Review: Death Overdue by Mary Lou Kirwin

Posted on November 7, 2013 by Jenn

  • Series: Librarian Mysteries
  • Paperback: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Gallery Books; Original edition (November 5, 2013)
  • ISBN-10: 145168466
  • Source: Publisher

In this second book in the Librarian Mystery series, Minnesota librarian Karen Nash is in London helping Caldwell, her love interest, locate a site for their dream bookstore. This is a big step for her; it wasn’t long ago that she was in heartbroken in London after she discovered her previous boyfriend was having an affair. This step would mean leaving her life in Minnesota and making the permanent move to London. Obviously, this is a concern for Karen and she finds herself questioning every decision she and Caldwell make together.

Even more chaos erupts when Caldwell’s former flame, and joint owner of his B&B, Sally Burroughs, appears out of the blue, demanding that her share of the lucrative business be split with her. She disappeared without a trace nearly seven years ago, leaving Caldwell in her wake. Before Karen and Caldwell can even discuss what is to be done about this situation, a freak accident occurs. In the middle of the night, a bookcase falls and an avalanche of books traps Sally beneath it, killing her instantly.  Caldwell is arrested and taken into custody, charged with her murder. His fingerprints are found on the bookcase and the hook that secured it to the wall. Karen immediately begins to investigate. While Caldwell does have a reason to want her dead, surely he isn’t capable of such a brutal killing, specifically when it involves the disruption of his treasured library?

As mentioned, this is the second book in a cozy mystery series. I discovered the previous book, Killer Librarian, during Cozy Mystery Week last year. I instantly fell in love with the setting Kirwin created and Karen’s sassy attitude!  I was thrilled to learn that she and Caldwell connected and really looked forward to their life together.

That said, while I did enjoy Death Overdue, everything I loved about the previous book seemed to be absent or lacking. I didn’t feel the spark between Karen and Caldwell.  It was almost as if their relationship was more of a business one than anything else. Additionally, while the mystery aspect had me intrigued, I really wasn’t invested in learning what happened. Sally was a truly detesting character and I could have cared less what happened to her. I wanted to get back to Karen and Caldwell’s life together and their hunt for the perfect bookstore location.

All in all, I did still enjoy this book as a part of this series. It could definitely serve as a standalone, but would recommend starting with the first book, Killer Librarian. Despite my issues with this one, I am still looking forward to reading more about Karen and Caldwell and their dream bookstore!

Posted in Cozy Mystery, Gallery Books, Review | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Review: The Whole Golden World by Kristina Riggle

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Jenn

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  • Paperback: 448 pages
  • Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (November 5, 2013)
  • ISBN-13: 978-0062206459
  • Source: Publisher

Rain and her husband, TJ, a popular high school teacher, are struggling with infertility.  Each month Rain if faced with defeat at the news she isn’t pregnant.   She thought that this was going to be the most difficult challenge she and TJ would face together. She was wrong.

Seventeen-year-old Morgan Monetti has always been the daughter her mother, Dinah, could count on. She was an excellent student with plans to go away to college the following year.  Then it happened: an affair began between Morgan and her history teacher, Mr. Hill. When her secret was revealed, Morgan never let her parents believe that she had been taken advantage of or exploited. She knew what they were doing was wrong and assumed that since she was so close to her eighteenth birthday they could get away with it. Never did she believe that Mr. Hill would get in trouble for their indiscretions.  Her feelings were so strong that she did the unthinkable come the trial date. Rather than sit alongside her parents, she sat behind the man she loved.

Told from the perspectives of Rain, Morgan, and her mother, Dinah, The Whole Golden World brings to light a whole range of issues, from marriage and deceit, motherhood and consent.  The stories each of these women tell is remarkable. Rain, shocked at the news of the accusations against her husband immediately defends him despite the accumulating evidence. Morgan refused to be a victim, standing tall behind her feelings and responsibility to tell the truth. Dinah, so full of hope for her daughter, just wanting to protect her and give her the life she thinks she deserves. The reader follows each of these women as they juggle what is best for them and those around them.

This novel is much more than its summary suggests. It goes far beyond the story of a teacher/student affair. It goes to the very core of how we, as women, are portrayed. How we are expected to respond to certain situations, and how it is imperative that we stand up for what we believe in.  That’s not to say that these characters don’t have faults for they most certainly do.  I am certain readers will have very strong opinions about each of the characters. I, personally, found my opinion changing as the story played out and we saw the true face of the characters.

Riggle faces a truly difficult subject matter and proves that, in some cases, the guilty party isn’t obvious. In cases like this, we most often assume that the teacher is the perpetrator, the individual pursuing the student. But what if that isn’t the case? What if the lines of guilt are vague and wavering? While this topic matter is emotional and difficult to face, Riggle does it with an intensity and respect not seen before in other books like it.  It’s obvious that she developed each of her characters with an intense amount of thought, patience, and consideration. She illustrates that it only takes a single lapse in judgement, one single moment in time, to forever alter one’s life and those around them.

Since there are so many topics of discussion in this novel, I highly recommend it to book clubs. After reading it, you will want to discuss it with others. This is a book that still has me thinking, long after I finished read it. Highly, highly recommended.

 

Posted in General Fiction, Review, William Morrow | 1 Comment

Thankfully Reading Weekend 2013

Posted on November 4, 2013 by Jenn

Don’t shoot the messenger, but Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away. I’m pleased to announce that I will once again be hosting Thankfully Reading Weekend! Want to avoid the crowds & shopping on Black Friday? Plan on spending a nice, quiet holiday at home? Join us!  Once again this year, Jennifer from Literate Housewife is joining me as my partner in crime.

Just what is this Thankfully Reading Weekend I speak of?  Here are the details:

There are no rules to the weekend, we’re simply hoping to devote a good amount of time to reading, and perhaps meeting some of our reading challenges and goals for the year. We thought it’d be fun if we cheered each other on a bit. If you think you can join in, grab the button  and add your sign in post to the link-up below. If you don’t have a blog, you can sign up the comments or sign up using a link to your Twitter account or Faceboook page!

We’ll also be checking in on Twitter using hashtag #thankfulreading. Join in for the weekend or for only a single day. No rules, no pressure!

Additionally, we will be doing some fun Thankfully Reading mini-challenges over the weekend.  Be sure to check back Thanksgiving weekend for more details! If you are interested in hosting your own  Thankfully Reading mini-challenge or sponsoring a giveaway, please don’t hesitate to contact me at jennsbookshelfATgmailDOTcom.

 

Posted in Thankfully Reading Weekend | 11 Comments

2013 Murder, Monsters & Mayhem Wrap-Up

Posted on November 3, 2013 by Jenn

2013MX3Yet another year of Murder, Monsters & Mayhem has come to an end! Its always a lot of worth but well worth it in the end!  This year I introduced a new series of guest posts, The First Book to Terrify Me and I truly loved reading all the submissions!

So, in case you missed it, here is a wrap-up of the 2013 Murder, Monsters & Mayhem!

There are still quite a few giveaway items available! All you need to do to be entered is comment on one of the above posts or submit your own link to the link-up page!

Even though Murder, Monsters & Mayhem has come to an end, that doesn’t mean I don’t have anything new and exciting coming up!  Once again, I will be hosting Thankfully Reading Weekend, an excuse to curl up with a book (or two or three) during the Thanksgiving holiday. Also, in early December, I will be hosting Cozy Mystery Week once again.  Sign-up posts for both will go up in the next week.

I hope you have enjoyed Murder, Monsters & Mayhem as much as I have! If you have any comments, suggestions, etc.  I would love to hear them! I’m always looking at ways to improve it!

Posted in Murders, Monsters, & Mayhem | 1 Comment

#Mx3 Guest Post: The First Book to Terrify Me (The House with a Clock in Its Walls by John Bellairs)

Posted on November 2, 2013 by Jenn

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I know, I know. Halloween is over! That said, I received so many great contributions to The First Book to Terrify Me! series that I couldn’t turn them away! I will continue to feature them over the next few Saturdays!

Today’s guest post comes from Belle from Ms.Bookish.com!

Middle Grade Shivers: The House with a Clock in Its Walls, by John Bellairs

 

the-house-with-a-clock-in-its-wallsIt was a dark and stormy night. And actually, it really was a dark and stormy night the night I first read John Bellairs’ The House with a Clock in Its Walls – or at least, that’s what my memories tell me.

I was sitting in my special armchair in the living room. It wasn’t really my armchair, but I liked to sit there to read, with an apple or two by my side. In those days, I was always munching apples while I read – totally unaware of how good they were for me, of course.

I pulled The House with a Clock in Its Walls out of the big duffel bag I used just for library books. I was ten at the time, and that duffel bag – I can see it now, with its beige canvas and brown leather straps – was nearly as wide as I was tall. It was a big bag. Because I needed a big bag. Even back then, going to the library was like going on a a really good treasure hunt. I never knew what I’d find, but I did know I’d find a lot.

That day, one of the treasures was The House with a Clock in Its Walls. I remember reading the tagline on the cover: “The thing was ticking away, marking off the minutes until doomsday”. And the cover itself! It was probably the scariest cover out of any book I’d ever read up until then.

Even now, so many years later, I can remember being deep into the book, barely breathing, as I read about Lewis, who’d been orphaned and had come to live with his eccentric Uncle Jonathan in Uncle Jonathan’s big old mansion, with its secret passages and all those rooms. I can remember the shivers of delight when I discovered that Uncle Jonathan was a wizard, as was Mrs. Zimmermann, his neighbor and best friend.

I loved the zany whackiness of Uncle Jonathan and Mrs. Zimmermann, the way they sniped at each other good-naturedly, the way they both cared about Lewis. I loved Lewis, too – on the plump side, shy, eager to fit in – and his new best friend, Rose Rita, who was spunky and brave and maybe a little too headstrong sometimes.

And then there was Isaac Izzard, the dark warlock who had owned the house before Uncle Jonathan had bought it. Old Izzard made such a very creepy, scary bad guy. I can remember reading this book and being scared to go down our dark hallway to go to the bathroom. It was a fun, scared feeling, though – not the stuff of nightmares, just enough to make you feel deliciously frightened.

The House with a Clock in Its Walls was also my first introduction to the illustrations of Edward Gorey. There are delightful pieces by Gorey throughout the book, and Gorey’s style is a perfect match to the tone of the story.

I read and reread The House with a Clock in Its Walls so many times after that first read. And being a true reader even then, I sought out as many of John Bellairs’ books as I could find. Lewis and the gang appeared in some of them, others were populated by different sets of characters. I eventually read them all, and I loved them all.

But out of all of Bellairs’ tales, The House with a Clock in Its Walls will always hold a special place in my heart. I reread it earlier this year, after a long hiatus away from it, and sadly (but inevitably), the scare/suspense factor wasn’t there any more. I still loved the characters and the relationships, though, and the wave of wonderful memories that accompanied my re-read more than made up for the loss of the scariness.

Woooooo! That is a spooky cover!  Thank you, Belle, for your contribution!  Come back next Saturday for another edition of The First Book to Terrify MeI

Posted in Murders, Monsters, & Mayhem | 4 Comments

Mother & Son Book Club: The Real Boy by Anne Ursu Discussion Part One

Posted on November 1, 2013 by Jenn

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Today we’re kicking off discussion of the first book selection for the Mother & Son Book Club, The Real Boy by Anne Ursu!

This discussion will last for several days on this post, so don’t worry if you and your son have not finished the reading!  Also, feel free to hop in on the discussion, even if you haven’t signed up to participate in the club!  The second part of this discussion will take place in the next week!

First, a refresher! Following is the publisher’s summary:

On an island on the edge of an immense sea there is a city, a forest, and a boy. The city is called Asteri, a perfect city saved by the magic woven into its walls when a devastating plague swept through the world years before. The forest is called the Barrow, a vast wood of ancient trees that encircles the city and feeds the earth with magic. And the boy is called Oscar, a shop boy for the most powerful magician in the Barrow, who spends his days in the dark cellar of his master’s shop grinding herbs and dreaming of the wizards who once lived on the island. Oscar’s world is small, but he likes it that way. The real world is vast, strange, and unpredictable. And Oscar does not quite fit in it.

But it’s been a long time since anyone who could call himself a wizard walked the world, and now that world is changing. Children in the city are falling ill; something sinister lurks in the forest. Oscar has long been content to stay in his small room, comforted in the knowledge that the magic that flows from the trees will keep his island safe. Now, even magic may not be enough to save it.

Now, for some questions to kick off the discussion! Feel free to answer any/all of the questions below! Also, if you have any other points you would like to bring up, feel free to do so in the comments below!

  1.  Discuss the world that Ursu builds. Magic saved the island from a devastating plague. Now that magic may not be enough to save it. A point my boys and I discussed in great detail is how important it is to really pay attention to one’s mistakes and treat them as lessons, to learn from them.
  2. Talk about Oscar’s character.  He’s faced great challenges in his life.  Despite these challenges (and maybe because of them!) Ursu doesn’t want Oscar to have an happy ending handed to him because of his autism, instead because of the kind of person he is. Do you think she did this successfully?
  3. Oscar is not a magician or even an apprentice, yet all of a sudden he is in charge, tasked to solve a tremendous problem. Discuss the concept of unlikely heroes.  Have you experienced unlikely heroes in your life?
  4. Magic plays a big role in this novel. We learn a valuable lesson in that magic doesn’t solve everything, that sometimes it is up to us to take responsibility for your actions. Ask your son: Has there been a time when they had to take responsibility for something they’d done, even if it was really hard to do it? Moms, how about you?

Realizing that these are some pretty general discussions, we’ll more into the nitty-gritty in next week’s discussion!

Posted in Mother & Son Book Club | 2 Comments

#Mx3 Guest Post: The First Book to Terrify Me (Pet Sematary by Stephen King)

Posted on October 31, 2013 by Jenn

2013MX3I am really excited to share today’s First Book to Terrify Me guest post!  This one comes from Jennifer Connor of Literate Housewife.  When Jennifer indicated an interest in participating in this series, she opted to face her fears and do a reread of the first book to terrify  her, Pet Sematary, in preparation for her post.  I’m so proud of her for taking on this mission!

 

When I was in junior high, Pet Sematary was the book to read. It was published in 1983 and by the time I was in the 8th grade, it was readily available at the library. I remember the Saturday I road my bike to the library and found it sitting there on the shelf waiting for its next reader. I can still it sitting on that shelf although it’s been a good decade since I’ve been to that library.

I brought Pet Sematary with me to my babysitting gig across the street the following Saturday night. My goal was to finish the book that night. Finish it I did, amidst the creepiest house noises you’d ever want to hear.  They were real enough to make me feel as though I’d better check on those innocent sleeping babies, but it took every ounce of courage in me to get up off the couch and walk back down that darkened hallway. I was waiting for an evil cat to jump out at me the entire time. No cats appeared, but the creaking floor boards were just as terrifying. Care to imagine what the sound of the garage door opener did to my heart that night? It was with relief that I greeted the neighbors and told them how angelic their babies were. I wanted to go home and jump into my own bed in my own room.

There was one small problem. I had to walk home by myself and it was after midnight. There is no more than a football field’s distance between my parent’s house and the house where I was babysitting. There is a street light nearby so it wasn’t completely dark. It was by far the longest walk of my life. I was terrified of some resurrected entity popping out between houses. Surely pets had to be buried all over the place. I wanted to run, but I could barely move. I had to be a site to see shuffling across the street and then bounding up the steps to nearly hug the front door in relief. To this day, that night is one of the strongest reading memories I have.

There was no question I would write about Pet Sematary for this series. I realized, however, that what I remembered about that book was that trip to the library and the feelings I had that night. I couldn’t remember anything beyond the most basic plot (basic as in what could be told by looking at the cover). I decided to make this guest post an experiment and I bought a copy to read, curious to see how I would react to the book today.

The sections that frightened me at 13 or 14 still scared me today, but the underlying themes that would have gone over my head in junior high are what gave me tiny bouts of insomnia and more anxiety dreams than I have had in a very long time. It occurred to me that at the root of real horror, at least for me, are my responsibilities. Suddenly I’m a little nervous taking the wheel for fear of hitting a jogger. The tiniest worries about my children’s safety and their schedules kept me up at night. As the book progressed and Louis did what he did in the cemetery, I was horrified. Not really because of the way exhuming a grave feels or smells, but it was the thinking about how I would handle my own baby lying dead in the cold ground that put me over the edge. I wanted to vomit with Louis for fear of having to live through that experience. What was real and could happen to any parent is what scared me to death while I was reading Pet Sematary the second time around. I very much see why Stephen King, in his introduction, finds this to be his scariest book. Crossing that street in in the mid-1980s I had absolutely no concept of the true horror I’d just read.

I learned that I am still a big old chicken when it comes to horror. I quickly nixed the idea of recreating that terrifying walk. My neighborhood today is much more rural than where I grew up and I’m no fool! Scary books don’t necessarily get less scary as you reread them or as you leave childhood behind for the adult world. It is a testament to Stephen King’s writing and storytelling that a chilling junior high dare of a book can make your heart pound even harder in adulthood. Although I’ll never regularly read horror, there’s nothing quite like the reading experience.

Thank you so much for contributing, Jennifer!  Although since today is technically the last day of October and should be the end of Murder, Monsters & Mayhem, I still have quite a few posts like this to share. Stay tuned!

 

Posted in Murders, Monsters, & Mayhem | 4 Comments

Guest Review: Desmond Pucket Makes Monster Magic by Mark Tatulli

Posted on October 30, 2013 by Jenn

  • Age Range: 7 – 12 years
  • Series: Amp! Comics for Kids
  • Hardcover: 240 pages
  • Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing (October 1, 2013)
  • ISBN-10: 1449435483
  • Source: Publisher

Today, I’m excited to welcome my youngest son, Justin (8), for a guest review! He’s only reviewed a few books for me but, as he gets older, he’s interested in following his brother’s footsteps in providing fairly regular reviews for this blog. Take it away, Justin!

Even though I am only in third grade, there are a lot of things that the character in this book likes that I like too. Desmond is in sixth grade and loves monsters, just like me. He likes to create special effects and stunts to scare people. I haven’t done any of these things myself because I don’t want to get into trouble but that doesn’t stop Desmond! Luckily (like me!) he has a mom that sticks up for him and gets him out of trouble!  The problem with Desmond is that he is really smart and doing good things with his talent instead of bad. There are so many people who try to get him to do this, but Desmond is more interested in terrifying and scaring people.

One person is out to get Desmond and that is his principal, Mr. Needles. Mr. Needles knows Desmond is up to no good and really wants to catch him in the act. Desmond can’t stop misbehaving but knows if he gets caught he won’t be able to attend the class field trip at the end of the school year.  So, he is forced to enroll in three after school activities as a way to keep him out of trouble. Will it be enough to stop Desmond? You’ll have to read the book to find out!

My mom asked me to tell you why I liked this book. In addition to really liking Desmond, I also liked all of Desmond’s cartoons and drawings that are included. It reminded me a lot of two other series I like, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Big Nate.  These drawings made the book seem shorter and made me want to read faster so I could get to the next drawing.

Also, at the end of the book Desmond tells people how to make monster magic (like making fake blood!) at home! I think this is probably the coolest part of the book. But I’m going to ask my Mom for permission first!

If you are a kid in third grade and higher and you like Halloween, monsters, and books like Diary of a Wimpy Kid I think you will like this book too! If you do, let me know, ok?

Thank you, Justin! Here is where I will add a bit of a parental advisory! Desmond’s antics are a little out of control at times! As Justin read, he and I discussed Desmond’s behavior and why it was inappropriate. I do highly recommend this book for the audience Justin suggests but with a caveat that you have a discussion with your child to remind them that Desmond is a fictional character, in a book, and why duplicating his behavior is ill-advised!
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Posted in 7-10 years of age, 8-12 years of age, Andrews McMeel Publishing, graphic novel, Kid-Lit/Middle Grade, Murders, Monsters, & Mayhem, Review | Leave a comment

#Mx3 Guest Post: The First Book To Terrify Me (A Clockwork Orange and Nineteen Eighty-Four)

Posted on October 29, 2013 by Jenn

2013MX3In today’s edition of The First Book to Terrify Me, I am pleased to welcome Sarah Woodberry, who blogs over at WordHits!

The Book(s) That First terrified Me: A Clockwork Orange and Nineteen Eighty-Four

There are two books that first terrified me in a way that I hadn’t known reading could do. Neither is a typical horror story, but both of these books gave me nightmares.

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess is the first graphic, gory book from which I simply could not turn away at the gruesome parts. Before that, I had rather perfected the art of skipping over violent passages just as one might hit fast-forward during a movie when, say, a clueless woman walks down a dark hallway calling out a tentative “anyone there?”

But Burgess mesmerized me with his syncopated, almost sing-song, writing style, and before I knew it, the teenage antihero Alex and his droogs were boot-stomping a shop-owner and his wife into a bloody pulp. Things only get worse and much more violent, but just like Alex when they have him strapped into a chair for the Ludovico Technique, I simply could not look away. Instead, I read every single, nausea-inducing word. Unlike the typical villain, Alex isn’t really evil to the core. And that’s what makes the book so chilling. Alex is a restless fifteen-year-old knocking people around for kicks. He has a thing for classical music (especially church hymns and Beethoven) which he hums as he fantasizes about violence. It freaked me out that Burgess’s writing lulled me into sympathizing with and somewhat rooting for this awful character. The novel is a sort of twisted morality play in reverse. “Is a man who chooses to be bad perhaps in some way better than a man who has the good imposed upon him?” asks the prison chaplain. The book’s original bleak ending was banned in the U.S. when it was first published. So make sure your edition ends with chapter seven, it leaves you wondering about people.

George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four is another one that shook me up. This book kept me awake at nights because until to the very last lines (spoiler alert!), I expected it to have a redemptive ending. I was right there with Winston when his eyes caught O’Brien’s, the flash of hidden understanding. I too felt a kinetic sympathy with O’Brien. I was all ready for the ‘David trumps Goliath’ plot thread which is hallmark of these dystopian evil-empire tales, like The Lord of The Rings, Watership Down, Star Wars, and most recently, The Hunger Games. But (nuclear spoiler alert), Orwell delivers the mother of all plot twists: the resistance movement only exists as a trap set by Big Brother and the Thought Police. “If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself,” Winston realizes. Still, I kept on hoping, believing, that the human spirit would triumph, if only in a small way. Orwell brutally stomps this out with torture, brainwashing, and betrayal in a novel that really made me think.

Maybe it’s the defeatist nature of these stories that terrifies me. Images from both haunt me at that witching hour, when you’ve woken up at 3 AM and everything seems bleaker and scarier than it would by daylight. Ok, sometimes it’s Freddy Krueger who haunts me. But, sometimes, I think of Alex or of Winston, and I think scary thoughts.

Thank you, Sarah! Please come back on Thursday for yet another edition of The First Book to Terrify Me!

 

Posted in Murders, Monsters, & Mayhem | 3 Comments

#Mx3 Review: The Waking Dark by Robin Wasserman

Posted on October 28, 2013 by Jenn

  • Hardcover: 464 pages
  • Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (September 10, 2013)
  • ISBN-10: 0375868771
  • Source: Publisher

The citizens of the small town of Oleander, Kansas call it the killing day: five people with seemingly no connection commit murders, killing 12 individuals, then attempt to kill themselves. In four out of five cases, they succeeded.  A year has passed but that terrifying date in history has awaken something in this small town.  Exacerbating the town’s pain and recovery, a devastating tornado hits the small town, destroying all but a small portion of the town.  The military is called in, setting up road blocks and barbed wire fences, shutting down any communication with the outside world.  Citizens who attempt to breach the quarantine are killed on the spot. Once peaceful citizens are rising up and committing horrific crimes, taking the law into their own hands.  It’s only a group of five teens – Daniel, West, Jule, Cass, and Ellie- that realize something is seriously wrong and band together to find answers.

Told from the point of view of these five teens, The Waking Dark tells each of their stories how it relates to the killing day and the aftermath.   They each harbor their own secrets, but opening up and banding together is the only way to avoid certain death. What they uncover is darker and more devastating than anyone ever could have imagined.

The characters Wasserman builds in this young adult horror novel are unique, flawed and, most of the time, not very likeable.  Personally, I found it a challenge to connect to any of them and I didn’t really care about their fate or survival.  What kept me invested in this novel was the storyline; I was desperate to uncover the source of the town’s evil.  I’m purposefully vague in the root of this evil for I feel that readers should uncover it on their own.  The execution of the reveal is one of this novel’s selling points.

While I didn’t connect with the characters, I did find the storyline compelling. It wasn’t nearly as terrifying as I though it would be, but I’d prefer a horror novel to have a strong plot than forced “terror.”  If you are looking for a unique piece of young adult horror fiction, The Waking Dark is the novel for you. Recommended.
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Posted in Horror, Knopf, Murders, Monsters, & Mayhem, Review, YA | 2 Comments