#atmospheric
- Nutty Bookworm
- Jul 21
- 2 min read
Updated: Jul 21
Bad Grains by Susanne Schmidt
Bad Grains was the 4th place finalist in BBNYA 2024!
About BBNYA
BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists (16 in 2024) and one overall winner.
If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website https://www.bbnya.com/ or take a peek over on Twitter @BBNYA_Official. BBNYA is brought to you in association with the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads.
Book Details
Length: 167 Pages
Genre: Horror, Fantasy
Age Category: Middle Grade
Date Published: October 1, 2024
Amazon Link: https://a.co/d/89nNmA9 (Canada) https://a.co/d/0a9g9LQ (USA) https://amzn.eu/d/ab1XLfZ (UK)
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/200334477-bad-grains
The Story Graph Link:
Blurb
In the quaint German town of Fels, Halloween takes a dark turn for eleven-year-old Jo when her annoying older brother, Hektor, goes missing. Jo suspects he's playing a prank, but then both her father and grandma forget Hektor's name, and his stuff mysteriously disappears from his room.
With the adults of no help whatsoever, Jo starts her own investigation and uncovers a gruesome legend: A monster lives in the rye fields and it has been preying on the children of Fels for centuries, ensnaring them into its world under the roots. Now Jo will have two days until the gates between worlds closes on Halloween night.
Armed with a trusty turnip lantern, and her brother's obnoxious best friend as her only ally, can Jo outsmart the ancient monster, or will the rye fields claim even more innocent victims?
Join Jo an experience a spine-chilling adventure that combines the darkness of German folklore with the magic of spooky season.
Author Bio
Susanne Schmidt loves to explore new worlds. An avid traveler, she grew up in Germany, but has also lived in New Zealand, Spain, and the US, where she earned a B.A. in Journalism from Saint Louis University. As a storyteller, she likes to experiment, often melding together darker horror themes and modern elements with traditional fantasy settings.
When she isn’t typing up a storm (or a world-eating monster), she can usually be found gardening or hanging out with her guinea pigs.
To find out more, visit her website https://susanneschmidt.me or follow her on Instagram @wordslikepromises.
Bad Grains came 4th in the BBYNA in 2024 and I can see why. It was very atmospheric and had just enough darkness to scare and also having a strong lead in Jo. This would of got 5 stars but I was put off by Hektor and his friends attitudes and I also felt that the ending fell flat after all that had happened. Apart from this I had a really great time learning about Germany's Folklore and I will be picking up the next book in the series.
For all the above reasons Bad Grains receives 4 stars
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