Pretty Perilous Parakeet

Jitters #1

by L.G. Cunningham

An action-packed adventure full of frights, fun, monsters, magic, a pet lizard and one EVIL BIRD.

Tarantulas, snakes and lizards are no problem whatsoever for 12-year-old animal expert, Archie Jones! 

But when an unexpected turn of events lead to his annoying sister demanding they take home an innocent golden-plumed parakeet from a creepy animal sanctuary (and its creepy owner), Archie discovers rather quickly that this is not a cute and cuddly bird.

Can Archie and his best leopard gecko lizard friend, Lizzie, return the evil monster bird before it destroys his life?

Can the siblings put their rivalry aside and do what needs to be done before its too late?

Find out this and much, much more in this animal-packed, magical, hilarious, mind-blowing adventure that is sure to keep you asking: 'what happens next?'

Why not use Amazon's 'Look Inside' feature NOW to get a sneak preview of the first three page turning chapters? 

Amazon Categories:

Children's Scary Stories Children's Monster Fiction

School Reviews:

"Reading Pretty Perlious Parakeet brought me on a trip down memory lane of fond times reading the Goosebumps series. Delighted there is a new author offering a modern spin on the children's scary stories genre that I can introduce my class to (I teach 10 year olds). Hopefully we see more in this series."

"Perfect children's book for kids aged 7-12, especially those who enjoy scary stories packed with twists and turns. A real page turner for a young horror story fan."

174 pages, paperback

Published August 1, 2020

About the author

LG Cunningham loves to write scary, spine-chilling, monster filled, ‘my-child-is-not-able-to-sleep’ stories. This term of endearment could be as a result of growing up in an Irish town filled with ghosts, being able to communicate with (and actually see) the dead or more than likely because his family used to rent him horror movies (pre-Netflix and pre-DVDs) when he was very little which had the affect of twisting his brain to the extent that he was - and still is - afraid of his own shadow.

LG Cunningham is the author of the spooky middle grade anthology series 'JITTERS'.

PRETTY PERILOUS PARAKEET & THE GAME WITH NO NAME are out now.

Reviews

[Suzanne Hare · Rating 5 out of 5]

Archie Jones is somewhat of an expert on animals. You see his family has a small zoo in their backyard. His best friend is Lizzy, a leopard gecko lizard. He has a sister, Sophia, who is scared of animals. Things are going well until their father brings home what appears to be a harmless yellow Parakeet from the pet sanctuary. It was then that Archie and his sister started to understand horror.

This is a contemporary funny and scary adventure geared towards middle grade to teens. I think it is cute and fun enough to keep the readers interest while at the same time delivering creepy and scary moments. The characters are well developed with outgoing and determined personalities. The children are the stars of this book, displaying intelligence, empathy, kindness, determination and critical thinking skills. They determine the problem and although scared, they develop a plan, look out for each other and see it though to the end. It challenges the reader to look at the world with a critical eye and look at solving problems. As this is a difficult skill to master, Archie and Sophia do a great job as examples. This book is also good entertainment. This is a creative, interesting, age appropriate and well written book and I look forward to reading more of the authors work.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Pat Eroh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an awesome middle school age book about lots of animals. Particularly a parakeet that is out of control. Amazing story and characters, with animal expert Archie and his Lizzie buddy. My students loved this book.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Mary Caelsto · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an entertaining story for middle grade readers. I wasn't quite sure where the story was set (Virginia Falls sounds US to this reader), but the character uses UK terms for things (like calling a sweater a jumper) which offers some confusion. In addition, I would have hoped that the book would have better information about pet care, even if it was fiction. (Keeping a gecko in a pocket is not ideal and the "garage" where everyone is kept isn't well described and usually isn't where one wants to put temperature/draft sensitive pets like parakeets), I did find the brother-sister dynamic to be well written and the story was highly entertaining.

[Diane Griffiths · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was interesting and kind of freaky..

Archie loves animals and since his Dad works at the zoo, and he has many pets of his own in a small zoo in his backyard. His best friend is a lizard names Lizzy. All is fine until they go to a sanctuary and his sister wants to take home what appears to be a harmless yellow parakeet. After this happens things start getting strange.

I enjoyed this story and like I said it gets kind of freaky.

I received a free copy of this book via Goodreads and am leaving my review.

[Brian J. Nordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a nostalgic trip for me, having grown up with reading Goosebumps stories by R. L. Stine. Cunningham does his work right and paints a story that brought me right back to those days of being a kid that saw an adventure in everything. I would recommend this to any young reader, but hope that the author will write more in the Jitters series. The adventures of Archie and Lizzie are far from over and I look forward to the next installment.

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great family read

Brought this book to read with my niece, we both really enjoyed it and looked forward to reading it each night. Great read for both adult and children it didn't disappoint.

[Cillian Branigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book. My teenage son thoroughly enjoyed this book and finished it in record time. We need more books like this for our children to encourage them to keep reading as opposed to 'youtubing' and Netflix. Looking forward to LG's next book. Keep up the good work.

[Tobyann Aparisi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book from Goodreads (Kindle version) for an honest review.

A fun read that is light and fast reading. Something different and kind of cute actually, this book was a pleasure to read.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 12 year old loved it. After reading all of the Goosebumps books avidly, he is excited that this book might be the start of a new series for him to enjoy and he is looking forward for another book.

[Misty Hutchison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book keeps you entertained

[Pratip Vijayakumar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goosebumps is one of the earliest Horror books I read as a Kid. Even though my English comprehension was poor back then, I somehow managed to grasp what the story was and how I ended up in many sleepless nights—reading this novel kind of reminded me of those early days. I’m pretty sure the intended audiences for this book will feel scary.

Author: L.G. Cunningham Language: English No. of Pages: 176 Format: eBook Genre: Children’s Horror

Archie Jones is an Animal Expert, who is very fond of them more than that Humans. He is often bullied and made fun of for his appearance and behavior including his younger sibling Sophia. He got all these traits from his father who is a Zookeeper, they have a home zoo of sorts where they have rescued animals.

One fine day Mr. Jones takes Archie and his sister to a Pet Sanctuary (or is it?) which he heard from his friend. Upon reaching the place, both the kids find the place to be creepy so is the man who runs it. The not so Animal-friendly Sophie finds a Golden parakeet and loves it, she asks her father if they can take her. The owner of the Pet sanctuary allows it but things turn upside down after this. Both Archie and Sophie witness something abnormal in a couple of days and embark on a Journey. What was that abnormal thing they witnessed? Why did they embark on a Journey? you should read the book to find answers.

I liked how the author built the suspense and suddenly twisted the tables towards the end is really commendable. We read the book knowing it to be a horror but the genre slowly unfolds in places that you wouldn’t expect.

The character of Archie and the bond he shares with his little friend Lizzy is nicely written and as a moral of the story, the Author tells How one should not judge a person by their appearance. He has a very interesting take on this and ultimately it all falls under the circumstances and Kids should be careful in choosing whom to trust and whom not to.

I really enjoyed reading this book and am very stoked to read the next installment in the “Jitters” Series. Have you read any Horror books as a child? What are your memories associated with it? Do share it in the comments section.

Happy Reading 😈

[Sean McArdle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bought this book for my nephew in the lead up to Halloween, he really enjoys scary books and this didn't disappoint him at all (he actually asked when could he get book 2). I read it myself and found it very well written, allowing the reader to use their imagination! Particularly like the characters that have been brought into this book too, especially Archie who so many boys and girls can relate to! For anyone a bit older, very much like Goosebumps & Strangers Things which are great (in my eyes).

[Richie Clarke · Rating 5 out of 5]

spooky good fun with twists and turns loved it ! Make sure to give it a read ! Highly recommend it !