This review first appeared in Booklist on November 5, 2025.
When his enigmatic, globe-trotting great-aunt drops by bearing some bizarre boots, she claims to have gotten from a secret traveling bazaar, where, every Halloween, merchants meet to swap rare, forbidden, and downright dangerous items, Martin—a lover of all things spooky—immediately wishes he could see the lurid place for himself. On Halloween, Martin and his best friend, Jess, manage to find the mysterious market, and he impulsively trades his aunt’s gifts for a Bag of Dirty Tricks. At first, the Tricks seem harmless, but they soon turn meaner and darker. Concerned, the kids ditch the Bag, but when reports of strange and gruesome pranks sweep through town, they realize someone else has unearthed the sinister sack. Determined, the duo sets out to track down and stop the Bag’s new holder before the nastiest Tricks are unleashed. Accompanied by the author’s lively, expressive illustrations, this suburban Halloween romp brims with charm, playful humor, and a delightful dash of the grotesque. An ideal treat for fans of The Halloween Moon (2021), by Joseph Fink, and the Monsterstreet series, by J. H. Reynolds.
ricardo reading 