July 21, 2026 by Roaring Brook Press
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Dig Romer has gotten into so much trouble that his father, a professor, moves with him from London to Seven Falls in the US to live with his Uncle Paul, Aunt Laura, and cousins Audrey and Elliot. Uncle Paul, who is the local police officer, tells Dig that the area has a lot of local legends. Unfortunately, grandpa Gene has invested heavily in following one in particular; the “Boojum”, a large, Yeti like monster. This obsession has caused his wife to leave, and he is now working as a janitor in the middle school Dig attends, where the students make fun of him. Elliot, who is very smart and rarely in trouble, is concerned that the gym teacher, Ms. Berger, has gone missing, and none of the adults seem to care. Since gym is the only class Dig likes, he is interested in finding out what happened to her, especially when Coach Renfield is her replacement. Renfield is a beefy and blustering bully who leads the class in a game of survival dodgeball, and the cousins link him to the Dracula story. Seven Falls might be the burial place of Dracula, and there is a key to the city that might be the key to the coffin. It’s kept in a showcase at the middle school, and goes missing. Along with Clem, a girl who is also always in trouble, the boys investigate the local mysteries. They get locked into the school bell tower b Renfielf, but this doesn’t stop them freom investigating when the 7th grade class president’s younger brother, Ticky, goes missing around the same time that Grandpa Gene does. The group sneaks into Renfield’s house, but Uncle Paul seems unconcerned about the obvious signs that he is involved with vampires. When they are chased by the Boojum, will they be able to survive and figure out where the missing people are?
Strengths: If middle school aged characters move to a new home, there’s usually a ghost keeping things interesting, so this mixes it up a little with some creepy local stories and mythical creatures. Dig might be a sympathetic character to young readers who themselves don’t understand consequences and frequently make ill-advised choices. Coach Renfield is an odd and frightening character, and his version of dodgeball will terrify anyone who has played. The kids romps through the town and the woods are full of adventure and suspense.
Weaknesses: This definitely fell on the cheesy/Goosebumps end of the horror spectrum. There were a lot of things that felt a half a bubble off; a crucial key is kept in a school showcase? There’s a school uniform with an embroidered vampire? Dig’s interactions with his father were very odd, and he didn’t seem to understand that any of his own actions had consequences. The Boojum didn’t add much to the story, since the main supernatural conflict is with vampires, and again, the interactions seemed odd.
What I really think: There were so many vampire books twenty years ago (it was the Twilight era) that I have pretty high standards for new ones. There has to be some fresh twist on vampire lore, and this fell a little short of the mark for me. Readers who enjoyed Karim’s Summer Vamp, Bayron’s The Vanquishers, or Birchall’s How Not to Be a Vampire Slayer might want to take a look at this new title.
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