A great horror story for middle grades to young adults. The audiobook really adds to the experience with multiple narrators and a dramatic effect with sounds. When children start going missing the town is at a loss. When one student texts information after being abducted from a school bus everything changes and the search takes a new direction.

🎧 The Creepy School Bus by Paul Hough
Narrated by Christina Hendricks, Eddie McGee, Erika Alexander, and others

⭐ 3/5 (adult perspective) | 4/5 (for YA/kids)

📖 Quick Summary:
Kids in Highland Park keep disappearing after hopping onto a creepy, mysterious school bus. A group of middle schoolers teams up with the FBI to figure out what's going on before anyone else vanishes.

💭 What I Liked:
Fast-paced story that gets straight to the action
Solid, spooky atmosphere without being too dark for younger audiences
Feels a lot like the classic "Goosebumps" or "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" vibe

🤔 What Didn’t Work for Me:
Dialogue can be pretty cringey from an adult point of view
The audio drama style (lots of sound effects and dramatization) got distracting at times.

🎙️ Narration & Audio Performance:
The full-cast production tries hard to keep things exciting, but the audio drama format is definitely an acquired taste. Christina Hendricks and the rest of the cast do a decent job, but the over-the-top sound effects might not be everyone's cup of tea. Younger listeners might dig it; adults, not so much.

📖 If You Liked...:
The "Goosebumps" series by R.L. Stine
"Small Spaces" by Katherine Arden
"Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" by Alvin Schwartz

💬 Final Thoughts:
Overall, it's a fun and quick listen for younger horror fans. Adults might roll their eyes at some dialogue, but if you're a teacher or parent looking for an engaging and spooky story that's still appropriate for kids, "The Creepy School Bus" fits the bill.

You'd better not miss the bus, and more importantly, you'd better not get on the smaller, slightly rundown backup bus. Why? Because there is no backup bus. And the kids that get on the backup bus never return.

The Creepy School Bus is horror story aimed at YA, though I was a not sure exactly what age group. While I would think it was aiming to the younger end of the spectrum due to the material, there was a good amount of swearing which would skewer it older. It's unclear to me what the author was aiming for. I did enjoy it though. It went very quickly and was a fun horror tale that reminds you that school and growing up can be scary.

I listened to the book on audio. It was performed by a full cast of talented actors that completely embodied their characters and brought them to life. The recording also had sound effects which made the world even more believable. A fun, engaging YA thriller. 4 stars.

I received this advance audio copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and feedback.

I think this is a great horror for teen and young adults, and the cast did a great job with their performance on the audio. I enjoyed listening and would recommend.

I'll start by saying I might not be the intended audience considering I'm in my early 30s, but I read my fair share of middle grade and YA books. Overall it was an okay book. There are some truly good moments, and some pure genius comedic lines.

At one point Ping is trying to look at the park where the kids disappeared, and the Detectives are trying to send him away.
Detective to Ping: We're trying to work here, get lost!
Ping: I'd never want to get lost because you'd never find me!
To say I laughed out loud is probably an understatement. I'm pretty sure the person in the office next to mine heard me chortling.

There are a few points that I needed to re-wind the book and listen again because I got confused. Even after I did, I was still confused. I'm not sure if something was implied but not stated or if it got edited out, but there are just several parts that I didn't understand.

Later in the book, Kaitlyn and Jamie are talking with the FBI agent, and she randomly starts "flirting" with Jamie by calling him a dumbass. They go back and forth for a minute, calling each other dumbasses. The FBI agent never stops them - even though the conversation they were having at the time was pretty heavy and semi-important. This attempt at flirting really took me out of the book (and I say this as kindly as I can) because no terrified 12 year old girl would randomly start flirting by calling her crush a dumbass in the middle of a life and death situation. It just didn't feel right or natural.

Lastly, The Pole felt like such an odd way to add contention. He didn't add anything and his actions made no sense.

Overall, it felt like an R.L Stine style Goosebumps rip off for the modern age, but all of the adults were pretty awful, the kids were mostly annoying, and the flow was off.

The narration of this book was awesome I couldn't wait to find out the ending and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. I will be listening to part two for sure.

An ok Goosebumps-esque horror story. The kids are kids, so annoying at times, and the grownups are mainly all the absolute worst, minus one.

Presenting it as an teleplay-like audiobook definitely helps with overlooking the fact the story is stretched for most of it and rushed in the last 30 minutes, and then ends on a cliffhanger for part 2. It's short as it is and while I haven't listened to part 2 yet, I think this would've been better if they'd been combined and part 1 was more aggressively edited in the first half. We even get a whole bio break scene, absolutely unnecessary and didn't do anything to show us character growth or move the plot. It felt like an intermission, but it wasn't interrupting much to begin with.

The horror is effective though, and there are some good spooks in the story. The content in general skews older actually: what's happening to the kidnapped kids, when revealed, is shocking, the kids deal with various insecurities like food, shelter, and money, they deal with drug addicted parents and living in poverty. It's heavy stuff. One of the scarier scenes in the story was when the main character, Kaitlin, encounters her mom looking for money. Heartbreaking and horrendous. So, while Hough wrote this like it's a middle grade novel, the content is more YA. Also, without it being a whole story (since its conclusion cuts off for pt 2), Hough doesn't get a chance to make any real meaningful commentary on these serious subjects he brings up, with makes it all feel gratuitous in an icky way, like lets just makes these kids lives the worst because it's entertaining. That's how it felt at least, without pt 2.

Anyway, you can see it left me torn. I did like the horror, the story feels incomplete but it's not terrible, and the teleplay aspect with the full cast was fun. Overall The Creepy School Bus is an ok story, but not one I'll be sharing with my niblings, it's just a bit too dark for them.

It was a little strange when characters would have to describe what was going on instead of just reading dialogue, but it didn't detract from the experience too much for me to really care. The story was not as straight forward as I thought it was going to be, definitely got interesting at the end. It is set up for a sequel, and I wouldn't mind listening or reading that as well. It did keep you on your toes to see who is truly evil with how many characters have something to hide.

I listened to this on audio. I loved this middle-grade horror/mystery. The special effects were fantastic.

Chloe misses her bus and jumps on the backup bus, only to discover that...there is no backup bus. Suddenly, more students start to disappear.

I loved the full-cast narration and music. The high intensity of the dialogue kept me listening to the climactic ending. It was eerie, suspenseful, and thoroughly enjoyable.

Very enjoyable listen. There are a lot of good twists and the audiobook cast was excellent. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook

I was impressed by the plot, characters, world building and the audiobook narration. It’s a full production with multiple cast members narrating and special effects. It took the experience up a notch. I recommend the audiobook

This is scary story good for middle graders. There’s a little bit of swearing, drug use and gore, but kids will still enjoy this. I was weaving and ducking with every plot twist.

I want to thank NetGalley, RB Media and the author for a free copy of the audiobook. My review is voluntary,

Well, this was not what I expected—in the 𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙩 way possible. I went in thinking I’d get a fun, eerie fireside tale. What I got was an impressively chilling story that felt like 𝘚𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘞𝘢𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘚𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 but with a horror twist.

The setup is simple but so effective. Chloe misses her bus home, but lucky for her, there’s a back-up bus. Only—there is no back-up bus. And soon, more and more students start vanishing without explanation. Enter Kaitlin and her friends, who refuse to sit back while their classmates disappear into the void. What starts as a weird schoolyard mystery turns into something 𝙛𝙖𝙧 more unsettling, with twists that burrow into your brain like the best urban legends.

The characters were 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙙, making it easy to get invested in the stakes. I also have to say—for my fellow animal lovers—the dog is okay! But what really made this experience next level? The full cast narration and music. This wasn’t just an audiobook—it was a full-on 𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙘 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚. The performances were immersive, the tension was high, and I genuinely needed to know what would happen next.

Though the story has a middle-grade feel, be aware that it does mention drug use, which may not make it suitable for younger readers. That said, this was just 𝙨𝙤 much fun. It had that perfect balance of eerie, suspenseful, and weirdly nostalgic.

If you love stories about strange schools, urban legends, and mysteries that go deeper than you’d expect, The Creepy School Bus is an absolute must-listen.

I had fun with this! The twists are good and the audiobook was entertaining. All of the cast did a fantastic job. This is a good intro to horror book and I think people of all ages would enjoy it. I would recommend this! Special Thank You to Paul Hough, RB Media and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

A girl takes the wrong school bus and goes missing. this was very plot-driven and i had trouble remembering the names of the characters, and also knowing who was the character talking. the music and sound effects took me out of the story sometimes bc it was a bit too much and i had trouble concentrating. also i never knew where the plot was going, there was A LOT OF TWIST AND TURNS and it was very confusing. especially the final reveal i had to listen to it again bc i was like ?? where does that come from? i mean there couldve been signs instead of just one really character being the obvious antagonist.
however, the initial atmosphere was good and the vibes were reminiscent of an episode of goosebumps. i just think authors should explain less and it would make it a hundred percent more scary. i liked the teacher's (warren?) crutches, they were cool. i still think it makes a fun read for children

4,5 ⭐ rounded up

oh my god, what a *RIDE* this audiobook was!

the book is targeted at the younger audience, I'd say 10-13 year olds, but still, as an adult, i enjoyed it very much.

i have nothing but good things to say about this book, as i loved every minute of it. it's a very quick, spooky read for kids as well as adults.

the production was really good, i mean - the full cast narration, the sound effects? I was fully immersed in the story and felt like I was *listening* to a movie. that's such a creative way to spark the imagination.

as someone who used to take buses to school daily, i found it really creepy lol, even though it was definitely far fetched.

I liked the multiple pov's in the story, the characters were quite likeable. oh, and the dawg of course.
i'm definitely looking forward to reading the second part!




*thanks to NetGalley, RB Media and the author for providing me with an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

I enjoyed this it was pretty frightening especially as someone who used to take the bus although some of it was literally unbelievable

This is a fun Gateway Horror novel. As a young adult novel this perfectly fits the genre and is appropriate for a large audience. Don’t be fooled though, it may be a young adult book but this was a lot of fun for adults too. Well written and narrated. The dramatic reading is fun and really helped me get into the story.

Right off the bat there is this feeling of impending doom and betrayal of trust as kids are picked up by a school bus only to be taken away not to be seen again.

I really enjoyed this story and look forward to what comes next from this author.

Big thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this for an honest review.

The Creepy School Bus by Paul Hough was such a fun and short horror story! This story follows several children as they are abducted by a creepy school bus with a scary driver. I love how many different points of view we see this story from. We get to see it from each child and from the law enforcement that are searching for them as well. I loved his dark and twisted the story became as they attempted to escape the unground cave they were trapped in. I rarely read books meant for such a young audience but I thoroughly enjoyed this one. And the audiobook was astounding! A full cast and sound effects! I'd definitely recommend this if you're a fan of creepy vibes and short reads.

Thank you to the publishers and netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

The audio production is top notch. It all served to provide a strong immersion into the creepy story. With the strong voice acting and sound effects - made the story even creepier. A story about a missing child case is not the kind of "fun" I would describe this experience, but it was compelling and kept me listening from start to finish.

4/5✨ This is a review for part 1. First of all, I want to say thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for providing me with an audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review. Omg, what a ride this was! I enjoyed the creepy story told in “The creepy school bus” but i have to say in some parts of the audiobook i felt a little bit overwhelmed with all the different voices and background noise. Nonetheless, I think the story has potential and became more interesting towards the end of the book.
The YA cast reminds me of IT or Stranger things and i think the voice acting was amazing.
I recommend checking this book out if you want a creepy story that feels like a long criminal minds episode with some paranormal aspects…