Horror

Book Review: The Werewolf of Fever Swamp

Author
Stine, R. L.
Rating
5 stars = Bohemian Rhapsody Awesome!
Review

This book was super great! I love scary books and especially movies. I wish that R.L. Stein would make every book into a movie. It was so easy to read and I read it in a few hours. It is all about a family that moves into this house that was literally next to this swamp called fever swamp in Florida. The main character Grady can't sleep because he hears howling all night long. Grady does a lot.of exploring and finds a lot of crazy things. He finds a mutilated rabbit, a dead deer. He meets someone from the area named Will. Grady keeps exploring when he finds and hears things that aren't right, and the ending....it totally shocked me. It was so good.
-an almost 9th grader

Reviewer's Name
Sophia
Genres

Book Review: Under the Dome

Author
King, Stephen
Rating
4 stars = Really Good
Review

In this story (which holds heavy resemblance to the "Gone" series by Michael Grant), a small town is trapped within a invisible and impenetrable barrier (or dome if you prefer), leaving the inhabitants to fend for themselves against the lack of resources and each other as a power struggle appears in the midst of the crisis.
Similar to another 1000+ page book of King's, Under the Dome has a multitude of interesting and developed characters, a driving force for the majority of the plot, and a heavy lead up that concludes well enough, but a little underwhelming. Watching all the people within the town slowly morph to party, if you will, was great. The mystery of the dome is, of course, speculated throughout the story and gives a small sense of mystery while the conflict continues on. After the climax, however, things slow down to a pretty lackluster conclusion. I feel there could have been something more climatic in the final 50-100 pages of the story. I'm not mad at how it ended, but I felt it could have done a bit more that what it did. Even with that, it was a great book, even with the extensive length.
Reviewer's Grade: 11

Reviewer's Name
Antwaan
Genres

Book Review: House of Leaves

Author
Danielewski, Mark Z.
Rating
4 stars = Really Good
Review

House of Leaves is a story within a story within a story. In short, it is a collection of writings, put together by an amateur tattoo artist after retrieving the notes from a dead blind man's apartment, notes about a documentary that may or may not have existed, a documentary that details one family and their house that is far bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. It is a desperate mess, a mile-high pile of unreliable narrators' unreliable writings collapsing in on themselves. It is a horror, not about a haunted house or a monster in the dark, but about the things that haunt us and the monsters inside our minds. It is a book that pushes the idea of what a book can be. It is gibberish, illegible, unreadable. And it is one of the most gripping books I have ever read.
I was glued to this book when I got it. It was one of the first real horror books I have ever read, and yet it betrays every idea of what horror should be. It is long and rambling and pretentious, going off on random tangents and strange digressions at the drop of a hat, but it still made my skin crawl. After I first bought the book, I quickly realized that I could not read it when my parents weren't home. It's something about the abruptness of horror after so long without it, or maybe its the unsettling words before that put you in the headspace where every shadow looks like a death omen. It's likely also something about the way the book chooses to directly address the root of all fears. It isn't about a house invasion, it's about the primal fear that comes when the comforting becomes unsafe. It isn't about surviving in a dangerous or extreme environment, it's about the bone deep terror of being somewhere you don't belong. It isn't about a monster, it's about the monstrous things this world has to offer, and how that monstrosity can creep into our very bones. This can be seen in the way the horror of the book is never named or explained. There is no ritual or legend, no handy expert or trusty guide. Even if a character manages to escape the horror, the horror still exists, because it has always existed.
Despite the beautiful prose, rich imagery, and startling effect this book creates, there are definitely some problems. The main issue is the inherently illogical structure and plot of the novel. This is obviously intentional on the authors part, since the book, and its characters, are meant to be a challenge to understand. The book is filled with rambling, nonsensical footnotes that can take up pages at a time. Words will go in different directions, appendices will stretch on for hours, entire chapters will be devoted to academic nothingness. This strangeness also weaves its way into the plot. While the documentary's story is mostly straightforward (although it, too, dissolves near the end) the ramblings of the amateur tattoo artist bringing the story together are crude, strange, abrupt, and often incomprehensible. There is a lack of catharsis, of any sort of understanding of most of the characters, and this can be very confusing and frustrating.
All in all, this book was a difficult yet rewarding read. I'd definitely recommend it for older readers, and would instruct any attempting to read it to get the physical version, read however feels comfortable, and go to the appendices when directed. I'd also recommend it for any lovers of horror, mystery, or a story in unique format.
Reviewer Grade: 12

Reviewer's Name
Eve
Genres

Book Review: The Stand

Author
King, Stephen
Rating
3 stars = Pretty Good
Review

One of King's earliest and critically acclaimed books, a superflu ravages the planet, leaving a minuscule remainder of the population to pick between two opposing factions.
This book was a lengthy trip to follow, but it was pretty good. The characters were my favorite part of the story, as most of them were nuanced and developed. Seeing them interact with each other and/or their environment really pulled me in. The story, overall, was also good, but there were spots that didn't bring me the same enjoyment. The ending was anti-climatic and seemed forced, and it didn't flow with the setup before hand. Speaking of flow, the story was very slow. Characters acted and did things, but they also didn't. After the beginning, nothing really happened conflict wise. It all seemed like set up without much driving force aside from the attraction to the two fractions. In context with the story, it makes sense, but it still seemed boring at points where characters either weren't developing or were just there for a purely plot reason. Still recommend a read (especially with how it connects with his other works), but not the best I've read.
Reviewer's Grade: 11

Reviewer's Name
Antwaan

Book Review: This is Not a Test

Author
Summers, Courtney
Rating
4 stars = Really Good
Review

This is not a test focuses on a high school girl who experiences the end of the world. Humans have been infected and zombies have taken over her world. She has had a bad home life with her dad and sister. She believes she should no longer live. Her and a couple of other teenagers take shelter in the high school. The books tells the story of a girl who thinks this is her end but it really is just her beginning. I really loved how suspenseful this book was it made you want to keep reading. I enjoyed reading about a girl who things she has nothing more to offer for the world but then slowly realizes all the bad things that have happened in her life and led her to a single moment. She finally finds where she belongs. I feel like the book could have a better ending. Maybe they could have ended in the government shelter. Overall this book was pretty good. I definitely would recommend it.

Reviewer's Name
Megan
Genres

Book Review: There's Someone Inside Your House

Author
Perkins, Stephanie
Rating
4 stars = Really Good
Review

As an avid Stephanie Perkins reader, this book is not her best work but still worth your time to read. There was ample suspense as Makani Young navigated the unfolding of an active serial killer's crimes in a small town, with a fast pace to not bore readers. Similar to thrillers like One of Us is Lying, I was constantly changing my mind as to who the killer could be. Do we pay attention to Ollie, the typical loner, or even one of Makani's own friends? Unfortunately, the movie adaptation did not do this story justice. Do not waver from trying it out if you stumbled across the movie first! It's not the darkest thriller I've read, but still disturbing enough to introduce a passion for the genre and keep you up at night.
Grade 11

Reviewer's Name
Maggie

Book Review: Hunting Prince Dracula

Author
Maniscalco, Kerri
Rating
2 stars = Meh
Review

In the second installment to the Stalking Jack the Ripper series, this time we follow Audrey and Thomas to Romania, mainly to escape the grief and memories that London contains, but also to attend one of the best schools of forensic medicine. However, Audrey and Thomas are once again thrown into another murder mystery, this time facing Vlad the Impaler.
Even though the plot of this novel seemed interesting enough, like the first book of this series, I still couldn't find myself connecting to Audrey or Thomas at all. Both of them just seemed like the stereotypical cookie-cutter fantasy romance interests, with no dimension and no personality. While I enjoyed some of the interesting cultural legends and information about Romania, I felt like the novel was going way too slow. I couldn't find myself getting into it, and none of the characters really interested me and kept me focused on the novel. Once I practically forced myself to finish the book, I didn't find myself thinking about the book ever again. There was nothing interesting or unique about the novel and all the characters just seemed like the same characters that I've read about over and over again in the fantasy genre. The murder was also pretty generic and simple to solve, so there wasn't much suspense or build-up. Overall, I could see why some people would like this book, but it wasn't for me.

Reviewer Grade: 11

Reviewer's Name
Michelle

Book Review: The Exorcist

Image
The Exorcist cover image; something evil is shown on the book in the fuzzy shape of a cross
Author
Beatty, William Peter
Rating
3 stars = Pretty Good
Review

The source material for the iconic film of the same name, The Exorcist is a about a young girl and what resides within her.
You follow Chris and her 12 year old daughter, Regan, as Regan's behavior begins to change and morph until she becomes unrecognizable to those around her. As her condition worsens, new characters fall under your eye: Klein, Father Karras, Kinderman, and more, all with their own involvement with Regan, Chris, and the events around them.
I enjoyed the book, though I thought the begin was a bit slow, personally. I enjoyed the book, but it wasn't a four star book for me. I would give it a read, especially if you have seen the movie (I haven't seen it, but I digress). It is a bid crude in a couple of places, so if disturbing descriptions make you uncomfortable or something similar, prepare or shy away from this one.
Horror readers and newcomers, enjoy!

Reviewer's Name
Antwaan

Book Review: It

Author
King, Stephen
Rating
4 stars = Really Good
Review

If you love a nice touch of supernatural horror in your life, you have to check out IT by Stephen King. Follow the story of young Bill Denbrough as he tries to discover what happened to his younger brother, Georgie, after his disappearance with his friends: Richie Tozier, Stanley Uris, Eddie Kaspbrak, Beverly Marsh, Mike Hanlon, and Ben Hanscom, while discovering a much darker secret under Derry, Maine. This book has everything you could possibly ask for in a horror novel with a strong bond of characters, a very unique villain, and enough variety that leaves you loving both the teenage and adult perspectives of the story. I love the concept of seeing both a child and adult perspective of the novel, it is a very unique concept, worth the 1000 pages. However, it only gets 4 stars in my book due to the constantly changing perspectives that seem to jump back and forth along with many questionable moments throughout the book. However, if you are looking for a book that will keep you reading for a while and love horror, It is the book for you.

Reviewer Grade: 12

Reviewer's Name
Alexis

Book Review: The Phantom of the Opera

Author
Leroux, Gaston
Rating
4 stars = Really Good
Review

The Phantom of Opera by Gaston Leroux is actually a simple classic novel that is really beautiful yet an extremely compelling story in itself. As the very name suggests the book is about a Parisian Opera (Opera in Paris), that is apparently Haunted by an alluring and a mysterious Phantom.

The worst part is that the Phantom eventually falls in love with a soprano Christine Daaè which in the end causes a lot of trouble for the Parisian Opera House.

Anyhow let's get back to this book review. Though the story is actually all about romance and mystery it is also full of obsession and suspense. The book is a classic literature and a bit Broadway musical genre, it is perhaps not bad to say that the book is filled with a lot of suspense and almost an indefinite thought provoking moments that some would find very interesting, when some would find it awkward.

Even though the story itself does go deep into the Christine's childhood and the Phantoms backstory what we really enjoyed is the psychological aspect and angle of it. So, a lot of thrilling moments that will literally nail you to your stool or a bed while you read it.

Reviewer's Name
Nesim