Unmasked

Fright Watch #3

by Lorien Lawrence

The third book in the spine-chilling Fright Watch series follows the local monster mask maker—and a mask that comes to life on Halloween nightHaving suffered from anxiety attacks since she was eight years old, creating monsters has become a sort of therapy for Marion When she sculpts and paints, her fingers don’t tingle, the heaviness lifts from her chest, and she can actually breathe. So instead of grabbing pizza and milkshakes after school like most other kids in South Haven, Marion holes up in her room, working away on her monsters. And it’s paid off, because she’s just finished her first full-face a gruesome sea monster she’s named Winston.
 
However, Halloween arrives with a Super Blue Blood Moon, and its powers somehow manage to bring Winston to life. To make matters worse, Marion’s crush, Tyler Dash, becomes the object of Winston’s possession as soon as he tries on the mask, turning him into a red-flannel and Converse high-top wearing Creature from Connecticut. Marion has no She has to follow Tyler to the Halloween dance to try and stop him. Will she be able to figure out what’s happened to Tyler and stop the monster from wreaking further havoc on the school? Or has she made a real-life monster that’s here to stay?

Genres: Middle Grade, Horror, Halloween, Young Adult, Supernatural, Fiction, Childrens

255 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 30, 2022

About the author

Lorien Lawrence is a writer and middle school English teacher from Connecticut. When she's not reading or writing, she can be found hunting ghosts with her family. THE STITCHERS is her debut novel.

Reviews

[megs_bookrack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Where do I sign the petition for more Fright Watch books?

What an incredibly fun and delightful Spooky MG series. Each and every installment is well worth the read!

I loved Marion. The characters in this series are all so well developed and lovable.

Full review to come...stay tuned!!!

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aw, I love this series.

Unmasked is the third book in Lorien Lawrence's Fright Watch series. Unmasked was different than the first two books (The Stitchers and The Collectors), but I loved it just as much! The first two books follow Quinn and Mike as they do sort of a supernatural neighborhood watch. Unmasked follows a new character named Marion, but Quinn and Mike are both in this story as well.

I loved Marion. Marion is a makeup artist. She's shy and she's anxious, but she loves special effects makeup. In Unmasked, she makes her first full-size mask of a finfolk creature she names Winston. Even though she is shy and she doesn't have a lot of friends, she has a side job of doing makeup for the kids at school for special events. Unmasked is set at Halloween, and Marion is doing a lot of makeup for the school dance. As Marion's mom says, "there is magic in makeup". When you combine Winston and the super blue blood moon and a school dance by the ocean, things get wild like they do in the Fright Watch town of South Haven.

This series is so much fun, and I'm so glad Marion has been added to the Fright Watch team. I think this series can last a long time, and I'm here for it.

As a middle grade horror reader, I really loved the fact that in Unmasked there were no dead parents, the siblings got along, the parents were present and loving, and it was a nice story about growing up and making friends. (This is not common in the middle grade books I've read.) I, obviously, loved the horror, too.

If you enjoy reading middle grade, I recommend the Fright Watch series. You don't have to read the first two before reading Unmasked, but I would still recommend starting at the beginning and reading all three.

Source: preordered purchase. This is a review of my reading experience.

[Stay Fetters · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Do you need a snack or something? Quinn asks him. Because you always lose your filter when you’re hungry."

The Fright Watch group is back with a tale that’ll make you afraid to go back into the water.

If you love female horror makeup artists and Creature from the Black Lagoon then you’re going to love this book!

This was my favorite book in the series so far. It was funny, heartfelt, chilling, and inspiring. Marion was such a fun loving character and one I instantly connected with. She loved what she loved and didn’t let anyone stop her. Mar was a total badass and someone I would be besties with… even though I would probably corrupt her with my foulness.

The story was a lot of fun. Think Goosebumps and C. Pike rolled into one. It was horror filled but that wasn’t all that it offered. Even though the sea creature who loved good tunes was the main objective, It also had great friendships with an even better supportive family. I’m jealous.

Unmasked was a fantastic story. Definitely my favorite. I may be biased due to my fondness of the Creature. I love this series and I can’t wait for more stories to come.

Xoxo The Monster Squad

[Robbie Myles · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been a huge fan of Lorien's Fright Watch series since The Stitchers came out and Unmasked could be my favorite thus far. Lorien is supremely talented at building wonderful characters that I truly care about and villains that are equal bits spooky and fun. Unmasked gripped me from the moment it started, and pulled even tighter in the throes of it's climax. The fun never ends, as I was holding on until the last page of the book.

Unmasked is delightfully spooky in all the right ways!! I loved every bit of it, go check out the entire series. I cannot wait for more Fright Watch.

[Belles Middle Grade Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! I love this series so much! I was worried about the MC changing in this 3rd book, but I shouldn't have worried. This might even be my favorite of the series. We still see plenty of Quinn & Mike anyway lol (Mike annoyed me in this one though! Boys ugh lol). I love the MC in here, Marion. I am also OBSESSED with her family: That's like the dream growing up life situation for me lol. The author writes amazing characters who you grow so attached to. Marion is the best. I loved everything about her. The villains are always written so spooky/creepy, while at the same time somehow still being fun in some way lol It's genius. Love everything we're learning about this town & its supernatural vibes. Loved the ending, & was smiling so big about our characters. Can't wait for more! HIGHLY recommend. BEAUTIFUL cover by Kelley McMorris too.💜

[Deke Moulton · Rating 5 out of 5]

TERRIFICALLY SPOOKY - I absolutely adored Marion and the immersive descriptions of how you prepare special effects prosthetics (there’s an obvious love for the classic horror movies that I adored and all the tiny Easter eggs (he is named WINSTON!) was such a fun nod to fans).

The power even went off once while I was reading, which was such a fun touch and helped make the book so much more spooky and what can I say?

It was such a fun delightful spooky read! Also, setting a midge grade horror book at a middle grade school dance is PERFECT because who WASN’T terrified of those things?

The anxiety rep was not how I have experienced anxiety but I absolutely loved the consistency (it’s very clearly reflecting the authors own experiences) and when the “very popular” mom admits she has a lot of social acquire when she was younger was such a great moment because same mom!

All in all I love this one a lot!

[read with kath ✿ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book is not that scary compared to the first two books. The pacing of the first half of the book also felt really slow. And I’m honestly more attached to Quinn and Mike. Their friendship and personality is more interesting to me. I love their banters a lot. I’m hoping it’s gonna be Quinn’s perspective again for the fourth book.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Welcome back to my randomized Halloween marathon thing. Today we go back to something from not too long ago. I covered the first book of Fright Watch, one of those recent GB-type throwback sort of things. You can go there for all the details and why I was compelled to read it. There's been a sequel and now there's another.

This came out in August in this year and since the library website had it, I threw it on the wheel at the last minute. Through luck, it got picked, yay. Now, I haven't read the 2nd book but based on the summary it seemed like it actually wasn't a requirement. So of I got confused, it wasn't my fault but thankfully that wasn't the case.

This time around we focus on someone else, that being Marion Jones. For a while, she has felt rather anxious, prone to attacks and all that. A big thing that helps her deal with that is making monster masks and the like. When she gets lost in this, everything else goes away.

So things are mixed but fine for her, and her biggest creation, named Winston is turning out amazingly. Halloween comes and she opts out of the big Halloween dance as it's not her thing. But when a Super Blue Blood Moon comes around, the mask starts acting a bit odd.

Then it gets tuck on her crush Tyler Dash and it's alll downhill from there. It's like if Haunted Mask was about Sabrina or something. So this is technically weaker than the first, since there's less going on but I think I got into this more, I quite like this one.

That's mostly because of Mario, who is super likable. Even as someone who hasn't had anxiety or the like, I can relate to some of the basic stuff she goes into her, especially the pros of cons of losing yourself into the things you love. We get into how it helps her get her mind of everything else going on but there's also a bit where looking up something for homework sends her down an online rabbit hole and man if we've all been there.

Her horror thing is nice, and the Halloween vibe is pretty solid. Maybe it loses it a tad when we actually get to the dance but it's still solid. Her parents are mostly cool, there's charming interactions here. It can be a bit much, mostly near the end where it should have ended a bit sooner.

Quinn and Mike from the others are here in supporting roles, playing a big part in the climax. The were nice, although their banter was more mixed as Mike is more of a jerk. He kind of annoyed me at times which did dock points. The thing going on here is not connected to the others. We got nods but done in a way where you probably don't even need to read the first one.

It helps but this being a new POV means things get quickly explained when needed. At the end we see Marion join their group and some stuff that may show some odd things going on at large. I assume book 4 will deal more with that. I liked the angle done here.

It does a while to get to the supernatural stuff. The stuff before that is still solid and charming, very slice of life but it does take too long to get the big stuff. When we do, it's light on scares except for the Winston/Tyler thing does to people who disobey. Otherwise, it's cool and fun, just not that scary and he isn't a big threat. It works fine, it's just not the highlight;.

Marion's arc is basic, what you'd expect, but it works and is nice. The climax is a bit rushed and the fall out for on for a bit but the ending itself is quite nice and has a decent cliffhanger of sorts.

I don't have a lot to say as it is generally basic in the good way. It's just a pretty solid read. Mari0n sells it as she is again, very likable and charming. There's a charm to it all, with good spooky stuff as well. It's not the deepest but it explores things well and is clearly personal for the author too.

That's.,..all I got, honestly. Well, I can say there's some 80's references that aren't too overboard and are neat but seem more fitting for the YA crowd that likes this stuff more than 14 year olds lol. Anyway, it's a nice one, hope to get to book 2 someday.

Next time, a 90's series I doubt anyone has heard of. I have no clue what to expect, see ya then.

[Damien Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where was this book when I was in middle school? Where was this book like, my whole life? I’ve been having a ROUGH go here lately with some personal anxiety based things, and reading Unmasked was such a help. This book puts on paper exactly what it feels like to have grown up as a weird monster loving kid, into an older weird monster loving kid. The message hits me just as strong now as it would have when I was younger and I appreciate Lorien Lawrence for writing a story with depth, emotion, and bravery while still being fun and light enough to make a reference to someone dressing up as a taco to protest a meatless taco bar. The third book in the series and legitimately my favorite so far; I’m really looking forward to the next. K thx.

[Richard K. Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

HUGE disappointment! What a let down of the trilogy!

With what could have been the best of these 3 YA halloween set books, this turned out to be the worst of them all! Take "Halloween III: Season of The Witch" and mix it with "Saturday Night Fever" and you get Unmasked. This started out so great with 14 year old 'Mare' being a special effects make up wiz, and when she creates her first silicone full face 'gil man' mask that she actually gives a name "Winston", he gets stolen and creates havoc at the school Halloween party.

At the half way mark....this became the most stupid and silly dumb ending to the trilogy. Skip it.
Cannot recommend this clunker.

2 eh's

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love this author's writing, love this series, but this is by far my least favorite so far. The first 120 or so pages were really good, then it just...took a detour and went wildly into camp territory that did nothing for me.

Marion is a fantastic addition and new POV for Fright Watch, and her family is a delight. But despite her being 14, this felt the most childish entry so far by a mile.

[Maggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

This wasn’t as good as the first two in the Fright Watch series, but I did love Marion as a character, maybe even more than Quinn or Mike. The representation for mental health was great. I also like how it seems Lawrence is going to do much more inside the Goodie Lane universe. Very excited for the rest of the series!

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

The third book in the Fright Watch series, but with a new MC!

Quinn and Mike are side characters in this spooky sequel!

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are far too many sequels in children’s fiction but for Lorien Lawrence’s Fright Watch sequence I am happy to make an exception to this grumble. I previously reviewed and enjoyed both The Stitchers and The Collectors, with this latest entry being perhaps my favourite of the trilogy. And from the manner in which Unmasked concludes, there should hopefully be a fourth and I say, bring it on! Part of the success of book three is the fact that Lorien Lawrence very cleverly keeps the series fresh by changing its dynamics by having the story told by a completely new character, with the two main teens from the earlier novels (Mike and Quinn) appearing in the second half. This was very cleverly handled, with other returning kids such as Lex, also appearing in support roles. However, the star of the show was undoubtedly the new main character, Marion Jones, who I am absolutely sure many shy, anxious or quiet young teens will see a reflection of themselves in.

Marion is a very gifted fourteen-year-old makeup artist, who is incredibly anxious and struggles to make friends, but is always in high demand because of her artistic skills. An approaching Halloween dance means Marion is busy making masks and helping with makeup and costumes and creates a sea-monster head (whom she calls Winston) which comes to life when the boy she has a crush on tries it on. The horror in this book was handled with a very light touch and had comedy sprinkled into the action. However, its strength was not the horror, but the fact that it was just so darn cute! The interactions between Marion (who has never been to a dance) and Tyler were wonderful, awkward and quite touching as the very introverted girl came slowly out of her shell. And existing fans of the series will surely cheer when Mike and Quinn make their first appearance and coolly help fight the effects of the supernatural Blood Moon. Absolutely wonderful in every way imaginable. AGE RANGE 10-13.

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the FRIGHT WATCH books by Lorien Lawrence! I preordered my copy of UNMASKED (book 3) but then I held onto it, waiting to read it at the perfect time. That perfect time was on a flight to my family reunion. I read UNMASKED in one sitting and I was so into the story I couldn't tell you a thing about anything that went on during that flight.

The third installment of the series more than lives up to the previous two--it's frightfully fun filled with humor, heart, and scares perfect for a Halloween read (or any time of the year!) This story follows Marion, a talented creator of monster makeup and masks who finds that one of her creations may be more than she intended. Marion was so easy to like. She's smart and funny and very easy to relate to, especially for anyone who has or is dealing with any type of anxiety.

We get to spend time with Marion's family (who I really liked), meet the boy she's crushing on, and we get to meet up again with some of the Fright Watch series regulars. When Marion has to chase her creation down at the middle school Halloween dance, who else but Quinn and Mike of Goodie Lane are on hand to help. After all, they do have some experience with the supernatural and spooky.

UNMASKED was a joy to read, the perfect combination of scary and laugh-out-loud moments. You don't need to read books one and two first, but I highly recommend both The Stitchers and The Collectors as well as UNMASKED.

[Tonya · Rating 5 out of 5]

The third book in this series introduces us to a new character! (not to worry Quinn and Mike show up around the middle and are quite important!) Marion has an incredible ability to transform others with makeup. Naturally Halloween is her favorite time of year. She is sought after each year to transform her friends and make their costumes even more spectacular. This year her classmates, excited for the school’s Halloween dance at the ocean front community center, are no exception for Marion’s transformative skills. However, when Marion creates a unique full-face sea monster mask that she nicknames Winston she begins to realize that the Super Blue Harvest Moon has a special plan for her creation. When a friend takes possession of the mask (without permission), the mask takes possession of him, too and the nightmare begins. When Winston takes all of the students from Marion’s School and her friends hostage at the dance, Marion teams up with supernatural fighters Quinn and Mike (who we met in Fright Watch 1 and 2) to figure out how to defeat Winston and try to save their classmates from a nightmare Halloween! This book is a bit more intense than the first two—I would not recommend it for younger readers.

[Kari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unmasked is the third book in the Fright Watch series. This one focuses more on Marion, a muddle schooler who is amazing at making monster masks and make-up. She has suffered from anxiety since she was little and her craft is an outlet. When Tyler steals her sea monster mask, Marion has no choice but to get it back. That could prove to be very dangerous for Marion and the kids in her middle school.

I thought this was a fairly enjoyable follow up to the first two books. Quinn and Mike do play a big part in the book, but Marion is more of the protagonist. I thought the portrayal of a child with anxiety was pretty accurate. I didn't love the rubber band method but I guess it might work for some kids. It was great for Marion to finally realize that she did have friends. People did genuinely liked her, not just for her monster make-up skills. I didn't find this one as creepy as the first two. The dance scene was a little cheesy, but not too cheesy to be off putting. I hope that there is a 4th book because I love the idea of this trio having another paranormal adventure together.

[Mike Calkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5

While definitely my least favorite of the three, Unmasked is still a really fun and spooky story with a great approach to adolescent anxiety and social awkwardness. Marion is a great main character that I definitely related to, especially remembering how I was at her age. I also love her family and how supportive they are, as well as just how much fun they are.

This definitely has the least impactful of the supernatural plots, and its very much something that comes about later on in the book than in the other two. But its still a really interesting take on a monster, the way they defeat the the threat is a blast and the way this book ends both warmed my heart and excited me about the potential future of the series. I really hope Fright Watch continues. Not only is this a great middle grade/YA horror series but it tackles important mental health issues that teens and tweens face and could help them navigate them. I hope Lawrence circles back to Quinn, Mike and Marion soon!

[Jennifer Maloney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would make a cool Halloween movie. 👺

Overall I enjoyed this one. Marion was a cool character and it was fun seeing behind the scenes of a monster makeup artist. I would love to see more stories with her and Tyler.

The only thing that really really threw me off is that I went into this book blind and, despite being the third in a trilogy, had a completely different main character from the first two books. This probably shouldn’t have been marketed as part of a series but as a companion book or something. I was so thrown off in the first chapter (written in first person too) trying to figure out why the main character felt completely changed from the rest of the series. So I set the book down for several months to let my expectations reset. For what it is, I really enjoyed it, but it was a weird way to end a trilogy with an unexpected voice change like that. 🤷🏼‍♀️

[Magdalena Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read and thoroughly enjoyed two previous books in the Fright Watch series and now finally listened to book 3 on audio. Similarly to the other books, Unmasked was great fun - full of spookiness, friendships and nods to classic horror films and monsters. Even though I preferred following Mike and Quinn in books 1-2, introducing Marion and expanding on the Fright Watch universe, if you will, was an interesting idea which opened up the possibilities for this series. I can't wait to see what Lorien Lawrence writes next!

[BRANDON · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fright Watch reminds me of Christopher Pike's Spookville series in that it's a monster of the month with an ensemble cast. Having said that, it is much less bizarre than Spooksville became and has a focus mental health that I think is probably much needed by kids today (it was needed in kid's my day too.) Lawrence is really good at building up a cozy atmosphere that juxtaposes nicely with the eerie things that are going on. My one complaint, the internal logic the supernatural events doesn't quite feel solid yet, hopefully it'll be shored up in later books.

[Colette Sewall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the first two books in The Fright Watch series, and Unmasked, the third installment, is no exception. Woven with the wicked legend of the Finfolk, I thoroughly enjoyed it all—from the spooky cover to the final page. Fantastically creepy, with even some laugh aloud moments, this story features engaging characters the reader can’t help but love and root for. Five stars! Can’t wait for the next one!

[Spider.webkinz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was SOOOO good, there are not that many mg thriller/horror authors who hit the vibe perfectly but I can definitely say Lorien is one author I have not been disappointed by, when I realized this book was in a different pov than the others I was disappointed, but she honestly pulled it off so well, I love the Mc, and seeing how she handled writing anxiety into the Mc was refreshing. Words can't describe how much I loved this book :)

[Alise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent addition to the series. I enjoyed the introduction of new supporting characters. The representation of anxiety in young teens was so well done, and I loved the family relationships of the MC. The double use of masks/costumes being the conflict in parallel with the main character trying to mask her own issues was so great. This is grade A middle grade horror.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this one! Might be my favorite one of the bunch. Love bringing in a new face, with her own problems. Love that Marion has a passion and talent for special effects makeup. And I can relate to her fear that no one will like her, making her avoid people. And being shocked when someone wants to be her friend.
Though I don't think anxiety just...goes away...
Good read! Fun monster!

[Angela Sandoval · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t think this one was quite as scary as the first two books in the series, but I loved this new main character and her story, the challenges she faced, and seeing such positive emotional growth by the end. I only wish there had been more of a substantial explanation for why the events happened. Still, it was a fun read and I will recommend to our middle school readers.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nowhere near as good as the first two. Not a fan of the change of narrator and nothing happened for the first third of the book. Also not a satisfying explanation of how the supernatural thing (trying to avoid spoilers!) actually happened.

[Kaity Eskelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn’t able to fall into the story as quickly as I did the first two in this series. I did still enjoy it, but I felt like the switch up of the main characters was a bit strange. Hopefully there will be more books in this series and this new character will have more time to shine.

[Mallory McCartney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect middle grade for spooky season and all lovers of horror. I love the cast of characters and the adventure!

[beccasbookscapes]

Love this series.