and looked forward to her releasing this y.a novel. It was very well written and a quick read, but I think it was certainly predictable. We knew exactly what was happening even though the MC didn't put two and two together. I did enjoy the Gore and creepiness of it as well as the ending. Mean Girls suck and karma's a b****.

Thank you netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review