Kreepy Klowns of Kalamazoo

Michigan Chillers #7

by Johnathan Rand

Kayleigh loves the circus. But when she and her friend, Andy, visit the annual carnival they stumble upon a terrible plan. And it all begins with the Klowns!

Genres: Childrens, Fantasy, Horror, Middle Grade, Juvenile

196 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2000

About the author

Christopher Wright is the author of dozens of horror fiction books for children and young adults. He writes under the pseudonyms Johnathan Rand and Christopher Knight. Almost all of Wright's books (save American Chillers) take place in his home state of Michigan.

Reviews

[Tracy The Great · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it was a good and "Kreepy" book! I love how Jonathan Rand writes his Michigan Chillers because he leaves a cliffhanger after every chapetr that makes you want to read more

[Emerson Lankford · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a girl who wants to go to a carnival on her birthday. The Klowns are the biggest part if the fair. The fair is owned by Mr. Klown himself, with a capital K. The Klowns keep on giving Kayleigh and her brother Andy weird looks and Kyleigh notices it but Andy doesn't. She tries spying and the Klowns and she keeps getting caught. Turns out, the klowns are robots and they are trying to become as smart as a human to take over the world! Thy can do it by having people of the carnival to go the the new Gravitron. It pins you up against the wall trying to suck away all of memories. But Kayleigh, Andy, and Mr. Klown have to try and stop the klowns. They eventually shut off the ride and klowns are gone forever. This book was a real chiller!

[Jailyn Lahring · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the mystery of the klowns and the scary things they were up to. It keepmaking me want to read more.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is really good it’s like one of those books where you can’t stop reading I highly recommended it and here’s a spoiler the Klowns arnt who they say they are :)

[Chris Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good but some parts are a little boring

[Iridian Moon · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite Michigan Chillers! I was afraid of clowns...I mean Klowns.. when I was little because of this book, haha!

[Jhkj]

nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

[Max Higgins · Rating 1 out of 5]

Kreepy
Klowns of
Kalamazoo...KKK

This book is filled with subliminal messages of white supremacy.

[Allyson Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book sort of scary tho

[Patrice · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing, story and characters are not great, though the mechanic linking the books in the series is interesting. Not as bad as the first one though.

[Sydney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Always fun to revisit these classics from my childhood. I can also get through them super quickly, which is always a nice feeling

[Josiah · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's off to the carnival for Kayleigh Fisher and her younger brother Andy, in celebration of Kayleigh's twelfth birthday anniversary. The city of Kalamazoo, Michigan generally "Sounds Like Fun" to Michigander and outsider alike, but a carnival promises even more fun, and that's what Kayleigh and Andy expect when they get in line one morning outside the carnival's front gate. Beyond the metal latticework they see towering, fast rides, a midway packed with clever games and other amusements, and legions of clowns shuffling from here to there, though none of them bear a particularly cheerful demeanor. Kayleigh and her brother are set to be among the first kids inside the carnival when the gate opens, but Andy's curiosity leads them to a sneak preview of what's to come...a disconcerting glimpse behind the scenes that makes them question if they really want to enter. The clowns (or "klowns", as we learn more accurately applies to these particular specimens) milling about on the opposite side of the fence look unfriendly and suspicious, their makeup and wardrobe weird and overdone. But Kayleigh and her younger sibling aren't about to let a few vague warning signs scare them away from enjoying this once-a-year rite of summer...even if they may end up wishing they had.

The sights, sounds, and smells of an American carnival are an unmistakably sensuous blend, and most everything seems normal about the place as Kayleigh and Andy explore. Only the strange behavior of the klowns make them uncomfortable, and Andy shakes it off far easier than his sister does. Kayleigh's anxious curiosity brings her to follow some klowns back to their tent, and their actions when alone continue to unsettle her. There's something wrong with these klowns, and she appears to be the only one who recognizes it, placing responsibility for the safety of all the other carnival attendees in her hands. But as Kayleigh observes more of what the klowns are up to, she discovers the danger is worse than she feared, and vacating the carnival grounds without convincing her fellow patrons of the threat would spell disaster: first for Kalamazoo, then the entire world. Racing against a dark scheme perpetrated by the klowns, Kayleigh and her spirited little brother must divert calamity long enough for their sole ally at the carnival to shut down the enemy and free the people from the evil that walks among them. But can a pair of preteens do all that when opposed by an army of ingenious tie-dyed minions?

There's notably less grammatical and usage eccentricity in Kreepy Klowns of Kalamazoo than most prior Michigan Chillers, and a spot or two of quality humor shows that author Johnathan Rand has continued to grow as a writer. The tongue-in-cheek meta-reference on page sixty-eight is fun, when Andy tells Kayleigh, "You've got a pretty wild imagination...You should write books or something...like that kooky guy up north that writes the series of scary books." I assume the "kooky guy" is Johnathan Rand, himself, taking the opportunity to wink at his readers. The lack of a crossword puzzle, word search, trivia section, or author photo gallery in the back of Kreepy Klowns of Kalamazoo—at least, in the copy of the book I read—is conspicuous, after the presence of those features in the first six Michigan Chillers, but several interesting facts about Kalamazoo are worked into the story's opening pages, which functions as a low-key substitute for the trivia section. I would give Kreepy Klowns of Kalamazoo one and a half stars, and I could have almost as easily rounded that rating up. Choosing to set aside any logical deficiencies of the narrative, I look to my Michigan Chillers for a good time, and that I received here, as always. If you're eager for a fun read, you're apt to find what you seek from Johnathan Rand.

[Peace · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book Kreepy Klowns of Kalamazoo by Johnathan Rand. I did like the book very much, one reason being because it reminds me of my childhood since I use to read it. I also liked how this book always kept me interested and wondering what's going to happen next. The characters of this book was a girl named Kayleigh Fisher, her younger brother Andy and Mr.Klown owner of the carnival. both Andy and Kayleigh go off to the carnival for Kayleigh's twelfth birthday. The main conflict of this book were the klowns trying to take over the world and be as smart as humans.

I would recommend this book to anyone from 1st grade to high school guess it matters on you, also you can't be scared of clowns to read it. The reason I would recommend this book is because of the memories Rand's Chillers books made, do I'm hoping they could do the same for others to.

[Bernard Varnesdeel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kreepy Klowns of kalamazoo was a great book that I read on a family trip to florida. I chose this book because it was in the city of kalamazoo for the setting and that's where most of my family lives at. This book had two main characters that went to this carnival that was being worked by klowns. These clowns were not normal two these two kids that went to this carnival. The two kids thought that they were killers or something and they went to check out the klowns tent to see if they were real. They went into the tent and saw this green juice that look liked it was normal and the klowns were drinking it. They go into this tent everyday to see what these clowns do and if they were secret killers or anything special. Overall, this book was amazing and I recommend others to read it.

[Taylor Fedewa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kreepy Klowns of Kalamazoo by Johnathan Rand is about a a girl and it was her birthday. She had wanted to go to the carnival for her birthday. At the carnival Kayleigh noticed that the all the the clowns have been giving her big brother Andy strange looks, Kayleigh had noticed it but not Andy. eventually Kayleigh got curious and she went to go spy on the clowns. After awhile she learns that the clowns are actually robots that want to be more like humans. Can Kayleigh stop them? If you like adventurous and mystery books you would like this one and more of Johnathan Rand's books.

[Natalie Sawyer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is about 2 siblings who go to a carnival. When they get to the carnival Kayleigh notices something really strange about the clowns there. They all talk the same, look the same, and they drink an weird looking juice. As they are there for awhile Kayleigh has been caught by a clown, saw a clown dead, and noticed that they are all robots. But, the clowns are up to an evil plan. Will Kayleigh and her brother be able to stop them?
I liked this book because it is very easy to read, and it kinda puts you on the edge of your seat to seat what will happen.

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

For books geared for kids, I, an adult, even like them. At first, I was skeptical about this one, because although I generally like clowns, some can be creepy (thanks to Hollywood). However, this is the third Johnathan Rand book I've read, so I gave it a chance. And, again, although I figured some of it out, there were still a number of things that kept me guessing. A fast paced, easy read that may not be as "Kreepy" as it appears.

[Alexia Estrada · Rating 5 out of 5]

i loved this book it was great. this book is so good it was everything i look for in a book. i love this book it is scary it is detailed. You can really visualize it in your mind because of the very descriptive words. i am not much of a book lover but i have to say this is my all time favorite book ever!. i recommend this if you love scary adventurous and short books. PS, i am now scared of clowns. but it is still a great book.

[Ellie Ritter · Rating 2 out of 5]

it was pretty good for a small book, I wish it had a little more detail and longer pages with a lot of space available for more parts of the story. it was interesting but needed more detail it was kinda of boring for me, add more characters than just clowns and add a twist to the end of the book, because I thought that they were gonna escape the clowns, just needs a few changes then it would be a really good book for anyone.

[Katherine Lehman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kreepy Klowns of Kalamazoo
Kreepy Klowns of Kalamazoo by Johnathan Rand is a creepy book! Keleigh Fisher and her little brother are going to the town fair. But there are clowns all over. The one who takes their tickets is the worst. He knows Kaleighs name! How does that happen, also they all have the exact same voice. Will Keleigh stop these awful clowns and their plan?

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a young reader this is great. The chapters are short and exciting and keep the reader wanting to find out what's coming next. The story is also informative - as an adult I also learned from the details in the story. I thought Kalamazoo was in Australia!!

[Jacob Pung · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Kreepy Klowns of Kalamazoo" by Johnathan Rand is a very interesting book. A girl and her friend go to the circus, and there are clowns everywhere, but theses aren't any ordinary clowns. They are clowns with a K. The two friends team up to try to foil any evil plot those kreepy klowns are up to.

[JacobT · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was super-scary. Even more so than Poltergeist of Petosky

[Crazed Jaws · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not your best work but it was ok.
Keep writing.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here's hoping, although the hope is dimming, that this will be the book to spark Joseph's interest in reading. Will it ever happen?

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

good chain to the series

[Robert B. Miller]

This was a very interesting book. It gives children a little information about Kalamazoo as well as being a thriller. I read this book for Educ. 318 Spring semester 2008.

[Lauren Lebeck]

that was a mix of amotions you where scared one moment and amazed the next at the begining you had a big suspition. i loved that book it is one of my favoret johnathan rand books!

[Erin Fischer-Ballew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made my kids hate clowns! :)

[Mark Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

i thought it was a good book