Review Detail

Everything is changing for Gwen, but she doesn’t want to admit that things are different since she’s too busy taking care of her younger brother and twin sisters to deal with any feelings. Gwen and her family have just moved into their late grandmother’s house, and things don’t seem to be so great there. It seems that something is going on in that house. Unfortunately for Gwen, Henry, her mother’s husband, has decided that they need a babysitter and has hired Esme Laverne. Gwen instantly takes a dislike to Esme and doesn’t trust her, even though the rest of her family seems to adore Esme. How is Gwen going to keep everyone safe? Will she be able to face her fears and defeat the monsters that are now in her house to keep herself and her family safe?

What I Liked: This book does an amazing job of setting the scene before anything happens that will actually scare you. You get to know Gwen really well and trust her, which is important to the rest of the story because of how others don’t believe what she says. As the story is told in third person with a narrator who knows all, there is no space to question Gwen because you are seeing these creepy things play out in real time.

The author does a great job of building suspense, and it's fascinating to see the premise of this story play out. The children are to confront their greatest nightmares to defeat Esme, and the overall message is the importance of supporting one another through tough moments. This book also highlights the importance of feeling your feelings and letting others help you through those moments. Gwen refuses to let herself grieve the loss of her mom because she’s so busy taking care of her siblings that she doesn’t realize that the grief has caught up with her until she is forced to face it.

This book has illustrations at the start of each chapter, which add an element of creepiness to the story. The descriptions of the nightmares bring them to life as you feel that you are living through these dreams with each of the children. While adults might not find a lot of the nightmares scary, children will find these fears relatable as the fears develop according to the age of the child having the nightmare.

Final Verdict: Gloam is an eerie and spooky read perfect for children ages 8 and up, as they will be intrigued enough to finish the story but not too scared that they won’t be able to sleep at night. This book is great for children who are fans of Goosebumps and/or scary stories to tell in the dark. This is an outstanding book to teach children how grief can manifest itself, and how to seek the support of others and allow them to help you when you can’t help yourself.