The Saturday Night Ghost Club

I picked this book up looking for something to read around Halloween. The cover and title made it seem like a cool little tale, kids and their \”Ghost Club\”, to get in the Halloween spirit. However, it turns out the story really wasn\’t about kids and their \”Saturday Night Ghost Club\”, but about the tellers\’ quirky uncle, and his struggle with mental illness. I DID enjoy the story, and would recommend it…it\’s certainly worth your time…but if you\’re looking for a story about kids and their Ghost Club, the title and description are a bit misleading.

This book is one of the few gems that comes along once in a long stretch, even if those miles between are filled with milestones of good books. The characters were rich, the voice warm and engaging, and the tale layered with nostalgia. Before diving in, I read comments that brought out allusions to Stranger Things, Stand By Me, and other tales that harken back to the days of youth when nothing seemed out of reach, everything seemed possible and friends were forever, and I\’ve heard that before with other books so I went in with my guard up. Davidson more than delivered on the promise. This book landed solidly on my best-of list (not just of 2019, but best-of) and will be one I\’ll revisit on a regular basis. To call this book It-lite would be a total disservice, as Ghost Club is considerably lighter on the horrors, pays full-freight on the nostalgia and camaraderie of youth, but both books cross the goal line at different speeds in different cars. The ride is still exciting. I know some will dismiss this with \”I don\’t read horror\” or somesuch, but this is so much more that that – a tale of youth and how friends come and go throughout your life, the importance of family as it plays out through your life, and the dynamic nature of memory. Don\’t let that \”horror\” label be the signpost that you steer by and avoid this book. I can\’t think of any of my reader friends that wouldn\’t find this a great read. Highly, highly recommended.

THE SATURDAY NIGHT GHOST CLUB by Craig Davidson was the August book pick for the Grim Readers Book Club. It was billed as being in the vein of Stranger Things and Stand by Me which made me excited to pick it up. THE SATURDAY NIGHT GHOST CLUB tells the story of Jake Baker, a kid growing up in 1980s Niagra Falls. Jake is a 12 year old kid in need of friends, ditched and picked on by his former best friend. He spends much of his time with his uncle Calvin, an eccentric man who lives for conspiracy theory and stories of the occult. When Jake makes some new friends, Calvin initiates a Saturday Night Ghost Club and takes them around to some potentially haunted settings to encounter the supernatural. Calvin seems to be the master of the ghost story, telling tales steeped in local lore and urban myths which leave Jake and the reader questioning what is lurking behind these tales. This was a fun, quick read with a little air of creepy mystery. It had the feeling of ghost stories being told around the campfire (even before the characters actually do tell a story around the campfire). I have to say that it did leave me wanting to roast some smores over aq campfire, but I had to settle for chocolate chip cookies! The book does have some Stranger Things vibes given the 1980s setting and kids going up against the unknown, though there is much less actual confrontation of the supernatural. Id say this book is focused on Jakes coming of age story and the other characters stories much more than the ghost story elements, but there are some creepy moments in the story as well. This was a very fun read and absolutely recommended if you want a book that is light on horror, but brings some fun, creepy ghost stories into your life.

The Saturday Night Ghost Club tells the story of a summer in the early life of narrator, Jake Baker. The summer Jake turned twelve, he didn\’t have many friends, so he spent a lot of time with his Uncle Cal, the eccentric owner of a small shop that dealt with objects of the occult. What was shaping up to be a boring summer, was changed for the better when two new kids came to town. Billy Yellowbird quickly becomes Jake\’s best (and only) friend and his sister Dove becomes Jake\’s first crush. Dove is a tomboy/wild-child who refers to herself as damaged goods. Considering Jake is an outcast himself and his uncle is so odd, Dove sort of fits right in. So Billy and Dove become a part of the \”Saturday Night Ghost Club\”, a weekly gathering where Uncle Cal and his friend Lex, owner of a failing video store, take the kids to one spot or another, where some tragic event has happened, and Uncle Cal shares a creepy tale. Despite the title, this book isn\’t so much a \”ghost\” story as it is a story of fleeting memories, special moments and Jake coming of age. Ghosts in this sense are metaphors for memories and how they are shaped by our minds over time. This book is very well written and has some very image-provoking scenes and truly profound passages which will stick with me for some time. Highly recommended if you are looking for a good coming of age story that deals with some dark topics without being pure horror. 4/5

Nostalgia behold! Take Wonder Years, Unsolved Mysteries, and Ghost Hunters and mix them up in a blender, then sit back, sip, and enjoy. Craig Davidson has a gift for descriptive language and his beautiful prose is on full display. Fast, fun, and a book that makes you clamor for more, The Saturday Night Ghost Club doesnt disappoint.

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