Reviews

Truth or Dare by Ellie O'Ryan, P.J. Night

mehsi's review against another edition

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5.0

(Note: this review is in English, but I will use the names as used in the Dutch edition, since I read this book in Dutch. And I frankly have no clue what everyone's names are in English.)

This was a really really fun book. I saw it in the library and just had to take it with me. I am glad I did, now I found a new horror series that I am going to follow and buy (this time in the original language).

The story was really great, scary, creepy and at times gave me goosebumps. Especially during certain events I just had arms and legs full of goosebumps. I really liked the story/setting. Sleepover, secrets are told, suddenly a stalker appears! Love it!
The whole, who-is-it and is-it-a-ghost was a fun thing and I had lots of fun trying to figure it out. I just never guessed it was that. (sorry no spoilers. :))

Aagje was a really great character, I really like her. She has great friends (though I didn't like Lisa that much) and I was cheering for her and Daan to get together. I had high hopes for them. (again no spoilers as to what happens at the end)

I already bought several of this series yesterday after I finished this one. I just love horror books like this one, and luckily they are quite cheap.

One thing I didn't like, and something that I will complain about at my library. They put a sticker (for protection and such) right over the last page of the book... I could somewhat decipher what was under the sticker, but it ruined the ending for me. Which is a real shame. :(

And again horrendous translation of various things. The book in Dutch is called Akelige Smsjes which would translate to Ghastly/Horrible Sms or Ghastly/Horrible Messages not Truth or Dare. Also the Creepover part? It is called Griezelkoorts (English:Horror Fever) in Dutch. Real shame that translators suck at translating.

Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/

mrobison576's review against another edition

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lighthearted tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I love when a kids' horror book is like, "Now remember kids, if you think you're being haunted by a ghost, there's probably a rational explanation for it! Like your dead friend's estranged cousin from England is in town, but her aunt and uncle have locked her up in their dead child's room because they look so alike and she got so bored that she started impersonating her cousin over email."

purple676's review against another edition

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3.0

I was expecting something else from this book but it still wasn’t bad

earlybirdie94's review against another edition

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4.0

It reminded me of my childhood years, so I thought it was cute.

davidlutz's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

As an adult male I'm way out of the target audience for this book. With that said I found it to be very enjoyable and the right level of scary for the target audience

faylanlana's review against another edition

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5.0

childhood fav

infinitystar's review against another edition

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4.0

you can never go wrong with a middle grade. This one was super entertaining and I really enjoyed the story and the characters, it was a really fast-paced and fun book. Definitly plan on reading the rest of the series. 4/5 stars

raylily25's review against another edition

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tense fast-paced

4.0

Giving it a 4 bc it would have really scared me if I was younger. Also I'm glad Samantha has friends now.

chrissymcbooknerd's review against another edition

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4.0

**Disclosure** I read this book, for free, from S&S Galley Grab. While I always appreciate a free book for review, my opinions are in no way influenced by the free-ness lol**

Truth or Dare by PJ Night.

I admit, first off, that I opted to read this selection from Galley Grab because I liked the cover once I looked it up here on Goodreads. It's cute, youthful, fun, and hints at spookiness, like an updated Fear Street or Goosebumps from back in the day. (Speaking of which, I really loved that one where the dad was a plant... Goosebumps... anyone remember that one??)

In Truth or Dare, a girl named Abby confesses at a sleepover game of Truth-or-Dare that she has a huge crush on a boy at school named Jake. While Jake seems like the perfect catch, Abby is hesitant to make a move because she knows he still hasn't fully recovered from the loss of his beautiful ex-girlfriend, who died in an accident.

Eventually, though, Jake seems to be sending signals of his own, and he ends up asking Abby to the school dance. Of course, she accepts. But, soon, weird things start to happen. Abby starts getting threatening text messages from an unknown number, advising her to stay away from Jake. She feels watched, and notices things being moved without explanation.

Although Abby doesn't believe in ghosts, she starts to wonder if the ghost of Jake's ex-girlfriend has returned to stop her new chance at young love....

Truth or Dare was actually a pretty cute book. I found myself interested in the storyline and I'm sure that I really would have connected with it even more if I'd read it when I was 10 or 12. But, even in my 20's, I wanted to get to the last page to see if we were dealing with a ghost or a vengeful classmate.

I thought the ending would be disappointing, but I felt pretty redeemed in the end.

This is listed as a "Middle Grade" novel, and while I don't have a lot of experience with this age bracket of reading, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this title to young readers, and I'd definitely check out similar books in the future.

lbrick363's review against another edition

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4.0

My niece claimed this book was too scary for her to read (she is eight), so on our way back from vacation in Colorado I read the book aloud. I thought it was pretty good, but did not like the ending very much. There were some laugh-out-loud funny parts to it too. Great tween book and I may read the second one just because. =)