Matt McAvoy Book Review

There are some surprisingly dark themes in this unsettling tale, when considering its intended age group, which I would imagine to be around middle-school pre-teen.  The stakes facing our pre-teen heroes are very grave indeed: no less than complete erasure from existence, and, always gripping, “The Price of Wishes” is genuinely quite disturbing at times.  This is a well-executed passion project by Desiree Dusablon, a quality kids’ author with a big heart and a clear goal: to make a decent, entertaining, genuinely scary supernatural story for young readers.  However, she writes in a voice that readers of any age can relate to, and many adults are going to enjoy this one, for sure.

Bringing to mind the stories of R. L. Stine, this atmospheric and formulaic offering brings together the age-old horror tropes of an ancient haunted book and the warped granting of wishes, but Desiree does it well, with accessible language and timing which works – though perhaps a touch long at times for its age group.  I felt that maybe some of the plot became a little confusing, particularly toward the end, again considering its audience.  There may have been one or two very small continuity questions, considering the alternative timelines.  I also note that the presentation could do with a little bit of work. 

But I don’t want to focus on those points; it is fair to say that, if you are looking for a good-length horror book for young readers or those who like an inoffensive supernatural tale, this is definitely worth a download.  Be warned, though, it isn’t all happy resolutions and settling content; you may (probably will) find yourself thinking about this one for quite a while after you’ve put it down for the final time.  Furthermore – and this is rare for me to say – it looks like it would make a great pilot for what Desiree will hopefully develop into a high-stakes, entertaining series, which matures with its audience.  It’s a good one; take a look if this is your genre.