The Bellwoods Game

On Halloween 1982, sixth grader Abigail Snook vanished from the Bellwoods while playing a game with her bully. As October 31 approaches in present-day Fall Hollow, the sixth graders of Beckett Elementary are preoccupied with that legend, which annually lures a group of classmates into the forest to play the Bellwoods Game. Horror fan Bailee Heron would rather stay home with her beloved Nan than head into the woods, but she decides that playing is the only way to clear up a misunderstanding that ostracized her from her class. According to the legend, Abigail’s spirit reappears in the forest each year on the anniversary of her vanishing; per tradition, three tweens must play the game to its end in order to help her rest and save the town from chaos. The player who first rings an old bell in the woods banishes the spirit for another annum, but anyone caught by the spirit who lacks a gift to trade will be forced to sacrifice something truly dear. Once the game begins, however, Bailee realizes that the stories belie the game’s complexity. Krampien (Sunny) intersperses atmospherically eerie b&w art throughout a tense friendship novel steeped in local lore. Bailee presents as white; secondary characters suggest racial diversity. Ages 8–12. Agent: Andrea Morrison, Writers House. (July)