What do you do when you find out one of your favorite horror writers has written a middle-grade novel? You read it, of course!

Another is Paul Tremblay’s first foray into middle-grade fiction, and it should come as no surprise if you’re a fan of his work (and if you’re not, why the hell not?), he knocks it out of the park. With no explicit violence, no rough language, Tremblay has managed to craft a piece of work that’s deeply creepy and unsettling. I mean it, it’s, to be not-at-all-middle-schoolish about it, kinda sorta fucked up.

Casey suffers from facial tics and anxiety, heightened by an unfortunate Zoom event during Covid that made him a school laughing stock, plus his much-loved older sister has gone off to college, leaving him at home with his parents. Then a “friend” named Morel that Casey doesn’t actually know is dropped off for an extended sleepover by a mysterious man. Morel is truly strange and off-putting—he looks like a mannequin made of clay, and can’t speak—but Casey’s parents quickly take to him. Casey forms a tentative friendship with Morel, but eventually realizes that something is deeply wrong with him, something sinister. His parents may be oblivious to his growing unease at the grim reality, or unreality, enveloping their home, but Casey is terrified by the changes happening.

What follows is a masterclass in how to create horror and unease while still staying faithful to a middle-grade aesthetic. Tremblay is continually pushing the envelope when it comes to horror, and I’ll happily follow his work wherever he takes it.

Another will be released July 28, 2025, and is available for pre-order now.