Screamers

Zoe Winter is the teen star of the immensely popular television show “Screamers”, a show which has made Zoe a well-recognized celebrity. But lately, she is beginning to wonder what it would be like to quit the show and live a normal life. She longs to have genuine best friends and go to a real school rather than be home-schooled on the set by her mother.

As part of launching the next season of “Screamers”, it is decided to have interested teens audition for the first episode which will be filmed in a deserted and possibly haunted amusement park called Pennyland. Sai, Jason and Aaliyah win the parts and get cast for the show. They soon find themselves rehearsing lines and acting beside Zoe Winters. Zoe is thrilled at having the additional teens on the set because it makes her feel like she has real friends.

Very quickly, strange things start to happen, and the teens discover that Pennyland is haunted by ghosts and a very scary clown named Beauregard. The clown is out to get the teens and is threatening to kill them. His threats seem very real! What can Zoe and her three friends do to outsmart Beauregard? Worst still, will the first episode in “Screamers” end up with someone dying during the filming?

Screamers is a real page-turner! I was intrigued from the beginning of the book. The characters are realistic (even for a ghost story), and each has interesting quirks. Sai is very conscientious and nervous about doing a good job. He spends a lot of time rehearsing his lines. He is also afraid of heights. Jason is a ghost hunter and has sophisticated equipment to help him and his fellow actors try to track down spirits and phantoms. Aaliyah is obsessed with her cell phone and how many followers and friends she has on her social media. Zoe is practical and down-to-earth and just wants real friends. Having these three to hang out with feels like the best thing that’s happened to her in a long time. Young readers will easily relate to these characters and their personalities.

With Screamers’ many twists and turns, the plot leaves readers guessing, and there are many, many times when readers will feel chills of fear racing up and down their spines as they read. There are scenes of frightening ghosts appearing out of nowhere, of terrifying trips through the haunted house and fun house, and a scary ride on the Ferris wheel where two other young people died many years ago. There is enough horror and scariness to satisfy everyone! Screamers is another great ghost story by Joel A. Sutherland.