Nic's friends laugh at him all the time: when he gets chased by a stray dog, when he spills juice on himself and when he gets into trouble at school. After a disastrous Halloween party, Nic can't risk giving them another excuse to laugh at him, so when the boys visit the local haunted house he accepts a dare to go inside. The trouble is, the boys don't realise that this party has a host, and he isn't very friendly... Bloomsbury High Low books encourage and support reading practice by providing gripping, age-appropriate stories for struggling and reluctant readers, those with dyslexia, or those with English as an additional language. Printed on tinted paper and with a dyslexia friendly font, The Host is aimed at readers aged 11+ and has a manageable length (80 pages) and reading age (9+). Produced in association with reading experts at CatchUp , a charity which aims to address underachievement caused by literacy and numeracy difficulties. Book band: Brown