Date
Published: July 1, 2008
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it
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Number
of Pages: 390
Publisher:
Harper Collins
First
Thoughts:
It’s a surprise that
it’s taken me this many years to finally read this book, I mean I’ve seen it
countless times in the bookstores and on Goodreads but finally I succumbed and
read it. This book gave me different expectations; I went into reading this
book thinking one thing and coming out of it thinking another. It was a
semi-fast read that took me on a journey filled with grotesque images and
self-discovery.
Plot:
So I was expecting
this “Lyle House” to be some huge mansion filled with insane patients but
really you just had a simple Victorian house filled with troubled teens. It was
really cool to see how the house itself almost controlled the events in the
story; the unveiling of the supernatural, the emerging of self-discovery, etcetera…
it all really tied well into each other. I wouldn’t say the pace was fast but
more of a gradual pace; semi-fast. There were parts where you just got some
history of either a person or an event while others you had action packed
instances…each scene had its own purpose and helped move the story along. As
for the actual story itself though it had some same basis as a lot of YA books
it also had its own “flavor” it brought in new ideas and created different
rules for this new world. And though there were a few predictable secrets and
scenes in the book I found it still to be enjoyable. As for the ending though I
would kind of consider it to be a cliffhanger I wouldn’t say it’s a bad one,
though I want to continue reading this series I don’t “have” to have the next
book like now. The ending was good enough to allow a waiting period till the
next book. So my overall thoughts of the plot were good, the pace was okay
though I wish there was a little more action involved but overall the content
and ideas of the world made for an enjoyable read and I still want to continue
reading the series.
Romance:
There’s not much to
tell in this aspect of the story, there’s a little romance but the author didn’t
make a big deal about it, if anything the romance is only a little sizzle
compared to the roaring fires in many YA books. I loved this about the book
though, I loved that the romance was on the DL and allowed for a much more interesting
and fun idea to take center stage. It allowed the major conflict to be separate
from romance, giving readers with a new experience and a reprieve from the
normal romances you see in most YA books today. So overall the romance in this
book or should I say lack of major romance led this to be a great aspect to the
story.
Characters:
The characters were
very well created in this book, in fact I really enjoyed reading all of their
personalities, each of them were different and I loved seeing some of them
clash (definitely a few comical scenes in the book b/c of them) But overall it
was the characters themselves that did all of the discovering and hard work.
There were a lot of challenges that some of them had to overcome and they each
responded to them and it was interesting to read their reactions. As far as
minor characters, some of them fit perfectly and had almost as great realism to
them as the main characters but there were some characters that fell a little
flat to me, like I could understand their role but the way they were presented
was a little off. But overall I enjoyed the characters very much.
Transformation
of the Character:
There wasn’t much
transforming happening in this book, I think this first book in the series is
more of the set-up, the author introduced the characters and allowed the reader
to see characters flaws but she didn’t necessarily change any of them….well
maybe one small minor transformation but that character still has a ways to go.
So overall this wasn’t an important aspect of the book, just more of a set-up
for the books to follow.
Description:
The description was
good, especially the closet scene *shudders* but there wasn’t anything out of
the norm in this aspect of the book. There are some books that I feel the
description is just so beautiful and amazing but this book though I felt it to
fit the theme of the book well it really just didn’t stand out to me. There
were scenes described in really good detail; the descriptions really pulling
the reader in but those scenes were far in-between and therefore left me
feeling the description to be more on the average side than the others. Though perhaps
maybe this book didn’t need that and it’s perfect just the way it is or maybe I’m
starting to expect more from description but either way the description wasn’t
a strong aspect to this book. The dialogue was good, I didn’t feel that it was
really awkward at any times and each one seemed true to the characters. So
overall the description was good just nothing spectacular.
Style:
I liked the author’s
style in the book; she used only one POV allowing the reader to get a better
sense of the main protagonist. It was cool to see her discovering not only
herself but the things around her. It was really cool to see the feelings of
the character and get a good view inside her mind. As far as the writing itself
it was good and seemed to be consistent throughout the entire book. So overall
the author’s style was good and added a good element to the story.
Quote
of the Book:
“That's what we all
want, isn't it? Power without price.”
Goodreads
Summary:
Chloe Saunders sees
dead people. Yes, like in the films. The problem is, in real life saying you
see ghosts gets you a one-way ticket to the psych ward. And at 15, all Chloe
wants to do is fit in at school and maybe get a boy to notice her. But when a
particularly violent ghost haunts her, she gets noticed for all the wrong
reasons. Her seemingly crazed behavior earns her a trip to Lyle House, a center
for disturbed teens.
At first Chloe is
determined to keep her head down. But then her roommate disappears after
confessing she has a poltergeist, and some of the other patients also seem to
be manifesting paranormal behavior. Could that be a coincidence? Or is Lyle
House not quite what it seems…? Chloe realizes that if she doesn’t uncover the
truth, she could be destined for a lifetime in a psychiatric hospital. Or could
her fate be even worse…? Can she trust her fellow students, and does she dare
reveal her dark secret?
Last
Thoughts:
I would recommend
this to YA readers and readers of the supernatural. This was a fun and
interesting read to me and I can’t wait to continue the series. I really
enjoyed the author’s style and creativeness and would be willing to read other
books by her other than this series alone. Though I found a few minor issues
overall with the story I enjoyed it none the same and look forward to
discovering more about these characters and their world.
My
Rating:
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