2026, Juvenile Fiction
WISE Score
A twelve-year-old navigates a prickly new stepbrother and a town full of sentient, cursed jack-o'-lanterns that have started snatching up neighbors.
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Laura Lavoie delivers a high-energy, autumnal thriller that is essentially the 2026 version of a Goosebumps classic. It balances the very real-world stress of a remarried parent and a mean stepbrother with the high-stakes fantasy of killer pumpkins.
It is a great pick for kids who want a 'scary' book that still feels safe. The focus on Dahlia, Penelope, and Levi banding together makes it more of a team-up adventure than a solo survival story, which keeps the tone from getting too bleak.
Best for 8-12 year olds. It is aimed squarely at the middle-grade audience who wants a scare that feels 'real' but isn't actually traumatizing.
Models a blended family working through friction (Dahlia and her new stepbrother Levi) and highlights the value of new friendships in the face of school bullying.
Takes the classic Halloween trope of jack-o'-lanterns and turns it into a sentient, town-wide supernatural threat with a cursed pumpkin patch mystery.
Standard middle-grade spooky adventure. It features 'shivery fun' and people disappearing, but stays within the boundaries of juvenile horror similar to Goosebumps.
Explores the emotional complexity of a parent's remarriage and the resilience required to stand up to a school bully.
Every few years, a book comes along that perfectly captures the specific 'Autumn Equinox' vibe, and Beware the Jacks is clearly aiming for that crown. Laura Lavoie, who already proved she can handle atmosphere with The Thirteen Doors of Black House, leans into the folklore of the Harvest Festival in the fictional town of Wilcott Head.
What makes this work better than a standard monster-of-the-week story is the grounding in Dahlia's personal life. Her best friend moved away and her mom remarried—these are the 'quiet' fears that many kids face, and they provide a solid emotional anchor before the pumpkins actually start coming to life.
If your kid has already burned through Katherine Arden’s Small Spaces quartet or the Small Town Horror vibes of Lora Senf, this is the logical next step. It’s less about psychological dread and more about the action-packed scramble to undo a curse. The inclusion of Levi, the 'not very nice' stepbrother, adds a layer of social friction that keeps the dialogue snappy. It’s a solid recommendation for the kid who wants to lean into the Halloween spirit without jumping straight into YA horror.
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