Content levels
Trigger warnings
Positive tags
Protagonist archetypes
Tropes
Synopsis
Everyone in Sleepy Hollow knows about the Horseman, but no one really believes in him. Not even Ben Van Brunt's grandfather, Brom Bones, who was there when it was said the Horseman chased the upstart Crane out of town. Brom says that's just legend, the village gossips talking. More than thirty years after those storied events, the village is a quiet place. Fourteen-year-old Ben loves to play "Sleepy Hollow boys," reenacting the events Brom once lived through. But then Ben and a friend stumble across the headless body of a child in the woods near the village, and the discovery makes Ben question everything the adults in Sleepy Hollow have ever said. Could the Horseman be real after all? Or does something even more sinister stalk the woods?
Is Horseman appropriate for my child?
Suitable for most readers 14 and up.
Parents should know this dark retelling contains a child's headless corpse discovery and investigation of similar deaths. The horror elements are atmospheric rather than gratuitous, but the premise is genuinely disturbing.
What to know going in
This book has strong violence, no sexual content, and mild language. Content notes include gore, murder, death of child, and death (see the full list above).
Who'll love this
Teens will be drawn to the mystery-driven retelling of Sleepy Hollow from the perspective of Brom Bones' grandchild investigating whether the Horseman is real.