Review of The Dead and the Buried by Kim Harrington

Point

The Dead and the Buried
by Kim Harrington
4 Scribbles
To be released January 1, 2013

Jade never dreamed she’d live in a big house in an upscale neighborhood, and she’s overjoyed when her dad and stepmom move the family, even if she knows it’s really so her baby brother, Colby can have a better education than she did. But then Jade discovers the things that go bump in the night. Turns out, there is a reason the house was such a good deal. Local “it” girl Kayla Sloane was pushed down the stairs to her death in the house just the year before. Now, Kayla’s ghost is threatening to kill her baby brother unless Jade finds Kayla’s murderer.

Realistic characters and spine-chilling events make for a truly creeptastic read!  Jade feels like an outsider in her family now that her father has remarried, a situation many teens can relate to.  Jade misses her mother, who taught her the metaphysical powers of gemstones. Without her beloved mother, who died of cancer, Jade has no idea who to trust with her stories of Ouija boards and threatening specters, and she’s pretty sure her stepmother will think she’s crazy. Add to this the fact that her dad is always traveling for work and Jade feels alone and helpless. But Jade loves her brother, Colby and is willing to risk anything to save him. Perhaps the most refreshing thing about Jade is that she picks friends based on integrity and not popularity, even though she is tempted to choose poorly in order to “fit in” to her new school. Secondary characters, like Kayla’s brooding ex, Donovan (who makes for a tantalizing love interest), and Jade’s quirky, anti-social friend Alexa add a feeling of diversity and realism to her new school, and also create doubts about who Kayla’s true killer might be. I also liked that Kayla was such a hateful girl and didn’t change after death; sometimes people are just rotten, and dying does not change that, no matter how much people pretend it does.  This mystery is incredibly solid, with clues gleaned from Kayla’s cryptic diary and frequent episodes of haunting and possession that chill the marrow.  Readers who grove on shows like Ghost Hunters and Paranormal State will love this book!

Review of Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Little Brown Books for
Young Readers

Beautiful Chaos
by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
4 Stars

Some powerful, otherworldly force is out to destroy Gatlin and the residents who live there. Lena’s Claiming has disturbed the natural order of things, and Gatlin is experiencing apocalyptic events that have the whole town terrified. Under the devastation of locusts, raging storms and stifling heat, the landscape is changing. Worse, Ethan doesn’t feel quite right, and he suspects the town is not the only thing changing.  How can Ethan, Lena and their friends stop the coming end? Will they discover the correct offering in time to save the town and their loved ones, and more importantly, who will have to pay the ultimate price in exchange for the town’s salvation?

This is one of those series that has made me an avowed fan of the authors. The third book in the Beautiful Creatures series is, I am happy to proclaim, just as satisfying as the first two. All the creeptastic characters from earlier books make an appearance, the spooky town is rendered somewhat spookier given the paranormal attacks that are taking place, and a new, more powerful force from beyond the tunnels rears its head. What’s really satisfying is the fact that the authors recognize the need to lose important characters in a series from time to time, and they seem to be willing to do this in this installment (l’m not telling who!) which ups the ante for book four. And unlike in former books where some characters were resurrected after their deaths, I’m pretty sure these characters aren’t coming back. Ethan and Lena still take center stage—their chemistry as hot as ever—Link is still pining for Ridley, which makes for some interesting, charged scenes, and a surprising new couple emerges. The cliffhanger ending is a bit frustrating, but guarantees a repeat customer (not that I wouldn’t have finished this incredible series anyway).  So for those on the fence about whether or not this series will continue to go strong, pick it up! At least then, you’ll be prepared for the movie franchise which will be releasedFebruary 2013.

This reader predicts that this movie franchise, given its Southern flavor and spooky charm, will outsell Twilight. Why? There’s something for the male element in this series—after all—the main character is a guy!

Review of Break my Heart 1,000 Times by Daniel Waters

Hyperion

Break My Heart 1,000 Times
By Daniel Waters
5 Scribbles!
To be released October 16, 2012

Since “The Event” years before, where millions of people were killed in an instant, ghosts have become a constant part of the world. Veronica cannot walk to school without seeing a ghost, sit through a class or have breakfast without a ghost being present—in fact so many ghosts exist, that ghosts are quite normal. People are accustomed to seeing them and have stopped trying to figure out why they appear—with the exception of Mr. Pescatelli, who is writing a book on the subject, and employs Kirk and Veronica to do field work observing and taping ghost appearances. But when Kirk and Veronica begin to uncover grisly clues to the murder of several local girls, they realize that they are putting their own lives in very serious danger.

First let me say that this is my first Daniel Waters book, despite the fact that he has written many successful YA novels before. How did I miss this talented author? The first noticeable strength of this work is the style, the prose is so rich that at times it borders on the literary, the tone macabre and sinister without being egregiously violent. Veronica and Kirk are typical, relatable teens who want a simple, uncomplicated relationship but face roadblocks at every turn, while the villain and murderer of the story is complex and more than adequately creepy. The reader will loathe the killer as they listen to his thoughts, but they will also sympathize with him, and this story element speaks for the sophistication of the writing and the author’s insight into human nature. And then there are the ghosts! It becomes clear as the novel progresses that ghosts are not simple creatures. Ghosts may differ in nature, some merely images, others harbingers of doom, and others bent on helping, facts that Veronica and Kirk discover through their chilling investigations.  Readers will be spellbound by the discoveries the protagonists make, and they will anxiously await the constant and seamless appearances of new ghosts at every turn.  In addition to the riveting story line, the reader is also led to ponder philosophical questions that make the mind bend; is time really linear? Is there life after death? Are there ghosts all around us? Why do ghosts appear?  A phenomenal work that successfully combines mystery with the paranormal and is impossible to put down, I encourage anyone with an interest in the paranormal, in mysteries, or anyone who just wants a fantastic, creepy read to buy this book the instant it hits bookstores!

Review of The Woman in Black by Susan Hill


P.S. Love to hear posts about what readers think of the movie!

Penguin
Vintage Books Cover



The Woman in Black

by Susan Hill

(Not marketed specifically for young adults)

4 Scribbles

Do you believe in ghosts?

Attorney, Arthur Kipps does not. But when his boss sends him to a remote corner of England to handle the will of the elderly spinster, Mrs. Drablow, he begins to wonder if ghosts really do exist. The novel is told in Arthur’s voice when he is much older, and he tells it via flashbacks. This adds to the sense of foreboding and foreshadowing of some evil to come. The atmosphere of the novel, set in eerie, misty marshlands filled with treacherous bogs, life-sucking quicksand, and deceptive sounds, makes the reader feel as if they are there with Arthur as he both admires the beauty of the marshes and feels suffocated by the sudden changes the marsh constantly undergoes. He is drawn to the land, and feels attracted to Eel Marsh House, where Mrs. Drablow lived before her death; yet, at the same time he cannot explain the strange things he hears, sees, and eventually feels while staying at the house. The dialogue, which sounds much older than the early nineteen hundreds, adds a very Gothic feel to this dark mystery, which once resolved, gives Kipps no peace. The conclusion of the novel will leave the reader shocked and shaken—and sure that not believing in something doesn’t mean one is protected from it. More accessible than Poe, but just as creepy, Hill will have readers looking over their shoulder for months—all in fear of the Woman in Black.