Book Review: The Saturday Night Ghost Club by Craig Davidson

In 1980s Niagra Falls, 12-year-old Jake Baker and a pair of siblings who are new to town spend an unforgettable summer investigating local ghost stories and urban legends.

“That magic gets kicked out of you, churched out, shamed out — or worse, you steal it from yourself.”

A check-list for some of the things I love in books:

- Beautiful writing where I want to highlight almost every single page

- Nostalgic coming-of-age stories

- Ghost stories/urban legends

- Kids getting up to mischief on their summer holidays

So already this book is ticking a lot of boxes! There are also loveable characters, with a special shout-out to Uncle Calvin. When you’re young there is nothing more cool than an older relative who is just a little bit different. I mean, if I had an uncle who was obsessed with urban legends and ghost stories AND he owned an amazing oddities store called The Occulatorium, I’m pretty sure I’d have wanted to hang out with him all the time too!

There are so many passages where Davidson discusses memory and the brain in the most highlighter-worthy way. It’s a really beautiful book to read, the only reason I didn’t give it a full five stars was because I didn’t feel the emotional connection I had been expecting... but that’s really nothing to do with the book itself! However I will also point out that if you’re thinking this is a horror book, don’t go in expecting that! It’s very light on the horror.

Overall a beautifully haunting book. Craig Davidson is one fantastic writer! I would DEFINITELY recommend! 4 stars.

Johann

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