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A review by the_coycaterpillar_reads
Ouija by Zoé-Lee O'Farrell
4.0
Ouija is a book that needs to be read by all fans of Point Horror, Fear Street and Goosebumps. Boy, has reading this eerie story taken me back to my first experience of reading for fun! It gave me the chills, the excitement and it brought me a taste of nostalgia. I won’t lie, I had a lurking sense of trepidation going into this story. Could I still get on board with Teen and Young Adult based narratives? Did it have a storyline that I could still connect with? Fear not, as it delivered on all those and still managed to get my adrenaline pumping.
Reading Ouija taught me that it is a very good thing to read out with our boundaries. It’s good to test our limits because you just never know when those broken limits will lead to something extraordinary. Upon hearing about this new release, I was very much seduced by the title. I’ve lost count of how many movies I’ve sat frozen with fear whilst the protagonists play around with an Ouija with disastrous effects. It has everything I could ask for in a horror story – a disturbing opening scene. A group of friends making unwise decisions. An alternating timeline.
The perfect opening, a disturbing and dangerous game being played the previous year. Then it’s fast forward to the present day when we meet six friends who make the likely bad decision to play with an Ouija board in the abandoned, Raynor High. Although this was a short read I really enjoyed O’Farrell’s exploration of teen behaviour and their need for freedom. It was so reminiscent of 90’s horror movies, I was rattled, and I was a prisoner to the author’s cutthroat narrative.
So, playing with an Ouija board in the site of a horrific tragedy? Yeah everyone knows that’s not going to play out well. Especially is you are Lara, who quite rightly knows this is a recipe for disaster. Upon immediately sitting down to read this story its very apparent that the atmosphere is off, you can feel the tension in the air – its surrounding everyone and it threatens to kill. O’Farrell’s debut novella but you really can’t tell, the story is seamless but with a killer instinct. She has nailed that “every action has a consequence” trope. Buckle in because the short sharp shocks has you looking over your own shoulder.
Ouija is edge of your seat and scarily good. O’Farrell has a honest and vibrant voice and provides a twisty sense of foreboding to her storytelling.
Reading Ouija taught me that it is a very good thing to read out with our boundaries. It’s good to test our limits because you just never know when those broken limits will lead to something extraordinary. Upon hearing about this new release, I was very much seduced by the title. I’ve lost count of how many movies I’ve sat frozen with fear whilst the protagonists play around with an Ouija with disastrous effects. It has everything I could ask for in a horror story – a disturbing opening scene. A group of friends making unwise decisions. An alternating timeline.
The perfect opening, a disturbing and dangerous game being played the previous year. Then it’s fast forward to the present day when we meet six friends who make the likely bad decision to play with an Ouija board in the abandoned, Raynor High. Although this was a short read I really enjoyed O’Farrell’s exploration of teen behaviour and their need for freedom. It was so reminiscent of 90’s horror movies, I was rattled, and I was a prisoner to the author’s cutthroat narrative.
So, playing with an Ouija board in the site of a horrific tragedy? Yeah everyone knows that’s not going to play out well. Especially is you are Lara, who quite rightly knows this is a recipe for disaster. Upon immediately sitting down to read this story its very apparent that the atmosphere is off, you can feel the tension in the air – its surrounding everyone and it threatens to kill. O’Farrell’s debut novella but you really can’t tell, the story is seamless but with a killer instinct. She has nailed that “every action has a consequence” trope. Buckle in because the short sharp shocks has you looking over your own shoulder.
Ouija is edge of your seat and scarily good. O’Farrell has a honest and vibrant voice and provides a twisty sense of foreboding to her storytelling.