Truly one of my most wanted reads of the year. I was so honored receiving an Arc copy.
I love folkloric horror, and the Moss delivers greatly.

It’s haunting, atmospheric, an easy read. It’s YA, which I have a soft spot for.

It’s perfect for the upcoming cold months in my opinion, I could see myself on a snowy grey morning huddled under a blanket devouring this in one go.

"A girl returns to her hometown and the sinister bogland surrounding it in search of her missing sister in this harrowing, atmospheric young adult horror perfect for fans of Shea Ernshaw and The Haunting of Hill House.

I know how to find her. Don't follow me. I mean it. It will break Dad if you do. I love you, Em.

P.S. Stay away from the Sedge Man. He won't stop, like a hunter, until there's nothing left of you.

A year after her sister Eve's sudden disappearance, Emma returns to the small town of Scarrow in northern Maine. The police have no leads, the neighbors spread rumors about her father's involvement, and the vast bogland known as the Moss lies in wait beside the house like a hungry beast.

Darkly familiar shadows and specters fill her dreams and the quiet spaces between her thoughts. Something is following her, pulling her to the Moss, and it's growing stronger by the day. Could it be what called to her sister? Or even to their mother, when Emma was only a child?

Haunted by the ghosts of the past, Emma knows she is the only one who can uncover the truth and save her sister…unless she gets lost herself."

Nope. I'm staying away from the moss and the Sedge Man.

This is me fangirling, cause The Moss is a top tier book. It focuses on this bond between the two sisters, the grief of losing your family and how that grief feels so endless and isolating. It made me cry, feel and scared me from time to time. Inexplicably well written.

Thank you so much for the ARC. This was haunting, eerie, and gave me the creeps lol. I felt some writing was choppy at times, but I would gladly read from the author again in the future.

I think I’m exiting my ya fantasy stage because this one wa just okay? But he premise sounded promising but the execution fell a bit flat for me.

I was driven to absolute distraction by timeline inconsistencies. Early in the book, we’re given a sort of relative timeline: now, one year ago, five years before that. But then the random anecdotes don’t line up with that timeline (or even with each other if the timeline or my understanding of the timeline was off). I would much rather have had exact years. Like, how old is Emma now? Is she 17? 18? If her mother was still around when she was 15, she obviously didn’t disappear “five years ago”

There weren’t enough interesting plot developments to steer me away from trying to puzzle through the timeline, apparently.

wow is really all i can say here. The atmosphere right off the bat was so spooky and creepy. Bog horror has always been a favorite of mine, but this takes it to a whole new level. I was gripping my seat at every turn and never wanted it to end.

I used to really love YA but I think it's worn out its welcome for me. I feel like it always has huge gaps that don't make sense.

I really wanted to enjoy this book--the cover and plot sounded right up my alley, but unfortunately, this book fell flat for me. The way this book alternates POV without any pattern felt clumsy and disorienting. You're thrown from present tense, to Emma's childhood, to just a few months after Eve disappeared. I also felt like nothing much happened in each chapter and the chapter endings were a bit jarring. Overall, reading this book felt like a bumpy ride. I can see students being frustrated by the pacing and lack of character development, so I don't think I will be purchasing this for my library.

The Moss is the perfect book to get you out of a reading slump! The eerie premise of a soul eating bog is more than enough to keep you interested the whole way through! I finished this book in 1 day and could not recomend it enough especially if you cant wait for fall and are looking for something to give you that same chill that you get watching a scary movie on a rainy night.

Bog Horror is all the rage right now, and while I’ve managed to collect a few books in this eerie new subgenre, The Moss was the first one I actually sat down to read—and I devoured it in a single sitting.

What’s meant to be a slow-burn, haunting tale quickly pulled me in with its immersive atmosphere and steadily building tension. Between the ghosts, strange creatures lurking in the bog, the mysterious moss itself, and the missing family members haunting Emma and her father, it’s hard to tell what’s real and what might be a product of Emma’s imagination, and that uncertainty makes the story all the more gripping.

Lisa Lueddecke’s writing is beautifully eerie and atmospheric, making The Moss a perfect fall read. Normally, I find multiple timelines or jumps between timelines distracting, but in this case, they added real depth to the story and enhanced the overall sense of mystery.

This was my first book by Lueddecke, but it certainly won’t be my last.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing for the advanced copy.

3.5
What a hauntingly good time following Emma's story.
Emma has been having visions of ghosts and hearing voices ever since her mother and sister went missing.
Some presumed her dad was the suspect but Emma was convinced their disappearance was tied to the bog that was next to their home.
Plagued by the undead she goes on a journey to discover the truth with Jordan the boy who stood by her side when everyone else abandoned her.
This story was creepy, entertaining, and just overall an enjoyable story.
Some parts were a bit slow but the prose and atmospheric writing was easy to consume making it for a great slump buster book.
I would absolutely recommend this story for a good creepy fall read to anyone that is entering into the horror genre.
I think its dark enough but not overly descriptive that newer readers into this genre would feel some of the heart pounding moments without a to of descriptive gore. I would say that seasoned horror readers may find this to be slightly lacking though; as its marketed as YA I don't forsee that being a major issue though given the intended audience.

Overall this is a great paranormal mystery with some suspenseful moments and endearing characters.
Thank you Simon and Schuster for this advanced reader copy all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you so much Simon Teen for the e-arc of this book!! I loved the atmospheric and spooky vibes right off the bat. I have always loved books and movies that have an eerie bog or forest area. The ghosts in the old gothic house made me think of The Haunting of Hill House. The mystery surrounding Eve’s disappearance mixed with the flashes to the past had me flipping the pages. The imagery was so cool and immersive. The writer’s strong point is her descriptions to make you feel both unsettled and in awe. It shows just how far a person would go to save their sister. I think anyone who loves a beautiful spooky read with all the gothic vibes would love this book. It’s coming out at the perfect time of year too!!

Creeping, paranormal horror of nature - and how the unknown can both entice us and frighten us.

Emma, our teenage protagonist, is returning home to Maine after a year spent away after the loss of her sister (and several years after the loss of her mother) to the Moss, a bog bordering their town. No one could locate them or their deceased bodies, and the mystery has put an unwelcome mark on Emma's father. Emma is a believable character, and it was interesting seeing the mystery and horror unfold from her viewpoint, as someone related to it all but still young enough to react with a dash of emotionality.

The Moss is an intriguing set piece, complete with a borderline supernatural feeling. There are places in the world that are mysterious in the most unsettling ways, and the Moss is portrayed in this manner. It held a spookiness to it that made me squirm a little as the main characters edged ever closer to its borders and away from the safety of the house and town.

I enjoyed the mystery build-up of what happened to Emma's sister. We eventually learn what happened to her and her mother toward the last 20% of the story. The present-day chapters are broken up with "Before Mom" (before Emma's mother disappeared into the bog) and "After Eve" (after Emma's sister disappeared into the bog) that helped to build the setting, the characters, and their relationship with each other. The sisterly bond is quite strong as it drives Emma to make life-altering choices to find out what became of her sister.

Overall, a nice suspenseful read with an otherworldly-feeling horror that had me reading until the end.

First Line: We broke the rules just once, and we paid for it.

Reasons to Read:
Eerie Disappearance 🌫️ — Emma returns to her hometown where her sister vanished, with only a haunting note and a warning about the sinister Sedge Man.


Living Landscape 🌿 — The nearby bog, known as the Moss, pulses with eerie power and memory—almost as if it’s alive and watching.


Haunted Family Secrets 👻 — As whispers of her mother’s past resurface, Emma must unravel generations of darkness to rescue her sister—and herself.


Good For People Who Like: Slow burn, ethereal writing

Rating: 3 trees

Thoughts: I was sent this book from the publisher to read and what sold me on it was how atmospheric it was. And it seems like I have a very different opinion than other people, but I felt like the writing was so ethereal that it was hard to connect to. I wanted to feel closer to Emma, especially when she is with her Dad and a guy named Jordan. But I will say, the ending was quite exciting and made me raise the rating a bit.

haunting, drowning, bewitching, and bogged haunted story filled with some absolutely well-done horror and some absolutely well-done intimidation. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

BOG HORROR! This was one of the most atmospheric YA paranormal stories I’ve ever read. This book provides the ultimate escapism, perfect for spooky season, and I cannot wait for everyone to be able to experience the town of Scarrow this September.

If I could describe this book aesthetically, I’d compare it to a modern Jane Eyre. It’s ghostly, it’s foggy, it’s bleak, it’s gothic, even though it takes place in small town Maine. It’s not really in your face horror and is definitely a slow burn, and the horror more about the vibes. It’s chilling not from jump scares or constant twists, but more of an atmospheric horror. Just the setting alone is unsettling. This is a haunted house story, bog horror, and a ghost story all in one. You’ve got a main character who sees dead girls, not to mention the dead girls stand in the trees staring at you the whole time, plus a haunted bog next to a gothic house built in the 1700s. Gruesome visions, dead girls, paranormal experiences the moment she’s back in Scarrow, this girl is braver than I am lmao.

The vibes are the strongest part of this book. One of the most atmospheric YA horror books I’ve read! Not only is it set in a haunted moss covered house next to an eerie bog called The Moss, the town of Scarrow itself is ghostly. The fact that Emma leaves nice and safe Los Angeles to come back to this home right next to the bog that not only her sister but also her mother disappeared into? She’s braver than me! But Emma does decide to return to Scarrow a year after her sister’s disappearance, who left no clue except a cryptic message saying she wants to be with their missing mother, thinks she knows how to find her, and to “stay away from the sedge man”. Which, hearing that would make me want to stay far away in sunny LA even more. Though, it is sad that her dad was in that lonely and haunted house next to that weird bog by himself for a year.

There’s also a huge sense of, the characters know more than they’re letting on, which SIGNIFICANTLY ups the readability factor. Emma’s dad seems unaware, but little hints get dropped that makes you wonder if he knows more about the bog than he’s letting on. Like constantly warning Emma against the bog and if she asks if it’s because she’ll drown, he says “if you’re lucky”. Then goes on to call The Moss a predator, liminal, always watching. Not only is there clearly something paranormal going on, but Emma’s dad is not blissfully unaware, even if he is unaware of the gruesome visions and dead people that she sees.

“Ghosts don’t care if we believe in them or not. They’ll haunt you all the same.”

September really is the perfect release date for this book because aside from the atmospheric misty vibes, The Moss takes place during autumn too! Apple picking and fall events are scattered in amongst all the ghostly sightings. And yes, while it is a slow burn, it still works because the mystery is enticing enough to keep you flipping the pages. It never feels boring, because the stakes are high enough to keep you motivated to keep reading, so in this case, it works. Not too much happens before the end because of how slow it is, but somehow it still works. It never feels like it lags and it goes by quickly.

However, the ending felt a bit too inconclusive for my taste. I wanted more of an explanation than what we got. Some readers probably would be ok with how it ended, but I wanted to know more about the mysteries of the bog! Overall though, a gorgeous and atmospheric read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for sending me an advanced copy in return for my honest review.

A solid YA horror that pulls the reader in and captures them in the world of the bog. I loved the way Lueddecke handled the themes of family, trauma, and the inescapable violence of the past.

This was truly a haunting read. Emma has to deal with the aftermath of the disappearance of her sister and mother. Everyone seems to have given up except for her. Is it connected to the mystery of the Moss?? This book was made for a gloomy October weekend. The scenery was beautifully descriptive and it really set the tone for the haunting story.

★ ★ ★ ½

I've always been a sucker for houses that hold history, and I can say confidently that The Moss has delivered—sharing with me its own little folktale of the rips in the seams between this world and one that is not-quite-ours, tethered by hope and want and the unwavering resolve to not give up on those we love. Driven by an urge to find the fate that befell her presumed-dead sister and mother, protagonist Emma Carver provides a distinct determination that feels real to us: that doesn't cross over into the realm of "badass for the sake of it" like some other young adult FMCs I've come across. Though the writing feels simple, as is characteristic of YA, it also works in this book's favor—especially as it doesn't try to preach moral pedantry to its readers and lets the themes of the story speak for themselves.

More than anything, I appreciate that this book didn't try to overstay its welcome or try to be something too lofty and then fail to deliver. Its simplicity works well, and allows it to devote more time to the smaller, emotional moments that really flesh out the characters and their worries (and, of course, the hauntings in the bog). With that said, the environment seemed more eerie than downright scary, which—though incredible to build the atmosphere that creeped into the hearts of the Carver family—lent itself to me not feeling as impacted by the climactic scenes of the novel as I could have. Overall a great title, but perhaps may resonate more with those less acclimated to horror as a genre.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster and Netgalley for the eARC! All opinions are my own.