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paulabrandon's review
3.0
Annie is sent to live with her grandmother while her mother and stepfather go on holiday. She's none too thrilled about this development, and spends the first 50 pages behaving like an intolerable snot. You would think Annie is five, not fifteen! Shut in her room by her grandmother, Annie is enticed to sneak out and go trick-or-treating by a strange girl, Amy. Annie thinks Amy is strange, but likes her. We the reader learn from other characters that Amy actually went missing the previous Halloween and is presumed dead. It's clear that Amy is a ghost, and the book gradually unravels the events that led to her death, uncovering many small-town secrets.
Another Point Horror Unleashed title that isn't so much for young adults, more it just happens to feature some adolescent characters. There are actually some pretty heavy themes running through this book, with it clear that Amy and her mother were the victims of domestic violence. There are also two teen brothers who are clearly moving on from torturing and killing animals to potentially torturing, raping and killing young girls. The book is not explicit by any means, but a said, the material can get quite dark. As we learn more about Amy's life, I also felt quite sad for her.
But as a horror story, it's lacking. There are no real scares to be had. I thought I might be reading a book about a girl seeking vengeance against those she feels contributed to her death, but the retribution meted out is unsatisfactory and underwhelming. And although set in the US, all the characters seemed to speak British slang. It was weird. Still, this was an involving story that I read in one go, and wanted to find out what happened.
Another Point Horror Unleashed title that isn't so much for young adults, more it just happens to feature some adolescent characters. There are actually some pretty heavy themes running through this book, with it clear that Amy and her mother were the victims of domestic violence. There are also two teen brothers who are clearly moving on from torturing and killing animals to potentially torturing, raping and killing young girls. The book is not explicit by any means, but a said, the material can get quite dark. As we learn more about Amy's life, I also felt quite sad for her.
But as a horror story, it's lacking. There are no real scares to be had. I thought I might be reading a book about a girl seeking vengeance against those she feels contributed to her death, but the retribution meted out is unsatisfactory and underwhelming. And although set in the US, all the characters seemed to speak British slang. It was weird. Still, this was an involving story that I read in one go, and wanted to find out what happened.
allthings's review
2.0
Fun little mystery/ghost story, let down by bad writing. Probably 1 star for an adult reader, but 3 for a younger teen.
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