Title: Gloam
Author: Jack MacKay
Genre: Fantasy/Horror
Publisher: Rock the Boat
Published: 2nd September 2025
Format: Paperback
Pages: 272
Price: $16.99
Synopsis: In a creaky old house on a small, damp island, someone – or something – is waiting…
Gwen doesn’t want to admit that everything feels wrong since her mum died. There’s no time for all these feelings now that she has her younger siblings to care for. Especially not since they’ve moved to their late grandmother’s house on Gloam Island.
And now there’s an intruder. Esme Laverne may seem sweet and kind but Gwen isn’t fooled by her new babysitter, even if everyone else is. It quickly becomes clear that if she wants Esme gone, she’ll have to handle it herself.
Determined to protect her family, Gwen will have to fight off terrifying creatures and nightmares come to life. But as Esme’s power grows, Gwen must face everything she’s been running from and embrace her fears before she can defeat the monster in her home… for good.
An earlier version of this review appeared in Good Reading Magazine in September 20
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Gwen Clayton-Fenn is twelve, and she’s just lost her mother and grandmother, and now, her stepfather, Henry, is moving her and her siblings – Roger and the twins, Hester and Hazel to their late grandmother’s house on Gloam Island. But Henry has to go across to the mainland to work, a task dictated by the tides, and he employs a babysitter called Esme Laverne.
Esme seems normal and sweet to everyone else. But for Gwen, something is off. Things have been off ever since her mum died, but they’re getting worse with Esme’s arrival. And nobody, even her siblings, won’t believe her. Not long after Esme comes into their lives, the house starts growing mould, and their nightmares start coming to life. The Stitchy Man, monsters made of wasps and The Well…things that have haunted the children forever. Gwen can see what Esme wants – she wants a key Gwen found whilst exploring and to get into the cellar. The monsters are real, and Gwen needs to face her fear so she can defeat them.
Gloam is a new, chilling middle grade exploring grief, anxiety, and nightmares coming to life. It’s gripping, because it pulls the reader along without any qualms and allowing the fears to explode onto the page. Gwen’s doubts are powerfully rendered, and are relatable for child readers, teen readers and adult readers. Because we all have fears. Tey might differ at different times in our lives, and they might be more vivid at times or manifest themselves in different ways. But the fears are always there. Always playing at the edges of our minds and psyches, feeding into our anxieties or uncertainties.
These sorts of themes are often explored in middle grade and young adult fiction, and they’re done well, getting right into what kids might be feeling and how they respond to the situations they’re in. That’s what makes Gloam work so well. It plays with these themes as well as legends and myths, the idea of monsters and grasping of power and the alluring nature of seemingly perfect people like Esme. The people who are able to take advantage of others who are unwilling to see what is right there in front of them. Henry and Roger have had the wool pulled over their eyes, even though Gwen and the twins can see what she is trying to do. They know she’s up to something, and yet…Esme has a power that ensures nobody believes Gwen.
As the novel goes on, things unravel quickly, and get hairier and scarier. It’s the kind of novel that begs to be read in one sitting, because it needs to be unravelled quickly. It has a sense of myth and legend calling to the reader to stick with it. To read with the lights on and check every corner something could be hiding in. Monsters are everywhere. So be very careful when you open this book. And don’t let the monster feed on your fears.
Another great middle grade book that readers of horror will love.
The Book Muse 