Can you outrun eight legs?
Andi is not afraid of spiders. They have cool fangs. They hunt using vibrations. They can even create silk on demand to make amazing homes. So when Andi learns about a spider collection at a classmate’s farm, she’s willing to do anything to see it. Even attend a blowout Halloween party she’d normally run screaming from.
At the party with her friends Devon and Carly, Andi is delighted to find a new-to-her species. This spider is nothing like she’s ever seen: huge, red-eyed, and strangely hypnotic. But when the spider escapes and starts causing havoc, Andi has a strange realization: for the first time in her life, she’s scared to death of spiders.
At the risk of repeating myself (but no one cares, right?), I’ll always think of two books in particular that really sparked my interest in reading middle grade horror: Daniel Kraus’s THEY THREW US AWAY and Ally Russell’s IT CAME FROM THE TREES.
Russell’s second book, MYSTERY JAMES DIGS HER OWN GRAVE is easily one of my top two or three favorite middle grade horror novels…it’s a book that has just stayed with me long after reading (I’m hoping to do a reread on audio soon!), and I CANNOT WAIT for the sequel, MYSTERY JAMES RETURNS FROM THE GRAVE (check out the amazing cover reveal).
And DOWN CAME THE SPIDERS for sure cements Ally Russell’s status as one of my favorite authors, because she’s three for three with her middle grade horror novels; this one was a total blast!! This is a shorter book than her previous two, and perhaps skews just a touch younger.
Twelve-year-old Andi is a Halloween fantatic (relatable!) It’s basically her favorite thing. She goes all out each year decorating her front porch with tombstones, skeletons, lights, fake webs. The whole deal. She loves it with her whole heart & takes the job of decorating quite seriously.
Additionally, and perhaps obviously, Andi loves to go trick-or-treating with her two best friends, Devon and Carly. Which is why she’s super anxious about instead going to a Halloween party thrown by Clementine Mendez, a cool 8th grader. She’d much rather stick with the tradition of trick-or-treating, but her friends really want to go to the party, so Andi steps out of her comfort zone and goes.
The allure of Clementine’s father’s (a science teacher) spider collection mayyybe also has something to do with Andi deciding to go.
But while viewing the spider collection, a bit of a whoopsie happens, which leads to the escape of Specimen #17, an absolutely massive & strangely captivating spider.
Friends, all heck breaks loose at the party.
SPIDERS. LITERALLY. EVERYWHERE!!!!
This one could not have been any more fun! The book is also a total love letter to Halloween, so my suggestion would be to buy a copy TODAY and then save it for your Halloween reading list! Russell does incredible work layering the story with the magical vibes of Halloween…you can feel a cool October breeze blowing down your neck. Hear the rustle of dead leaves blowing around. Smell the sugary sweet Halloween candy.
DOWN CAME THE SPIDERS is also funny! Devon in particular was always cracking me up. He’s got a couple cringey “Dad jokes” he tells that got some legit laughs out of me. And for sure there’s some age-appropriate GROSS-OUT moments in this, one in particular that made me set the book down for a second like…good grief! Blegghh!!! You know that awful feeling of walking straight into a spiderweb? Be prepared to feel like that more than a few times!
Andi is such a great protagonist. She deals with a lot of anxiety & overcomes so much in this book. Someone needs to lead the way in the face of this terrifying arachnid invasion, and Andi surprises even herself with how brave she is.
Ally Russell has written three incredible middle grade horror novels, each one with a really memorable & charismatic young Black girl leading the charge. All three of her books have honestly blown me away & helped solidify reading middle grade horror as one of my favorite things to do. You can not have more fun reading a book than you will with DOWN CAME THE SPIDERS! This was such a treat, and an early favorite middle grade horror novel of the year!
Grimdark Dad 