I think this is the first time I've ever read a horror novel meant for teens. I bought the book because my six-year-old grandson had been watching the Bendy video games without his parents' or my knowledge or permission. When I learned that Bendy was a horror cartoon character and not Gumby, I and my grandson's parents decided that he was too young for this video game and took away his permission to watch it. This was too little and too late because my grandson already knew the whole game's story (except for Chapter 5). He told me all about the Ink Machine and the creepy halls into which the characters ran. He told me about monsters and inky clues. That is exactly when I found out that there was a novel coming out about Bendy. Since I knew nothing at all about Bendy myself, I ordered this book right away and read it as soon as it arrived at my home.

I found this book a really fun read. It was very imaginative and had a great back story. A Jewish boy (Daniel, better known as "Buddy") was living in poverty with his mom on the Lower East Side in 1947 New York City. He quit his job as delivery boy for a tailor and got a higher-paying job as a gofer at the Joey Drew Studios where he eventually hoped to become an animator. Things did not go as he planned. At home, his grandfather, whom he did not know earlier, showed up suddenly and moved into his room. Meanwhile things at the Joey Drew Studio were getting weird. With the help of a work colleague Dot, Buddy started to go exploring other areas of that building with dire consequences. The very creepiest part of this book was when Dot and Buddy began their exploration.

There were some very sweet and meaningful parts to this story. I liked Buddy's friendship with Dot. I also enjoyed reading about Buddy's developing relationship with his grandfather (his mom's dad) and his discovery of his grandfather's true story. Part of what made this relatiomnship special was that Buddy had lost his own father who died in the war.

"Saying good-bye is hard...
But now I know something worse.
Not getting to say good-bye at all."

The ending of this book is the clincher. It was not what I expected. I don't want to give anything away, so go read it for yourself. Have fun...and don't be scared! ( )