A really fun book about a group of kids, one IKEA-esque store, and monsters (both real and human).

I was so excited when I learned about this book. I really liked It’s Behind You and Tag, You’re Dead, and I am planning on reading Kathryn Foxfield’s other YA books as well. So when I saw that she was writing a spooky story for MG? Sign me up! I just LOVE a good spooky MG story.

In this one we meet a girl named Olive who had a scary thing happening to her when she and her friend were playing hide and seek at her home! Something spooky is in the wardrobe that Olive and her dads got from Flatpack. But Olive tries to just ignore it and in return that leads to a fall-out. Seriously though, I was tired of Ada and I would have also said the same as Olive at this point. Though unlike Olive I probably wouldn’t have felt that bad about it. From there not much happens until the moment that Olive, her new friends, and Ada and her new friend decide to sleep over at Flatpack after reading more and more spooky rumours about shadowy creatures and smelly smells coming from the furniture there! From that point on things went level up. I was totally in and seeing what they would experience in this fake IKEA store. What was going on in the night! And things got quite exciting, because not only is the plan going in the dumps right away… they are not alone with the monsters at night. There is another group (including a woman named Karen who fits her name to a tee) lurking around and having bad plans! I have to say, I was surprised at first about this, I had expected full monster glory, but I quite liked it! It added an extra element to the scary night. Not just having to dodge the monsters and the fears they can show, but also not get captured by three store workers and their evil plans!

I really loved reading more about Flatpack, about how it started, the rumours that now surround it, but also read about the store and all the things you can get there. Really, it felt like I was there! And I just adore that, the author really did a fantastic job there. I just wish that, despite everything, I could pop in the book and run around at this store as well! There is a lot of IKEA in it, but also something else (like worse design choices).

I liked reading more about the group of kids and see how they got on. Because they are all so very different. Not to mention that technically we have two groups. Will they mash? Will they find common ground? It was great to see them get closer as the night got darker and things got scarier.

The ending was a rush, yes, not entirely what I had expected, but all good. I am really happy with how it ended and how everything was tied together.

Oh, and the book has illustrations by Robin Boyden (YAS) and I just adored them!

But I had expected just a bit more scary situations. More monsters (and the real kind). Given the cover and the blurb and the fact that this author has written several other scary YA books I was hoping for something more terrifying. I am still happy with the book and there were enough spooky scenes, but I just wanted more!

Oh, and I could have done with less anxiety/less it is not bad to be afraid stuff. That just got a bit much and at times I just wanted to shake our MC to stop worrying this much.

Lastly, Ada was just NOT a character I liked. She did have some good moments so that makes me happy, but for a lot of the time I wanted to yeet her to the shadow monsters.

But all in all, despite those things I didn’t enjoy, I flew right through this book and I enjoyed it A LOT. I just love books taking place in IKEA-esque stores and we definitely need more of them.