The Glade is a place built on imagination. A place where you can be whatever you want. A place where dreams can become nightmares.

This was written well and I found this summer camp story to be very engaging. The author did an amazing job creating a creepy atmosphere with the mushrooms. the spiders and those horrid smells. I adored Pina, Jo, Eddy and Arish and loved the humor throughout. I definitely recommend this middle grade novel as it is full of representation and addresses important topics such as racial prejudice, mental illness, and gender identity. I was a big fan of The Bruising of Qilwa (still waiting for a sequel possibly?) and they did not disappoint with The Glade.

Thank you to the author for provided me an eARC!

The Glade is an enchanting middle grade horror that has appeal to both younger and older readers who enjoy stories about friendships, mischief, and adventures with a side of magic. I love that it tackles often difficult themes like family dynamics, gender identity, immigration, racism, mental illness, and cultural identity. All while the main group of friends battle a glade full of hysteria causing mushrooms at the summer camp they're attending.

I rather enjoyed the characters and how they supported each other while still holding everyone accountable for their actions. Jamnia managed to balance some truly scary moments with a dash of humor that (maybe) won't cause nightmares in younger readers. (Heck, or me, for that matter. I have a major fear of spiders.)

My biggest complaint about the book is it felt a little rushed in parts, but I enjoyed it a whole. I found the characters realistic and loveable and think it'd be the perfect read for upper elementary students.

I would definitely recommend this one to fans of the horror genre and definitely believe it's a book middle grade lovers should have on their shelves.

The Glade is a great middle grade horror book centering n friendship.
While I did feel that the plot was rushed at times, I did really enjoy the book as a whole and was at the edge of my seat for the entire second half of it.
Pina was a great main character, very relatable, especially the anxious thoughts. The side characters were also all realistic and loveable, I do wish they had been a bit more fleshed out though.
I loved seeing the way the characters interacted with each other. It was also interesting to read how their different cultural backgrounds influenced them, especially with Pina and Jo and their code words and them feeling a disconnect from both their American as well as their Persian and Filipino heritage, never feeling like they belong anywhere except for with each other.
In the end, I just wanna give the entire friend group a big hug, they seem like they need it. And maybe therapy after everything that happened in this book.
I highly recommend this book for any horror fans.

If you totally wanted to go to a creepy, otherworldly summer camp as a kid, but couldn't (because people kept insisting they didn't exist), now is your chance!

I enjoyed this a lot!! Naseem Jamnia mixes horror elements into a middle grade book, and what a perfect mix it is!

Pina wanting to become the next version of herself (Pina 2.0) resonate with me. And Jo, of course.

I'm in the camp (heh) who say that a good middle grade book should never talk down to kids and The Glade certainly doesn't. All of our main cast are fully developed characters, and realize their diverse heritage with their own personal identities. The representation is so good that it made me wish I could've had a similar experience as a kid.

I really want to talk about the horror elements, because they were so good! The whole camp had this eerie vibe that's so easy to overdo but Jamnia toed that line expertly. I loved every minute of creepy forest and giant spiders we got.

Fans of Gravity Falls will delight in Naseem Jamnia’s “The Glade.” Perfectly capturing the horrors of growing up and growing away, “The Glade” sinks its mycelium into readers, leaving them itchy, uncomfortable, and still yearning for more.

Jamnia’s prose is accessible to young readers, while still challenging voracious young ones who are looking for something a little bit “more” in their books. Their writing weaves the real world and the dream world with invisible thread, blending the barriers between and leading readers to question if they can trust the words on the page.

Young horror fans can indulge in creepy mushrooms, suspicious camp counselors, and spiders. So many spiders. Too many spiders. “The Glade” takes familiar tropes and twists them to fit a modern and diverse audience.

“The Glade” includes a racially and culturally varied cast. Pina, the protagonist, is half Iranian, half white American. Jo, Pina’s best friend, is half Filipino, half white American. Arish, a new friend from camp, is the child of Pakistani immigrants. Eddy, another new friend from camp, is Black. This representation is highly visible and on the page, openly discussed by the characters. Additionally, while romantic relationships are the farthest thing from our characters’ minds while trying to survive the horrors of The Glade, there is a variety of queer rep both on the page and hidden in details.

As the narrator, Pina gives readers insight into the mind of a neurodivergent tween trying to find their identity when danger lurks around every corner and cobweb. Her voice perfectly captures the way social anxieties feel so large when we’re young, even when compared to life-endangering circumstances.

Educators can discover discussions on fitting in and finding yourself in the pages of “The Glade.” Students will enjoy discussing what hopes and horrors might be found in their own version of The Glade. Additionally, they can work with students to compare and contrast common horror tropes and explore how figurative language enhances the efficacy of horror writing.

Parents and caretakers can discuss instances of identity and inclusion with their children. An overarching theme in the novel is adults failing to be trustworthy: grown ups can use “The Glade” to start a conversation with their kiddos about how to find other trusted adults and what to do when the grown ups in our lives fail us (because it is going to happen).

I thought that maybe middle grade horror was something I could do. I realised that, no, I really don't like horror novels, even if they're aimed at children. It's just horror as a genre I don't enjoy.
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I'm not really sure why exactly I wasn't getting on with the story. It just wasn't for me.
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Thank you to author Naseem Jamnia and NetGalley for sending me an ARC copy of this book.