Don't Be Scared
A Graphic Novel
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- Pre-Order
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- Expected Sep 8, 2026
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- $9.99
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- Pre-Order
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
For fans of Stranger Things, and Goosbumps comes a graphic novel filled with thrills, chills, and friendship.
"Horror fans will delight." —School Library Journal, starred review.
Riz is determined to prove to his dad that movies matter and ghosts are real, but he and his friends might be in over their head when they investigate the local creepy mansion.
Riz Choudhry lives for two things: movies and anything spooky. His dad? Not so much. While Riz dreams of filmmaking and jump scares, his father dreams of Riz going to med school or law school—and neither one includes ghosts.
But the film club is Riz’s safe haven, a place where other supernatural-obsessed first-gen kids swap scary stories from their cultures. So, when the group decides to film a documentary about the creepy old mansion in town, Riz is all in. But there’s a problem. His dad wants Riz to quit the club. AND the building is about to be demolished. Now Riz and his friends must use the power of filmmaking to save the mansion…before it vanishes forever.
Packed with shivers, laughter, and heart, Don’t Be Scared celebrates friendship, heritage, and daring to fight for what matters—even if it means disagreeing with your family.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A budding filmmaker contends with family expectations, cultural identity, and ghost-hunting antics in this heartfelt speculative mystery from Faruqi (Some of Us Are Brave), making a graphic novel debut, and Amin (Mixed Feelings). Pakistani American seventh grader Riz Chaudhry knows that joining the film club at Grayson Heights Middle School would seem harmless to most kids his age, but his widowed father, Baba, views filmmaking as a distraction from more practical ambitions such as medicine or law. Nevertheless, Riz persists in his creative pursuits, quickly bonding with fellow club members over their shared love of movies, ghost stories, and the often invisible labor of helping their own immigrant parents maneuver American systems through translation, paperwork, and cultural interpretation. The friends' chosen film project, centered on the decaying and purportedly haunted Hollister Mansion, soon leads them into a mystery involving the long-ago disappearance of the Hollister daughters. As the mansion faces demolition, Riz pulls Baba into the investigation, and the father-son duo unexpectedly find common ground while working to preserve the building and uncover its secrets. Empathetic text balances light supernatural fare with thoughtful explorations of intergenerational tension and grief. Kinetic illustrations heighten the story's eerie vibes and enrich its multicultural folklore elements, resulting in a dynamic ghost story with plenty of charm. Ages 8–12. Author's agent: Kari Sutherland, KT Literary. Illustrator's agent: Jen Azantian, Azantian Literary.
