What do you think?
Rate this book
Insanity
Never, Kentucky is not your average scenic small town. It is a crossways, a place where the dead and the living can find no peace. Not that Forest, an 18-year-old foster kid who works the graveyard shift at Lincoln Hospital, knew this when she applied for the job. Lincoln is a huge state mental institution, a good place for Forest to make some money to pay for college. But along with hundreds of very unstable patients, it also has underground tunnels, bell towers that ring unexpectedly, and a closet that holds more than just donated clothing....When the dead husband of one of Forest's patients makes an appearance late one night, seemingly accompanied by an agent of the Devil, Forest loses all sense of reality and all sense of time. Terrified, she knows she has a part to play, and when she does so, she finds a heritage that she never expected.
With her deep knowledge of mental illness and mental institutions, Susan Vaught brings readers a fascinating and completely creepy new book intertwining the stories of three young people who find themselves haunted beyond imagining in the depths of Lincoln Hospital.
With her deep knowledge of mental illness and mental institutions, Susan Vaught brings readers a fascinating and completely creepy new book intertwining the stories of three young people who find themselves haunted beyond imagining in the depths of Lincoln Hospital.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2014
46 people are currently reading
4531 people want to read
About the author
Susan Vaught
30 books204 followersWebsite: http://susanvaught.com
astrology sign: Libra
favorite book: Harry Potter (all of them) and His Dark Materials
(all of those, too)
favorite song:I Will Follow You Into The Dark by Death Cab for Cutie
current pet total:12 if you don't count the chickens, peafowl,
turkeys, ducks, geese, pigeons, or guineas.
names of my schools:
Vanderbilt University (MS, Ph.D.)
University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) (BA)
Germantown High School (Germantown, TN 9th-12th)
Germantown Middle School (Germantown, TN 8th)
Can't Remember, but the mascot was a purple dragon (Sandy Springs/Atlanta Georgia, 7th)
Green Street Elementary (Tupelo, MS 6th) Frances Patterson was a very cool teacher there. I write because of her.
Pierce Street Elementary (Tupelo, MS 3rd-5th)
Can't Remember, but it was big (Corinth, MS, 2nd)
Oxford Elementary (Oxford, MS, K-1st)
University of Mississippi (Day Care, Playschool)
astrology sign: Libra
favorite book: Harry Potter (all of them) and His Dark Materials
(all of those, too)
favorite song:I Will Follow You Into The Dark by Death Cab for Cutie
current pet total:12 if you don't count the chickens, peafowl,
turkeys, ducks, geese, pigeons, or guineas.
names of my schools:
Vanderbilt University (MS, Ph.D.)
University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) (BA)
Germantown High School (Germantown, TN 9th-12th)
Germantown Middle School (Germantown, TN 8th)
Can't Remember, but the mascot was a purple dragon (Sandy Springs/Atlanta Georgia, 7th)
Green Street Elementary (Tupelo, MS 6th) Frances Patterson was a very cool teacher there. I write because of her.
Pierce Street Elementary (Tupelo, MS 3rd-5th)
Can't Remember, but it was big (Corinth, MS, 2nd)
Oxford Elementary (Oxford, MS, K-1st)
University of Mississippi (Day Care, Playschool)
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 169 reviews
March 27, 2016
Insanity is a split POV novel that never quite hit it's full potential. The first 83 pages are pure gold; we're introduced to a spunky girl named Forest working in a creepy old asylum. What more can I ask for? But my intrest in the book took a nose dive when Forest's point of view came to an ubrupt end. After Vaught switched the point of view, the book took a sharp left turn and left me feeling...gypped. I loved Forest's voice, she was relatable and funny, and I was really excited about the next 300 pages. I was pretty disapointed when Vaught went and switched the POV to some other guy who lacked Forest's charisma and charm. Worst part: Forest was gone. she didn't show up again for a long time, and when she did finally come back, she had lost her depth completely and almost felt like a different character. It was really disappointing.
Plot
The whole book is composed of a smorgasbord of overused horror stories smooshed into one book.Lets go through the list. Lets see, theres a child murder, a psycho father that kills his daughters friends, a pair of backwoods murderers, and a smattering of ghosts and insane patients of the asylum. All of those shoved into on relatively short (368pgs) book. It really doesn't mesh well. Insanity tries oh-so hard to scare you, and yet I wasn't really scared once.
If Susan Vaught did one thing right with Insanity, it was the atmopshere. It was really creepy (NOT scary) and probably saved the novel for me.
See the rest of the review Here
Plot
The whole book is composed of a smorgasbord of overused horror stories smooshed into one book.Lets go through the list. Lets see, theres a child murder, a psycho father that kills his daughters friends, a pair of backwoods murderers, and a smattering of ghosts and insane patients of the asylum. All of those shoved into on relatively short (368pgs) book. It really doesn't mesh well. Insanity tries oh-so hard to scare you, and yet I wasn't really scared once.
If Susan Vaught did one thing right with Insanity, it was the atmopshere. It was really creepy (NOT scary) and probably saved the novel for me.
See the rest of the review Here
April 3, 2015
I started out really liking this book. But, it seemed like the author attempted to put a trilogy into one book. Too many creatures and events to make it enjoyable.
February 8, 2014
I love a creepy ghost story and this one sounded like it would be a perfect read for me. I really wanted to like this book but it fell very short for me. I really tried to finish it and got to page 296 and then realized I still had almost 100 pages left (the book is 384 pages) and I couldn't finish it.
Insanity starts off promising. You meet Levi, a young boy, walking home alone at night even though his Grandma has told him not to go out at night because "death was walking on two legs". The unthinkable happens to Levi and then you get taken to a new chapter with a new character. From the synopsis, you think Forest is going to be our main character but she only is for a short time. The next few chapters, you get to know a little about Forest and how she came to work at Lincoln Psychiatric Hospital. Here's where things started to get a little off for me. Forest is working a double shift on Halloween night. The maintenance people have discovered bones in one of the underground tunnels. Then Forest sees two men running down the vacant hallway...men that are ghosts. Once she figures out and helps Decker, one of the men, she ends up getting fired from Lincoln and then we are onto a new part of the book. There is mention that Forest goes to the Bell Tower of the hospital but I can't figure out if she died or is alive and just has this mysterious "Madoc blood". There are so many questions left and then we go on to a new part of the book.
In this new part, we meet Darius. Apparently, quite a bit of time has gone by since Forest left the hospital and now Darius is working there as a security guard to earn money for college. We learn that Darius' grandfather kidnapped and killed little kids. Darius' grandma killed his grandfather way before Darius was born (I think) so he never got to know him but heard stories. As Darius is working, he hears ice cream truck music, which is how his grandfather lured the kids to him. Then things get really funny again. Another boy goes missing, Darius goes into a tunnel under the hospital and sees his grandfather and a witch's tree and then meets up with Forest and Levi to rid the world of his grandfather's spirit. If it seems like I summarized that really fast it's because that is how the story read. It was all done really fast and left out so much stuff.
Now we are onto the next part of the book which is told from Trina's point of view. Trina is Darius' girlfriend and apparently some kind of witch. Trina's dad is a preacher who thinks it is his job to kill anyone with Madoc blood. This part of the book talks about how Trina breaks away from her father and then almost gets slashed by yet another crazy ghost from Lincoln Psychiatric Hospital. The group, which now includes Forest, Levi, Levi's grandmother, Imogene, Darius, Darius' mom, Jessie (who is Darius' friend) and Trina, her step-mom, Addie and Trina's father, must rid the world of this ghost's evil spirit. This is where I stopped.
I thought this book had a lot of potential if the author had stuck with one storyline. You never really got to know any of the characters so you couldn't really connect with any of them. There were so many questions that were unanswered and maybe they were answered in the end but I couldn't make it there. You never really found out what Madoc blood was. Forest researched it a little and you found out a little history of it but I never fully understood what exactly it was. I just know it gave people powers. I can't even really tell you what kind of powers...maybe to see to the other side or to help spirits cross over? I'm not sure. You never really knew what happened to Forest. She went to the "other side" and it appears she came out alive but then she just disappears into the Bell Tower and that's all you really know.
This book just really seemed to jump around a lot and never really fully developed one story or character. It seemed like it was a bunch of different story outlines thrown together. I never really felt like I was getting involved in any of the stories or the characters lives. I didn't really find it all that creepy after the first couple chapters either. It just seemed like a lot of the same dead spirits doing the same bad deeds that needed the same crossing over and it all happened so quickly that there was no time to build the suspense.
So, sadly, I was disappointed in this one but that isn't to say you might not like it! If it sounds like one you would enjoy, pick it up and let me know if you liked it!
Insanity starts off promising. You meet Levi, a young boy, walking home alone at night even though his Grandma has told him not to go out at night because "death was walking on two legs". The unthinkable happens to Levi and then you get taken to a new chapter with a new character. From the synopsis, you think Forest is going to be our main character but she only is for a short time. The next few chapters, you get to know a little about Forest and how she came to work at Lincoln Psychiatric Hospital. Here's where things started to get a little off for me. Forest is working a double shift on Halloween night. The maintenance people have discovered bones in one of the underground tunnels. Then Forest sees two men running down the vacant hallway...men that are ghosts. Once she figures out and helps Decker, one of the men, she ends up getting fired from Lincoln and then we are onto a new part of the book. There is mention that Forest goes to the Bell Tower of the hospital but I can't figure out if she died or is alive and just has this mysterious "Madoc blood". There are so many questions left and then we go on to a new part of the book.
In this new part, we meet Darius. Apparently, quite a bit of time has gone by since Forest left the hospital and now Darius is working there as a security guard to earn money for college. We learn that Darius' grandfather kidnapped and killed little kids. Darius' grandma killed his grandfather way before Darius was born (I think) so he never got to know him but heard stories. As Darius is working, he hears ice cream truck music, which is how his grandfather lured the kids to him. Then things get really funny again. Another boy goes missing, Darius goes into a tunnel under the hospital and sees his grandfather and a witch's tree and then meets up with Forest and Levi to rid the world of his grandfather's spirit. If it seems like I summarized that really fast it's because that is how the story read. It was all done really fast and left out so much stuff.
Now we are onto the next part of the book which is told from Trina's point of view. Trina is Darius' girlfriend and apparently some kind of witch. Trina's dad is a preacher who thinks it is his job to kill anyone with Madoc blood. This part of the book talks about how Trina breaks away from her father and then almost gets slashed by yet another crazy ghost from Lincoln Psychiatric Hospital. The group, which now includes Forest, Levi, Levi's grandmother, Imogene, Darius, Darius' mom, Jessie (who is Darius' friend) and Trina, her step-mom, Addie and Trina's father, must rid the world of this ghost's evil spirit. This is where I stopped.
I thought this book had a lot of potential if the author had stuck with one storyline. You never really got to know any of the characters so you couldn't really connect with any of them. There were so many questions that were unanswered and maybe they were answered in the end but I couldn't make it there. You never really found out what Madoc blood was. Forest researched it a little and you found out a little history of it but I never fully understood what exactly it was. I just know it gave people powers. I can't even really tell you what kind of powers...maybe to see to the other side or to help spirits cross over? I'm not sure. You never really knew what happened to Forest. She went to the "other side" and it appears she came out alive but then she just disappears into the Bell Tower and that's all you really know.
This book just really seemed to jump around a lot and never really fully developed one story or character. It seemed like it was a bunch of different story outlines thrown together. I never really felt like I was getting involved in any of the stories or the characters lives. I didn't really find it all that creepy after the first couple chapters either. It just seemed like a lot of the same dead spirits doing the same bad deeds that needed the same crossing over and it all happened so quickly that there was no time to build the suspense.
So, sadly, I was disappointed in this one but that isn't to say you might not like it! If it sounds like one you would enjoy, pick it up and let me know if you liked it!
February 15, 2014
You know that feeling when you finish a really good book and you hesitate to start a new one out of fear it wont be as good? Or it will take a while to get sucked in?
Well, before I read this book I had just finished a really good one, so I was slightly reluctant to start this one. I finally forced myself to sit down and start..... Man let me tell you, it was so worth it!! You hit the ground running from the start and you are running hard! I always look for books that throw you right into the action but they also have to give you a clue as to what is going on. I am sure you have read a book that drops you straight into the fire but doesn't give you adequate back story to be able to truly understand what is going on. There needs to be that connection established with the characters so you can experience everything they are or else you are just reading about strangers. Vaught was able to construct a world where you were instantly drawn to the characters as they struggled to discover who they truly were.
I don't even know how to explain how this book works haha. If you were to take the Hellmouth idea from Buffy and mix it with the overall feel of Silent Hill, you may be able to begin to understand the principle behind this book. I don't wanna give away too much of the good stuff but basically you have a group of people who come from all walks of life, who's paths seem to cross at Lincoln Psychiatric Hospital. As the characters develop, you get to experience first hand as each of them face hardships from their past that have created who they are today.
I know that summary doesn't give away a lot of detail but trust me, the less you know going into this book the better! There are so many unexpected twists and turns, you will be sitting on the edge of your seat! I love sci- fi, truly I do but as far as the demonic side of things, I usually don't enjoy those stories as much, this book though.... Blew my mind! I will defiantly be reading this one again to go back and pick upon the little things I am sure I missed throughout and I PRAY there is a sequel!! Hint hint.....
Well, before I read this book I had just finished a really good one, so I was slightly reluctant to start this one. I finally forced myself to sit down and start..... Man let me tell you, it was so worth it!! You hit the ground running from the start and you are running hard! I always look for books that throw you right into the action but they also have to give you a clue as to what is going on. I am sure you have read a book that drops you straight into the fire but doesn't give you adequate back story to be able to truly understand what is going on. There needs to be that connection established with the characters so you can experience everything they are or else you are just reading about strangers. Vaught was able to construct a world where you were instantly drawn to the characters as they struggled to discover who they truly were.
I don't even know how to explain how this book works haha. If you were to take the Hellmouth idea from Buffy and mix it with the overall feel of Silent Hill, you may be able to begin to understand the principle behind this book. I don't wanna give away too much of the good stuff but basically you have a group of people who come from all walks of life, who's paths seem to cross at Lincoln Psychiatric Hospital. As the characters develop, you get to experience first hand as each of them face hardships from their past that have created who they are today.
I know that summary doesn't give away a lot of detail but trust me, the less you know going into this book the better! There are so many unexpected twists and turns, you will be sitting on the edge of your seat! I love sci- fi, truly I do but as far as the demonic side of things, I usually don't enjoy those stories as much, this book though.... Blew my mind! I will defiantly be reading this one again to go back and pick upon the little things I am sure I missed throughout and I PRAY there is a sequel!! Hint hint.....
February 13, 2014
I don't usually read book descriptions. As I was reading Insanity, I kept thinking, "this is almost like three separate stories." Well, here's what the amazon.com description says:
"In three connected stories all set in the same mental institution in rural Kentucky, ghosts of a very spooky sort make appearances in dark tunnels, abandoned bell towers and forgotten corners of the basements. Based on real local lore and the actual institution headed by Vaught herself."
Well, now that I know that's what it was supposed to be, I guess I have to reevaluate my opinion.
All of the stories take place in the same, very creepy mental institution. The stories have the same characters, but each is narrated by a different one. And each character has different magical powers. In each story, the danger builds to a crescendo, and then there's a big showdown among the evil spirits and our good guy characters, and there's a victory. Then we start all over from another perspective to battle a different demon.
If you like creepy, scary, disturbing ghost stories, Insanity is for you. Vaught can write scary scenes with some really nasty demons. Each situation is unique, and a different magical trick is pulled out of the hat to prevail.
As far as characters, well, we get to know them, but they aren't normal. I felt some sympathy for them and cared about their well-being. There's a little romance that helps too.
I just wasn't prepared for this type of story. I kept thinking, "well, this is the end right? But, I'm only 25% through the book!" I don't know what to do about this book dilemma. I wish there had been a blurb on the cover or something in the contents to indicate it was SUPPOSED to be three separate stories. Because, I really like to stay away from book descriptions. They often give way too much away. How do you feel about reading book blurbs? Let me know if you have any suggestions.
Recommend Insanity to your teens who like to feel the creeps!
"In three connected stories all set in the same mental institution in rural Kentucky, ghosts of a very spooky sort make appearances in dark tunnels, abandoned bell towers and forgotten corners of the basements. Based on real local lore and the actual institution headed by Vaught herself."
Well, now that I know that's what it was supposed to be, I guess I have to reevaluate my opinion.
All of the stories take place in the same, very creepy mental institution. The stories have the same characters, but each is narrated by a different one. And each character has different magical powers. In each story, the danger builds to a crescendo, and then there's a big showdown among the evil spirits and our good guy characters, and there's a victory. Then we start all over from another perspective to battle a different demon.
If you like creepy, scary, disturbing ghost stories, Insanity is for you. Vaught can write scary scenes with some really nasty demons. Each situation is unique, and a different magical trick is pulled out of the hat to prevail.
As far as characters, well, we get to know them, but they aren't normal. I felt some sympathy for them and cared about their well-being. There's a little romance that helps too.
I just wasn't prepared for this type of story. I kept thinking, "well, this is the end right? But, I'm only 25% through the book!" I don't know what to do about this book dilemma. I wish there had been a blurb on the cover or something in the contents to indicate it was SUPPOSED to be three separate stories. Because, I really like to stay away from book descriptions. They often give way too much away. How do you feel about reading book blurbs? Let me know if you have any suggestions.
Recommend Insanity to your teens who like to feel the creeps!
January 11, 2016
Giving this book 3 stars. It was good. Had a slow start, but once all the characters were introduced it picked up speed and got more and more interesting.
There are a bunch of characters in this book. All of them are important so I'll start off with the main character Forest. Forest is a girl who works at the Lincoln Psychiatric Hospital in Never, Kentucky. One night on her graveyard shift she sees a man being pulled down the hall kicking and screaming. She runs to help him and finds herself in a different part of the hospital. Not only is there the screaming patient, but a dark figure. He seems to be seeping out shadows. Forest isn't scared and asks him what his name is. He goes to threaten her by grabbing her arm and gets burned.
Forest finds herself later in the bell tower of the hospital in front of a weathered old woman named Imogene. Forest learns the creeper is Levi and that he has died, has come back from the dead and is now helping his grandma fight off evil spirits that try to cross over back into the real world via the hospital. Forest is confused....and learns then about her past.
The story then introduces a few more characters. Darius has a touch of madoc blood in him. That means he has supernatural abilities. He's able to see and hear the dead. Not a lot but enough to startle him. His grandma has left him with some of her unfinished business when she died.
Then there is Trina, Darius's girlfriend. I can't talk about her without spoiling the book, but she is very important so is her father and her step mom Addie.
All of these characters come together to fight evil in the end. It got kind of confusing at points. The ending felt a little rushed and put together quickly just to end it. Also the evil spirits they were fighting seemed too convenient in pushing the story forward. The insta-love was weird too. Over all it was pretty good.
There are a bunch of characters in this book. All of them are important so I'll start off with the main character Forest. Forest is a girl who works at the Lincoln Psychiatric Hospital in Never, Kentucky. One night on her graveyard shift she sees a man being pulled down the hall kicking and screaming. She runs to help him and finds herself in a different part of the hospital. Not only is there the screaming patient, but a dark figure. He seems to be seeping out shadows. Forest isn't scared and asks him what his name is. He goes to threaten her by grabbing her arm and gets burned.
Forest finds herself later in the bell tower of the hospital in front of a weathered old woman named Imogene. Forest learns the creeper is Levi and that he has died, has come back from the dead and is now helping his grandma fight off evil spirits that try to cross over back into the real world via the hospital. Forest is confused....and learns then about her past.
The story then introduces a few more characters. Darius has a touch of madoc blood in him. That means he has supernatural abilities. He's able to see and hear the dead. Not a lot but enough to startle him. His grandma has left him with some of her unfinished business when she died.
Then there is Trina, Darius's girlfriend. I can't talk about her without spoiling the book, but she is very important so is her father and her step mom Addie.
All of these characters come together to fight evil in the end. It got kind of confusing at points. The ending felt a little rushed and put together quickly just to end it. Also the evil spirits they were fighting seemed too convenient in pushing the story forward. The insta-love was weird too. Over all it was pretty good.
setting-aside-for-now
July 14, 2014I'm putting this aside for now.
I enjoyed Freaks Like Us, the author's prior book, and I absolutely loved the spooky sound of this one. There were things that I really liked about Insanity: the literary writing style and the evocation of a small Kentucky town through details like regional slang -- the word "haint" is so much better than ghost!
There's a prologue from one POV, then the narrative switches to Forest's POV. She's a girl who just aged out of foster care and is working in a mental hospital. The first few chapters of the book introduce lots of spooky touches -- creepy Civil War-era tunnels under the hospital, a mysterious bracelet that Forest wears, and an old woman who is clutching a picture. I felt like I was following the plot -- sort of. Then around page 80 or so, a third POV was introduced and I just sort of lost my grip on the threads of the story.
If a book has a complicated narrative structure, I often struggle more if I'm reading it on an e-reader. (I've seen other people say the same thing, so glad it's just not me.) I may try this in print and see if that helps.
That said, if you're a reader who loves authors like Brenna Yovanoff or Tessa Gratton who write dark stories with complicated narrative structures, you might want to give this one a try....
I enjoyed Freaks Like Us, the author's prior book, and I absolutely loved the spooky sound of this one. There were things that I really liked about Insanity: the literary writing style and the evocation of a small Kentucky town through details like regional slang -- the word "haint" is so much better than ghost!
There's a prologue from one POV, then the narrative switches to Forest's POV. She's a girl who just aged out of foster care and is working in a mental hospital. The first few chapters of the book introduce lots of spooky touches -- creepy Civil War-era tunnels under the hospital, a mysterious bracelet that Forest wears, and an old woman who is clutching a picture. I felt like I was following the plot -- sort of. Then around page 80 or so, a third POV was introduced and I just sort of lost my grip on the threads of the story.
If a book has a complicated narrative structure, I often struggle more if I'm reading it on an e-reader. (I've seen other people say the same thing, so glad it's just not me.) I may try this in print and see if that helps.
That said, if you're a reader who loves authors like Brenna Yovanoff or Tessa Gratton who write dark stories with complicated narrative structures, you might want to give this one a try....
July 23, 2018
4.5 stars
WIP:
WIP:
March 21, 2015
I felt like this was way too long. I thought the premise was interesting and even more so when I discovered that the author actually works at the hospital where it takes place.
April 13, 2014
I try not to read too much about a book before I read it for reviewing purposes, so it took me a while to realize that Vaught was writing connected stories. I like books that use this approach, especially when they are done well. This book wasn't. To me, it felt like Vaught gave herself permission to write really action-packed stories full of vivid descriptions of characters fighting evil, but with very little character development or theme. For me, these were really boring fight scenes that I skimmed over. I skimmed over the last 1/4 of the book. I don't think I missed anything. The lack of character depth and back story was really problematic for me. I wanted to know more about these characters, to understand why and how they ended up as action heroes, each with his/her own separate power fighting evil in an asylum full of ghosts and spectors, haints and haunts - all of which have their own meaning. I really liked the idea of Madoc ancestors http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/post... but there really is no real exploration of this legend. It's just thrown around constantly - she's got Madoc in her blood. Blah,blah, blah. This could have been a really great book. But for me, it wasn't.
August 6, 2016
“I wanted to like this book more than I did” is an overused opener for a book review, but…
I wanted to like this book more than I did.
The premise behind this book as described in its promo blurb could make for a great YA goth/thriller sort of read: “Never, Kentucky is not your average scenic small town. It is a crossways, a place where the dead and the living can find no peace. Not that Forest, an 18-year-old foster kid who works the graveyard shift at Lincoln Hospital, knew this when she applied for the job. Lincoln is a huge state mental institution, a good place for Forest to make some money to pay for college. But along with hundreds of very unstable patients, it also has underground tunnels, bell towers that ring unexpectedly, and a closet that holds more than just donated clothing….”
The opening chapter of the book is packed so densely with atmosphere—a stormy night, warnings about going out after dark, strange dogs—that, while it covers already much-trodden ground, it really grabs the reader. The first few chapters move at a pace that allows the reader to get to know Forest, to understand her dilemmas and admire her self-sufficiency. The problem is, this isn’t really a book about Forest: it’s a book about a whole crowd of characters, all potentially interesting, but none of them fleshed out very well. And, after the opening chapters, the pace picks up, turning the narrative into an episodic series of paranormal confrontations (in that sense, it would probably make a great big-budget movie).
After Forest helps two spirits to “cross over” peacefully, her narrative is dropped. We jump forward in time to deal with the lingering spirit of a serial killer, who was killed, but wasn’t, and who is threatening his own grandson. After that, we switch to the grandson’s girlfriend, whose father is a Madoc-killing holy roller with a witch for a wife. And so on. Forest does reappear, but by then she’s lost her depth. It’s as if the author listed every goth/horror element she could think of (though I give her credit for not including vampires) and then composed her book by jumping from one to the next, as if they were stepping stones.
Parts of this book held real promise. Forest becomes two-dimensional much too quickly, but she’s a genuinely interesting character. I’d be game to read another book featuring her, in hopes that it would develop her (and others’) character more fully. Lincoln Hospital is just creepy. I mean, creepy. For YA readers who enjoy the genre, this is exactly the sort of menacing place one wants to spend time. Lincoln has a life of its own—and a sort of edificiary (o.k., I made that word up) amorality that fascinates. But promising elements just don’t add up to a successful whole.
*****
I received an early, electronic ARC of Insanity. It goes on sale in bookstores on February 18.
I wanted to like this book more than I did.
The premise behind this book as described in its promo blurb could make for a great YA goth/thriller sort of read: “Never, Kentucky is not your average scenic small town. It is a crossways, a place where the dead and the living can find no peace. Not that Forest, an 18-year-old foster kid who works the graveyard shift at Lincoln Hospital, knew this when she applied for the job. Lincoln is a huge state mental institution, a good place for Forest to make some money to pay for college. But along with hundreds of very unstable patients, it also has underground tunnels, bell towers that ring unexpectedly, and a closet that holds more than just donated clothing….”
The opening chapter of the book is packed so densely with atmosphere—a stormy night, warnings about going out after dark, strange dogs—that, while it covers already much-trodden ground, it really grabs the reader. The first few chapters move at a pace that allows the reader to get to know Forest, to understand her dilemmas and admire her self-sufficiency. The problem is, this isn’t really a book about Forest: it’s a book about a whole crowd of characters, all potentially interesting, but none of them fleshed out very well. And, after the opening chapters, the pace picks up, turning the narrative into an episodic series of paranormal confrontations (in that sense, it would probably make a great big-budget movie).
After Forest helps two spirits to “cross over” peacefully, her narrative is dropped. We jump forward in time to deal with the lingering spirit of a serial killer, who was killed, but wasn’t, and who is threatening his own grandson. After that, we switch to the grandson’s girlfriend, whose father is a Madoc-killing holy roller with a witch for a wife. And so on. Forest does reappear, but by then she’s lost her depth. It’s as if the author listed every goth/horror element she could think of (though I give her credit for not including vampires) and then composed her book by jumping from one to the next, as if they were stepping stones.
Parts of this book held real promise. Forest becomes two-dimensional much too quickly, but she’s a genuinely interesting character. I’d be game to read another book featuring her, in hopes that it would develop her (and others’) character more fully. Lincoln Hospital is just creepy. I mean, creepy. For YA readers who enjoy the genre, this is exactly the sort of menacing place one wants to spend time. Lincoln has a life of its own—and a sort of edificiary (o.k., I made that word up) amorality that fascinates. But promising elements just don’t add up to a successful whole.
*****
I received an early, electronic ARC of Insanity. It goes on sale in bookstores on February 18.
March 21, 2016
"(...)
Muszę przyznać, że spodziewałam się czegoś zgoła lepszego po autorce kilkunastu popularnych książek dla młodzieży (jak przekonują nas słowa widniejące na okładce „Szaleństwa”), na co dzień pracującej w jednym z amerykańskich szpitali psychiatrycznych. Myślałby kto, że powinna umieć zbudować porządny klimat, tę specyficzną atmosferę grozy towarzyszącą miejscu, w którym stykają się nie tylko dwa światy, ale którego mury przez lata swego istnienia zapamiętały cały ten ból, ludzkie cierpienie, przejawy szaleństwa i jeszcze tysiące innych rzeczy, których świadkami były.
Zamiast tego otrzymujemy książkę przeciętną, która nie jest w stanie absolutnie niczym zaskoczyć czytelnika i którą mimo tego, że czyta się naprawdę szybko, równie szybko się zapomina. Szkoda, naprawdę. „Szaleństwo” miało potencjał, który autorka niestety zmarnowała.
(...)"
Cała recenzja na moim blogu: http://magicznyswiatksiazki.pl/szalen...
Muszę przyznać, że spodziewałam się czegoś zgoła lepszego po autorce kilkunastu popularnych książek dla młodzieży (jak przekonują nas słowa widniejące na okładce „Szaleństwa”), na co dzień pracującej w jednym z amerykańskich szpitali psychiatrycznych. Myślałby kto, że powinna umieć zbudować porządny klimat, tę specyficzną atmosferę grozy towarzyszącą miejscu, w którym stykają się nie tylko dwa światy, ale którego mury przez lata swego istnienia zapamiętały cały ten ból, ludzkie cierpienie, przejawy szaleństwa i jeszcze tysiące innych rzeczy, których świadkami były.
Zamiast tego otrzymujemy książkę przeciętną, która nie jest w stanie absolutnie niczym zaskoczyć czytelnika i którą mimo tego, że czyta się naprawdę szybko, równie szybko się zapomina. Szkoda, naprawdę. „Szaleństwo” miało potencjał, który autorka niestety zmarnowała.
(...)"
Cała recenzja na moim blogu: http://magicznyswiatksiazki.pl/szalen...
January 3, 2015
DNF @ 33%
This isn't a bad book. It is a boring book. I find myself skimming large chunks, so I'm just going to call it quits. It's a shame because I really enjoyed the first 14% or so.
This isn't a bad book. It is a boring book. I find myself skimming large chunks, so I'm just going to call it quits. It's a shame because I really enjoyed the first 14% or so.
Read
June 26, 2019DNF at 50%. It just never Drew me in. 🙁
April 2, 2021
1.5 stars....and that is being generous because I was willing to finish it.
The first 80-90 pages of this novel were so good and intriguing and creep factor was SO there! Then...it took a weird, confusing turn and frankly the entire rest of the novel was painful to get through. This felt more like 4 short stories mashed together and interconnected and yet, not good or interesting. This was so confusing and it felt like too much was going on and yet not enough detail to actually explain everything. This was not an enjoyable novel and it was easy to put aside and I only finished it, which felt like a chore, because I had HOPED it would get better. It did not.
The first 80-90 pages of this novel were so good and intriguing and creep factor was SO there! Then...it took a weird, confusing turn and frankly the entire rest of the novel was painful to get through. This felt more like 4 short stories mashed together and interconnected and yet, not good or interesting. This was so confusing and it felt like too much was going on and yet not enough detail to actually explain everything. This was not an enjoyable novel and it was easy to put aside and I only finished it, which felt like a chore, because I had HOPED it would get better. It did not.
August 21, 2022
This seemed like four for the price of one. We get the stories of Levi, Forest, Darius, and Trina somehow combined into a whole. Forest works in an asylum and encounters Levi who has been brought back from the other side. She finds out she can discover and create thin spots. Then the story shifts to Darius' segment and then to Trina before returning to Levi. This was chock full of backwoods folk witchcraft and spooky magic. I was annoyed by Pastor Martinez's "holier than thou" attitude and how he related to Trina. All in all, I did enjoy the book and some of the characters like Imogene and Cain.
October 31, 2017
This was nothing like what I was hoping for. I wanted just a creepy insane book and I got a lot of weird paranormal. This reminded me of the Beautiful Creatures books. I did not care for that much either.
June 22, 2023
Strasznie dziwne, chaotyczne i naprawdę niewiele rzeczy miło tam sens, a sama często się gubiłam. Duży potencjał, ale nie wyszło.
June 17, 2014
Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales
Quick & Dirty: I was often confused or bored with Insanity, but there were certain things that pushed the review up one star.
Opening Sentence: There was something wrong with the dog.
The Review:
This book starts out with Forest in Lincoln, an old asylum from Never, Kentucky. Ghosts and haints and crazy people live in its walls. Readers follow four characters through four main stories, each with a different villain and plotline, each from a different point of view. My feelings are very mixed about this book. The writing style is not bad at all, but sometimes the novel gets confusing with its descriptions of ghosts, shades, ghasts, spirits. I never could keep the different ones straight. I never connected to the characters, either, so it was a struggle to push through the three hundred pages. When I finished I was relieved. Insanity was just not for me.
However, I’ll give Insanity this: when I was reading at night, and the creepiest villain of the bunch appeared, I could not stop shivering. The descriptions of a man’s body with a child’s face, giggling while chasing with a shard of sharp metal, was ruthless in its delivery. I was completely freaked out. This raised my opinion of the book because the reason I didn’t like the villains is we didn’t have enough time to let them develop and grow strong before the attack, and we basically hear about them and then the main battle happens. Bam! At least with “Maman” (villain above) I could get invested in the descriptions and a little more into the book.
First things first, the characters. Part one we follow Forest. She’s a nice character, but not interesting, not with that intriguing factor. The love story between her and Levi moved slowly, and besides that sometimes I couldn’t tell she was even into him. Number two is Darius, and his story confused me often. By the end we get clarity on what just went down, but I was still a little wary. He had a different outlook on life and I enjoyed the refreshing change from the blander Forest. Next, Trina. I have to say that Trina’s section was my favorite of the bunch! We start out with Trina putting her father to sleep with a spell, because apparently she’s a witch, and learning that her father hunts and kills Madocs. Soon her father is heading out to kill Darius, who is also her boyfriend, because she let it slip that he might have some magic. What a start to part three! The pull to read grew more intense, though still I wasn’t really loving Insanity. And the final part, four. This time it’s Levi we follow, the Levi that has a budding relationship with Forest. He helps send spirits into the afterlife and is sometimes referred to as a haint. It was funny, because with Forest you see that she likes Levi, but it seems more friendship orientated than a romance. But with Levi you can really tell how much he loves her, and that scares him. Again, of all the characters my favorite would have to be Trina.
The setting is creepy, Lincoln. During part four especially you get a glimpse of the life pulsing under wood and nail. Since there is a “thin spot” it’s easier to travel from living to the world of the dead, heaven or hell or whatever one person decides. So, basically, the purpose of the gang is to help spirits into the afterlife and stop any bad things that manage to escape back into the world. I guess the idea has a certain charm, but the parts are all separate stories and you never have long enough to grasp the gravity of the last situation before the next happens.
I was stuck between giving this book two stars or three. I didn’t like it, bluntly, but there were parts that I enjoyed more than others. In the end, I decided that since one star is only DNF, and two stars is not enjoyable, but three stars is okay, I’d give it three. I wanted to consider everything and in the end not everything was bad. The writing style is not horrible at all, and certain characters are interesting enough to evoke a little feeling. Again, though. We still have the sometimes fast paced, sometimes confusing aspect. I think you should read the book if it sounds interesting, but if not, leave it alone. We all have different tastes and others may look at my five-star review while giving a one-star one, so others may like this more than me.
Notable Scene:
And behind the dogs-
What was that?
My hands curled into fists as he came toward me. I opened my mouth to yell, but no sound came out.
FTC Advisory: Bloomsbury USA Childrens provided me with a copy of Insanity. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. In addition, I don’t receive affiliate fees for anything purchased via links from my site.
Quick & Dirty: I was often confused or bored with Insanity, but there were certain things that pushed the review up one star.
Opening Sentence: There was something wrong with the dog.
The Review:
This book starts out with Forest in Lincoln, an old asylum from Never, Kentucky. Ghosts and haints and crazy people live in its walls. Readers follow four characters through four main stories, each with a different villain and plotline, each from a different point of view. My feelings are very mixed about this book. The writing style is not bad at all, but sometimes the novel gets confusing with its descriptions of ghosts, shades, ghasts, spirits. I never could keep the different ones straight. I never connected to the characters, either, so it was a struggle to push through the three hundred pages. When I finished I was relieved. Insanity was just not for me.
However, I’ll give Insanity this: when I was reading at night, and the creepiest villain of the bunch appeared, I could not stop shivering. The descriptions of a man’s body with a child’s face, giggling while chasing with a shard of sharp metal, was ruthless in its delivery. I was completely freaked out. This raised my opinion of the book because the reason I didn’t like the villains is we didn’t have enough time to let them develop and grow strong before the attack, and we basically hear about them and then the main battle happens. Bam! At least with “Maman” (villain above) I could get invested in the descriptions and a little more into the book.
First things first, the characters. Part one we follow Forest. She’s a nice character, but not interesting, not with that intriguing factor. The love story between her and Levi moved slowly, and besides that sometimes I couldn’t tell she was even into him. Number two is Darius, and his story confused me often. By the end we get clarity on what just went down, but I was still a little wary. He had a different outlook on life and I enjoyed the refreshing change from the blander Forest. Next, Trina. I have to say that Trina’s section was my favorite of the bunch! We start out with Trina putting her father to sleep with a spell, because apparently she’s a witch, and learning that her father hunts and kills Madocs. Soon her father is heading out to kill Darius, who is also her boyfriend, because she let it slip that he might have some magic. What a start to part three! The pull to read grew more intense, though still I wasn’t really loving Insanity. And the final part, four. This time it’s Levi we follow, the Levi that has a budding relationship with Forest. He helps send spirits into the afterlife and is sometimes referred to as a haint. It was funny, because with Forest you see that she likes Levi, but it seems more friendship orientated than a romance. But with Levi you can really tell how much he loves her, and that scares him. Again, of all the characters my favorite would have to be Trina.
The setting is creepy, Lincoln. During part four especially you get a glimpse of the life pulsing under wood and nail. Since there is a “thin spot” it’s easier to travel from living to the world of the dead, heaven or hell or whatever one person decides. So, basically, the purpose of the gang is to help spirits into the afterlife and stop any bad things that manage to escape back into the world. I guess the idea has a certain charm, but the parts are all separate stories and you never have long enough to grasp the gravity of the last situation before the next happens.
I was stuck between giving this book two stars or three. I didn’t like it, bluntly, but there were parts that I enjoyed more than others. In the end, I decided that since one star is only DNF, and two stars is not enjoyable, but three stars is okay, I’d give it three. I wanted to consider everything and in the end not everything was bad. The writing style is not horrible at all, and certain characters are interesting enough to evoke a little feeling. Again, though. We still have the sometimes fast paced, sometimes confusing aspect. I think you should read the book if it sounds interesting, but if not, leave it alone. We all have different tastes and others may look at my five-star review while giving a one-star one, so others may like this more than me.
Notable Scene:
And behind the dogs-
What was that?
My hands curled into fists as he came toward me. I opened my mouth to yell, but no sound came out.
FTC Advisory: Bloomsbury USA Childrens provided me with a copy of Insanity. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. In addition, I don’t receive affiliate fees for anything purchased via links from my site.
April 15, 2022
My expectations led me astray, once again. I thought this was going to be based on real stories from the asylum…no, it was a cobbled up mess of poltergeists and witchcraft. There was no building of suspense and not much in the way of character development. It was like reading an 8th graders ghost story: who was standing by whom, who was wearing what. Oh well. You win some, you lose some.
January 31, 2022
Bardzo średnia.
August 3, 2016
When I start reading a synopsis that sounds remotely interesting, I stop reading it because they give too much away. Needless to say, I didn't realize it was multi-POV until I added it to my Goodreads shelf and saw some of the less-than-glowing reviews. But even then, I didn't read those all the way through (avoiding the spoilers!) so I didn't realize that the characters stayed connected; I thought they were individual ghost stories.
Why am I telling you this? I'm doing so simply to illustrate the fact that I had no idea what kind of story I was walking into, and I didn't have any trouble following it. There's some creepy imagery but nothing that kept me up at night. I liked that, even though they were separate POVs, they did move the "world" forward (albeit a bit chunkily).
Up until a certain point, I was going to give this book four stars, but in the end, I just couldn't. Here's why: Trina. I take some real issues with this character.
Why am I telling you this? I'm doing so simply to illustrate the fact that I had no idea what kind of story I was walking into, and I didn't have any trouble following it. There's some creepy imagery but nothing that kept me up at night. I liked that, even though they were separate POVs, they did move the "world" forward (albeit a bit chunkily).
Up until a certain point, I was going to give this book four stars, but in the end, I just couldn't. Here's why: Trina. I take some real issues with this character.
February 19, 2014
Actual Rating: 2.5 / 5
I feel like I am having the worst luck with YA books lately. I can't seem to find one that keeps my attention all the way through the book.
When I read the synopsis for this book, I knew that something was off. It only talks about Forest and at the end says that four teens stories come together. So lets clear this up right now, Forest is not the MC; she is one of four. One fourth of the book is hers, then switches to someone else and so on. I wish that would have been clear in the synopsis before I started reading. It did throw me off a little because it was sort of a BAM! POV change. And it did that each time. No warning. :/
The next big problem I had with the book was there was a lot of telling and no showing. The character would go "okay, I need to learn how to do this" and then the POV would change and all the sudden we are learning the character did go learn what they needed but we are never privy to the lessons. I would have liked to see what all they learned and how they did it. Grow with the characters so I could stay connected to them. I never fully connected to anyone because you didn't get to stay with them for long enough. I would have liked this book better if it would have been in one, maybe two, characters POVs.
So those are my problems with the book. Besides those, I thought the ideas behind the plot were really interesting and liked the setting. For me, I just couldn't connect to the characters and that was the downfall, it was more personal on my part. If you are into creepy paranormal books, this might be a good one to look into.
I feel like I am having the worst luck with YA books lately. I can't seem to find one that keeps my attention all the way through the book.
When I read the synopsis for this book, I knew that something was off. It only talks about Forest and at the end says that four teens stories come together. So lets clear this up right now, Forest is not the MC; she is one of four. One fourth of the book is hers, then switches to someone else and so on. I wish that would have been clear in the synopsis before I started reading. It did throw me off a little because it was sort of a BAM! POV change. And it did that each time. No warning. :/
The next big problem I had with the book was there was a lot of telling and no showing. The character would go "okay, I need to learn how to do this" and then the POV would change and all the sudden we are learning the character did go learn what they needed but we are never privy to the lessons. I would have liked to see what all they learned and how they did it. Grow with the characters so I could stay connected to them. I never fully connected to anyone because you didn't get to stay with them for long enough. I would have liked this book better if it would have been in one, maybe two, characters POVs.
So those are my problems with the book. Besides those, I thought the ideas behind the plot were really interesting and liked the setting. For me, I just couldn't connect to the characters and that was the downfall, it was more personal on my part. If you are into creepy paranormal books, this might be a good one to look into.
February 2, 2014
In the (fictional) town of Never, Kentucky, Lincoln Hospital's bell tower looms. Eighteen-year-old Forest Harper takes a job there to save money for college. Her first night on the graveyard shift finds her face to face with the insanity lurking within Lincoln's walls. She's not the only one to be caught up by what haunts the hospital. Two other teens find themselves quickly pulled into the dark secrets and tunnels of the fortress-like building.
The prologue started off this book with a bang. Awesome and creepy. I settled in thinking the rest of the story would continue in a similar vein. It didn't. It actually got really weird. I wasn't really feeling the episodic narration. If I had gone in prepared for four short stories, I might have enjoyed it more. The digital ARC also made it difficult to know when POV was changing (hopefully the final product will have character names or some other indicator). There are really four short stories being told. They overlap and share characters, but there isn't an overarching plot. Each one actually introduces a different paranormal aspect so there's A LOT going on. It can get a bit confusing and disorienting and a lot of things about Lincoln and why it is the way it is are never answered.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Publication Date: February 18, 2014
The prologue started off this book with a bang. Awesome and creepy. I settled in thinking the rest of the story would continue in a similar vein. It didn't. It actually got really weird. I wasn't really feeling the episodic narration. If I had gone in prepared for four short stories, I might have enjoyed it more. The digital ARC also made it difficult to know when POV was changing (hopefully the final product will have character names or some other indicator). There are really four short stories being told. They overlap and share characters, but there isn't an overarching plot. Each one actually introduces a different paranormal aspect so there's A LOT going on. It can get a bit confusing and disorienting and a lot of things about Lincoln and why it is the way it is are never answered.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Publication Date: February 18, 2014
January 16, 2014
I haven't devoured a book this quickly since The Hunger Games. It's the kind of story that keeps you turning pages so fast you don't even realize that it's 2 in the morning and you have to get up for work in five and a half hours, or that will make you read straight through your dinner break even though you haven't had a bite since noon. As a Kentuckian I appreciated everything about this book, from the subtle hints of hill folk vernacular to the emphasis on blood roots and deep magic, both of which run strong in my culture. I could easily imagine this as a ghost story told around a campfire by a wizened old grandmother way way out in the hill country. My favorite thing though was how closely it toed the line to true horror without going overboard. I had chills imagining baby faced monsters running around with knives but it didn't scare me enough to put it down. This is a spring Must Read for anyone who lives YA but is sick to death of vampires, werewolves, zombies or the apocalypse.
January 18, 2014
DNF at 29%
I love the setting of an mental institution for a spooky book. Unfortunately, this one was extremely confusing for me.
The book started out strong, but within a couple of chapters, I had no idea wtf was going on. I read in other reviews that there were multiple POVs, and at the point that I stopped, I figured out the switch for only that particular chapter. However, there wasn't any indication of a switch within the e-arc.
Perhaps reading a finished copy and seeing the switch would change my opinion. I can definitely see how some readers would enjoy the story, I just don't have the ambition to try and figure it out.
**Thanks to Bloomsbury and NetGalley for providing the arc in exchange for an honest review**
I love the setting of an mental institution for a spooky book. Unfortunately, this one was extremely confusing for me.
The book started out strong, but within a couple of chapters, I had no idea wtf was going on. I read in other reviews that there were multiple POVs, and at the point that I stopped, I figured out the switch for only that particular chapter. However, there wasn't any indication of a switch within the e-arc.
Perhaps reading a finished copy and seeing the switch would change my opinion. I can definitely see how some readers would enjoy the story, I just don't have the ambition to try and figure it out.
**Thanks to Bloomsbury and NetGalley for providing the arc in exchange for an honest review**
September 22, 2014
Eh. As far as paranormal goes, this one didn't really do it for me. I wish I could say that I'd recommend this book, especially since the cover would do some of the selling for me. However, I'd much rather recommend Anna Dressed in Blood or The Madman's Daughter to anyone interested in a good creepy story.
Read
June 2, 2015Forest an 18 old adopted kid just wants to make some money for university by working at a metal institution. But when one of the patients husbands come back for his wife followed by what seems to be a devil, she looses track and becomes oblivious to time and the real world. So Forest finds out who or what her mother is. Then meets some new people on the way and things get twisted and she finally finds out herself, what she is.
This book is about adventure, love and self-acceptance
This book is about adventure, love and self-acceptance
December 18, 2022
I think the writer could have done more with the concept they went with and also could have given me a closure with a written kiss of Levi and Forest. I longed for it from start to end. But I think that is the beauty of this book. Cursed love, unforgiven, purity over evil. My favourite quote is "Evil is not by blood but by a person. What they choose to be". Good work.
December 4, 2013
I loved this book from the very first line. Totally creepy, awesome world building, and kept me turning the pages until the end.
I'm really hoping there's more in this world, because these characters ROCK.
I'm really hoping there's more in this world, because these characters ROCK.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 169 reviews