The Late Bus

Night Fall ™ #10

by Rick Jasper

Lamar takes the "late bus" home from school after practice each day. After the bus's beloved driver passes away, Lamar begins to see strange things—demonic figures, preparing to attack the bus. Soon he learns the demons are after Mr. Rumble, the freaky new bus driver. Can Lamar rescue his fellow passengers, or will Rumble's past come back to destroy them all?

Genres: Horror, Audiobook, Young Adult, Paranormal, Mystery, Ghosts, Fiction

116 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Rick Jasper is a former middle-school teacher and a long-time magazine editor and writer. A native of Kansas City, Missouri, he currently lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, with his daughter.

Reviews

[jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

that was...interesting

a whole lot in very little time. 0 attachment to any character

[Kirk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobooked. Short read.

It kind of felt like it picked up in the middle of a larger series. Granted it is #10 (but the first our e library had), but most series’ will get you acclimated a little bit. Not this one. Man I was disoriented, but I still thought it was alright. For kids starting at the beginning I could see how this might be a fun series, and would help them build momentum towards longer books (which is what I do every time I take a break from reading: comics, then short juvenile and ya, then novels, and finally longer novels).

[Deedee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short story for the younger, but enjoyable even for adults.

[Erin Logan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This title was a bit confusing as it felt like it began in the middle of a story. At approximately 45 minutes, the audiobook was quick and easy to follow. I'd like to look more into the rest of the story. Starting in the middle was a bit of a challenge but the background information I needed to grasp the story told in this piece was definitely there.

[Brett · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lamar is a 16 year old who has a gift to see spirits and other paranormal happenings. He takes the late bus home from football practice every day. His old bus driver passes away and a new one soon picks up the torch. The driver's name is Mr. Rumble. Once Rumble starts to take the wheel strange and unexplainable events begin to occur on the bus all of which seem to be targeting Mr. Rumble. It is up to Lamar to uncover Rumble's past and protect the rest of the passengers before it is too late.

You know when a book is too much of a slow burn? When there is way too much buildup for a payoff that doesn't live up? I felt like this book had the opposite problem. The pacing in this book seemed too quick with a payoff that also didn't live up. The haunts begin as early as chapter 1 and it doesn't allow many opportunities for tension or suspense. There are also certain events that are supposed to be major but seem to be brushed aside too quickly in order to keep the plot moving forward. I wasn't really able to feel for any of the characters besides Lamar and Rumble. From what I understand this book is a part of a series so perhaps in these other stories some of the other side characters have their moments to shine. This is very much Lamar's story and I felt that characters like Notso and Bronski were pushed too much into the sidelines. Like most of the plot would have been the same even if they were not there. The book itself also felt pretty light on scares. My biggest drive to continue reading was to uncover Mr. Rumble's past.

Overall I can't really recommend this one. The pacing was off, the book was light on scares and the story could have benefitted from some more character development, especially from the side characters.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Between 2.75 and 3 ⭐️

Interesting plot. Someone who can see dead people and have to figure out what to do with that gift/curse is always entertaining for me. The story made sense in how it was developing throughout. I would have liked to see more character development and more of the scare factor. It was a short read and part of a series. I’m interested to read from the beginning.

[Rachel (Into a Story) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this because I kept seeing it on Libby. It felt like it could have been a few chapters of a longer middle-grade book. I liked that the main character played football and did ballet. A short, spooky story with a somewhat happy ending.

[Jks · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a young students book. It is intense from the start. It is fast pace and terrifying. It was a fun read.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting short story. It is part of a series. It’s a fascinating read.

[Ben · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was alright

Not much in the way of scares

2.7/5

[Tiffani Titel · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was very awesome. It had a good ending. I really loved this book. You should try it out!

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very good because it is a scary book. Lamar takes the bus to go home. He soon finds out about the new freaky bus driver. I recommend this book to people who like to read scary books.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

All my reviews can be found at: http://jessicasreadingroom.com
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This review will appear on my site on July 10, 2020 along with my review for The Prank.
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The Late Bus is the second audiobook in the Night Fall series I listened to. This one was much better than The Prank. This one was a 45 minute audiobook, but Warning Warning: We have a problem Libby App: This is only part of the story! If you look on Amazon, it says the book is 116 pages. 116 pages cannot be read in 45 minutes! Also when I started the beginning of the audiobook, the narration began with chapter 10. So we are missing the first half of the book. This is very unfortunate as I enjoyed this one. It is not ‘scary’ but a mystery. I don’t think it would be scary to ‘younger readers’ either. I was invested in the story and really enjoyed the ending and if I had gotten the whole story, I am sure I would have given it 4 stars. You can't really review something when you don't have the whole story, but being I enjoyed it, I tried to review it the best I could.

I am far from the target audience for these two books, I don’t think I would listen to the others in the Night Fall series based on these two books, but if I had the chance to read the whole book of The Late Bus I would. I would like to get the whole story. I hope if I ever re-read some of the Fear Street series I hope they hold up well for adult readers as they did for teen readers all those years ago.

[D · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great freaky little read for reluctant readers. I’ve enjoyed all of the books I’ve read in the Night Fall series and THE LATE BUS was no exception.

Jasper mixes terrifying elements of the supernatural with the psychological for a blended story that really plays with the mind. Considering the way things disappear, how not everyone can see these things, and the voices Lamar hears, it really toes the line of what’s real and what isn’t. And Jasper does it in a way that doesn’t invoke the cheese card (a la RL Stine). The characters are realistic and relatable, truly scary things happen to them, and things are resolved in a way that doesn’t require huge blow-outs and contrived situations. It all really works.

And even for a story that’s written for reluctant readers I don’t feel like I’m being talked down to. The writing is simple and to the point but it has a job to do and it does it. It tells the story. It gives me characters struggling through these scenarios. It gives me creepy, scary elements. But it doesn’t moralize me or condescend to me at all. I think the people at Lerner/Darby Creek really nailed the line for that.

Two thumbs up for THE LATE BUS! A great little chiller to read right around Halloween.

4.5

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Anayhi Garrido · Rating 5 out of 5]

The main character Lamar takes the after school bus because he has practice everyday. The bus drives name is Mrs.Robin who dies early into the story. They hold a funeral for her then during the funeral Lamar realized that He can communicate with ghost. Then after they got a new bus driver named Mr. rumble. When he became the new driver unusual thing started to happen like, animals began showing up and the smell smoke. I honestly did not like mr rumble because of the things he had done in his past and his personality.

[Miss Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The great thing about novellas is that they dive straight into character and setting from the get go. This horror story is about helping others, acceptance, evil, second chances, and perception. His father says: "Everyone is born with a burden and a gift...you've got to learn to live with the burden and use the gift." These wise words are remixed by the son back at his dad: "You’ve got a gift here, and a burden. Your gift is a chance to relax; use it. Your burden is that you don’t have a choice; live with it." Oh and there's a character you'll love to hate - Principal Weston.

[Chris Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am trying to read more high-low books (called Quick Reads in our library) to help recommend books to our struggling or emerging English readers.

After his late bus driver passes away, Lamar, who can see ghosts, is visited by her and told that the new driver, Mr. Rumble, needed his help.

I really enjoyed this book and was sucked in right from the beginning. The author did a great job at telling the story without being repetitive or insulting to readers. It's very fast paced and the characters were realistic and not over simplified.

[Barbara Schultz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lamar Green takes the late bus every day as he has after school practice. . He starts to see demons who are after Mr. Rumble the new bus driver. The other bus driver Mrs. Robin died recently in a terrible bus accident that left the driver and a student dead.
Story is a quick actually would have liked it to have been longer.
This novel is part of “The Night Fall” series which is made up multi- authors of 12 YA thrillers.

[Tharanga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lamar was a boy gifted with the power to see supernatural things. Unexpected things started to happen in the school bus, after the current school bus driver, penny died and they had a new bus driver, Rumble. when the school bus gets haunted and the ride is a nightmare, Lamar and his friends jumped to save the school kids and to stop the haunting.

Overall the story wasn’t that spooky and thrilling but It was a quick read and I enjoyed the story.

[qistine · Rating 3 out of 5]

my first audiobook and horror (?) book lol
mediocre 3 stars as it was, honestly, rly anticlimactic. not scary, and it was all abt the new driver being “haunted” i guess? altho i like the narrator’s voice. took me awhile to get used to the audiobook as it was my first time, but i enjoyed it. i guess this was just my experience and i understand it was made for younger audiences. it was a short read to just pass time.

[Carlton Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

This reminded me of an episode of Ghost Whisperer and I used to love that show. I read a comment that said this felt like it just dropped us in the middle of the story. It did feel that way when it started, like I missed something. But then I just ignored it and kept listening to the story. I loved how his friends were just down. They even got a priest to bless the bus. I wish he could’ve told them that he see dead people though.

[Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short book only 119 pages, meant for children. Which I didn’t realise when I downloaded it.
The pace is fast with no padding, and gripping.
I thought that this was great, spooky, and also very poignant.
I had the audio version which was a bit jerky which I think was down to the editing. It didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the book, but I think attention to detail is important.

[Cris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the tenth story in the Night Fall series. I would love to find the other stories!

In this story Lamar is born with a gift to see the dead. This becomes apparent to the reader when his bus driver passes away. It opens the story up for what will become a wild story about the after life intermingling with current wild!

[Ella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think it's a great book about a boy who can see ghosts. An important person passed away, and she helps him through life in the afterlife. There is a new bus driver, mysterious and obviously has bad luck, what will happen next? I love all the imagery it has, it really does feel like a window in a world. I would defiantly recommend this to anyone who asks.

[Jan Raspen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this book on a whim because I needed something quick, and I’d seen this cover in a couple lists. It’s pretty good and creepy, and the short length would definitely be a draw for kids.
The audio recording was just okay, not good. I hate it when we can hear the difference when a recording has been spliced together. That happened a bunch of times in this book.

[Jose · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is good because it has a little bit of mystery and scary mixed together. Lamar Green takes the late bus to go home and his old bus driver passed away during the holidays. And the late bus got a new driver but something's weird with the new bus driver.

[Atlantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and spooky. I felt like this started in the middle of the book but you don’t need any other explanation other than what the short story offers. This is part of a series but I haven’t read those. Young adult/middle school level.

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Late Bus by Rick Jasper felt really strange to me. I kept wondering if I missed something. The book begins in the middle of the story. And then I realized that this is number 10 in a series. But even then, they should make the reader wonder how things started.

[Kelly Whitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some good elements of a scary story here, about a young boy, his father in the hospital, and some strange things happening with a bus and bus driver the school kids are subject to. But it starts on “chapter 10” and feels like it, as if you’re late to the party.

[Bridget · Rating 4 out of 5]

I borrowed this from OverDrive and it didn't say that it was number 10 of a series...so for getting right in the middle of a book, it was intriguing and it definitely made me want to start at the beginning of the series!