The Cursed Book Adventure by Brandon Reinke
The Cursed Book Adventure Book 1
A thrilling mystery adventure for children aged 8-12
It was just a forgotten book buried in the back of the school library… until it opened.
Twelve-year-olds Max and Ethan weren’t looking for trouble—they were looking for a shortcut to pass time during detention. What they found instead was a cursed book pulsing with strange symbols and glowing pages. The moment they open it, they're pulled into a dangerous world of supernatural trials—each one designed to test their courage, their wits, and their friendship.
With time bending around them and memories beginning to slip, Max and Ethan must solve riddles, escape illusions, and survive a series of mind-bending challenges. The book is alive, and it's not playing fair. And as the boys soon learn… the only way out is through.
But this cursed story doesn’t want to end. It wants to trap them forever.
AmazonExcerpt from The Cursed Book Adventure Book 1 © Copyright 2025 Brandon Reinke
Chapter 1: The Book No One Noticed
Once upon a time, there was a boy named Max who wasn’t looking for anything special. It was just another regular Friday afternoon, and he was wandering through the school library, browsing shelves with no real plan—just looking for something to kill some time.
He skimmed over the usual selection of books. Adventure books. Space stories. A few that looked way too long. Then, just as he was about to give up, something strange caught his eye.
One book on the middle shelf… was glowing.
Not bright, not flashing—just a faint shimmer, like it had been dusted with starlight.
Max blinked and looked around. No one else seemed to notice. The librarian was helping another student, and the other kids were too busy on their laptops or flipping through comics. Max stood on his tiptoes, reached up, and carefully pulled the book off the shelf.
The moment his fingers touched it, the glow pulsed once—like the book was alive.
“This is weird,” Max whispered to himself.
He sat down at a quiet corner table and opened it. Most of the pages were filled with strange symbols, odd drawings, and barely readable handwriting. But one page stood out—it was glowing even brighter than the cover had.
He turned the page.
In big, bold letters, written in dark ink that shimmered like oil, was a warning:
“He who opens this book must finish it… or be cursed.”
Max raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, okay,” he muttered. “Nice try.”
He laughed it off. Probably some old prank book or a weird piece of art. He closed the book, put it back on the shelf, and went home without another thought.
But that night… things started to go wrong.
His bedroom light started flickering. His backpack unzipped itself and spilled everything onto the floor. His dinner plate randomly slid off the table and shattered. He even tripped down the stairs for no reason.
By bedtime, Max was officially freaked out.
“I’m cursed,” he whispered. “The book. It’s the book.”
He jumped out of bed and ran back to the school—but when he got there, the doors were locked. Closed for the weekend.
He pressed his hands and face against the glass and peered in. The library was dark, the glowing book still somewhere inside, waiting.
“I have to finish it,” Max whispered. “That’s the only way to break the curse.”
But Monday felt a long way off.
And the curse had only just begun.
My profession is online marketing and software development (10+ years experience), a lot of AI related projects nowadays, check my latest works here. But my real passion is reading books both fiction and non-fiction. I have several favorite authors like James Redfield or Daniel Keyes. If I read a book I always want to find the best part of it, every book has its unique value.
