
Horror Heights: The Slime
by Bec Hill, illustrated by Berat Pekmezci
Interest age: 11 to 13
Reading age: 10+
Published by Hachette, 2020
About this book
Connie is proud to be known as the ‘Queen of Slime’ at school and intends to keep it that way – even though her entire slime collection has now been confiscated by the teacher. Desperate to get a new slime to take to school next week, Connie resorts to making her own, using a recipe her dad gets off the internet. Things take a funny turn though: after she adds some unique, additional ingredients, Connie wakes up the next day to discover the slime – aka Big Yikes – is alive!
At first Big Yikes is a cute little thing that talks in half sentences, but over the following days it quickly evolves in something much bigger and more menacing, with rather a lot of sharp teeth and a rapidly expanding appetite. Between school, friendship troubles and keeping Big Yikes in check, Connie suddenly has a lot to deal with. Can she stay out of trouble AND stop Big Yikes from, well, eating her and everyone she loves?
Despite the title, this is more humour than horror – a funny tale about a science experiment gone wild and the everyday troubles of being a young teen. The underlying theme of figuring out that what makes you special isn’t always what you expect it to be is a nice extra touch.
Printed with a dyslexia friendly text.
More books like this
-
The Creeper Files: The Root of All Evil
by Hacker Murphy
6 to 12 years
-
Rules for Vampires
by Alex Foulkes, illustrated by Sara Ogilvie
9 to 12 years
-
Shadow Thieves
by Peter Burns
9 to 12 years
-
Ella Jones vs the Sun Stealer
by Lucy Edwards and Katy Birchall, illustrated by Caroline Garcia
9 to 12 years
Lists of recommended reads
-
Halloween books for primary school children
Spooky stories can be utterly thrilling, and provide a safe space to be scared in an entertaining way