I almost didn’t read Read at Your Own Risk by Remy Lai. I have enjoyed reading their Surviving the Wild books and have had other titles by them on my radar, but at first I didn’t realize this was theirs and second it did not look like it was something I would normally read. But since one goal this year is to break away from the reading norm and try new things, I thought a young adult thriller might be good.
Well, it is a thriller but it seems to be aimed at a younger audience than the cover would suggest for me. The publisher description says ages 8 to (young) 12 (or third to young fifth grade). However I would give it more quickly to a fifth or sixth grader before anyone younger. That is not to say they couldn’t handle it, and well, where do adult “thriller/horror “ readers come from if they didn’t like it to start with? But I just want to aim on the side of caution. As you can see by the images (taken from online) used here, that there is some creative process with the illustrations. 
Read at Your Own Risk is the illustrated diary of the narrator. It is a spooky tale about curses, confessions and doing the right thing. It is also a story about keeping the book open and reading until the end. Or else. There are Neil Gaiman’s Coraline-like illustrations (that were done by Dave McKean) that sit creepily as the normal seeming text/events unfold. But the truth is out there.
Due mid-August 2024 unless you are able to read via online reader copy like I did. Either way, just keep the lights up, the doors are locked and you do as the book says….read to the end. 