Truth or dare - Review

Truth or dare by P.J. Night
You're invited to a Creepover book one.
Available 5th April 2012
http://www.littlebrown.co.uk/

What's it about?
During a round of Truth or Dare, Abby Miller confesses her crush on Jake Chilson. The only people who know her secret are her friends at the sleepover - and whoever sent her a text message in the middle of the night warning her to stay away from Jake...or else! But Abby isn't going to stay away from Jake, especially not after he asks her to the school dance. As the night of the dance comes closer, some very creepy things start happening to Abby. Someone definitely wants to keep her away from Jake. Is it a jealous classmate or, as Abby begins to suspect, could it be a ghost?

My review

When I read that this new series was the 'Goosebumps for the modern generation,' I knew it had big shoes to fill, I was a fan of Goosebumps in my early teens and still have a stack of them on my shelf so, of course, I was eager to give this a try, even if it is aimed at 9-11 year olds!
Thankfully the book lived up to the claim and I found I really enjoyed it, and I didn't even guess the end! I think it's fantastically written for the audience it's aimed at and made a great guilty pleasure for myself as I'm *ahem* somewhat older than the targeted market *ahem*
It's quite short, I read it in a day, and there's always plenty happening, great for stopping young minds getting distracted or bored and would make a great start for younger readers getting into novels.
I wouldn't necesserily say the story is completely original but it was a lot of fun, and being hauted via text and email is not something I've seen before!
One complaint I do have is that there is no mention anywhere of the girls ages or where it was set so I had to guess at these details myself, but I liked all of the characters, I really felt their excitement at their sleepover at the start and it made me reminise of sleepovers - way - past. The author did a great job of capturing the mindset of the young girls the book follows and I really liked it, I also thought the 'creepy' activities in the back of the book were pretty cool.
I think it's safe to say I'm looking forward to more books in this series, they're a great little escape :)

My thoughts on the cover
I really like this cover, it manages to capture the creepy and the fun angles of the book, I like how the girls hiding and holding a mobile phone which just shows it's for the modern generation. The font is cool to but I don't get what that weird eye thing is all about under the top of the 'C' :/

Favourite quotes

'She grabbed the DVDs off the worktop and followed her friends down the stairs. The awesome sleepover she'd been planning all week was about to begin.'

'A sudden feeling of fear washed over Abby. I know I didn't close the wardrobe door, she thought slowly. Step by step, she walked across the room, her heart thudding loudly in her chest. Her hand started to shake as she reached for the smooth brass doorknob; she dreaded opening the door. Who - or what - would she find behind it?'