Review: The Bellwoods Game by Celia Krampien

Author: Celia Krampien
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: July 2023

Everyone knows Fall Hollow is haunted. It has been ever since Abigail Snook went into the woods many years ago, never to be seen again. Since then, it’s tradition for the sixth graders at Beckett Elementary to play the Bellwoods Game on Halloween night. Three kids are chosen to go into the woods. Whoever rings the bell there wins the game and saves the town for another year, but if Abigail’s ghost captures the players first, the spirit is let loose to wreak havoc on Fall Hollow—or so the story goes.

Now that it’s Bailee’s year to play, she can finally find out what really happens. And legend has it the game’s winner gets a wish. Maybe, just maybe, if Bailee wins, she can go back to the way things used to be before her grandma got sick and everyone at school started hating her. But when the night begins, everything the kids thought they knew about the game—and each other—is challenged. One thing’s for something sinister is at play…waiting for them all in the woods.

The Bellwoods Game is a middle grade horror book that is the perfect book to read around Halloween.  In the story, Bailee is determined to play and win the annual Bellwoods game.  It's a sixth grade rite of passage.  Three kids are chosen and the one who rings the bell can save the town.

This is exactly the type of book that I would have loved as a middle school reader. The characters were fun.  I liked all of them and how they ended up helping each other in the game.  Even the ones that didn't get along. All of the kids who participate have a secret or issue that the end up having to face during the game.  The book is really creepy and would be a great intro into the horror genre for a middle schooler.  The main villain was also well written and gave me the chills.  I don't want to spoil the story and tell you who wins or if the town was saved.  I highly recommend this one and think it would be a great addition to any middle school library.