Bumps in the Night

by Amalie Howard

The middle grade horror debut from USA Today bestselling author Amalie Howard in which a girl stays with her grandmother in Trinidad for the summer and discovers that she comes from a long line of witches.

Thirteen-year-old Darika Lovelace is in big trouble. The kind of trouble that means she’s being sent off to her grandmother in the Caribbean. She should be grateful, but instead she’s angry. Angry at her dad and step-mom for sending her away for an entire summer. Angry at her mom who went away and never came back.

But the island is definitely not what she remembers! The minute she steps off the plane, strange things start happening, including being stalked by a baby iguana. When she meets a ragtag group of children on her Granny’s estate, she knows they are not what they seem, but after they promise to take her to her long-lost mom, she leaps at the chance.

Thrust into an incredible adventure involving strange monsters, a supernatural silk cotton tree, and a mysterious maze, soon the truth about her unique magical roots comes to light. She’s the island’s only hope, but unless she learns to believe in magic, all will be lost.

Genres: Middle Grade, Fantasy, Horror, Paranormal, Young Adult, Fiction, Supernatural

304 pages, Hardcover

First published February 20, 2024

About the author

AMALIE HOWARD is a USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestselling author, most notably of The Beast of Beswick, “a smart, sexy, deliciously feminist romance,” and one of O-The Oprah Magazine’s Top 24 Best Historicals to Read. She is the co-author of the #1 bestsellers in regency romance and Scottish historical romance, My Rogue, My Ruin and What A Scot Wants, and has also penned several young adult novels, critically acclaimed by Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, VOYA, School Library Journal, and Booklist, including Waterfell, The Almost Girl, and Alpha Goddess, a Kid’s INDIE NEXT selection. Of Indo-Caribbean descent, she has written articles on multicultural fiction for The Portland Book Review and Ravishly magazine. She currently resides in Colorado with her husband and three children. Visit her at amaliehoward.com.

Reviews

[Madison Warner Fairbanks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bumps in the Road by Amalie Howard
Middle grade paranormal horror.
Thirteen-year-old Darika Lovelace is sent to stay with her Grandmother in Trinidad for the summer. Darika is angry at her father and step-mom for sending her away for the summer. She is also mad at her mom who left her and never came back.
The Caribbean is different from what Darika remembers in an unexpected way including a baby iguana stalking her, a supernatural silk cotton tree, a mysterious maze, and impossibly, her mother appearing briefly through the magic. Apparently Darika has magic in her soul and she needs to save the island this summer.

Light horror and age appropriate adventure. Magic, folklore, skittles and a couple of life lessons.

[Hannah | Reading Under Covers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a fun middle grade horror novel full of Trinidadian folklore, which was so great to read!

Highly recommend having a bag of skittles on hand before you (or your child!) dives into this one!

Such a fun spooky book that I wish I had when I was younger, but am lucky to have now 🖤

Thanks to the publisher for an early copy of this one!

Publication Date: Feb 20

[TheNextGenLibrarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A MG horror book based on Caribbean supernatural folklore.
🦎
Darika has been sent to stay with her Granny in Trinidad after some bad decisions Rika has made over missing her absentee mother and her dad’s new wife and stepkids. But upon arriving to the island, Rika is met with jumbies, dark magic and monsters. When she realizes her mother is trapped in the forest, she bans together with a ragtag group of other kids and go on an adventure to rescue her, not even knowing what powers she holds too.
🇹🇹
I really enjoyed this scary book by Amalie Howard. She can write anything from middle grade to young adult to adult! Super impressive and after that ending I really, really want a sequel to this story! Eat Skittles while you read!

CW: parental abandonment, blood, long-term illness, vandalism

[Glenna Coleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Darika Lovelace is angry with everyone. Her parents split and her father remarried. Her mother has skipped out. And her grandmother somehow persuaded her father to send her to Trinidad for the summer, so she can't hang out with friends or use social media. On top of all of this, everyone around her is keeping secrets, and no one is really who they seem to be. Along the way, Rika discovers that she is part of a family of witches and that her power, though untested, may be the only way to save her mother, her grandmother, her friends, and the entire world. This story is filled with creepy beings from Trinidadian folklore and makes for a page-turning adventure with just a few lapses.

[Kris Reguera]

I have to say this is about as high as I go on spooky level! However it is a middle grade awesomeness alert! A girl stays with her grandmother in Trinidad for the summer and discovers that she comes from a long line of witches. It only gets better from there, and I loved all the rep!

[Hillary Scholz · Rating 3 out of 5]

A spooky, magical, fun adventure that fans of horror and adventure books will enjoy.

[Amelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great middle school spooky book. I love the Trinidadian legends and this was an excellent storyline!

This book did a great job of dealing with jealous feelings, team work, and navigating friendships. I liked the twists and I loved learning more about Jumbies.

Would recommend to fans of the Jumbies books by Tracey Baptiste or anyone who likes spooky fantasy.

[Lindsey]

✨ Review ✨ Bumps in the Night by Amalie Howard

Thanks to Random House Children's, Delacorte Press, PRH Audio, and TBR and Beyond Tours for the gifted advanced copies of this book!

Top Five Reasons to Read Bumps in the Night

1. The book is set in Trinidad and immerses you in Trini culture, folklore, and the environment. Rika is sent to stay with her grandma for the summer, and instantly, you're transported into this world.

2. It's a middle grades book, but it's super creepy. From the earliest pages, the author creates a sense of looming mystery, horror and suspense! The magic in the book is fantastic and left me grasping for more!

3. The audio narration brings the voices and accents of these characters to life, immersing you fully in the story.

4. Rika loves skittles, her iguana sidekick, and painting and art, and is so relatable in her frustration at being packed off for the summer.

5. The book has strong messages of climate change interwoven with folklore and can create a perfect opportunity for talking to kids about the impact we are having on our planet.

(Note: Rika's mom is missing, if that's a trigger point for young readers)

Genre: middle grades horror / magical realism
Setting: Trinidad
Pub Date: 20 Feb 2024

[Megyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bumps in the Night follows a young girl who is a bit misunderstood. Rika's parents are divorced and she has a new stepmom and two new brothers. She starts to act out because she feels ignored and alone. When her dad sends her off to Trinidad to live with her grandma for the summer, she feels even more alone. However, while in Trinidad she discovers some family secrets and the real reason her mom has not contacted her in years. Along with her new friends, she has to go to great lengths to save her family, the forest, and the whole world.

This book is full of magic and love. It also has some evil and darkness in it. I think the magic was fun to follow and all of the different powers were interesting. The whole evil tree setup was a lot of fun too. There were many different levels and puzzles that the kids had to solve in order to escape. It was like a magical escape room and everything was described in great detail. It was easy to imagine the different puzzles and tricks that the kids faced. The kids were all fun to get to know throughout the story. I do feel like a few of them were a bit whiney and a little annoying but towards the ends everyone makes a good comeback. I also loved the animal sidekick that comes along in this book, he is so cute and fun! The description of the tropical climate and setting was very detailed and interesting as well. I love the cute cover of this book too!

I think this book touches on a lot of problems that adolescents have. A lot of children feel misunderstood and let out of family secrets. I feel like a lot of parents try to protect their children from things and the children feel like they are being lied to or treated like a baby. We also explore some friendship hardships as well that I think are pretty common in children. I think kids who read this book will be able to relate to the characters and their problems. I like how these problems were handled because it was not constantly in your face but the point was easily across. It was a good mix between fun and adventure and real life issues. The author did a great job balancing that.

I do wish it had just a bit more horror elements because the cover makes it seem more horror than it actually is. There are creatures and dark things but I would've liked just a bit more of the spooky aspect. It was not quite a five star for me but it was a solid middle grade read that I will recommend to the right age group! Thanks so much to netgalley and Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

[Becky • bookmarked by becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highlights:
✨Trinidad: I had never read a book set in Trinidad before, but I fell in love with everything about this one: the tropical island setting, the vivid descriptions of food (don't read this while hungry), and the captivating folklore.
✨Cool Kids: Riki, our MC, along with her Minders set out to save some family members. The Minders have the ability to control elemental magic - Fitz controls earth, Monique controls fire, Hazel controls water, and Nox controls wind. In addition, Rikir and the Minders are accompanied by a talking iguana named Piku, who can sometimes offers some tough love. As the story progresses, these lovable characters learn that they must work together to save the people they love.
✨Narration: Yamin Mwanza gives each character a personality with attitude and Caribbean accents, immersing the reader deep into the story.

Quick loves: Magic, the devil tree which includes a maze, the trials (puzzles, riddles, vampires, evil creatures), a bag of Skittles (that helps save the day), and themes of climate change.

While the book is atmospheric, it's not too scary. I think any kid ages 9-13 will love this big adventure.

[Jame_EReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

So excited to be hosting a booktour spot with @tbrbeyondtours @randomhousekids for this amazing opportunity to read this middle-grade horror children’s book debut by Amelie Howard. Amelie Howard has been writing adult books and this is definitely something off her path, and my 👧🏻 will tell you more on her review below.

👧🏻 review: I was very entertained with this book. It is packed with scavenger hunt and puzzle-solving feel, the mystery magic of dark and fantasy, the Caribbean hot and humid weather, plenty of funny scenes, the misunderstood love and sacrifices and Darika’s historical family secrets. Isn’t this enough for a reader to enjoy the story? Say no more! I really enjoyed this quick, page-turner, fantasy-chasing and a bit dark parts to the storyline. One more thing I must add to this book is that I noticed the Trinidadian’s folklore is slightly similar to my mom’s Filipino folklore (ghoulish stories) that I have heard from my grandma and the shows we’ve watched on TV. Interesting! Altogether, a stunning book for younger middle-graders who love fun and paranormal adventure book!

[Jamie Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Rika Lovelace gets busted for graffiti in Colorado, she is sent to Trinidad to spend the summer with her Granny. Her mother left for New York two years ago, her father has remarried and has two new kids, Rika feels abandoned and unwanted. Granny embraces her, but puts her to work with her art to finish a mural her mother had started and never finished. This triggers visions of Rika's mother trapped in a tree and other odd, supernatural things begin to happen -a baby iguana that can talk, other tweens that have their own magic, and finiding out the Rika, and her family, are witches though Rika doesn't know how to use her magic. With the tweens and the iguana, Rika is determined to save her mother and face the devil keeping her mother trapped in the tree which inculdes a vast maze, physical challenges, riddles, and dealing with Trinidadian folkloric monsters, like jumbies. Full of action, believable complications with the tweens and family, filled with new supernatural creatures that might be new to readers. The ambiance of Trinidad is layered deeply into the book, with nature, food, and culture.

[Amber Warren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun story about a girl who discovers her magical heritage and learns to embrace friendship, that love knows no bounds and that she is stronger than she thinks she is. I felt it was a relatable tale, even though it involved Trinidadian lore, because all young people, and all people in fact, have known what it’s like to be jealous and compare yourself to others and find yourself lacking. This story delves into those feelings in a way that is fun and action packed and even downright creepy at times. I loved Piku, though from the description of him, I kept imagining a chameleon rather than an iguana.
This story also had a healthy dose of climate and earth sustainability discussion, though it blended well with the story and didn’t beat you over the head with it. As a library teacher, I loved this story because it had enough fun packed in that the students would be excited to read it, but it also wasn’t afraid to dig in to deeper discussion in such a way that students can learn something while they are having fun.

[Jacob Benjamin Paramore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reader beware: it is middle-grade fantasy trope heavy with a main character who speaks only in clichés who ultimately wins against the big bad with the power of family/friendship. That said, actual middle graders may love it as they likely won't be bothered by any of that.

Areas that could have been better: less blatant allusions to other works, the horror factor was next to zero (would classify strictly as fantasy with a spooky skin), there are no repercussions for any characters wrong doing, the same conversations are had over-and-over, and no explanation was given as to why grandma first doesn't tell Rika about herself only to cave so quickly in allowing her grand daughter to go face a forest devil with no training.

I did like it for the most part, but I definitely was ready for it to be over half-way through.

[Karen Reeder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bumps in the Night is such a wonderful magical adventure. I love the themes of family, friendships, forgiveness, and taking care of the planet. On that note, I love that none of the messages are shoved down the readers throat. They are there and obvious without being overemphasized so that the story gets lost amid the message (which I have had happen in books with messages).
I loved reading the authors notes afterward and finding out some of her inspiration. Bumps in the Night is such a great way for kids to experience fantasy while also exploring another location they probably aren't familiar with and culture.
I love the characters, the kids are so real with real emotions that they are able to express and even explain a little throughout the story. Fun read for kids or adults.

[Therearenobadbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was drawn to the cover and main concept of this book and was not disappointed. The thirteen-year-old main character is facing a lot of troubled times, she got in trouble in school, she misses her mom, her father remarried... so she ends up going to her grandmother who hopes to reconnect with her, but there is more to it. This is just the start of a series of trials and discoveries about her family and secrets, including magic, action-adventure, plot twists, and betrayal. The novel is very rich, there is always something happening or a cool reference to books or other familiar things.
A cool take on witches and magic.
Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for this e-ARC.

[Chrissy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rika has been sent to spend the summer with her grandmother after getting into trouble one too many times at home. Having reached Grannie's home, Rika discovers who she really is, and where her missing mother has been. Along with a trusty group of friends she must battle her way through a magical maze to save her family. The story can be gruesome at times, but reads like a page turning adventure. The characters are brave, intelligent and win the day using empathy and forgiveness as much as magic and skill.

[Air · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was SUCH an important book and I know it’ll make children feel so heard and understood (I mean it worked for me). A lot of kids no matter the age feel left out of their families, especially with divorce and absent parents. Family secrets are another dark cloud that hangs over us constantly. This was a beautiful way to describe how our main character felt and what she did to overcome it. The time in Trinidad sounded beautiful and deeply lush at the same time. The horror, adventure, and family aspect are gorgeously done simultaneously.

Thank you to tbrandbeyond tours and the author!

[Payton Box · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great kids book, especially within the horror genre. I loved the themes, the characters and the overall story. The life lessons in this book are subtle but clear which means you just feel like you’ve learned something fun and new rather than leaving the book feeling like you had to learn things.

The Trinidad culture in this book is so vibrant and clear you can picture so many of the scenes and characters. This is a great book for kids to experience new cultures in a fun exciting way that also teaches about folklore as well!

[Olive Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gripping middle-grade thriller over flowing with mythology! Just my kind of book (:

So… if you like creepy mythology, enemies to besties, and tough witches, this book is for you!

I loved all the characters (especially Piku, my most favorite dragon-power lizard ever) and the plot was rich with twists and turns. Jumbies make me shiver even more now 😬

My only regret is that I guessed the plot twist long before the end… ): 😢

But over all, this was a heartwarming book that made me very hopeful and exited for a sequel 🤞 !!!!

[callistoscalling · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun and magical middle grade read! Here are my Top 5 Reasons to Read:

1. A glimpse into the beautiful culture and landscape of Trinidad and Tobago 🇹🇹
2. A young girl searching for answers and belonging ❤️
3.New knowledge of superstitions and local legends 🧟‍♂️
4. Enthralling characters, including a special iguana 🦎
5. A vividly descriptive book that leaves you wondering what is imagination and what actually goes bump in the night 👻

[Deena Lipomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Darika is sent to Trinidad to spend the summer with her grandmother after her mom leaves, she meets a group of kids who seem to know about her missing mother, which sends her on a quest to find her through a beast-filled supernatural maze. This book focuses on the adventure more than characters, and feels more fantasy than horror, but it is an entertaining read. The "kid learns of secret powers" trope is tried and true for those who enjoy that story.

[Alexis Coy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I adored this book. I am always up to read a books that draws from the mythos of different cultures and this was not different. The myths used in the story were really interesting and not something I would even considered without this book. The characters were great and I an definitely going to read more by this author.


Thank you netgalley for the arc!

[Stacy Renee (LazyDayLit) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0

Middle-grade
Fantasy
Horror ?

Darika ‘Rika’ is spent to stay the summer in Trinidad with her grandmother, where she learns she is descended from a long line of witches. After finding out that her long lost mother might be on the island, Rika will do whatever it takes to find her.

Steeped in Trinidad lore / mythology. I’m getting Percy Jackson vibes in the best way.
Jumbies!

[Can Dragons Read? · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super imaginative and adventurous with some spooky moments. I usually love middle grades like this but this was so good - I loved the storytelling and creatures and vivid imagery that was described. It fully emerses you and makes it that more entertaining. If you want a quick and unique read, this is a perfect choice!

[Jennifer Wolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

After getting in trouble at school, Rika is sent to spend the summer with her grandmother in Trinidad. Almost as soon as she steps off the plane, strange things start happening around Rika. With the help of some neighborhood kids (who aren’t your average kids), Rika soon embarks on a spooky quest to save her mom, her grandmother, and perhaps the world.

[Ann Rosato · Rating 2 out of 5]

what concerns me about this book is the idea that climate change can be helped by magic. This is a dangerous message for anyone! Climate change is real and needs to be addressed by science. This was a troubling read to me and not very well written. Everything was so easy to come by. It is great to see a book set in Trinidad and using the folklore of the place.

[Bexa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was great. It took a little to get past the whining in the first part, but once she gets to start interacting with the Minders it got a lot better. Jumbies are becoming one of my favorite parts of folklore.

[Erica Baxter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun adventure through mystical spaces. This book is rich in Trinidadian folklore and carries a distinct Caribbean ambiance. Lots of magic and supernatural elements, but ultimately this is a book about self-discovery, friendship and family.

[Andréa]

Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.