Another

Gr 5 Up–Award-winning horror author Tremblay makes his middle grade debut with this hair-raising tale of a playdate gone wrong. When 12-year-old Casey’s parents receive a mysterious phone call about his friend coming over, he doesn’t know what to expect. Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic and the development of Casey’s stress-related tic disorder, his friends don’t come around anymore. Dropped off by a strange man and emerging from a burlap sack, Morel has no eyes, can’t speak, and has to mold his own claylike skin into desired facial expressions. But as time passes, Morel becomes more humanlike and Casey starts fading, launching a terrifying mystery that Casey must solve or risk losing himself forever. This is a fresh spin on doppelgänger lore that creeps along beautifully, though the latter third drags slightly into a resolution that muddies the taut story. Descriptions of Morel are supremely unsettling, first as he stiffly maneuvers Casey’s home then as he commandeers the boy’s life. Tremblay weaves relatable topics like bullying, anxiety, loneliness, and complex familial relationships into the supernatural happenings. The horror lacks blood and violence, instead turning up the fear factor with descriptions of fungus behavior that will educate readers while making their skin crawl. Connelly’s chilling monochrome illustrations enhance the eeriness. Character ethnicity is minimally described; main characters are cued white.