Creepers: Pen Pals

Creepers

by Edgar J. Hyde, Chloe Tyler (Illustrator)

They say if you pass notes in class at this school, you might get in trouble with somebody other than the teacher. No matter what you write to your friend, what they end up reading is completely different. Olivia and Natasha are the best of friends. From hanging out after school to passing notes in class, the two are practically inseparable. Until one day, one of Natasha’s notes to Olivia is altered leading Olivia on a mysterious trek to the local cemetery. It is there that she meets a ghostly girl from the past who has an eerie warning for Olivia and her friend. About the Creepers Horror Stories Strange things are happening in the Creepers series! These high-interest, low-vocabulary middle grade illustrated chapter books are perfect for readers who love a good mix of spooky and silly. Featuring stories with tween protagonists who find themselves in paranormal predicaments, the Creepers series is set to capture the imaginations of young readers with thrilling tales of the strange things that keep us up at night.

Genres: Horror, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Paranormal, Childrens

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[TRENTEN Farrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book in quarter two was Pen Pals by Edge Hyde. The genre for my
book is horror and it’s not my favorite genre. And this takes place at a school in Texas. Do you know this was made in the 90s? Maybe you knew that, maybe you didn’t. The protagonist is May and one of the antagonists is the Creeper. And the second one is the Pe teacher. The Pe teacher helps the Creeper to find the girls, and the Creeper tries to find the girls and kill them. There are three reasons you should read Pen Pals by Edgar J. Hyde. The first reason to read this book is if you like scary stuff and if you like having cliffhangers. The second reason you should read this book is if you like solving mysteries and puzzles. The third and final reason you should read my pick for the best quarter two book is because it’s funny and scary at the same time. Also, there are good characters. If you are looking for a book that is really hard to put down check out a copy of Pen Pals By Edgar J. Hyde.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

C

When Olivia receives a note from her friend Natasha asking her to meet at the cemetery, she finds herself by the grave of a girl named Susannah. The only problem is that Natasha has no memory of writing the note. The girls find themselves unraveling the mystery of a hundred-year-old murder -- the murder of Susannah.

Pen Pals is more slowly paced than other books in the Creepers series, but it's still engaging. The story's mystery drives the plot, and the resolution is predictable but satisfying.

[寿理 宮本 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mean, *I* like it. This series is a very nice, mild horror story (spoiler: all of them have a happy ending, extremely rare for horror/ghost stories). This one in particular is about the GHOST helping the person whose life is being threatened! About my only complaint is I actually start to get annoyed with the previews of other books at the end, since the story is already so short, and then a preview takes up more book real estate.

It's a little more slice-of-life than strictly paranormal, so it's great for readers who want to be spooked but not SCARED—my horror-fan friends might be bored by it, but I find that stories that rely too heavily on going to an extreme end up burning out the impact of it. For instance, one of the ultimate problems of stories like Dragon Ball is that the enemies have to keep being stronger than the heroes, otherwise the tension is dissolved immediately, and after so many iterations, it's like, "Where do these EVEN STRONGER characters keep coming from?"

Subtle is nice. If you agree, you might like this!

[lalunenoire · Rating 2 out of 5]

Considering that my childhood horror was more along the lines of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Shivers has nothing on the kind of chilling tales I grew up with.

While I can see some younger readers being disturbed by the eerie (read:ghostly) communication, the plot itself leaves much to be desired with little explanation given for the events, or culpability of the characters up until the last chapter. In addition, the nature of the plot elements has dated this book significantly, such that newer readers will have difficulty connecting to it.

Regardless, I would be interested in seeing what the rest of Shivers has to offer, if for nothing else, to see what late 90s early 2000s kids were exposed to in the 'horror' genre.

[Sabrina Frang · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aside from two notes, there was not much of a pen pal relationship in this book. Also, I am not sure that I really bought the villain's motivation. I understood it, but it just seemed absurd (no spoilers).

That said, this was a fun and quick read. It is middle grades, so it is not that spooky, but it has enough atmosphere to set the tone of the book. There is also a brief scene with a Halloween dance, which I appreciated.

I would recommend this story to little ones who are just starting to dip their toes into the horror genre.

[O'Reilly ☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25⭐️ **Rotating the five “Creepers” books with Grandma, Aunt Marty, Mom, and Lexi - gifted for Christmas 2023 (Rated with the type of book in consideration)** She attempted to kill her friend and she’s only getting suspended (I audibly laughed). Also the author has clearly never played soccer nor spent time with girls lol. Still entertaining though, of the stories I’ve read it’s the most layered.

[Matt V · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite Creepers book so far. The tone felt a lot like an Are You Afraid of the Dark ghost episode. Which means it's more character focused although there is some good suspense. What really made it appealing is the likable characters. The friends Natasha and Olivia are dual protagonists where the plot sometimes switches from one to the other. It's rare to see that in middle grade horror and it made this more memorable.

[Rachel G · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book and it’s entire series from Dollar Tree so I could gift it to my niece to encourage her to read more. I thought that if I read it first, maybe she’d want to so we could talk about it. TBD if she will read it (she is 9 going on 10 btw and loves horror).
As for me, the story was okay. I hoped it would be scarier, but understand that it’s not easy to write horror for kids.

[Amaya Okazaki · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I saw these it reminded me of the old goosebumps books so I had some high expectations and nostalgia but it was.. just okay. It felt a bit lackluster? Also for it being called 'pen pals' there was not much pen palling (if that is a word) in it. I think there was just a couple notes.

For a kid or a young reader, I think it would be okay.

[Ana Ibarra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its a little similar to Goosebumps and those books, but it feels like is missing some reality on it, or showing of the path to "Hey no confusion here we know things are weird"
The story is good, I just didn't believe it, didn't buy it as "real"

[Sharron Joy Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Olivia and Natasha are best friends and write notes to each other suggesting pranks but when the notes start giving their own suggestions things take a turn.

The lesson, keep your friends close but your enemies closer, not everyone is your friend.

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up a bunch of the "Creepers" series at the local Dollar Tree for my kids during Spooky Season. This one is about some teenage girls around Halloween who start seeing the ghost of a girl who died about a hundred years earlier, and is apparently leaving notes for them . . .

[Celia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like it's name it's really creepy. Spy Dog 2 kept using the word 'smiled' while this uses 'finished'! A really cool but scary book though.

[Nash Bridges · Rating 2 out of 5]

Getting strange notes from your friend who said they never wrote them and being haunted by a ghost only trying to warn you of something? Creepy is right....no thanks

[Marianne Reese · Rating 4 out of 5]

This shows a grade level of 6-7, but could be for kids a bit younger. It’s well written with a some friendship drama, and a definite creep factor involving a ghostly murder mystery.

[Linda]

good for a short story have a lot of candle orders so at times its hard to sit and read

[Jill Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was interesting! There was a plot twist I didn't expect! It was a fun read,

[Lynn Montgomery · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew going in that this was for a younger audience. I actually really enjoyed this one! I'm actually excited to read the others. My niece is going to love this series 🖤

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's the 1st Creepers book I have read. I can say now I liked it. Makes me want to read more of these books.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strong 4 stars. I really enj0yed it :) kept me guessing and ending was good. I mean it's a middle grade so you have to keep that in mind.

[tim Skaggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting ending

[Tor Domay · Rating 3 out of 5]

It felt reminiscent of a certain episode of Supernatural, and wasn't too bad for it.

[J.D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was okay but didn't have a lot of action or really spooky stuff going on. Would be good for kids on the younger side of middle grade readers.

[Kristin]

DNF. Didn’t like the narrator.

[April Grob · Rating 4 out of 5]

My review here would be the same as his novel, Gravedigger.

[Lizzie the Book Hoarder · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun ghostly story.
Olivia receives a warning for a ghost and it is up to her and her best friend Natasha to discover what is going on.

[foreverfinalgirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Megan Roberts · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really creepy and definitely lives up to the name.

[Jon MacLeod · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story.
Can't wait to read the rest of the series.