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Killer Harvest
It's harvest season... and in this town, that means corn mazes, sinister scarecrows, and plenty of horror.
At the center of the corn maze lies... secrets and horror.
At the center of the corn maze lies... secrets and horror.
192 pages, Hardcover
Published September 3, 2024
20 people are currently reading
126 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Krovatin
22 books157 followersI'm Chris Krovatin, author of DARKNESS, RED ROVER, FREQUENCY, VENOMOUS, HEAVY METAL & YOU, the GRAVEDIGGERS trilogy, and HELLRAISERS).
I'm also a journalist for multiple heavy metal press outfits, specifically The Pit, Kerrang!, Noisey, Invisible Oranges, and MetalSucks.
I'm a horror enthusiast, Halloween worshipper, husband and dad living out in New Jersey. My favorite musicians are Slayer, Rob Zombie and Frank Sinatra, and my favorite food is gnocchi (it's made of potatoes!).
I'm also a journalist for multiple heavy metal press outfits, specifically The Pit, Kerrang!, Noisey, Invisible Oranges, and MetalSucks.
I'm a horror enthusiast, Halloween worshipper, husband and dad living out in New Jersey. My favorite musicians are Slayer, Rob Zombie and Frank Sinatra, and my favorite food is gnocchi (it's made of potatoes!).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
September 22, 2025
Predictable but perfect for younger readers. Can’t wait to gift this to my 10 year old brother!
December 4, 2024
I read this book with my 9 year old son. It was a good horror themed book for kids. He thought it was a good book and deserved 5-stars.
September 27, 2025
Fun middle-grade spooky ready! Scarecrows, corn mazes, pumpkins, mischief, and mystery. Perfect easy October read!
October 16, 2025
Spolier
There are 3 characters in the book,Angie,Chris and Marcus. All 3 of them got sent to this town because of their behaviour in schools. However they soon realized that in order to make this town great they must sacrifice human souls to the harvester. They discovered that by carving a pumpkin and a lost kids soul went out of it. Later at the museums trying to find some clues they found out that the museum keeper was trying to kidnap them,however they ran fast over to the woods but the town people knows that they were heading there. Because of that they forcefully grabbed them and drag them into the corn maze. However kirs and Angie managed to sneak in a couple of knifes, and a candle. They then killed the harvester by making a jack o layers in his face. And also realized the kids.
There are 3 characters in the book,Angie,Chris and Marcus. All 3 of them got sent to this town because of their behaviour in schools. However they soon realized that in order to make this town great they must sacrifice human souls to the harvester. They discovered that by carving a pumpkin and a lost kids soul went out of it. Later at the museums trying to find some clues they found out that the museum keeper was trying to kidnap them,however they ran fast over to the woods but the town people knows that they were heading there. Because of that they forcefully grabbed them and drag them into the corn maze. However kirs and Angie managed to sneak in a couple of knifes, and a candle. They then killed the harvester by making a jack o layers in his face. And also realized the kids.
October 22, 2025
It’s good if you’re 12!
September 18, 2025
I very much enjoy this story of a picture-perfect town that hides a terrible secret. I thought the world building was top-notch. I liked the action scenes. I like how our trio of heroes worked together instead of one being the leader. The fate for being chosen for the corn maze was horrific. I got some chills from reading it..
October 14, 2025
For a young adult novel, I was pleasantly surprised! A lot of fun with great spooky Halloween feels!
October 21, 2024
For a kids book, definitely spoopy.
There are mentions of blood, and some injuries that have kids getting hurt (scrapes, poked, cuts).
Overall, pretty decent spooky book.
Made me think of the Supernatural episode “Scarecrow.” Not the same story, but there are some similarities.
There are mentions of blood, and some injuries that have kids getting hurt (scrapes, poked, cuts).
Overall, pretty decent spooky book.
Made me think of the Supernatural episode “Scarecrow.” Not the same story, but there are some similarities.
September 9, 2024
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Marcus, Andrew, and Angie have all been dragged by their families to a harvest festival in Gentle Valley after getting into trouble of different sorts. A lot of the problems centered around grades, or getting in fights, but Angie managed to make the entire girls' soccer team go bald because they made fun of her, and Kris Siddiqui dresses in full goth attire and decked a kid who teased her. Gentle Valley is a little too happy and gung ho for all of them, and they are especially suspicious of organizer Liv Thompson, whose daughter Elena seems to realize that the whole festival is an overdose of wholesome, from the apple bobbing to the constant excellent food. Anything that has the faintest whisper of spooky Halloween elements is banned, and carving pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns is strictly forbidden. There is a corn maze, and when the kids go into that, it is particularly creepy, especially when they see a scarecrow in the center called The Harvester, and two other kids they meet, Anthony and Zach, go missing. Despite hearing rumors that The Harvester will grab kids after dark and turn them into pumpkins, Kris decides to carve a pumpkin, and when she does, there is a weird blue light that emanates from it, and she thinks she sees a creepy boy from the corn maze. Trying to figure out what is going on, the kids stay up late, and see The Harvester stealing Angie's brother Greg. When they venture out, they run into other kids in the pumpkin patch, and begin to realize that the rumors are true. They manage to save Greg, and head to the town's local history museum to try to figure out what is going on. They overhear adults talking, and realize that their worst fears are true. In order to secure a good harvest, Gentle Valley lures families with problem children to the festival, turns them into pumpkins, and then covers up the police investigations. With some input from Elena, the kids manage to save Anthony and Zach, as well as other children, and set the town on a different, less violent path. Or do they?
Strengths: Gentle Valley sounds like a great place for a weekend trip in the fall, doesn't it? That makes it even creepier when The Harvester appears and the kids are in peril. It was a good decision to make the characters older, and also to have their behavior problematic, because then the adults are less likely to take them seriously. There's plenty of running around in creepy fields at night, and I am not sure that I will ever be able to go into a corn maze; certainly never later than 8 a.m. so that I have plenty of time to get out before dark! Kris' obsession with Halloween and all things goth will speak to some readers who long black nail polish and excessive eye liner. Elena, as a local kid, was a good inclusion, and I loved the scene at the local history museum. This is a short, fast paced title with a fantasic cover.
Weaknesses: While I can forgive improperly translated Latin ("Mors fortium praemia does not mean "death favors the strong" because praemia is the noun version of rewards, not the verb form, and fortium is not plural. I would have suggested just replacing "Mors" for "fortuna" in Terence's phrase "fortuna fortes adiuvat".), it's harder for me to be okay with referring to Liv Thompson as a "cult Karen". Yet again, if we don't want young readers to use negative stereotypes, we need to model that behavior in their literature.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who want lots of Halloween details with their creepy corn maze titles like Sutherland's Field of Screams or Arden's Small Spaces.
Marcus, Andrew, and Angie have all been dragged by their families to a harvest festival in Gentle Valley after getting into trouble of different sorts. A lot of the problems centered around grades, or getting in fights, but Angie managed to make the entire girls' soccer team go bald because they made fun of her, and Kris Siddiqui dresses in full goth attire and decked a kid who teased her. Gentle Valley is a little too happy and gung ho for all of them, and they are especially suspicious of organizer Liv Thompson, whose daughter Elena seems to realize that the whole festival is an overdose of wholesome, from the apple bobbing to the constant excellent food. Anything that has the faintest whisper of spooky Halloween elements is banned, and carving pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns is strictly forbidden. There is a corn maze, and when the kids go into that, it is particularly creepy, especially when they see a scarecrow in the center called The Harvester, and two other kids they meet, Anthony and Zach, go missing. Despite hearing rumors that The Harvester will grab kids after dark and turn them into pumpkins, Kris decides to carve a pumpkin, and when she does, there is a weird blue light that emanates from it, and she thinks she sees a creepy boy from the corn maze. Trying to figure out what is going on, the kids stay up late, and see The Harvester stealing Angie's brother Greg. When they venture out, they run into other kids in the pumpkin patch, and begin to realize that the rumors are true. They manage to save Greg, and head to the town's local history museum to try to figure out what is going on. They overhear adults talking, and realize that their worst fears are true. In order to secure a good harvest, Gentle Valley lures families with problem children to the festival, turns them into pumpkins, and then covers up the police investigations. With some input from Elena, the kids manage to save Anthony and Zach, as well as other children, and set the town on a different, less violent path. Or do they?
Strengths: Gentle Valley sounds like a great place for a weekend trip in the fall, doesn't it? That makes it even creepier when The Harvester appears and the kids are in peril. It was a good decision to make the characters older, and also to have their behavior problematic, because then the adults are less likely to take them seriously. There's plenty of running around in creepy fields at night, and I am not sure that I will ever be able to go into a corn maze; certainly never later than 8 a.m. so that I have plenty of time to get out before dark! Kris' obsession with Halloween and all things goth will speak to some readers who long black nail polish and excessive eye liner. Elena, as a local kid, was a good inclusion, and I loved the scene at the local history museum. This is a short, fast paced title with a fantasic cover.
Weaknesses: While I can forgive improperly translated Latin ("Mors fortium praemia does not mean "death favors the strong" because praemia is the noun version of rewards, not the verb form, and fortium is not plural. I would have suggested just replacing "Mors" for "fortuna" in Terence's phrase "fortuna fortes adiuvat".), it's harder for me to be okay with referring to Liv Thompson as a "cult Karen". Yet again, if we don't want young readers to use negative stereotypes, we need to model that behavior in their literature.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who want lots of Halloween details with their creepy corn maze titles like Sutherland's Field of Screams or Arden's Small Spaces.
December 2, 2024
I want to preface this by saying I'm going to try to review this book through the lens of its intended audience. A couple times a year, my wife holds a Scholastic Book Fair at the school where she works, and while I'm helping her take it down at the end, I'll usually buy something to support a good cause. Every so often, I'll actually read one of the books I pick up, rather than immediately donating it to the school. And let me tell you, 8- or 10-year-old me would have loved this book.
Killer Harvest is a step up from the Goosebumps books (which I also devoured as a kid), incorporating some unexpectedly heavy subjects like death, loss, and the dangers of tradition for tradition's sake into its story. This is a classic tale of a small town with a dark secret, full of characters who are by turns sympathetic or easy to root against. The nature of the threat is fresh, and the way the kids combat it is pretty unique.
It's nice to see horror aimed at a younger audience that doesn't pull its punches. The stakes here are pretty high--both for the heroes and the villains. While it takes some time here and there to breathe and be a little silly, Killer Harvest ultimately takes itself and its concept seriously, and that makes it a pretty effective horror story.
Killer Harvest is a step up from the Goosebumps books (which I also devoured as a kid), incorporating some unexpectedly heavy subjects like death, loss, and the dangers of tradition for tradition's sake into its story. This is a classic tale of a small town with a dark secret, full of characters who are by turns sympathetic or easy to root against. The nature of the threat is fresh, and the way the kids combat it is pretty unique.
It's nice to see horror aimed at a younger audience that doesn't pull its punches. The stakes here are pretty high--both for the heroes and the villains. While it takes some time here and there to breathe and be a little silly, Killer Harvest ultimately takes itself and its concept seriously, and that makes it a pretty effective horror story.
April 23, 2025
This is inspired by Norman Partridge's Dark Harvest obviously. It's predictable and cheesy with some questionable dialog choices the author made and an ending that screams, "overt expectations". We have a few teens that don't know each other and have "issues", whose parents decide a long weekend together will be the grand fix to all their problems. Not like mandatory therapy with a licensed professional would have been the better option. So, these three families traipse off to the most perfect town for some wholesome fall festivities. But under the facade something is of...and of course the goth chick being warned by a ghost that bad things are afoot in this "prefect town" and something is up with the townspeople, she just announces that her little gang of misfits was visited by the ghost of a past victim and warned. She tells this to the head "bad guy" and now their little group is now going to offered to the Harvester, of course. Overall, it isn't amazing, but it isn't bad, either
January 13, 2025
🎃 4.5 stars
I borrowed this from my younger cousin, and it was such a fun, spooky middle-grade read. Marcus is taken on a weekend trip to a harvest festival to socialize with other kids who have also been misbehaving at his school. But it is hard to enjoy the festivities when ghosts show up to Marcus, Kris, and Angie, and children in the town start going missing.
If you are an adult looking to enjoy another spooky book with questionable towns and scarecrows, I recommend also checking out Dark Harvest by Norman Partridge. It gives me vibes similar to this book but is intended for an older audience.
I borrowed this from my younger cousin, and it was such a fun, spooky middle-grade read. Marcus is taken on a weekend trip to a harvest festival to socialize with other kids who have also been misbehaving at his school. But it is hard to enjoy the festivities when ghosts show up to Marcus, Kris, and Angie, and children in the town start going missing.
If you are an adult looking to enjoy another spooky book with questionable towns and scarecrows, I recommend also checking out Dark Harvest by Norman Partridge. It gives me vibes similar to this book but is intended for an older audience.
January 8, 2025
Read this at the recommendation of my 11 year old after he finished it. I read the Small Spaces series, Katherine Arden, at his recommendation this past summer. Some pretty scary elements and details in Killer Harvest. The storyline was interesting, something out of a teen horror flick. It was hard to get through the "dude" language used by the kids when they spoke. Overall, an ok horror read for kids. The next level from the Small Spaces series for older kids, but lacking in the emotional response that I enjoyed from Arden.
July 17, 2025
Really great middle grade book for those who like their books a little bit scary! I was not expecting to be moved by this book about kids who visit a quaint Fall Festival and run into a monster. (Spoiler!) This book is surprisingly emotional. Towards the end of the book, one of our young protagonists realizes that one thing he really wanted was a chance to say goodbye his favorite teacher. Yes, I found myself getting all teary. This book is also about friendship and giving second chances to friends and family. It's recommended for 8-12 years old. I would aim more for 10 years or older.
November 18, 2025
Did anyone ever read the Bailey School Kids series as a kid? This book kind of reminds me of a YA version of those books. Outcasts Kris, Angie, and Marcus spend an unforgettable weekend in a picturesque New England town that's not quite what it seems. They bond over shared trauma, unravel mysteries, and fight monsters and PTA moms alike. A fun little nostalgia-fest for older readers (references to past decades abound) and a solidly spooky and surprisingly emotionally laden story for the younger set.
October 18, 2024
This is the first book I read by Christopher Krovatin, and he did not disappoint. It was so suspenseful. If you need to read an autumn book (if you haven't already it means you need to) then I highly suggest this book.
February 16, 2025
I only read this book as a preview for my class but I thought for a children’s “horror” book it was very well done.
Quick, spooky, mysterious and just the right level of scary but childish. There was a lot more spirit/ghost type stuff than I thought there would be, but overall I thought it was a good thriller book for middle schoolers.
Quick, spooky, mysterious and just the right level of scary but childish. There was a lot more spirit/ghost type stuff than I thought there would be, but overall I thought it was a good thriller book for middle schoolers.
June 11, 2025
An odd book but a good spooky book that’s not too scary. It’s a book about some misfits that end up in this perfect town for the harvest festival but the town doesn’t celebrate Halloween! The misfits are on a mission to figure out why and maybe break the towns rule of don’t crave pumpkins!
June 17, 2025
This was a fun Halloween tale that read sort of like a creepy horror/thriller movie...suspense, mystery, peril. It'll be perfect for the middle school readers I work with. Looking forward to recommending this one.
September 30, 2025
My niece bought me this book from her school's book fair because she know I like "scary" books so I had to read it. For a children's book, it was pretty good! Pretty spooky and some good twist and turns.
October 21, 2025
A predictable and at times cheesy fall middle grade novel...but I loved it! It was exactly what I needed! I feel like middle schoolers will like this - especially during the fall season! And it can obviously be enjoyed by adults as well. The atmosphere was great!!!
November 1, 2025
I really enjoyed this book. It highlights that tricky adolescent stage of not being heard and finding a path to being heard and seen that doesn’t blow up in your face while on an anti-Halloween harvest weekend in small town somewhere.
October 20, 2024
Read about 60 pages and gave up just wasnt interesting enough
October 21, 2024
If you like a good Halloween feel, this book is for you!
November 7, 2024
I enjoyed this book a lot
December 23, 2024
It was overall a great book. The horror element was interesting, and the story and characters had depth.
January 5, 2025
Spooky, but not gruesome. Great for a middle school classroom!
March 6, 2025
My boys (10&7) & I all read this together at Halloween. It was a fun read & put us in the Halloween spirit.
March 12, 2025
There's something a little too perfect in Gentle Valley. Can Marcus, Kris, and Angie live long enough to find out and save themselves?
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews