Hello Neighbor. Tom 1. Brakujace elementy

Hello Neighbor #1

by Carly Anne West

Nicky Roth has always been a lonely kid. But that all changes when he and his family move to Raven Brooks and meet their eccentric neighbors, the Petersons. Nicky befriends the Petersons' son, Aaron, bonding over their talents for tinkering. Soon the boys are inseparable and using their skills to pull pranks on the townspeople.
 
But something about Aaron bothers Nicky--people seem almost afraid of him and his family. Through snippets from Aaron and a lot of sleuthing in the town's archives, Nicky discovers a dark past haunting his neighbors, a streak of bad luck they can't seem to shake. Aaron thinks that's all behind them now, but Nicky has a feeling the Petersons are fated for another tragedy. . . .
 
This pulse-pounding prequel novel to the hit video game Hello Neighbor includes two-color illustrations throughout, to help readers unwind the mystery at the heart of the game.

Genres: Horror, Mystery, Middle Grade, Fiction, Video Games, Childrens, Young Adult

208 pages, Paperback

First published August 28, 2018

About the author

Carly Anne West is the author of several works of spooky fiction for readers of all ages, with titles including The Murmurings and The Bargaining (Simon Pulse), and the forthcoming series The Ghosts of Nameless Island (Andrews McMeel). Her works also include the Hello Neighbor series (Scholastic), based on the fan favorite video game, as well as contributions to the NYT Bestselling Five Nights at Freddy's literary universe (Scholastic), based on the wildly popular video game of the same name. Carly holds an MFA in English and Writing from Mills College and lives in Seoul, Korea with her family.

Reviews

[Chelsea Humphrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so good? Definitely the best middle grade mystery I've ever read. I was so engrossed that the remaining copies in the series on en route to my house as we speak! Creepy, yet age appropriate, and highly recommended from my family!

[Audrey Destin · Rating 5 out of 5]

FIVE STARS for the Family!

Oh my goodness... THIS BOOK... made me the happiest Mom in the world.

It has never crossed my mind to write a review for one of my kids’ books, but this book friends... this book... changed our lives.

Maybe I’m a total book snob, because I’ve never enjoyed a middle school book before. I read them with a twinge of annoyance, because somewhere in the back of my mind I feel slighted that I’m not reading something of quality. But... Kids... Right? You have to read to them. Everyone knows that. And you can't read them grown-up books, they may never sleep again, or may be traumatized by smut.

Well. Like I said before. THIS BOOK changed our lives.

Parents. This is a totally nailed it psychological thriller for your littles. And it is the literal best. I had so much fun reading this out loud to them and watching their faces hang in suspense. Listening to my son ask questions. Watching my daughter’s eyes get big and say, “Oh my gosh!”

They hung on every word. Every chapter left them wanting more. And I watched them fall in love with books for the first time, in the way that I love books. This book helped them understand WHY grown-ups love books. Our whole family loved every minute of it, and as soon as we finished, everyone insisted we must read every book ever written in this series. And we will.

“When only silence greets me, I’m left with the sound of my heart pounding away in my ears, my teeth chattering in violent rhythm as I fight to calm myself.”

Hello Neighbor; Missing Pieces is the first in a series of books based on the video game Hello Neighbor. The main character Nicky, is twelve. (my 8yr old and 12yr old both loved it.) This book serves as a prequal to the video game, so if you’re expecting a nice tidy ending, you won’t get that. It was still a great ending in my opinion. But, if you are looking for something to explain all the confusing things happening in the weird twisted game that is Hello Neighbor, this book will more than satisfy, and deliver so much more. I highly suggest this book to families with video game nerd children. We bought this book because over the summer, my son, age eight, became obsessed with this game and dragged our whole family into the suspense. We had so many questions.

This book, again, saved us.

Thank You Carly Anne West!!

Trigger Warning: lol, ok more like a parent advisory: There might be some lock picking happening in this book, and for like a week my kids started locking doors in our house and closing them with nobody on the other side, so they could see if they could pick the lock. As a parent that values my kids love of reading, I felt it was worth it, they gave up pretty quickly, but I think they’ll remember their first psychological thriller forever.

[Paige · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from KidLitExchange and Scholastic! Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Rating: 5/5

Genre: MG Mystery… uhhhh…. Video Game Retelling???

Recommended Age: 10+ (some death and conspiracy and mild hints of domestic violence… also a bit about parents losing their jobs and that made me sad and I’m like 27 so it might slightly upset some kids)

Pages: 208

Author Website

Amazon Link

Synopsis: Nicky Roth has always been a lonely kid. But that all changes when he and his family move to Raven Brooks and meet their eccentric neighbors, the Petersons. Nicky befriends the Petersons' son, Aaron, bonding over their talents for tinkering. Soon the boys are inseparable and using their skills to pull pranks on the townspeople.But something about Aaron bothers Nicky--people seem almost afraid of him and his family. Through snippets from Aaron and a lot of sleuthing in the town's archives, Nicky discovers a dark past haunting his neighbors, a streak of bad luck they can't seem to shake. Aaron thinks that's all behind them now, but Nicky has a feeling the Petersons are fated for another tragedy. . . .This pulse-pounding prequel novel to the hit video game Hello Neighbor includes two-color illustrations throughout, to help readers unwind the mystery at the heart of the game.

So a lot of people wouldn’t think that I’m a gamer but oh baby I’m an avid gamer. I love any video games and I really like ones that leave room for conspiracy theories. One of the hottest games that does that for me at the moment is Hello Neighbor. It’s a first person POV game in which you live across the street from this creepy dude (see front cover) who has some strange habits. You sneak over and try to solve the mystery to the weird rooms he has and the noises from the basement. I will say that this is one of the creepiest and scariest games in the more recent couple of years for video games and I’d put this video game up there with Five Nights At Freddy’s. So the reason why I was attracted to this book was that I was curious to see if this book connected to the video game at all and surprisingly it did! I felt that the book did well to mesh itself with the video game and that the character development was amazing. The plot was intriguing and interesting. And the writing was engaging and it drew me into the story immediately.

My only con about this was that the book tended to jump around a bit randomly and without notice. IT was kinda jarring. Also the ending was ambiguous but since we have the video game we kinda know what eventually happens, but the ending left it vague as to the bridge between it and the video game. Maybe it left it open so another book could come out, but it’s a tad annoying none the less.

Verdict: If you’re a fan of video games, you’ll love this book.

[Coralinaae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jakie. To. Było. Świetne.

4,5/5⭐

[Emma (littledollreads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve definitely decided that books that tie into video games to expand their lore are possibly some of my favorite books. I love video games and reading so books based off of video games are just about the best thing in the world. I get really into the lore of games and this is just perfect as it gives clarification while still being vague. Much like how Five Nights at Freddys did books I think it’s great that Hello Neighbor is doing the same thing albeit a bit different. By that I mean this actually makes sense.

This story is about Nick a young boy who just had to move to a new town again. Now his plan this time is to just about become a living shadow, a background character in someone else’s story. But being the main character that won’t happen. When he gets to town he meets Aaron a kid who is possibly just as weird as him. What could be better?

Now at this point we can all tell nothing good is going to go down. So as we progress through the story we come across information like how nick has weird dreams about a supermarket, Aaron’s dad is the neighbor, and that there is an abandoned theme park full of golden apples. Anyone who knows about Hello Neighbor knows that all of this is familiar in some sort of capacity.

To me this book is a great thing for fans of Hello Neighbor even if it’s target democratic is middle grade. Much like how the FNAF books were aimed at a younger audience I think anyone who likes the game could like the book.

In my opinion this book definitely got a bit creepy. Now part of that feeling may come from my background knowledge of the game but even without it this book would still be creepy. The events that occur and how characters act can get really weird in a concerning way.

I highly recommended this book to fans of the series as a way to build out the lore and let you experience the story in another form of media.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strong writing, gripping

I wasn't expecting to like a book based on a kids ' horror game, but I wanted to understand what my students were so excited about when they talked about the game and this drew me in. The writing is so well done, the characters' full dynamic range of emotions and the uncertainty and fear not just of a spooky plot, but of the realities of life as a middle schooler - Nick is unsure of himself, lonely, worried about making friends as his family moves constantly, feeling lonely, but at the same time he's funny, enjoying fast jokes and misadventures with his new best friend, smart, figuring out lock picking and gadgets with ease, and a true friend to his troubled neighbor Aaron, determined to investigate what's wrong no matter how confusing everything gets. There's a lot of nuance in this book, a lot to explore. The end is a cliffhanger, and I can't help myself - I want to read more!

[Milad · Rating 3 out of 5]

"هر کسی که می گه از تاریکی نمی ترسه، احتمالا دروغ می گه. هر کسی که می گه از ایستادن در دل یه پارک جنگلی متروکه اون هم در دل تاریکی نیمه شب نمی ترسه، قطعا دروغ می گه."

مجموعه سلام همسایه کتاب هایی حول داستان بازی کامپیوتری هم اسمش هستن و جزییات و توضیحات بیشتری در رابطه با روایت بازی داره. موضوع اصلی در رابطه با پی بردن به فعالیت های مشکوک پدر همسایه در ژانر فرار و وحشت است. در کتاب، نیک به عنوان پسری که خونواده اش اخیرا نقل مکان کرده اند با خانواده پترسون به عنوان همسایه آشنا شده و با آرون پسر همسایه رابطه دوستانه ای برقرار می کنند. روایت داستان کتاب به جزییاتی در مورد سابقه آقای پترسون می پردازه.
کتاب بیشتر برای نوجوان ها مناسب هست. با توجه به وجود درون مایه وحشت و مرگ، خیلی مناسب کودکان کم سن و سال تر شاید نباشه.
من بازیش رو نکردم و نمی دونم داستان کتاب چقدر برای روایت اصلی کمک کننده بود. اوایل کتاب یه مقداری حوصله سربر بود که البته شاید حاوی اطلاعات جالب توجهی در رابطه با بازی بوده اما در نهایت، سرگرم کننده بود.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this story enough but I felt like it had many inconsistencies with the video game. They made the father out to be more of a psychopath than a hurt man. I didn’t like that they had him build a roller coaster that killed a young girl. It was sort of mentioned in the game with the roller coaster sequence but it also could have alluded to Mya’s death. It just didn’t fit in with the tale the game was telling. I like the story that the game advertised: a hurt and suffering man after the death of his wife. It really goes against everything in Hide & Seek. This would be a good story though if the game were not involved.

But will I read the next installment?

Yes. Yes I will.

[Dayna Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

i got this book free from Librofm. The first realistic fiction installment in the Hello Neighbor series - based on the children's video game. Nick is 12; his father is a newspaper publisher and his mother is a university professor. They move to a new town when Nick's father gets a new job at the local paper. Nick meets the strange family across the street, the Peterson's. Their son Aaron seems to be just the friend Nick needs right now, but Aaron's mother and sister are a little strange and his father is down right scary. "The Burbs" for kids. A cute children's book for young readers.

[Sharah McConville · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 7 year old picked this book from the library and I read a chapter each night to him. He enjoys the video game and this first book in the series was part of the backstory to the game. We give it 4 stars!

[Mikal · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book explains nothing about the game. It's a part of a series it seems. Couldve been a cool book that had nothing to do with Hello Neighbor.

[Dinnu Reads Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't know it's based on a game before I started reading it. So I did a bit of research when I found out and the game itself doesn't sound too creepy but the setup for this book is quite spooky. Unexplainable things happen in the middle of the night and the story gives off very spooky and creepy vibes. I won't be reading the books at night but I am invested enough in the mystery to finish at least the first 3 prequel books to the game. 😉

[Marco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Idk if the whole book series is a prequel but this book is a prequel to the Hello Neighbor game. Setting up the back story of the Golden Apple Amusement Park and the famous neighbor himself, Mr. Peterson. The book was slow at the beginning but picked up around the middle and end. The ending was slightly confusing to me even though I have played (most of) Hello Neighbor. Overall, interesting story once you get into it and start piecing things together (get it...)

[Kendra McIntyre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nicky Roth has lived a splintered life, moving every few years. Each time his family arrives in a new town he goes through the same awkward routine of trying to meet new people and make friends. They arrive in Raven Brooks and meet their eccentric neighbors, the Petersons, and their son Aaron. The friendship starts off normal enough, but then Nicky begins to learn the secrets of Raven Brooks and of the Petersons. This is a prequel novel based on a video game. My son was excited to listen to this audiobook with me. The story was intriguing and made you wonder what was going to happen next, but I felt it was choppy at points. I'm interested to see how the sequels come out but not sure I will read them.

[Cheryl Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

An adult reading to her son....well, that's how it started out anyway. Unfortunately, he falls asleep after a couple pages every night. But I. COULD. NOT. STOP.
Beautifully written, easy to understand, and edge of your seat thrilling. Don't think you'll make it out of the first one with answers though, because there are zero. zilch. none.
Cannot wait to continue reading!

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved reading this book, until I got to the end and I had no answers for anything. I have never seen or played the video game, so that might be the problem. I'm wondering if the sequel has some answers or just more questions? Fun writing and characters in this book.

[Gavin]

this book is the greatest

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I stay engaged with this middle school novel. This would’ve surely been a favorite when I was a kid. Can’t wait to read the next one in the series.

[David]

Nostalgia is so hype and I can't imagine not liking this series (at least before Reset Day)

[V. Harshini · Rating 4 out of 5]

The nostalgia is too strong in this one. I could practically see the neighbor strangling me for snooping.

[Pickle wagon Mcgee · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the current other books I am only allowed to read in my house. This doing is by the 7 year old. But this is more then blippi which I appreciate bc not only is this a video game. This also has several books that either go together or read together. We didn't read together. This is the first book but the second book we got. We bought book 2 and just decided to go for it. Good book. Great game. Keot him hooked.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

The kiddo convinced me to read this at night for our nightly read . . . then he proceeded to fall asleep almost every night. That makes me wonder how he really felt about the book!

Me, on the other hand, actually enjoyed it. The smol kid plays Hello Neighbor, so I got the gist of the story before I even started reading. The beginning was a little boring but it didn’t take long to get into the story.

The friendship between Nicky and Aaron was a little . . . odd. But they’re 12 year old boys, so I guess that’s an awkward age in general. It’s also part of Aaron’s mystic and part of the plot, in a way.

Mr. Peterson, Aaron’s father, is exceptionally creepy and I loved reading the book and waiting for something to reveal itself. What little bit the kiddo paid attention to, he was waiting for something to happen, too.

I think we’ll definitely continue reading the series. Maybe next time he won’t fall asleep every night. It’s a great story to introduce psychological thrillers to the younger kids. I’ve mentioned before in reviews that MG books are generally meh to me, but this one could be read by anyone.

[Coleccionista de finales tristes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever thought you were...bad?

What does make a person bad, then? Being happy when bad things happen.

Este libro es una precuela de un videojuego para adolescentes sin embargo lo he encontrado en la sección infantil.

Nick y su familia se mudan a otra ciudad, los vecinos de enfrente son los Peterson quienes tienen un hijo llamado Aarón de la misma edad que Nick. Los niños no tardan en ser inseparables y Nick nota cada vez más rara a esta familia hasta que empiezan a descubrir cosas muy malas sobre ellos y cada vez es peor.

Definitivamente no es un libro para niños.

[WhatShouldIRead · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't know there was a video game by this name, much less played it. Still, it did not hamper my enjoyment of the story. It had just the right amount of adventure, misadventure, mystery and humor which makes for good reading. It really was genuinely creepy at times!

The only quibble I had was that there is still a major mystery at the end of the story. This is either bait to get the next book or is just the norm with video game stories. I'll certainly be reading the next but I don't enjoy this ploy.

[Ita · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why the high ratings??

This had no ending, no resolution. There is a mystery, but absolutely no answers. None. Zero.

I would rate it 1, but am feeling generous.

[Sam Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the book Hello Neighbor Missing Pieces by Carly Anne West and let me start by saying that I love this book! It is perfect for people who like horror and mystery types of books. It has a lot of thrilling moments. The author did an amazing job making it easy to imagine what is really happening. Let me tell you more about this book.

This book is a prequel to the video game Hello Neighbor and isn’t very long. It takes place in a town called Raven Brooks. It follows a boy named Nicky who just moved into town. He befriends his neighbor named Aaron. As Nicky and Aaron grow closer, through shared interests and pulling pranks, Nicky starts to realize that Aaron's family is a little out of the ordinary and, through investigating, that they have secrets and a dark past. The setting usually takes place in town or at Aaron’s house and doesn’t really have much variety in locations.

In my opinion this book is one of the best books I have read. I think this because the writing style and descriptions draw the reader in while still keeping the suspense. Although this book does have some darker themes, like death, it is perfect for young readers and even adults as it gives an exciting, engaging and thought-producing experience. The author has an authentic way of voicing the story. She also describes things so well that I could imagine what was going on. The author wrote “Twinkies are for when he’s pondering life’s big questions—big Alien-Overlord-in-the-Sky questions” (West 10). She also wrote “The Square really is square. There’s a giant copper fountain in the middle of it: Three enormous dancing apples with long, spindly arms and legs are supposed to look like they’re playing, but the way their faces are carved makes them look almost vicious…” (West 51).

In conclusion, I would recommend this book for anyone to read. The author did an amazing job on this book and kept me interested which can be hard to do. This book was one of the best middle school books I have ever read. I really hope someone can read this book and enjoy it as much as I did.

[Avanindra · Rating 4 out of 5]

The nightmare levels in hello neighbor act 3 were actually the dreams Nicky was scared of. This explains as in the end we realise that Act 3&4 were just a dream. But what exactly happened after Nicky escaped in Act 2 and before act 3 ? Some unlucky madness? His scariest dream is the grocery store one.

Lockpicking is something Nicky loves. This explains how he was able to open many doors with ease. This was one thing which Nicky and Aaron had in common and that kind of helped them become friends.

Seven-year-old Lucy Yi died on the Rotten Core roller coaster ride in the Golden Apple Amusement Park. The ride was designed by Mr Peterson, thats why after that people built a negative view towards him and their family kind of stayed in the shadow. After Lucys death citizens of raven brooks burned the place down.

Before the events of ACT 1. Nicky did have suspension on the neighbor cause of his weirdness like locking the basement very very well and come on he is just creepy

We can find that in the books the neighbor is said to be as a experienced engineer who has worked in many parks around the world. He was also responsible for the roller coaster ride at Golden Apple Amusement Park which resulted in the death of Lucy Yi. This happened in 1992 and that started the downfall of the Peterson Family. It was found later on that The Neighbor was also related to another accident which occurred in a park in Australia. Although he was a good engineer, he just wanted to build some crazy rides and sometimes crazy and safe just don't go together.

The Neighbor and his Son didn't have that great relation as we can see from some. Neighbor started to become more crazier after the roller coaster incident.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I don't know anything about the video game related to this book, I could see myself enjoying it immensely when I was a middle grader and started falling in love with books and stories filled with horror or the supernatural. The premise here is that Nick Roth and his family have moved yet again, this time to a strange town called Raven Brooks. Nicky has had trouble fitting in everywhere the family has gone, and he figures things will be the same in his new home. But he and Aaron Peterson, a neighbor boy, bond over their shared interest in locks and pranks, and he is relieved to have finally found someone who truly gets him. But there's something odd about Aaron and how the other youngsters in the town react when they hear his name. And there's really something disturbing about Aaron's father, who, as it turns out, had something to do with a tragedy associated with the local amusement park that has since been closed. The book ends on a note of suspense with an unexpected death and a couple of disappearances. Probably fans of the video game will enjoy this more than those of us who haven't played it, but I was still able to follow the plot and wonder about a couple of characters, including Nick. The creepy cover with a demonic figure--Mr. Peterson--digging away in a yard will make this book have great appeal for certain young readers who like to be scared but also love trying to solve a mystery.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first experience with Hello Neighbor was watching a Let's Play of the game. It was eerie. It was scary! I loved it. And I never expected that there would be books, which are my medium more than games. I don't normally like first person but this was good so I'll make an exception. The cover is really cool, too.

The plot is really interesting. A man whose every carnival/theme park ride ends in horrible death? It's perfect. Mr. Preston is a creep and there's no other way to say it. Every scene with him is charged with a terrible tension. I was expecting him to start killing whoever was near at any time. That's where this is going, right?

Aaron and Nicky are pretty cool together. There's some juvenile toilet humor but that's to be expected with a novel directed at kids. By the end of the book, we still don't really figure what's going on with Aaron (Mr. Preston's son) but things get weird.

I love the mystery and suspense and I'll gladly read the second one when it comes out.

[Lourdes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Estos libros, se tratan de una novela oficial de la serie basada en el videojuego, indie de terror de sigilo Hello Neighbor, desarrollado por Dynamic Pixels.

Estan, especialmente, indicados para niños de entre 8 y 12 años, pero aunque sean juveniles, decidí animarme a leerlos. Por otro lado, no les he puesto ninguna puntuación, ya que, considero que, desde mi perspectiva o punto de vista, no sería algo lógico ni razonable.

Decir que, se trata de una historia muy amena de leer, la cual, tiene un amplio vocabulario para el rango de edad a la que está indicado. Y, aunque se trate de unas novelas para niños, a mí, en general, me han gustado bastante, ya que, son muy entretenidos y divertidos, por todas las aventuras, misterios, hazañas y bromas que los protagonistas viven y nos cuentan.

La segunda parte me gustó un poco más que la primera, pero ambos no me han decepcionado para nada..., todo lo contrario, me han entretenido y me lo he pasado bastante bien con ellos.

Por ello, me parecen que son muy recomendables para que los niños se adentren en el mundo de la lectura y, puedan ver que leer, también, puede ser algo divertido.