Review: Prince Of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Translated By: Lucia Graves

Genre:  Historical Fiction, Horror, Paranormal

Pages: 218

Published: May 4th, 2010 (English version)

Publisher: Little Brown

Rating: 5/5 Stars

"A mysterious house harbors an unimaginable secret. . . .
It’s wartime, and the Carver family decides to leave the capital where they live and move to a small coastal village where they’ve recently bought a home. But from the minute they cross the threshold, strange things begin to happen. In that mysterious house there still lurks the spirit of Jacob, the previous owners’ son, who died by drowning.
With the help of their new friend Roland, Max and Alicia Carver begin to explore the suspicious circumstances of that death and discover the existence of a mysterious being called The Prince of Mist—a diabolical character who has returned from the shadows to collect on a debt from the past. Soon the three friends find themselves caught up in an adventure of sunken ships and an enchanted stone garden, which will change their lives forever."~Goodreads

You know those book you read as a kid that just drew you in and totally consumed you for hours on end?  If this book had been translated when I was that age this would have been one of those books.  What am I saying?  It is one of those books.  I picked up this little novel (the first in the Niebla Trilogy) on a whim.  I didn't feel like reading the next book on my to-be-read list yet and needed something quick to keep me entertained for a few days.  The Prince of Mist more than did the trick.  It was charming, exciting and truly scary.  It was everything a young adult horror novel should be.

LIKES:

• Beautiful writing: Zafon's writing is really beautiful.  He somehow captures the voices of his characters perfectly while at the same time allowing the reader to make their own observations about the world he creates.  The atmosphere was perfect whether that atmosphere was spooky at the time or charming and quaint.  The story moved along quickly and succinctly and kept me wrapped up in it the whole time.  
• Different take on ghosts:  I love ghost stories, they're probably my favorite kind, but there's usually some sort of formula.  Ghosts are usually dead people who hang around and scare the crap out of the living.  Not in this book though.  These ghosts are unusual.  I'm still not 100% sure how the whole thing went down but apparently they could take different forms, inhabit inanimate objects and resurrect terrifying circus statues.  
• Truly terrifying villains:  Speaking of circuses, there is a ghost clown.  I hate clowns, I find them truly horrifying at their best so when one of them is walking around all incorporeal with razor teeth I just about lose it.  Throw in some creepy haunted home movies, wardrobe monsters and a ghost ship and I will be sleeping with the light on for awhile.  A+ on the scares.

DISLIKES:

• Where are the parents:  About half way through the book something happens and the parents and youngest sister leave town.  They're gone for the rest of the book only to reappear in the epilogue.  I was disappointed in this because I really loved the family dynamic at the beginning of the story and it was sad to see them written out for most of the action.  However, I can see why this was necessary so maybe I can't really count this as a dislike.
• The ending (maybe):  I'm really not sure about the ending.  There are things I loved (the drama and sadness and hope) but I also was kind of disappointed that the story was wrapped up so completely.  It looks like Max won't be the focus of the second book and I really liked him as a character so that was a bummer, but it will be cool to see what the author does with the story from here on out.  After all, this is The Prince of Mist's story right?

I can't wait to read the rest of this series and see what type of terror The Prince of Mist will create. The second and third books involve different protagonists and different time periods which is a really unique and fun idea for a series.  It will be interesting to see what Zafon has come up with (hopefully no more clowns).  I only wish these would have been translated earlier so I could have enjoyed this amazing tale sooner.

Review: On The Day I Died by Candace Fleming

Author: Candace Fleming

Genre: paranormal, anthology, short stories

Pages: 208

Published: 2012

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade

Rating: 3/5 Stars

"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." ~Goodreads

I was so excited to read this book that I didn't even wait for it to go on sale.  I bought it at full price right after Christmas (which is something I normally don't do).  After all, I love a good ghost story more than almost anything.  So I cracked into it almost as soon as it arrived on my doorstep.  Unfortunately I think I built it up a little too much before hand.  It wasn't a total disappointment but it didn't really live up to expectations.

Let's start on a positive not though, shall we?  There were things that I loved about this book.  The premise, for one, was great.  A teenage boy gets stranded in a graveyard surrounded by teen ghosts after trying to return the shoes of a phantom hitchhiker.  He has to listen to their stories before he can leave.  Super creepy right?  I know.  The plot is set up with Mike's story as the backdrop with each short story tying the book together.  This was a really great set-up and It made for a fast-paced, interesting read.  I also really appreciated that Fleming gave each ghost it's own unique voice which tied in with their social background and time period.  This really helped draw me into the stories.  

Unfortunately this is where the positives stopped for me.  There were several problems with this book.  First of all, many of the stories are retellings of well-known short stories.  And while retellings can be fun and all, ask yourselves, do we really need another incarnation of The Monkey's Paw?  I think not.  Not only that, but they weren't even switched around to be their own versions of the classic stories for the most part.  The next issue I had was in the silliness of some stories.  I wanted a book about ghosts not killer sea monkeys from outer space.  It was a cute idea, but it just wasn't what I was looking for or expecting.  Finally, I would have liked it if the stories would have tied together instead of just moving the plot along.  I think that would have really improved the reading experience for me.

Overall, I did have a good time reading this little book and I would recommend it if you're looking for something slightly creepy but not terrifying.  It's a good book for those of you who don't like the really scary stuff but want to be a little spooked.

Make sure you check out my video for a more in-depth review.

 

Review: The Devouring by Simon Holt

Author: Simon Holt

Genre: Paranormal, Horror

Pages: 231

Published: September 1, 2008

Publisher: Little Brown

Rating: 4/5 Stars

"The Vours: Evil, demonic beings that inhabit human bodies on Sorry Night, the darkest hours of the winter solstice. When Reggie reads about the Vours in a mysterious old journal, she assumes they are just the musings of an anonymous lunatic. But when her little brother, Henry, begins to act strangely, it's clear that these creatures exist beyond a madwoman's imagination, and Reggie finds out what happens when fears come to life.
To save the people she loves, Reggie must learn to survive in a world of nightmares. Can she devour her own fears before they devour her?" ~Goodreads

 October was supposed to be a month of spooky reads.  I set it all up ahead of time and had everything planned out for maximum scariness.  Unfortunately, most of the books I read in October lacked in horror, gore and basic spine-tingliness.  That is, until I read The Devouring.  I picked it up on a whim from the bookstore.  I hadn't heard a lot about it but what I had heard had been positive so I decided to go for it.  I pushed the rest of the TBR pile aside and dug right in.  It was the best decision I could have made.  Simon Holt managed to take the concept of our own fear and use it against us in the best possible way.  The story was unpredictable, fun and absolutely terrifying.  It is a tale of how we let our own fear control us and hold us prisoner.  

LIKES:

• Horror that is actually horrifying: I find that in a lot of YA horror there isn't much, well, horror.  This book had it all though.  It was both psychological and gory and it worked beautifully.  In case you don't believe me let me set the stage for you.  Killer, hatchet-handed clowns in a mirror maze.  I was beside myself at around 2 AM and couldn't shake the creepiness.  If clowns aren't really your thing, it also has spiders, zombies, ghosts, demon babies and possessed Christmas carolers.  If that isn't enough for you, then I can't make you happy.
• Great protagonist: Reggie was great.  She's a teenage girl who's taking care of her little brother after her mom skips town.  She is incredibly loving and self-sacrificing but she's far from one-dimensional.  When called upon Regina Halloway is not someone you want to mess with.  She is tough as nails and more than willing to fight for the people she loves.
• Wonderfully spooky imagery:  Holt creates a world that is instantly recognizable which is what makes it so terrifying.  He has a way of making the vours seem so realistic.  More like people with severe psychosis than actual monsters.  In the fearscape things get even creepier.  Holt's nightmare world is incredibly imaginative and the way he describes it is at once enticing and horrifying.
• No cheesy romance (or any romance for that matter): I like a little romance in most books, but when I want to read really great horror the last thing on my mind is the awkwardness of first love.  It just doesn't usually add much to the plot.  In fact, most of the time it detracts from it and seems like a time-filler.  There is none of that in this book.  Reggie and Aaron are friends who are on a mission.  They don't have time to make out in the back seat or make googly eyes at one another.  There are ass kickings to be distributed.

DISLIKES:

• Unanswered questions:  There were some things that went unanswered.  I was really hoping to find out more about Reggie and Henry's mom and what the deal with Eben was.  Fortunately there are two more books so I'm guessing these questions will be answered.  Not really counting this as a dislike since it's mainly just me being impatient.
• Aaron could get a bit annoying:  I really liked Aaron, don't get me wrong, but sometime he was so obnoxious.  He was either playing captain obvious, being skeptical when there was clearly no more reason to be or generally offering up pretty useless information about 50% of the time.  However, he was pretty loveable and he did man up eventually so I'll give him that much.

I'm so happy that I decided to give this book a chance.  It was just the right mix of kooky and scary and it really helped me end the month with a bang.  I can't wait to get my hands on the rest of the trilogy!

Review: A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Author: Patrick Ness

Genre: Paranormal, Horror

Pages: 215

Published: September 27, 2011

Publisher: Candlewick

Rating: 5/5 Stars

"The monster showed up after midnight. As they do.
But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting. He's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming...
This monster is something different, though. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor.
It wants the truth." ~Goodreads

 When I picked up A Monster Calls I figured it would be the perfect Halloween read.  I mean, monsters, hello!  I new that this was supposed to be a sad story as well, but I assumed (incorrectly) that it was more of a thriller than anything else.  After finishing this book, I can promise you that while it is a horror story, the horror here lies in the real life problems that the main character, Conor, is dealing with.  He is bullied at school, abandoned by his father, largely ignored by his grandmother and on top of everything else he is dealing with his mother's cancer.  That's a lot for a kid to deal with.  Then the monster starts showing up.

LIKES:

• The legacy of the book: The idea for this book was originally thought up by Siobhan Dowd.  Unfortunately she passed away from cancer before the idea could come to fruition.  Although Ness and Dowd had not known each other personally, he was a huge fan of her work.  So, when he was asked to write the book he did so with the utmost love and respect.  One of the reasons that this book is such a masterpiece is because Ness was memorializing and celebrating Dowd in its writing.  This makes the story all the more touching.
• The realism: Again, this story is less about a monster and more about Conor's internal struggle with his mother's cancer.  However, that doesn't mean that the story is sappy.  The emotions are so raw and real that it is impossible not to feel totally immersed in Conor's grief.
• The monster: The monster is such a dynamic character.  He is a terror but he is also a nuturer.  He is not only there to scare Conor, he is also there to teach him and to help him.  At the end of the day, it is the monster who makes Conor look at his true feelings and come to terms with his mother's potential fate.
• The illustrations: Jim Kay's amazing illustrations complement the story without overshadowing it.  They are both terrifying and melancholy.  While the story stands on its own, the book would not be the same without these wonderful pieces.
• All the feels: Especially during the last third of the book I just could not stop crying.  It takes a lot for a book to make me cry and this one just would not let up.  I suggest having a jumbo pack of Kleenex on stand-by if you are planning to read this one.

DISLIKES:

Absolutely nothing.  I can't think of a single thing that I didn't love about this book.  You've stumped me Patrick Ness. Well played, sir.

This book is, in a word, flawless.  If you are looking for a different kind of heartfelt read with just a little creepiness, this is your book.  If you aren't crying by the end, you may want to have your tear ducts checked out, there could be a problem.  From, idea to plot to writing and illustrations this book is incredibly well-formed.  I know it will have a place of honor on my shelf for years to come.

Bad Girls Don't Die by Katie Alender

Author: Katie Alender

Genre: horror, paranormal

Pages: 346

Published: April 21st, 2009

Publisher: Hyperion

Rating: 4/5 Stars

"When Alexis's little sister, Kasey, becomes obsessed with an antique doll, Alexis thinks nothing of it.  Kasey is a weird kid.  Period.  Alexis is considered weird, too, by the kids in her high school, by her parents, even by her own goth friends.  Things get weirder, though, when the old house they live in starts changing.  Doors open and close by themselves, water boils on the unlit stove, and an unplugged air conditioner turns the house cold enough for the girls to see their breath.  Kasey is changing too. Her blue eyes go green, and she uses old-fashioned language, then forgets chunks of time.  Most disturbing of all is the dangerous new chip on Kasey's shoulder.  The formerly gentle, doll-loving child is gone, and the new Kasey is angry.  Alexis is the only one who can stop her sister -- but what if that green-eyed girl isn't even Kasey anymore?"

This book was such a pleasant surprise!  I bought it last year (another product of the panic that ensued when Borders closed) and forgot about it.  While I was rearranging my bookshelves a couple of weeks ago I found it and decided to give it a go.  I wasn't expecting much, and I couldn't have been more pleased that I was wrong.  This was a fun and enjoyable read from the first to the last page.  The characters were well-developed and diverse and the story, while familiar, was so well-formed that I finished the book in less than 24 hours.  I love a good old-fashioned ghost story and Alender did a great job of bringing the classic haunted house to a YA book.

LIKES:

Alexis!  I love the main character.  She's such a sad character at first.  Her parents don't understand her (welcome to being a teenager), her little sister is klingy and she has zero friends, in fact everyone at her school is afraid of her.  As the book progresses she matures and begins to realize that the stigma she has attached to other groups of kids at her school (e.g.  the cheerleaders, the preps and the jocks) may not be well-founded.  The author uses Alexis to get across the message that people are not stereotypes, but individuals.  There were times during this book where I forgot I was reading a horror story because the coming-of-age aspect of the book was so strong.  That being said, Alexis maintains her weirdness and individuality through the book.  She doesn't have to assimilate to be accepted and as cliche` as that may sound, that is not a message that got through to me all of the time in high school.  Alexis's love and compassion for her obsessive, strange younger sister is also very sweet and that relationship and her need to save her sister drives the entire plot of the story.  The supporting characters are also well-developed and those relationships don't seem forced or fabricated for the purpose of the message of the book.  The best part about the book, though, is that it is actually really scary, and not in the headless-corpses-with-bloody-stumps-for-hands way, in the best way: psychological and subtle.  There were times in the story where Alexis was talking to her sister and about half way through the conversation you realize it isn't her sister at all.   Little things like that mad this book super creepy in the best possible way.

DISLIKES:

There really isn't anything that stands out to me as a dislike except maybe that the romantic aspect of the book could have been explored a bit more.  There is an absolutely adorable guy, Carter, who doesn't get nearly the amount of page time he deserves, at least according to me.  Maybe he'll play a bigger role in the next book (fingers crossed).  The only reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is because, while it was fun, it wasn't groundbreaking.  It's just a good old fashioned ghost story.  There aren't really any new concepts here and it isn't profound.  But I think that's part of what makes it so enjoyable.  It's a good lazy read.  The over-arching concepts (family, acceptance, teen angst, etc.) aren't hard to grasp so the reader can kind of sit back and relax and get a little spooked.

AND CAN WE JUST TALK ABOUT THIS COVER FOR A MINUTE?

Oh my god.  This is one of the creepiest covers I've seen in a long time.  You can't even see her face!  I literally had to flip this book over so it was cover down on my nightstand at night  (I'm a giant baby).  But really, it's just so creepy and for some reason her feet are what creep me out the most!  As a pasty white person myself, I can promise you we aren't all vampires or ghosts, but there's just something very ethereal about this image while feeling very aggressive at the same time.  

So basically, I haven't shut up about this book since I finished it and I probably won't for awhile.  I also didn't realize until very recently that it is part of a series.  This got me so excited that I nearly bought the second one right away before I realized I have a car payment due tomorrow and that money should really stay in the bank for the moment.  I would definitely recommend this book to horror fans.  And if you happen to be sitting in your giant old Victorian house on a gray day with nothing to do, you can't go wrong picking up this book.