In movies it's fairly easy to make a character very scary, like the guy from The Nightmare on Elmstreet or IT, but I feel like in books it's more difficult. That doesn't mean it isn't possible though! Here are some of my favourite scary characters in YA! Bellatrix LestrangeHARRY POTTER - J.K. ROWLING Voldemort I can deal with. Now Bellatrix is a whole other kind of scary. In the books she terrified me and in the movies she was perfectly portrayed and even scarier. RobTHE DROWNING - RACHEL WARD Mr. Creepy Ghost Boy with a Criminal Record in the house. Rob is the last person I'd want haunting me. Anyone who can kill an innocent dog is a monster to me. Coraline's Other ParentsCORALINE - NEIL GAIMAN I don't know if this is YA, but I do know I would not let a child read this, so I'm gonna count it. Coraline's Other parents with their button eyes were terrifying. I have the Tenth Anniversary edition of the book, which has these pictures of random scenes in the book, including some of the parents. Yikes. The QueenRED QUEEN - VICTORIA AVEYARD This one is more of a psychological fear than a genuine fear for my safety. The Queen can read people's minds, which is honestly the most terrifying thing ever. The notion that I am and will always be alone in my own head is scary, but someone else being there with me is even scarier. Those are my favourite scary characters from YA! What are yours? Let me know!
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SYNOPSIS: What happens if you've done something terrible? But you can't remember what. And you don't know how to put it right ...When Carl opens his eyes on the banks of a lake, his brother is being zipped into a body bag. What happened in the water? He can't remember And when he glimpses a beautiful girl he thinks he recognizes, she runs away. Suddenly he knows he must find her - because together they must face the truth before it drowns them. Rating: 3/5
This was FANTASTIC thriller-wise. It made me genuinely nervous as it deals with things pretty much everyone is scared of: drowning and ghosts. Those parts were written so well they had me on the edge of my seat, and I was imagining it so much it felt life-like. If you're looking for a good scary book, this definitely is one. I was less of a fan of the main character, as he was a bit of a delinquent which I couldn't relate to at all, and I had a hard time liking someone who spent his time committing crimes. I do have to say that he fit in this story very well, with the people his brother and mum are. I also didn't like Neisha's character, as she didn't pass the 'sexy lamp' test at all. This test basically just checks if a female character could be replaced by a goodlooking lamp, and Neisha definitely could've been. She basically didn't add anything, despite Carl trying to make everything about her. She used to date Rob, but as soon as he's dead she just kind of moves on to Carl. She is also very much treated as being a boy's property. She is "Carl's girl". This leads me to the romantic plot of this story, which made me uncomfortable, with fifteen year old kids telling each other they love them within days of being together and Carl's brother/Neisha's boyfriend dying. Carl then proceeds to obsess over Neisha and act like she is the most important thing in his life. The overall plot was enjoyable. It was a bit slow at times, but not so much that it really bothered me. The scenes with Rob in them were proper scary, and I enjoyed watching Carl go on a quest to figure out who he was before the accident and what actually happened during the accident. Altogether an enjoyable book, definitely a good Halloween read. Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/book/show/16120205-the-drowning Amazon: www.amazon.com/Drowning-Rachel-Ward/dp/0545627710 Two weeks ago I made a post about books with witches in (link!) and today's post is kind of a follow-up on that. Here are some of my favourite paranormal creatures in YA! The Drowning of Arthur Braxton - Caroline SmailesWhatever half the characters in this book are, they're not human. There's at least two different kinds of paranormal creature, but I'm not going to say what they are, as that would spoil the book. This book is paranormal without being obviously so, it's too grounded to be a proper paranormal creepy story and that gives the whole thing a bit of a magical vibe. The Drowning - Rachel WardAfter his brother dies, Carl starts seeing and hearing him around. This feels like more than just hallucinations from guilt or whatever, and it gave me the creeps. Coraline - Neil GaimanA creepy classic for all ages. Neil Gaiman made up his own kind of paranormal creatures and he got a hit. They're scary as heck and I can't believe this is actually a children's book. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom RiggsRansom Riggs built this entire world with different types of paranormal creatures and a paranormal setting and everything is insanely good. I can't imagine anyone who loves YA wouldn't have at least read the first book of this series, but if you haven't, this series is honestly a gem and you should definitely try it! Throne of Glass - Sarah J. MaasThis book has elves, witches, magic, pretty much all the paranormal fantasy stuff you could wish for. I haven't finished this series yet, but I'm really enjoying it. Perhaps in later books there are more creatures that I haven't met yet. This series is another YA classic and I'd recommend it to everyone. Another Day - David LevithanI KNOW I should read the original book, Every Day, but I still haven't gotten round to it. I liked Another Day though. The book itself wasn't super great, but I liked the concept a lot. I haven't got a clue what kind of paranormal creature A is, but I love it and would love to read more about this type of creature. I haven't been able to find anything like this so far, however, so if you have any recommendations hit me up! Those are some of my faves! What are yours? Let me know!
October is one of my favourite months of the year. It's the prettiest, with all the leaves and candles and the nicest colours, my birthday is in October (next Saturday!) and HALLOWEEN! I love to watch Halloween movies (family ones, I'm not big on actual horror films), decorating my room with pumpkins and leaves and things like that, and going for walks in the woods. One of my other favourite October activities is reading scary books. Here are some of my favourites! Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom RiggsStarting off with a classic on the YA scene. I've never heard of anyone who didn't love this series. The story is just the right cocktail of creepy and fun, and the vintage pictures give it that extra wow factor. 172 Hours on the Moon - Johan HarstadMy absolute favourite scary book of all time. Three teenagers are sent to the moon for 72 hours to raise some money for more space travel, but once there, the crew suddenly start dying. Even though they should be the only ones on the moon, right? This had me on the edge of my seat, and years later I'm still recommending this book to everyone. One of Us Is Lying - Karen M. McManusThis book isn't exactly scary, but I feel like mystery books fit with the Halloween theme too. One of Us Is Lying is mysterious Who-Dunnit and had me hooked from start to finish. Vanishing Girls - Lauren OliverThis book is also more of a mystery than a thriller, but it did have a spooky setting with an abandoned ride in a theme park that some girl died on once. Yikes. To make it worse, the girl's father still shows up to stare at it every now and again and it's said that the girl haunts the ride. PERSEFoNE - Michelle GagnonThis series isn't too well known, but I feel like it deserves more recognition. A girl wakes up in a makeshift hospital with a mysterious scar. She escapes, and is set on finding out what's going on. This series is so creepy and a bit scifi-ish. Those are some of my favourite scary books. What are yours? Let me know!
SYNOPSIS: Dara and Nick used to be inseparable, but that was before the accident that left Dara's beautiful face scarred and the two sisters totally estranged. When Dara vanishes on her birthday, Nick thinks Dara is just playing around. But another girl, nine-year-old Madeline Snow, has vanished, too, and Nick becomes increasingly convinced that the two disappearances are linked. Now Nick has to find her sister, before it's too late. Rating: 3/5
This book was quite enjoyable to read once it got going properly. It was a bit slow at times, mainly the first half of the novel was just background story and getting to know the characters. Nick was an alright character, though she seemed a bit too perfect, but edgy. She didn't like her father's new girlfriend for no particular reason at all, apart from maybe the fact that she had lipstick on her teeth sometimes? Not sure about this. The mystery itself was intriguing and pulled me in all the way. The search for Madeleine was realistic and I wanted more of that. I spent most of the book waiting for Dara to finally go missing to deepen the mystery, but that took ages and only really got going in the last 100 pages or so. Fortunately the filler parts weren't too boring, but I'd have liked more mystery over all this background story, though I understand that the author wanted to have a proper world to set it in. The setting then, was pretty cool. The theme park had this creepy ride that someone died on once and allegedly it's haunted by her now. This was creepy and cool, and the victim's father still showing up at the ride occasionally gave it that extra bit of spookiness. The ending was alright. I half liked it, half didn't. What I'm going to say without spoilers is that I liked the Dara resolution, but the Madeleine resolution was quite disappointing to me. If you've read this book, please let me know what you thought as I'd really like to hear other people's opinions! Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/book/show/22465597-vanishing-girls Amazon: www.amazon.com/Vanishing-Girls-Lauren-Oliver/dp/0062224115 I love creepy books! My favourite settings are either really normal ones or really spooky ones. For example, I just read One of Us Is Lying, of which the setting was just a normal town with a normal school. This makes the story creepier, as it makes you feel like this could happen to you! You live in a town like this and go to a school like this too! Another book in a normal setting is Vanishing Girls, by Lauren Oliver, which is also set in a normal town. However it also has a setting that's more of the second type, which is a theme park with a creepy abandoned ride that someone died on years ago. Nothing better than a good old haunting. My second favourite type of creepy setting is the one that is set up to be creepy. These are usually kind of paranormal, like with ghosts in a haunted asylum or, like in The Drowning of Arthur Braxton, dead people in an abandoned bath house. Vanishing Girls doesn't have any real paranormal things, but it gives the illusion it does, just by speaking of the haunting and making the ride seem scary. The TV show American Horror Story is the true Queen of creepy settings like these! Those are my favourite types of creepy settings! What are yours? Let me know!
SYNOPSIS: Pay close attention and you might solve this. On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention. Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule. Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess. Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing. Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher. And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High’s notorious gossip app. Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention Simon's dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn’t an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he’d planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who’s still on the loose? Everyone has secrets, right? What really matters is how far you would go to protect them. Rating: 4/5
My first Spooky October book! I really enjoyed this one! If you read my October TBR / Book Haul you might remember me saying I got spoiled for this book. Turns out I wasn't! I misread a question from a Book Club on Instagram and spent the whole time thinking this one person did it, and by the time the ending rolled around it turned out that person hadn't done it and I was so confused! I'm really glad I wasn't actually spoiled though, and I guess I got a first-hand view into what tunnel vision is like ;) This book got right into the action, and kept introductions short and to the point. I was surprised to see Simon die so early on in the book, but you don't hear me complaining. I loved all the characters, and how they were essentially their stereotype, but also grew to be more than that. Sometimes all the background characters got a little overwhelming and I had to really try hard to remember who's dating who and who's sister is whose, but that wasn't too annoying. Bronwyn was my favourite character, what a surprise, as I am essentially her. I am an overachiever who thinks everything can be solved by tactical thinking. I loved her growth in this book. Also!! I loved the portrayals of family relationships! Parents weren't always the best, but siblings came to the rescue and it was so lovely and refreshing to read about sisters getting along really well. I appreciate that the background characters got a little story of their own too, so they weren't just two dimensional blobs scuttling around at the back of the stage while the play took place. I'm always going on about feminism and representation and what not on here, so I think it's good to mention some positives on this front sometimes too! This book was a great on the representation part, with different ethnicities and sexualities, and although the female characters had me sceptical at the start of the book, they stepped the heck up and I loved them at the end of the book. Seriously, Addy made a proper 180 and turned out so amazing and strong! It was awesome to read her transformation! The plot itself was thrilling and kept me guessing till the very end, where it was unravelled just a bit too quickly too my taste, and I wasn't a big fan of the ending itself overall, but it was fine and fitting, I suppose. As the book went straight into action instead of spending 100 pages waffling about world building (as some books do, I hate it) I would say that the overall page to page enjoyment of this book was very high. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun mystery read, for either Halloween or any other time of year! Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/book/show/32571395-one-of-us-is-lying Amazon: www.amazon.com/One-Us-Lying-Karen-McManus/dp/1524714682 SYNOPSIS: Arthur Braxton runs away from school. He hides out in an abandoned building, an old Edwardian bathhouse. He discovers a naked woman swimming in the pool. From this point on, nothing will ever be the same. Rating: 4/5
[ Warning. Review contains mentions of sex ] I read this book because one of my favourite Youtubers, Lukeisnotsexy, is making a movie for it. And although he's been working on it for like three years already, he's now finishing up, so I wanted to make sure I'd read the book before it came out. Unfortunately I didn't love it as much as Luke did, but I did really like it. This book is bluntly and unapologetically magical. We aren't given any explanations for all the magical things, nor are we told if these things just happen in the Bathhouse or if they happen everywhere, apart from the water goddesses. I loved this a lot. We waste no time in trying to make up rational explanations, we just dive straight in. The thing that made me like the book less than Luke did is probably that I really disliked Arthur. He's a gross teenage boy who objectifies women, and is rewarded for that by getting a pretty girlfriend who is genuinely in love with him. At least she thinks so. I'm not entirely sure if this book had a message of love or one of hopelessness in love. Arthur is bullied, his mum ran off, and his dad is completely depressed, so I did feel sorry for him, but his obsession with naked women and genitalia really put me off him. One of the other main characters Lauren, had a very intriguing story. The book opened with her story and her narrative was interesting and pulled me in right away. I was sad that we didn't get much else from her in the rest of the book, but I suppose her story was just necessary to explain the rest of the book. I love her and she deserved better. The story itself was a pleasant read and I was mostly trying to unravel the mysteries the whole time. Arthur and Delphina's romance wasn't too interesting to me, but fortunately their relationship furthered the plot and revealed more secrets. Overall a fun read and I look forward to the film. Also, I'm curious to see how Luke makes the film, as half the characters are naked the whole time. Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/book/show/17701852-the-drowning-of-arthur-braxton Amazon: www.amazon.com/Drowning-Arthur-Braxton-Caroline-Smailes/dp/0007479093 I've never been much of a Fantasy or Paranormal reader, but I've recently been reading more of that. But today's Top 5 Wednesdays topic is Witches, so I will obey. Although I don't think we're going to get to 5 for this Wednesday's post! Harry Potter - J.K. RowlingThis is a bit of a cop-out, but of course I had to mention it. Quite possibly the most-read book series ever is all about witches and wizards. My favourite witch is definitely Hermione. Heir of Fire - Sarah J. MaasThe witches are introduced in the third book of the Throne of Glass series. I'm not quite sure what happens to them in the next books, as I haven't read them yet! I did very much enjoy Manon's storyline in Heir of Fire. Hex - Thomas Olde HeuveltI keep seeing this book at my library and I really want to read it, but they only have the Dutch version and I kind of want to read it in English. My October Halloween TBR is pretty full, but if I end up finishing earlier than expected I might pick up the Dutch version of this anyway. This witch is a bit different from the first two books', as she is a myth, whereas the witches in the previous two books were all active characters. That's all the YA books with witches I can think of right now. Any I missed? Let me know!
This month's books will be themed around Halloween, of course! So get ready for some spooky books! ONE OF US IS LYING - KAREN M. MCCMANUS SYNOPSIS: Pay close attention and you might solve this. On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention. Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule. Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess. Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing. Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher. And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High’s notorious gossip app. Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention Simon's dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn’t an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he’d planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who’s still on the loose? Everyone has secrets, right? What really matters is how far you would go to protect them. I accidentally got spoiled for this book by a book club on Instagram that posted a very very important fact in the first line of a picture description without putting a Spoiler alert, so although that's super disappointing I'm still very excited to read this! VANISHING GIRLS - LAUREN OLIVER SYNOPSIS: Dara and Nick used to be inseparable, but that was before the accident that left Dara's beautiful face scarred and the two sisters totally estranged. When Dara vanishes on her birthday, Nick thinks Dara is just playing around. But another girl, nine-year-old Madeline Snow, has vanished, too, and Nick becomes increasingly convinced that the two disappearances are linked. Now Nick has to find her sister, before it's too late. A good old scary mystery! I've been making myself wait for this till October but now that it's October I can finally read it!! CHECK-OUT - JUULTJE VAN DEN NIEUWENHOF SYNOPSIS: During a school trip, a group chat is made from the phone of a classmate who has died, another classmate gets into an accident and has to go to hospital, and scary snuff movies are found. During a performance of The Blue Man Group the classmates find out the truth about their classmate's death. I wasn't going to get this book as it's only available in Dutch, but it just sounds so creepy and awesome and it's only short anyway, so I'm going to squeeze it into this month! MICE - GORDON REECE SYNOPSIS: Shelley and her mom have been menaced long enough. Excused from high school where a trio of bullies nearly killed her, and still reeling from her parents' humiliating divorce, Shelley has retreated with her mother to the quiet of Honeysuckle Cottage in the countryside. Thinking their troubles are over, they revel in their cozy, secure life of gardening and books, hot chocolate and Brahms by the fire. But on the eve of Shelley's sixteenth birthday, an unwelcome guest disturbs their peace and something inside Shelley snaps. What happens next will shatter all their certainties-about their safety, their moral convictions, the limits of what they are willing to accept, and what they're capable of. This sounds like more of a psychological thriller than a proper scary one, but I'm going to give it a try anyway. It sounds cool! THE DROWNING - RACHEL WARD SYNOPSIS: What happens if you've done something terrible? But you can't remember what. And you don't know how to put it right ...When Carl opens his eyes on the banks of a lake, his brother is being zipped into a body bag. What happened in the water? He can't remember And when he glimpses a beautiful girl he thinks he recognizes, she runs away. Suddenly he knows he must find her - because together they must face the truth before it drowns them. I honestly have no idea what to expect from this, but it was marked "scary" by my library so here we go. THERE'S SOMEONE INSIDE YOUR HOUSE - STEPHANIE PERKINS SYNOPSIS: One-by-one, the students of Osborne High are dying in a series of gruesome murders, each with increasing and grotesque flair. As the terror grows closer and the hunt intensifies for the killer, the dark secrets among them must finally be confronted. By the time I'm posting this, I haven't got this book yet as it's not yet available on the Book Depository. I am planning on ordering it for my birthday (October 21!) so I'm hoping to get it in time to read it for Halloween Month! I LOVE STEPHANIE PERKINS!! Six books on my TBR for October. That's kind of optimistic, but I think I can do it! Look forward to a lot of Spooky themed blog posts this month!!
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AuthorHi! I'm Marcella. As you might have guessed, I quite like YA books.. Archives
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