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Terror Academy #1
Lights Out
TERROR ACADEMY - WHERE ACCIDENTS WILL HAPPEN...
But was it? On graduation day, Mandy Roberts' father dies in a horrible accident. Convinced he was murdered, Mandy is determined to discover the real truth...somewhere in the depths of Central. All too soon she realizes with horror who the murderer must be. And he's only too close to home, and her mother...
But was it? On graduation day, Mandy Roberts' father dies in a horrible accident. Convinced he was murdered, Mandy is determined to discover the real truth...somewhere in the depths of Central. All too soon she realizes with horror who the murderer must be. And he's only too close to home, and her mother...
170 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1993
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161 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 9, 2022
SNOOZE-VILLE. Like, literally, because I fell asleep while reading it 🤣🤣😴😴
The action isn't until the last chapter of the book and it is a SLOG to get there. I MEAN do we really need 2 whole chapters describing every minutiae of the Senior class graduation ceremony??? I. DON'T. CARE. Just get to the murders already 🤣🤣💀💀
If you've never read any Terror Academy books in the series, there are better ones to start with than this boring one, like Student Body, The New Kid, or Sixteen Candles (and I'm sure there's more, I'm still making my way through the series!).
2 out of 5 electric shocks to the system from the frayed electric cable, YOWCH!! Too bad the rest of the book wasn't as stimulating . ⚡⚡
The action isn't until the last chapter of the book and it is a SLOG to get there. I MEAN do we really need 2 whole chapters describing every minutiae of the Senior class graduation ceremony??? I. DON'T. CARE. Just get to the murders already 🤣🤣💀💀
If you've never read any Terror Academy books in the series, there are better ones to start with than this boring one, like Student Body, The New Kid, or Sixteen Candles (and I'm sure there's more, I'm still making my way through the series!).
2 out of 5 electric shocks to the system from the frayed electric cable, YOWCH!! Too bad the rest of the book wasn't as stimulating . ⚡⚡
January 30, 2022
More of a mystery/thriller than a horror. Lacks the crazy carnage I’ve come to expect from Terror Academy 😅
May 1, 2019
”You preps, you’re all dog meat. You hear me? When I get through with you, the only thing you will be good for is a dirt nap."
This was surprisingly really good. Yes, it had some cheesy parts but it was suspenseful and shocking.
A great, short read on a gloomy day.
This was surprisingly really good. Yes, it had some cheesy parts but it was suspenseful and shocking.
A great, short read on a gloomy day.
September 30, 2021
This was way different than how I thought it would be. It's not even your regular vintage ya book. It doesn't just deal with teens and their drama mixed with thrill. I was really surprised (leaning towards happily surprised if I may say so). I was intrigued and I felt for the mc, really. Things just got so hard for her. I don't even know if I would have stayed sane if it were me. Gosh.
Anyhoo, if you ever get a chance to borrow or buy this book, go ahead. It's intriguing.
I thank the Open Library for lending me a copy of this book.. ❤️
Anyhoo, if you ever get a chance to borrow or buy this book, go ahead. It's intriguing.
I thank the Open Library for lending me a copy of this book.. ❤️
January 26, 2022
So I was able to get a copy of the first book in the Terror Academy series called Lights Out by Nicholas Pine. I can't believe I missed out on so many books as most of these came out when I was in middle school because this was not a bad way to start this particular series.
Mandy Roberts is about to start her summer vacation before her senior year at Central Academy and it starts out on a terrible and tragic note. Her father is not only electrocuted but crushed underneath the bleachers, as he is a member of the faculty, at the graduation of the senior class.
Mandy becomes angry in her depression of losing her beloved dad and she lashes out at her mother and pushes away her best friends and even breaks up with a boy she just only started going out with.
Her attitude doesn't change when the police begin investigating her father's death and the police chief states that her father was embezzling money from the school.
Mandy is incensed and insists her dad was a good man but she also has another problem to worry about. Her widowed mother begins to grow close to the new assistant principal of her school, Harlan Kinsley, and their relationship escalates to getting married only six months after Vernon Roberts' death.
Her world shattered and shifting around her, Mandy soon realizes that perhaps her father's death wasn't really a gruesome accident. It seems this was a planned out murder at the person behind it just might be a little too close to home...
It's a little slow to start but once we get to the tragic death of Mandy's father it starts to pick up the pace. Having lost my own dad around the same age as Mandy, I sympathize with her and understand her pain so I don't think she comes off as too bratty or unrealistic in dealing with grief.
We get more of a murder mystery thriller than actual horror and it seems to escalate nicely to bring us to a twist I didn't see coming but thought was interesting. Everything gets wrapped up neatly and the ending is hopeful but tinged with a bittersweet flavor.
If you can get your hands on Lights Out or any other Terror Academy book, they are worth the reading IMHO.
Mandy Roberts is about to start her summer vacation before her senior year at Central Academy and it starts out on a terrible and tragic note. Her father is not only electrocuted but crushed underneath the bleachers, as he is a member of the faculty, at the graduation of the senior class.
Mandy becomes angry in her depression of losing her beloved dad and she lashes out at her mother and pushes away her best friends and even breaks up with a boy she just only started going out with.
Her attitude doesn't change when the police begin investigating her father's death and the police chief states that her father was embezzling money from the school.
Mandy is incensed and insists her dad was a good man but she also has another problem to worry about. Her widowed mother begins to grow close to the new assistant principal of her school, Harlan Kinsley, and their relationship escalates to getting married only six months after Vernon Roberts' death.
Her world shattered and shifting around her, Mandy soon realizes that perhaps her father's death wasn't really a gruesome accident. It seems this was a planned out murder at the person behind it just might be a little too close to home...
It's a little slow to start but once we get to the tragic death of Mandy's father it starts to pick up the pace. Having lost my own dad around the same age as Mandy, I sympathize with her and understand her pain so I don't think she comes off as too bratty or unrealistic in dealing with grief.
We get more of a murder mystery thriller than actual horror and it seems to escalate nicely to bring us to a twist I didn't see coming but thought was interesting. Everything gets wrapped up neatly and the ending is hopeful but tinged with a bittersweet flavor.
If you can get your hands on Lights Out or any other Terror Academy book, they are worth the reading IMHO.
May 16, 2024
A slow start to the Terror Academy series. The book is very slow paced without much action let alone deaths. And in these books I want gory deaths lol. This book follows Mandy who when the book begins is just having a summer picnic around her pool with her two best friends and her parents. Her dad is on the grill and we find out he is well liked by everyone and everyone at school where he’s the guidance counselor. That day is the graduation for the senior class while Mandy and her friends are juniors her father will be at the ceremony running it. After a drawn out set up of the ceremony tragedy strikes and Mandy’s father is killed. The rest of the book is Mandy being a major bitch towards everyone until she decides to find out who killed her dad. Then she becomes likable but damn her friends are forgiving. While almost nothing happens in most of the book the last few chapters amp up the action. Only to come to an obvious conclusion to who the bad guy was. Barely three stars. I’m gonna read the rest of the series as a buddy read with Sarah (:
August 4, 2017
I remember loving the Terror Academy books, but this one was pretty awful. Mandy was wholly unlikeable, even before the accident, and I was sick of being in her head by the end. The ending was good, though, and I'm glad I didn't remember it.
May 6, 2023
I had so much fun with this one. What a great start to the series. I'm looking forward to reading the next installment.
January 23, 2015
Actual page number:170 pages
This book feels tiring to read.
Before I disclose why, I want to describe what the series the book’s in about.
It’s basically about bad events happening in one town with teenagers as the main targets. Based on the books I’ve read, they’re more slasher but sometimes they can go to supernatural route.
The place is in US but I’m not clear which state it’s in. It’s supposed to be in New England area with the exception of Vermont since the book reveals that the characters have to travel there for hours. The place is known as Port City but that’s all I know about it since I mainly skimmed through descriptions of town.
Recurring settings are the Prescott estates which is where the rich and middle income families live, Pitney Docks which is the poor neighborhood, and Central High, a school that’s described as being highly academic.
Some Recurring characters are Dandridge, the police chief who always investigate the troubles the main character of this series goes through and Harlan Kinsley, the vice principal, who makes cameos throughout the series but is important in this book only.
15 books is the total number for this series which I found impressive since it means the series was quite popular enough to run the series for several years.
Nicholas Pine is not the author’s real name. It’s C.A. Stokes and he wrote all these books. I can’t find information about him though.
That’s all I can say about the series but this book I’m reading is the first one and if I read this first, I wouldn’t bothered with the series.
The biggest problem I have with the book is the main character. Her accusations and bitter thoughts made an impression on me that she’s a brat or unlikable. Okay, I know the reason why she acts like this is because her father dies which is fine but do I really need to read couple of ages of her gloomy thoughts and her lashings against her family and friend.
Also the first few chapters consist of less horror, so that didn’t improve my reading. And the book’s predictable as I know who the culprit is.
The only good thing I can say is that the action scenes can grab your attention especially the last couple of pages but it isn’t worth trudging the book to get there.
The horror aspect is low. I guess the whole set up can be scary if you’re in the main character’s shoes but the way the book goes, it lost its effect. Well, there’s a scene where Mandy’s room is trashed but I’m pretty sure I read that a few books back.
Skip this book if you plan to read Terror Academy book series as there are other books with more actions than this.
This book feels tiring to read.
Before I disclose why, I want to describe what the series the book’s in about.
It’s basically about bad events happening in one town with teenagers as the main targets. Based on the books I’ve read, they’re more slasher but sometimes they can go to supernatural route.
The place is in US but I’m not clear which state it’s in. It’s supposed to be in New England area with the exception of Vermont since the book reveals that the characters have to travel there for hours. The place is known as Port City but that’s all I know about it since I mainly skimmed through descriptions of town.
Recurring settings are the Prescott estates which is where the rich and middle income families live, Pitney Docks which is the poor neighborhood, and Central High, a school that’s described as being highly academic.
Some Recurring characters are Dandridge, the police chief who always investigate the troubles the main character of this series goes through and Harlan Kinsley, the vice principal, who makes cameos throughout the series but is important in this book only.
15 books is the total number for this series which I found impressive since it means the series was quite popular enough to run the series for several years.
Nicholas Pine is not the author’s real name. It’s C.A. Stokes and he wrote all these books. I can’t find information about him though.
That’s all I can say about the series but this book I’m reading is the first one and if I read this first, I wouldn’t bothered with the series.
The biggest problem I have with the book is the main character. Her accusations and bitter thoughts made an impression on me that she’s a brat or unlikable. Okay, I know the reason why she acts like this is because her father dies which is fine but do I really need to read couple of ages of her gloomy thoughts and her lashings against her family and friend.
Also the first few chapters consist of less horror, so that didn’t improve my reading. And the book’s predictable as I know who the culprit is.
The only good thing I can say is that the action scenes can grab your attention especially the last couple of pages but it isn’t worth trudging the book to get there.
The horror aspect is low. I guess the whole set up can be scary if you’re in the main character’s shoes but the way the book goes, it lost its effect. Well, there’s a scene where Mandy’s room is trashed but I’m pretty sure I read that a few books back.
Skip this book if you plan to read Terror Academy book series as there are other books with more actions than this.
November 7, 2015
This was the first book I read by Nicholas Pine in the Terror Academy series. They story was okay but I did not like the main character. I found her annoying and useless at times. The end of the story did pick up.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews