This is adorable! I cracked up at the nonchalant tone the narrator takes when wondering if all his friends are dead already. M Night who? And as a medical student I love "things that look like weapons but aren't." Following so that I can meet the neighbor.

the great parenting award goes too:

Love it!

I can’t believe an 8 year old wrote this! What a talented kid. I’m sorry to hear about your best friend, Mr.Cowy’s, passing.

Hah, right? Next time you walk into a hospital room, remember this 8 year old's imagination.

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Hahaha, I'll mention this to him.

Very cute. Very hardworking and talented kid, that was quite a long book!

Yeah I'm sorry to hear this too 💔

Thank you (and, for the award)!

He's wonderful; thank you!

Bruh.

Set up an Amazon page. When the whole story is told, put it into a single volume and make a book we can buy. I'd buy a copy of that.

I'm not even kidding. I had to keep reminding myself that came out of an eight-year-old's mind. His work is to a higher standard than many adults.

Tell your eight-year-old from me - I'd pay for a physical copy of that. And tell him to keep up the good work.

Last Page has the whole 'stay tuned to find out' thing also. It also says Scholastic there 😂

Your kid did a fine job with those details on top of this excellent story!

When I was young (maybe 10ish) I wrote a play about hidden Christmas presents one school holiday when I was bored.

Maybe he might like to adapt the story to a script next? He might enjoy converting the story to directions and lines?

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Be careful. Things like this are a gateway drug. I used to do things like this. My parents thought it was just innocent fun, too, but then I decided I wanted to be a writer and kept on writing books. I'm well into adulthood (chronologically speaking) and still going. One day you're posting his great little story, the next thing you know he's a published author on Amazon. Slippery slope, my friend! 😁

It's actually kind of funny that one of the things he drew looks quite similar to the frame orthopedic surgeons use to keep broken legs in traction! We don't have a zapper at my hospital though unfortunately.

This reminds me of books I used to make as a kid! Mine were usually more about cute fluffy imaginary creatures, but I liked spooky stuff as well. I still love art and writing now as an adult, hope your son will too :)

This is how authors start!

This is OUTSTANDING! The tension is palpable and the cliffhanger ending is great, really makes me want to read more! I also enjoyed the drawings.

I wrote my own version of horror books as a kid called "Needles" (based on Goosebumps of course) so this is bringing me back. So well done on his part!

“If we get killed I’m blaming you in heaven” is my favourite line lmao we need more of this!

Kid had some solid cliffhangers between chapters. I love the "other books to read explore" section. He definitely reads a lot!

"Fancy what-looked-like-weapons, but weren't" reminds me of Terry Pratchett

I feel a deep, personal loss 🤪

Post removed?! So disappointed!

Hey where is the link to the site?

https://jonathanamos.net/books/the-neighbors-house/dead-pieces/

Hah, yeah, he does! My wife is a reading specialist by trade, so our kids have been read to since about 3 months old.

Ah! I surely broke one of the sub's rules; bummer.

Haha, I cracked up at that line, too.

I'll tell him!

Your book: if it's still around, scan it and plop it into some blog platform, etc.

Thank you :)

Jonathan is my new favorite author, I'm inspired! And love the artwork so much. Love how he has written the characters. Amazing, waiting for next chapters.

🤞

Maybe? I definitely won't let him forget he promised the world a few more books at the end, there.

I'm pretty sure he's already tinkering with it, but I should double-check.

Here's hoping he slips right down that slope!

Thank you!

I thought of doing something like that once he has more books made (if he follows through). Who knows; could lead to a genuine long-term interest and, maybe, career!

Swines.

Well my previous comment still stands. I hope your lad all the best and keep going. Maybe this is a sign that you and your son should work together to make a book we can buy. I don't know if you can advertize here, but if you make it available such that we can buy copies, I'd be more than happy to "recommend" it on here.

The interest will grow with encouragement, I'm certain. Your son has talent. I can recognize that as a reader and as a writer with a master's degree in it. Your son has a true gift. There is a career waiting for him in his future, as long as he gets the right kind of encouragement. The key thing is not to let it go to his head, but for it to be real encouragement to keep working and improving and stretching himself. Some of the best writers in the world wrote their first stories in the exact same way your son has.

Well … wow, thank you for saying that. I'll try to gently increase my prodding on getting that second book wrapped up.

You're too kind! If he keeps this going, we'll see what it turns into. I can certainly handle the 'promotional website' side of things.

Aww, I'll tell him, thank you!

Be sure to let me know when autographed copies become available.

Hah, will do!

Hello. Per rule 3.1, Promotional posts and/or comments need to meet the promotional rules requirements: please see the wiki for more details. Thank you.

Seriously, there must be over 30 pages here. What an awesome amount of work and dedication. Please let them know I’m looking forward to finding out what happens in those tunnels! Tell them they have another fan!

I will, thank you so much!

Very well done! I hope he continues the story. I'm anxious to find out what happens next!