Superbly spooky and atmospheric read. I'm glad I wasn't reading it alone, late at night. The story of 5 friends and the consequences of a pact made one summer in 1982. Like other reviewers, I did struggle to place the action at first, but soon realized that it really didn't matter as the story gripped me. As well as the horror element, I also enjoyed watching the characters re-connect with each other.

If you like good old fashioned horror like that of Stephen King, if you loved Stand By Me, If you religiously watched Stranger Things, then The Sacrifice Box is your next must read.

During one idyllic summer a group of kids share an intense friendship and when one of them finds an old stone box in the forest and suggests that they each sacrifice something to the box, something that marks how special their friendship is, it seems like the perfect end to the school holidays.

Four years later, the group has drifted apart, gone back to their usual friend groups or cliques. A comet is due to fly over the island where they live and things start to go very, very wrong for the kids, and for everyone connected to them.

The Sacrifice Box is not a psychological horror. The visceral evil starts early and builds swiftly to a high level of terror which never diminishes. The final few chapters are as horrific as any you’ll read this year. Don’t let the fact that these are children put you off. There are few adults who would not be disturbed by the events in this book.

I read this book over a couple of days. Believe me, you won’t want to put it down.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher via Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Not really what I was expecting. As in the story was pretty much as billed but I was hoping for a bit more depth. I think this is by and large me rather than the book. I imagine this would be right up someone else's street. Good but not great.

Stranger Things meets Salem’s Lot in this gripping horror. Five friends make a pact one summer’s day, when they find an old stone box in the woods. Several years later, one of them breaks the rules and dark forces are unleashed, including a killer teddy bear, zombie crows and a demonic puppet. The five must put aside their differences and come together to appease the box before it’s too late. Aimed at teens and young adults, The Sacrifice Box is a winning blend of coming of age drama and supernatural horror.

I didn’t really know what to expect from this book but I really enjoyed it.
I felt a real connection to all the characters, especially Sep and Hadley.
The story goes back to 1986 when the group of friends each place something into the sacrifice box but then a while later one of them breaks the rules and chaos erupts through the small town.
This book has a horror element to it and at times turns your stomach as it’s quite gory but it’s a good mystery thriller.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for sending me a copy to read or review.

I got an ARC of this book from Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Okay, I have to admit it. This is the first book in a very long time that I did not finish. The Sacrifice Box sounded very good on paper, but in reality it just read like a poor man's Stephen King. It was set in the 80's, about a group of friends who feel a bit like outsiders. The key to everything seems to be about the bond of friendship, and the monster that stalks them takes the shape of the thing that scares them most. Oh, and there's a kid who bullies everyone. Now, am I talking about IT or The Sacrifice Box? And there are way too many characters. The book tries to be clever, switching points of view and using outside characters. But it just doesn't work. It's difficult to follow, and I just didn't care enough about the characters to keep going. I ended up getting 50 percent through, and by then nothing much had happened, and all I could think of is how much better off I would have been if I'd re-read IT. Sorry, but I can't recommend this.

I received a free ecopy of this book in return for an honest review. Many thanks to Netgalley and and the publisher for the opportunity.

Flipping mostly between 1982 and 1986, this book is a horror story about a group of schoolchildren, Sep, Mack, Arkle, Lamb and Hadley. In 1982, thrown together by circumstances not particularly well explained, the friends find a box, unearthed by a storm and agree to each place a sacrifice in it. A set of rules comes to Sep, ‘never come to the box alone, never open the box after dark, never take back your sacrifice’. It is clear that Sep, a loner till then hoped the sacrifice would bind them together, but the return of other friends makes them drift apart. In 1986, it becomes clear that someone has broken the rules. Further flashbacks reveal that this group of friends are not the first to place sacrifices in the box and adults are also suffering from its undoing.

As a horror story this works. It’s got zombie animals galore, and a few zombie people thrown in. The gore is graphic. However it had the potential for so much more that it didn’t fulfill. It was set in the eighties but other than a bit of icon dropping such as Walkmans, skateboards and Morrisey, it failed to capture the eighties mood. The group was meant to have been bound together by their 1982 experiences but their drawing together wasn’t emotionally explored so they never really felt bound. Consequently the reader doesn’t feel invested in their reunion. To be honest I felt more interested in the older group who actually seemed like genuine friends. The story also never attempted to explore the origins of the box and provided only the bluntest explanation for its current power boost.

If you are looking for a deep and meaningful story that will stimulate your emotions and thought you may well be disappointed with this story, but if you don’t care about that and you want guts, gore, fighting and destruction at a brisk pace then you should give this one a whirl.

I’m not one to give up on a book but this one was a struggle. Billed as for fans of the Goonies and Stranger Things I was really looking forward to reading this but was disappointed.

Firstly I couldn’t even work out where this book was supposed to be set. They’re on an island and can see the mainland but where. It mentions Blue Peter so I assumed it was set in the UK but then it mentions Guidance Counsellors so is it USA?

Secondly there are too many characters and not enough time spent exploring the back story of the main characters with the exception of Sep.

I found the plot line confusing as I felt you were pulled in too many directions and with all the characters it felt quite disjointed. Sorry but this book was not for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Random House and the author for the chance to review.

Although this was a fast read which I really needed I was left confused and a little disappointed. I didn't know what level of intensity to expect but after finishing this I think I needed more and a little darker. Even though it wasn't a light book, I felt like this was missing something.

Gory, scary and mysterious. It's a book about the importance of friendship, particularly the friendships that you form as a teenager, and valuing those friendships. Thrown into the mix we have nightmares brought to life (killer dolls, zombie teddy bears), bullying, adolescent angst and an immense amount of dead animals.
It's a fast paced read with some genuinely creepy moments that veers into slight silliness in parts, particularly towards the end.

Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for the arc in return for an honest review.

I can definitely see why The Sacrifice Box was marketed as similar to Stranger Things - the children are just as funny and diverse. The plot was unique and enjoyable; something fans of Stranger Things might enjoy.

Enjoyed this book, following the 5 friends dealing with the consequences of not following the rules of the sacrifice box.
If reminded me of Stephen King and James Herbert dramatic, spooky and gripping. Thought the characters were well thought out and easily bringing to life their different personalities.

Thank you netgalley, Penguin and Martin Stewart for allowing me to read and review this book.

A solid horror that wasn't bad but wasn't great either.
A bunch of school kids decide to do a little friendship ritual which unknown to them is way more serious then it first seems.
Rules are broken and things start to happen.
Creepy and atmospheric, speckled with humour and a bit of irony, I just couldn't bring myself to care much about the characters and couldn't quite get into the book fully, possibly because of the slow pace and how it jumped about a bit, despite some well written gruesome scenes.
All in all, it's worth a read but I wouldn't go out of my way to buy it.

This is a dark and atmospheric supernatural horror thriller set in the 1980s. The actual location is left mysteriously unclear although we do know that it is an island. It is 1982 and the main character, September 'Sep' Hope and teens Arkle, Mack, Lamb and Hadley have spent the summer together. In the forest they find an ancient stone box to which they each consign important sacrifices to cement their recent friendships. They promise to agree a number of things, including to never return and remove any contents. The disparate friends are no longer together in 1986 but reconnect when it becomes clear one of them has gone behind their backs and broken their pact. Despite their efforts to rectify their mistakes, events begin to slide desperately out of their control as horrific repercussions begin to play out. This is a tense and menacing story with many of the requisite horror tropes of crows, zombies, wicked dolls, and so much more. It touches on the issues of the nature of friendship amongst the young. A creepy and sinister read, ideal for those who enjoy horror. Many thanks to Penguin for an ARC.

Well this was different, it had a kinda the goonies/stand by me/stranger things theme going on!?

One summer in the 70’s 5 friends decide to do a pact and make the sacrifice box, they all ask for something and give something to the box as a sacrifice. There’s rules though, never come to the box alone, never open the box after dark and never take back your sacrifice.

One of them breaks the rules and all hell breaks loose!!!!!

It was a great little read to be honest and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the book, it was quite fast paced and the characters were great. It’s about friendship and been young (and stupid sometimes) and pretty creepy too, I jumped a fair few times!

Loved it wish there were more books out there like this one.

I really wanted to like this book- the premise sounded very interesting and I could see great potential in some of the writing. But on the whole, I found the structure of the novel to be pretty messy. I like a story with a brisk pace but from the very first pages we were thrown into a world with a number of characters with little to no introduction or explanation. Add some confusing time jumps and I was lost. I felt then, having been expected to keep track of who was who at various stages, the pacing then slowed to a crawl. Nothing seemed to happen for pages and by the time it picked up again, I was both bored and lost. I definitely feel like there was a cracking tale in here trying to get out but as it was told, it didn't work for me.

Goodness me! this was a strange mix of a book - part coming of age, part horror, totally alluring. I loved the mix of literary language with teen-speak, and odd moments of comic-horror (a rampantly murderous teddy bear has 'puffy little paws...' ). To be recommended if you kinda like horror, but don't want to be TOO scared to go out at night...

I could see what the author was intending here, evoking the popularity of IT and Stranger Things but this didn't deliver. As a result it's hard not to compare the group of youngsters in this book to those others and they fell very short. It's unfortunate because the idea was very promising.

This book was a perfect mix of Stranger Things meets Stephen King.

It was not relaxing read, I found nd myself really tense, rushing on to find out how things would end for the 5 friends. The horrors they had to endure, I felt like I was a sixth member just along for the ride.

I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who does not mind a little gore and guts.

A spooky YA thriller that goes from creepy folklore to gut-churning horror. Grisly and disturbing, but with real heart and great characters, especially Arkle.

A love letter to the 80s in general, and 80s horror in particular.