Review: The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street by Lindsay Currie

Review: The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street by Lindsay Currie

The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street by Lindsay Currie

Overall: 5 Stars

I am not a fan of spooky books. I used to watch horror movies and read true crime all through high school. Nothing bothered me. Well, I shouldn’t say I wasn’t bothered. I was always paranoid and scared, but I enjoyed the scary stuff enough that I kept reading and watching it. Now, as I have gotten older, I cannot read or watch anything too scary.

But, my students LOVE scary books and they are PERFECT for readers who struggle finding books to stick with. So, I knew I had to try this book out. Plus, I had seen it all over social media and heard such wonderful things.

I am so glad I picked up this book. It was a perfect blend of spooky and mystery. There were funny parts followed by some really freaky parts. I could not put this book down!

What I Loved

  • The cover! It was spooky and the title stands out brilliantly.
  • The title! It definitely lets you know what you are in for-something spooky.
  • The character development! Nina is amazing and I want a story starring her. Pretty please?
  • The pop culture references! Chia Pets. Pokemon. So fun.
  • The spooky characters! Jonah. Reno. (Seriously, Reno is FREAKY! I do not like ventriloquist dolls to begin with…but he pushed me to the edge with how scared I am now.) Cass. Nina. Such spooky and creepy and mysterious characters.
  • The Real-World Advice! First, this quote: “You can’t see the world or all of the wonderful things it has to offer if you keep your eyes closed.” Secondly, the constant mention of cell phones and who has/has not. Thirdly, this scene: “Mom shakes her head. ‘I don’t hate phones; I hate the way they interfere with our experiences. Here’s an example: say you go on an amazing vacation, like to the fjords in Norway. A lot of your friends would spend most of their time taking pictures and posting them to social media, then waiting for likes and comments. They wouldn’t actually be experiencing the moment. The beauty. Anything.'” Goodness! These handful of parts in the book about social media and phones definitely stood out to me and spoke to me. I definitely agree with experiencing rather than documenting life. There needs to be balance.

I am excited to pass this book on to my Lit Review Crew and have a copy for my classroom on the way!

I am a middle school teacher who loves to read ALL KINDS of books. I am part of the ARC-sharing group LitReviewCrew, a co-creator for the YouTube Channel Legit KidLit and the Podcast Read to Write KidLit. Check out my Linktree for more: https://linktr.ee/Mrsbookdragon

There are 7 comments for this article
  1. NoraEliana at 10:10 pm

    Uh I haven’t heard anything about this book before but it sounds great! I actually want to read more horror books so this definitely gets on my wishlist. Thanks for this great review!

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