Review: The Turning

The Turning
by Francine Prose

Book Description:
A dark house.
An isolated island.
Strange dreams
and even stranger visions . . .

Jack is spending the summer on a private island far from modern conveniences. No Wi-Fi, no cell service, no one else on the island but a housekeeper and the two very peculiar children in his care. The first time Jack sees the huge black mansion atop a windswept hill, he senses something cold, something more sinister than even the dark house itself.

Soon, he feels terribly isolated and alone. Yet he is not alone. The house has visitors—peering in the windows, staring from across the shore. But why doesn't anyone else see them . . . and what do they want? As secrets are revealed and darker truths surface, Jack desperately struggles to maintain a grip on reality. He knows what he sees, and he isn't crazy. . . . Or is he?

I have to be honest. I wanted to like this one a lot more than I did. The idea was spooky and I liked the beginning, but I got bored reading. I actually found myself trying to skip to the end just to see what happened, because I was too impatient to wait until I naturally got there.

I didn't really connect to any of the characters and though I found the house to be cool and liked the remote setting, I don't think it was enough for me. Sadly, I just didn't enjoy it overmuch.

Review: On the Day I Died: Stories from the Grave

On the Day I Died: Stories from the Grave

by Candace Fleming

 

Book Description:

Set in White Cemetery, an actual graveyard outside Chicago, each story takes place during a different time period from the 1860's to the present, and ends with the narrator's death. Some teens die heroically, others ironically, but all due to supernatural causes. Readers will meet walking corpses and witness demonic posession, all against the backdrop of Chicago's rich history—the Great Depression, the World's Fair, Al Capone and his fellow gangsters.

 

Review:

This book was interesting. I liked how it was one boy's story that interwove all the tales of the other teens' deaths. Some of the stories were far more interesting than others, but they were all fun and easy to read. I loved how each was supernatural and creepy, but not enough to induce nightmares.

 

Did you used to love Goosebumps, but don't quite want to jump into full scale horror? This would be a great book to check out.

Review: Girl of Nightmares

Girl of Nightmares

by Kendare Blake

sequel to Anna Dressed in Blood

 

Book Description:

It's been months since the ghost of Anna Korlov opened a door to Hell in her basement and disappeared into it, but ghost-hunter Cas Lowood can't move on.

His friends remind him that Anna sacrificed herself so that Cas could live—not walk around half dead. He knows they're right, but in Cas's eyes, no living girl he meets can compare to the dead girl he fell in love with.

Now he's seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he's asleep and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong...these aren't just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears.

Cas doesn't know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn't deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it's time for him to return the favor.

 

Review:

These books induce just the right amount of shivers. Blake has mastered the art of creating a world inhabited by all the things that go bump in the night, but not leaving you afraid to sleep after reading...

The hell that Anna was trapped in was creepy and there were moments when I was truly afraid for Cas...then knowing that what he might be returning to was not really any better? You know those moments when you have to keep reminding yourself that "It'll work out okay...it's so and so and they can't really die"... Yeah, I was doing that a lot.

As good as the first.


Review: The Name of the Star

The Name of the Star

by Maureen Johnson

The Shades of London, book one

 

Book Description:

The day that Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London to start a new life at boarding school is also the day a series of brutal murders breaks out over the city, killings mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper spree of more than a century ago. Soon "Rippermania" takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him--the only one who can see him. And now Rory has become his next target.

 

Review:

This is exactly how I like my ghost stories. Creepy, but not horrifying enough to keep me awake all night, huddling under the covers in terror... Johnson uses just enough description to keep you riveted, to make you shudder, but not enough to imprint mutilated body parts in the back of your brain.

 

Easy to read, intriguing, and with a main character that I thought was pretty cool, from the moment I turned the last page, I found my fingers itching for the next book. I hope it's coming out soon! I'm totally trying to guess what may happen in the next book as it seems there may be a change of venue... ooops! NO more spoilers, I promise. LOL.  

Review: Texas Gothic

Texas Gothic

by Rosemary Clement-Moore

Book Description:

Amy Goodnight's family is far from normal. She comes from a line of witches, but tries her best to stay far outside the family business. Her summer gig? Ranch-sitting for her aunt with her wacky but beautiful sister. Only the Goodnight Ranch is even less normal than it normally is. Bodies are being discovered, a ghost is on the prowl, and everywhere she turns, the hot neighbor cowboy is in her face.

Review:

This was a really fun read.  Not only was the ghost story pretty cool, dealing with Spanish gold treasure, but the Goodnight family was hilarious to read about! I loved Amy, who was snarky, and her sister, who was super crazy-smart, and her just plain crazy, psychic cousin! The romance was also just the way I like it... not too easy.

If you like ghost stories, treasure hunts, danger, and romance. Check this one out. :)

Review: Anna Dressed in Blood

Anna Dressed in Blood

by Kendare Blake

Book Description:

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn't expect anything outside of the ordinary: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

But she, for whatever reason, spares Cas's life.

Review:

Suprisingly enough, though horror is not usually my thing, I really enjoyed this book. I'm a huge fan of the TV show, Supernatural, and this book really reminded me of that... creepy, cool ghost hunter vibe.

I loved the way that Cas and his mom and he would travel round, working together, taking care of the supernatural. I thought the athame, inherited from his dad was a really cool relic. The way it ties in later is pretty creepy, too. It was really interesting to then see how Anna differed from the ghosts that Cas usually dealt with...Cas is normally one cool cucumber, but he's met his match in Anna.

I will warn you that this book has some graphically gory scenes. There were spots that I read kind of quickly for fear of lingering and leaving images lodged in my brain that might induce nightmares...but it was really well written and compelling. I had to know what happened to Cas and Anna.

I am super excited to read book two, Girl of Nightmares, as soon as it comes out!

*This was my selection for the January Meeting of our book club, Flippin' Pages. We did horror books this month! Next meeting is Feb. 14th and we'll be talking about our favorite "break-up" books.*