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Be Not Afraid
Marin spends a lot of time avoiding things. She avoids thinking about her mother's suicide and what she could have done to prevent it. She avoids looking at people directly-because she can see their pain as bright, colorful shapes. And she avoids Cassie Jackson, who used her in a sinister ritual months ago, although Marin's not exactly sure why.
When Cassie stands up at school, screaming, raking her nails down her cheeks, and pointing a finger at Marin, whispering "YOU," Marin's days of avoidance come to an abrupt end. Cassie's older brother believes that Marin holds the secret to Cassie's illness. So they team up to solve the mystery of what Cassie has unleashed. But as they look deeper into the darkness and things begin to go bump in the night, can Marin trust what she sees?
When Cassie stands up at school, screaming, raking her nails down her cheeks, and pointing a finger at Marin, whispering "YOU," Marin's days of avoidance come to an abrupt end. Cassie's older brother believes that Marin holds the secret to Cassie's illness. So they team up to solve the mystery of what Cassie has unleashed. But as they look deeper into the darkness and things begin to go bump in the night, can Marin trust what she sees?
340 pages, Hardcover
First published April 28, 2015
17 people are currently reading
990 people want to read
About the author
Cecilia Galante
23 books170 followersCecilia Galante is the author of several middle grade, young adult and adult novels. She also teaches 8th grade English at Wyoming Seminary Prep School, and teaches creative writing in the MFA program at Wilkes University.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
March 30, 2015
2.5 stars generously rounded up to 3 stars.
Be Not Afraid is, simultaneously, a strangely original novel as well as a very familiar one. Galante took the bones of your typical YA PN novel, - the special girl with the secret power, the sad past and the seemingly unattainable crush, attending a school she doesn't fit in and suddenly becoming entangled in a horrifying situation that appears to be beyond her capabilities -, and breathed new life into it with a weirdly fascinating new concept and a very strong focus on the family bonds of the main character. The problem with Be Not Afraid is that, in spite of its best efforts, it is ultimately rather disappointing as a horror/paranormal YA read and completely forgettable as a whole.
Sort of a mix between Possess and Conversion, maybe even The Merciless, Be Not Afraid presents an interesting mix of classic horror and paranormal elements, - like the eerie religious school, the exorcism scenes and imagery, the freaky actions of a girl who dabbled in things better left untouched -, but makes a practice of pushing those elements, what admittedly brought the book to my attention in the first place, to the background to bring forth into the focus of the narrative the emotional struggles of this character with her sad past. I commend Galante for making a point out of exploring her main character, her past and her relationship with her family members, all of which is usually pointedly ignored by other authors, and I usually enjoy reading about the emotional and psychological struggles of a character with a very difficult story, but, in this case, the subject got too heavy when compared with the overall mood of the novel, and truth be told, they were not as compelling as they should've been if they were going to take hold of the entire plot of the novel and take away the spotlight from what would've made this novel a whole lot more entertaining and riveting.
In spite of the tremendous effort on the author's part to make of Marin a realistic and touching character we would ache for, I had a really hard time connecting with her. She was a elusive as a character and lacked a presence in her own story when it came to everything else besides her condition and paranormal power. Moreover, the way her story progressed left much to be desired, especially when it depended on seemingly disjointed events relating to some other character rather than on her own decisions and actions, because otherwise, Marin would've remained a pretty static figure throughout. Like I said, the novel was written in a very emotionally conscious way, making the entire book a detailed, tragic story of guilt and family issues than about creepy paranormal phenomena, and in spite of how full of emotional issues and relationships this novel is, I never connected with the novel or the character, was never emotionally invested in them, and bored with the whole thing more times than I would care to admit.
None of the other characters left any sort of impression, their participation in the story strictly adhered to their specific roles, and the romance itself was lukewarm and uninspiring, not to mention, very typical and unrealistic under the YA standards of seemingly unattainable guy suddenly revealing he has feelings for the girl that's barely a stain in the wall of his life and who he had never bothered to acknowledge until that point when he needed her. Actually, most characterizations were inconsistent and rather convenient upon what the plot required at that specific moment.
The novel does have a very well done atmosphere and a couple of nicely written horror scenes that were very close to being worth the long wait for the novel to finally coming around to remembering it was supposed to be a horror story. Sadly, though the novel's premise promised originality and creepiness, the truth is that, safe for one or two scenes, the novel was rather tame as a whole. When it comes to the paranormal aspect, although very intriguing, it was still really difficult to visualize, understand and to see it as an integral part of the novel, as opposed to a selling point to mark it as something different from other paranormal offerings.
Be Not Afraid is a decent novel, certainly not the worst horror/paranormal YA novel I've read in a while, but this novel sins by the way it got stuck in the middle, sinking in a puddle of mediocrity and blandness, being pretty much unremarkable and forgettable in every way. It didn't leave me with much of an impression besides an overall feeling of indifference, and that's not what I want to feel when I read a novel. Galante proved a couple of times that she's more than capable of creating very creepy scenes and that she is very oriented towards character depth, so I would be interested in anything else she writes, but Be Not Afraid was simply not for me.
Be Not Afraid is, simultaneously, a strangely original novel as well as a very familiar one. Galante took the bones of your typical YA PN novel, - the special girl with the secret power, the sad past and the seemingly unattainable crush, attending a school she doesn't fit in and suddenly becoming entangled in a horrifying situation that appears to be beyond her capabilities -, and breathed new life into it with a weirdly fascinating new concept and a very strong focus on the family bonds of the main character. The problem with Be Not Afraid is that, in spite of its best efforts, it is ultimately rather disappointing as a horror/paranormal YA read and completely forgettable as a whole.
Sort of a mix between Possess and Conversion, maybe even The Merciless, Be Not Afraid presents an interesting mix of classic horror and paranormal elements, - like the eerie religious school, the exorcism scenes and imagery, the freaky actions of a girl who dabbled in things better left untouched -, but makes a practice of pushing those elements, what admittedly brought the book to my attention in the first place, to the background to bring forth into the focus of the narrative the emotional struggles of this character with her sad past. I commend Galante for making a point out of exploring her main character, her past and her relationship with her family members, all of which is usually pointedly ignored by other authors, and I usually enjoy reading about the emotional and psychological struggles of a character with a very difficult story, but, in this case, the subject got too heavy when compared with the overall mood of the novel, and truth be told, they were not as compelling as they should've been if they were going to take hold of the entire plot of the novel and take away the spotlight from what would've made this novel a whole lot more entertaining and riveting.
In spite of the tremendous effort on the author's part to make of Marin a realistic and touching character we would ache for, I had a really hard time connecting with her. She was a elusive as a character and lacked a presence in her own story when it came to everything else besides her condition and paranormal power. Moreover, the way her story progressed left much to be desired, especially when it depended on seemingly disjointed events relating to some other character rather than on her own decisions and actions, because otherwise, Marin would've remained a pretty static figure throughout. Like I said, the novel was written in a very emotionally conscious way, making the entire book a detailed, tragic story of guilt and family issues than about creepy paranormal phenomena, and in spite of how full of emotional issues and relationships this novel is, I never connected with the novel or the character, was never emotionally invested in them, and bored with the whole thing more times than I would care to admit.
None of the other characters left any sort of impression, their participation in the story strictly adhered to their specific roles, and the romance itself was lukewarm and uninspiring, not to mention, very typical and unrealistic under the YA standards of seemingly unattainable guy suddenly revealing he has feelings for the girl that's barely a stain in the wall of his life and who he had never bothered to acknowledge until that point when he needed her. Actually, most characterizations were inconsistent and rather convenient upon what the plot required at that specific moment.
The novel does have a very well done atmosphere and a couple of nicely written horror scenes that were very close to being worth the long wait for the novel to finally coming around to remembering it was supposed to be a horror story. Sadly, though the novel's premise promised originality and creepiness, the truth is that, safe for one or two scenes, the novel was rather tame as a whole. When it comes to the paranormal aspect, although very intriguing, it was still really difficult to visualize, understand and to see it as an integral part of the novel, as opposed to a selling point to mark it as something different from other paranormal offerings.
Be Not Afraid is a decent novel, certainly not the worst horror/paranormal YA novel I've read in a while, but this novel sins by the way it got stuck in the middle, sinking in a puddle of mediocrity and blandness, being pretty much unremarkable and forgettable in every way. It didn't leave me with much of an impression besides an overall feeling of indifference, and that's not what I want to feel when I read a novel. Galante proved a couple of times that she's more than capable of creating very creepy scenes and that she is very oriented towards character depth, so I would be interested in anything else she writes, but Be Not Afraid was simply not for me.
July 19, 2015
Now this was one confusing story.
The Summary: Marin is a troubled teen living with her father and grandmother after the death of her mother, who committed suicide. After days of living in her room after the bizarre incident, Marin begins to see certain shapes and colors that others can't. Pain.
Now Marin goes to a Catholic school, where she meets Cassie Jackson, a popular girl who has already set her eye on her, and for particular reasons. So when Cassie invites her over, Marin comes willingly, in hopes to make new friends. However, Cassie has other plans, and locks Marin in her closet after a secret ritual.
Now, after weeks of not speaking to each other, Cassie is acting strange. Possessive, even. And the pain inside her is growing in a different kind of form. An inky, black shape inside her head. To cure his sister, Dominic Jackson comes to Marin for help, knowing that Cassie's connection to her could possibly change everything. And after a series of events, Marin questions whether or not her strange gift is either a curse or a blessing, and if it could possibly help Cassie.
I'm a sucker for cool covers. And seeing this at a book store made me think, "Hey, a horror book! I love scary movies, why should I not buy this one book?" If only I had known.
So when I read the first half in the first day of reading it, I was pretty intrigued, though I had expected a few more thrills or scares. Unfortunately, it hadn't hit me yet that you needed to see jump scares to actually jump from them.
I took a few days break from reading the book, then returned to it later, and found myself a lot less fascinated.
First of all, the book was mainly about Marin's troubles at home and school, and her school crush, Dominic Jackson. Which, in fact, I had rooted for in the beginning, since I am a fan of romance novels as long as they have a little action and adventure in them. However, when they finally kissed at the very end - literally the last page of the book - I hated it and hated them.
First of all, they had only known each other for a few days. I mean, they did know each other from school - though Marin had confessed they had never talked - and the ritual incident, in which he was the one that had found her screaming in the locked in the closet in the first place, but other than that they never really had anything. Also, the guy changed from time to time. For example, in some parts he'd be shy about how he liked her, like how he told her how many times they had held hands and was later sort of ashamed of himself, while later he had directly told her how supposedly beautiful she was. The funny thing is, we hardly know how she looks likes. The only information we get has to do with her pixie hair. We never get any information on Dominic either, except for how handsome he supposedly looks. Boy, he sure sounds handsome by the way you tell me how handsome he is without actually describing his looks; but boy he sure sounds handsome!
Also, a few things that were added in didn't make much sense(this is where the confusing parts come in).
Examples: Cassie was possessed right? Then what possessed her? The dead, suicidal mom? Cassie's grandmother, who had suffered the same fate as Marin's mom? A vengeful spirit? A demon?
When I read the story, I was sure it had to be the mom trying to reach back to her daughter, since Cassie had always said that the pain she had felt always went away when seeing Marin. I had also thought that that if it was a demon, it had to be the same demon that caused her mother and Dominic's grandmother to commit suicide. It tells later in the story that some people possessed by a demon commit suicide when they had the chance to(when the exorcism that worked on them was only going to last a certain amount of time and their was a high chance that they might be possessed again.
Me during that moment: THE MOM! THE MOM! SHE HAD TO BE POSSESSED! SHE KILLED HERSELF TO RELIEVE HER OF THE PAIN THE DEMON BROUGHT TO HER! SHE MUST HAVE!
Unfortunately, there was no indication that Marin had thought of this, had even suggested it, even when it was staring her in the face.
Another example was after Cassie's voice was altering, and when in one scene the thing inside her said in an elderly voice, "I want to see the girl," or something something similar to that.
Me: Okay, elderly voice...It must be Dominic's grandmother, who died!
During the moment, I had expected that the demon with Cassie was not just taking a hold of Cassie's body, but holding onto the spirits of Marin's mother and Dominic's grandmother as well. Or maybe she was altering her voice to taunt Dominic, but it didn't matter. By then and after, I was in a state of total confusion! Dominic didn't react much to the voice, so whatever that was about, I will never know.
Also, just to finish off this review, I'll talk shortly of the main character I hated.
Marin: A jerk teenager who has certain problems and issues that needs to be sorted out with her dad or at least a therapist; she did confess she had begun to see one after she started seeing things. Also had anger management issues. Example: The girl threw a frying pan across the kitchen. A FRYING PAN! SHE NEARLY HIT HER FATHER! I understand you've been through a lot, but you don't need to nearly bring your father into a coma. And she certainly doesn't need all the attention she gets, considering how jerky she is.
This book had so much potential in it, I just wished it had more to it, a little more explanation and character description. I don't want to offend the author in any way, and I believe that she can make her way to a good horror story by working out a few flaws, and surely she can do it without The Exorcism for details.
The Summary: Marin is a troubled teen living with her father and grandmother after the death of her mother, who committed suicide. After days of living in her room after the bizarre incident, Marin begins to see certain shapes and colors that others can't. Pain.
Now Marin goes to a Catholic school, where she meets Cassie Jackson, a popular girl who has already set her eye on her, and for particular reasons. So when Cassie invites her over, Marin comes willingly, in hopes to make new friends. However, Cassie has other plans, and locks Marin in her closet after a secret ritual.
Now, after weeks of not speaking to each other, Cassie is acting strange. Possessive, even. And the pain inside her is growing in a different kind of form. An inky, black shape inside her head. To cure his sister, Dominic Jackson comes to Marin for help, knowing that Cassie's connection to her could possibly change everything. And after a series of events, Marin questions whether or not her strange gift is either a curse or a blessing, and if it could possibly help Cassie.
I'm a sucker for cool covers. And seeing this at a book store made me think, "Hey, a horror book! I love scary movies, why should I not buy this one book?" If only I had known.
So when I read the first half in the first day of reading it, I was pretty intrigued, though I had expected a few more thrills or scares. Unfortunately, it hadn't hit me yet that you needed to see jump scares to actually jump from them.
I took a few days break from reading the book, then returned to it later, and found myself a lot less fascinated.
First of all, the book was mainly about Marin's troubles at home and school, and her school crush, Dominic Jackson. Which, in fact, I had rooted for in the beginning, since I am a fan of romance novels as long as they have a little action and adventure in them. However, when they finally kissed at the very end - literally the last page of the book - I hated it and hated them.
First of all, they had only known each other for a few days. I mean, they did know each other from school - though Marin had confessed they had never talked - and the ritual incident, in which he was the one that had found her screaming in the locked in the closet in the first place, but other than that they never really had anything. Also, the guy changed from time to time. For example, in some parts he'd be shy about how he liked her, like how he told her how many times they had held hands and was later sort of ashamed of himself, while later he had directly told her how supposedly beautiful she was. The funny thing is, we hardly know how she looks likes. The only information we get has to do with her pixie hair. We never get any information on Dominic either, except for how handsome he supposedly looks. Boy, he sure sounds handsome by the way you tell me how handsome he is without actually describing his looks; but boy he sure sounds handsome!
Also, a few things that were added in didn't make much sense(this is where the confusing parts come in).
Examples: Cassie was possessed right? Then what possessed her? The dead, suicidal mom? Cassie's grandmother, who had suffered the same fate as Marin's mom? A vengeful spirit? A demon?
When I read the story, I was sure it had to be the mom trying to reach back to her daughter, since Cassie had always said that the pain she had felt always went away when seeing Marin. I had also thought that that if it was a demon, it had to be the same demon that caused her mother and Dominic's grandmother to commit suicide. It tells later in the story that some people possessed by a demon commit suicide when they had the chance to(when the exorcism that worked on them was only going to last a certain amount of time and their was a high chance that they might be possessed again.
Me during that moment: THE MOM! THE MOM! SHE HAD TO BE POSSESSED! SHE KILLED HERSELF TO RELIEVE HER OF THE PAIN THE DEMON BROUGHT TO HER! SHE MUST HAVE!
Unfortunately, there was no indication that Marin had thought of this, had even suggested it, even when it was staring her in the face.
Another example was after Cassie's voice was altering, and when in one scene the thing inside her said in an elderly voice, "I want to see the girl," or something something similar to that.
Me: Okay, elderly voice...It must be Dominic's grandmother, who died!
During the moment, I had expected that the demon with Cassie was not just taking a hold of Cassie's body, but holding onto the spirits of Marin's mother and Dominic's grandmother as well. Or maybe she was altering her voice to taunt Dominic, but it didn't matter. By then and after, I was in a state of total confusion! Dominic didn't react much to the voice, so whatever that was about, I will never know.
Also, just to finish off this review, I'll talk shortly of the main character I hated.
Marin: A jerk teenager who has certain problems and issues that needs to be sorted out with her dad or at least a therapist; she did confess she had begun to see one after she started seeing things. Also had anger management issues. Example: The girl threw a frying pan across the kitchen. A FRYING PAN! SHE NEARLY HIT HER FATHER! I understand you've been through a lot, but you don't need to nearly bring your father into a coma. And she certainly doesn't need all the attention she gets, considering how jerky she is.
This book had so much potential in it, I just wished it had more to it, a little more explanation and character description. I don't want to offend the author in any way, and I believe that she can make her way to a good horror story by working out a few flaws, and surely she can do it without The Exorcism for details.
April 29, 2015
My Thoughts:
I love horror stories, and it has been way too long since I've read one. Be Not Afraid reeled me in, and hooked me. I devoured this story. I hadn't read anything written by Cecilia Galante, but after this story, I am looking forward to reading more of her work. Let me tell you why! For one, I love Ms. Galante's writing style. Her prose are hauntingly beautiful, and there's almost a poetic feel to her writing. The way she describes everything is perfect! She doesn't over describe, where you get bored and bogged down by too many details, and she doesn't under describe. She tells the story in such a way where you can picture the setting, and the events unfolding perfectly inside of your head; to the point where you feel as though you are a part of the story right alongside the characters.
If you are looking for a fast-paced, entertaining, and addicting young adult paranormal horror story, have I got one for you! Be Not Afraid was superb! I cannot gush enough about this supernatural story full of unexpected twists, and on the edge of your seat plot developments!
The main character, Marin, can see people's pain. As she looks at a person she can see various colors that indicate to her if a person has any type of pain, from trace amounts, like a cut, all the way to more serious types of pain, like heart trouble. She came in to this ability after her mother's tragic suicide.
Cassie, a classmate of Marin's that attends the same private Catholic high school, has a bone chilling, traumatic episode at mass. Cassie's older brother, Dominic, seeks Marin's assistance in trying to figure out what is wrong with his sister. Cassie is no longer herself. She has been acting strange, and violent. Dominic thinks that Marin might be the key to solving Cassie's condition, due to the fact that his sister singled out Marin at Mass, keeps begging for her presence, and her behavior changed after Marin visited her one day six months ago...
Be Not Afraid was a sinister story that was full of mystery. Ms. Galante spoon feeds us bits and pieces of the puzzle, until we end up with the terrifying conclusion. I loved every moment of trying to figure out more about Marin and her ability, as well as Cassie's condition, and what happened between the two girls six months ago. The anticipation had me speedily turning the pages, as I tried to solve the mysteries.
My Rating:
I give, Be Not Afraid, by Cecilia Galante, 4 Eerie, Insidious, Malevolent, Twisted, Mystery Filled Stars! Fans of books and movies on demon possession, and exorcism, that involve horror and paranormal events will enjoy this creepy and chilling tale.
My Favorite Quote:
"You still have things to do, places to see. But you won't be able to do them unless you make the choice again to believe in yourself. To believe in your own goodness. Because I'm pretty sure after all this time, that that's what God is. The goodness in us. That's his gift to us. Our blessing." (eARC, Loc. 3450)
~Marin
*To Read More Book Reviews, Visit A Bookish Escape at http://www.abookishescape.com
I love horror stories, and it has been way too long since I've read one. Be Not Afraid reeled me in, and hooked me. I devoured this story. I hadn't read anything written by Cecilia Galante, but after this story, I am looking forward to reading more of her work. Let me tell you why! For one, I love Ms. Galante's writing style. Her prose are hauntingly beautiful, and there's almost a poetic feel to her writing. The way she describes everything is perfect! She doesn't over describe, where you get bored and bogged down by too many details, and she doesn't under describe. She tells the story in such a way where you can picture the setting, and the events unfolding perfectly inside of your head; to the point where you feel as though you are a part of the story right alongside the characters.
If you are looking for a fast-paced, entertaining, and addicting young adult paranormal horror story, have I got one for you! Be Not Afraid was superb! I cannot gush enough about this supernatural story full of unexpected twists, and on the edge of your seat plot developments!
The main character, Marin, can see people's pain. As she looks at a person she can see various colors that indicate to her if a person has any type of pain, from trace amounts, like a cut, all the way to more serious types of pain, like heart trouble. She came in to this ability after her mother's tragic suicide.
Cassie, a classmate of Marin's that attends the same private Catholic high school, has a bone chilling, traumatic episode at mass. Cassie's older brother, Dominic, seeks Marin's assistance in trying to figure out what is wrong with his sister. Cassie is no longer herself. She has been acting strange, and violent. Dominic thinks that Marin might be the key to solving Cassie's condition, due to the fact that his sister singled out Marin at Mass, keeps begging for her presence, and her behavior changed after Marin visited her one day six months ago...
Be Not Afraid was a sinister story that was full of mystery. Ms. Galante spoon feeds us bits and pieces of the puzzle, until we end up with the terrifying conclusion. I loved every moment of trying to figure out more about Marin and her ability, as well as Cassie's condition, and what happened between the two girls six months ago. The anticipation had me speedily turning the pages, as I tried to solve the mysteries.
My Rating:
I give, Be Not Afraid, by Cecilia Galante, 4 Eerie, Insidious, Malevolent, Twisted, Mystery Filled Stars! Fans of books and movies on demon possession, and exorcism, that involve horror and paranormal events will enjoy this creepy and chilling tale.
My Favorite Quote:
"You still have things to do, places to see. But you won't be able to do them unless you make the choice again to believe in yourself. To believe in your own goodness. Because I'm pretty sure after all this time, that that's what God is. The goodness in us. That's his gift to us. Our blessing." (eARC, Loc. 3450)
~Marin
*To Read More Book Reviews, Visit A Bookish Escape at http://www.abookishescape.com
September 7, 2022
Why the hell did Marin allow Dominic to keep convincing her to go see Cassie or go to their house? This teenage girl locked Marin in a closet and forced her through some kind of ritual. Now, Cassie is clearly possessed by whatever it was that she had summoned, and is obviously freaking Marin out every time she is around her. Marin isn’t responsible for Cassie. It’s not her fault this girl was stupid enough to perform this ritual. The only reason I’m okay with Dominic continually begging her not to make him go through all this alone was that Marin was able to gain some more information about her gift and what she could truly do with it.
I can’t believe Father William tried to convince Marin that what she was seeing inside Cassie was epilepsy. She said that she had never seen anything like it in anybody else, and epilepsy isn’t that uncommon. It’s not a rare diagnosis. If this black smoke shape was epilepsy then wouldn’t Marin have seen it before in someone else within the last year since she got this gift?
I felt like it wrapped up too fast. Father William said that the exorcism could take weeks or even months to get rid of a demon, and yet this priest, who kept repeating that he can’t do it because he hasn’t been trained to do exorcisms, was able to get rid of Cassie’s demon in just a couple hours? I don’t buy it. Even if Marin helped him with her gift.
I can’t believe Father William tried to convince Marin that what she was seeing inside Cassie was epilepsy. She said that she had never seen anything like it in anybody else, and epilepsy isn’t that uncommon. It’s not a rare diagnosis. If this black smoke shape was epilepsy then wouldn’t Marin have seen it before in someone else within the last year since she got this gift?
I felt like it wrapped up too fast. Father William said that the exorcism could take weeks or even months to get rid of a demon, and yet this priest, who kept repeating that he can’t do it because he hasn’t been trained to do exorcisms, was able to get rid of Cassie’s demon in just a couple hours? I don’t buy it. Even if Marin helped him with her gift.
October 12, 2017
I would class this as a supernatural book, not a horror because there was zero scares in it although it had the elements of one. Also didn't like the way that religion was brought into this, I believe god can combat the devil when it comes to possession but as for god besotting gifts on people, nada.
April 9, 2021
Reviewed on Lili Lost in a Book
This book sounded very intriguing to me. There’s some sketchy past between Cassie and Marin—Cassie did something and now something bad is happening to her. Cassie’s brother Dominic asks Marin for her help because she’s the one who knows about whatever thing it was that Cassie did. Marin very reluctantly helps. VERY reluctantly. Marin also has a very cool ability where she can see pain.
Unfortunately, I was not the biggest fan of this book. I was not liking Marin right from the start. Look, I totally get that Cassie did something pretty bad to Marin, but now sweet Dominic is coming to her for help and she’s like NOPE. The fact that she gave negative fucks for this girl who was now in trouble was just WOW. It’s called empathy, Marin! Jeez! She also had these outbursts that came out of nowhere that just... what? I don’t get it. And it was frustrating when they were directed at Dominic, because he was such a sweet guy. And at one point at the end of the book she says that she wants to do the right thing but that she doesn’t know what that is... Ummm, NO. Her saying this was incredibly unbelievable because there was absolutely no character development to show that she changed her mind when it came to helping Cassie. Throughout the whole thing she was just so bitter and angry about everything. So because the main character was so unlikable, it just made for a very unenjoyable read.
Oh and then the climax? There was a whole lot of nothing for a very long time! And it’s FINALLY in the last 10 pages that Marin freaking does SOMETHING to help Cassie! I was so annoyed!
I do want to mention that the thing that Cassie did was pretty awful. I can see why Marin was upset. But the reason WHY Cassie did that thing was also understandable. But ultimately, it was a frustrating book. I hated the main character which hindered my enjoyment of the book. But overall, I can't say that I hated the book itself. I liked the supernatural aspect to it, her ability was cool... but that’s it. Lol. This was just not for me.
This book sounded very intriguing to me. There’s some sketchy past between Cassie and Marin—Cassie did something and now something bad is happening to her. Cassie’s brother Dominic asks Marin for her help because she’s the one who knows about whatever thing it was that Cassie did. Marin very reluctantly helps. VERY reluctantly. Marin also has a very cool ability where she can see pain.
Unfortunately, I was not the biggest fan of this book. I was not liking Marin right from the start. Look, I totally get that Cassie did something pretty bad to Marin, but now sweet Dominic is coming to her for help and she’s like NOPE. The fact that she gave negative fucks for this girl who was now in trouble was just WOW. It’s called empathy, Marin! Jeez! She also had these outbursts that came out of nowhere that just... what? I don’t get it. And it was frustrating when they were directed at Dominic, because he was such a sweet guy. And at one point at the end of the book she says that she wants to do the right thing but that she doesn’t know what that is... Ummm, NO. Her saying this was incredibly unbelievable because there was absolutely no character development to show that she changed her mind when it came to helping Cassie. Throughout the whole thing she was just so bitter and angry about everything. So because the main character was so unlikable, it just made for a very unenjoyable read.
Oh and then the climax? There was a whole lot of nothing for a very long time! And it’s FINALLY in the last 10 pages that Marin freaking does SOMETHING to help Cassie! I was so annoyed!
I do want to mention that the thing that Cassie did was pretty awful. I can see why Marin was upset. But the reason WHY Cassie did that thing was also understandable. But ultimately, it was a frustrating book. I hated the main character which hindered my enjoyment of the book. But overall, I can't say that I hated the book itself. I liked the supernatural aspect to it, her ability was cool... but that’s it. Lol. This was just not for me.
May 7, 2022
A great example of the adage "never judge a book by it's cover".
The cover looks cool and spooky, the book is not. The protagonist has the spine of a wet paper bag and a weakness to being grabbed by the arm which somehow renders her unable to fight back. The possessed girl is unsympathetic, her most crazy and evil behavior occurs before she is possessed, and dyslexia is used as an excuse for why she tricks the protagonist into stripping down to her underwear and holds her prisoner for an evil magic ritual. Somehow this dyslexia meant she read "Conjoining" as "Conjuring", but did not prevent her from successfully reciting a spell in Latin. Presumably she also didn't google translate the Latin or she might have noticed something suspicious. The love interest is a jerk, physically stopping the protagonist from leaving on multiple occasions (guess it runs in the family), only speaking to her because he wants something from her, and constantly badgering her into risking her own safety. He has the personality of a wet paper bag smeared in dogshit (boring, gross, should probably be in a dumpster). The book tries to be deep and emotional, but the grief parts are incredibly poorly integrated with the possession parts.
The cover looks cool and spooky, the book is not. The protagonist has the spine of a wet paper bag and a weakness to being grabbed by the arm which somehow renders her unable to fight back. The possessed girl is unsympathetic, her most crazy and evil behavior occurs before she is possessed, and dyslexia is used as an excuse for why she tricks the protagonist into stripping down to her underwear and holds her prisoner for an evil magic ritual. Somehow this dyslexia meant she read "Conjoining" as "Conjuring", but did not prevent her from successfully reciting a spell in Latin. Presumably she also didn't google translate the Latin or she might have noticed something suspicious. The love interest is a jerk, physically stopping the protagonist from leaving on multiple occasions (guess it runs in the family), only speaking to her because he wants something from her, and constantly badgering her into risking her own safety. He has the personality of a wet paper bag smeared in dogshit (boring, gross, should probably be in a dumpster). The book tries to be deep and emotional, but the grief parts are incredibly poorly integrated with the possession parts.
October 4, 2018
This book was awesome! Definitely original and kept my attention the whole time. It was actually a bit annoying how engrossing it was because I have a 2 year old, I can't read all damn day! I kept waiting for it to get to a boring part so I could put it down and.. you know.. "adult" but nope! I had to tell myself, hey put this damn book down and get your kid lol. It was totally believable as well with the magical realism. And my copy is 337 pages, but the story happened over the coarse of 3 or 4 days I believe. So that might be why I was just flying through it, because it was NON STOP action. I will say the romance was a bit unncessary, even though I enjoyed it. It wasn't like insta-lovey or roll your eyes bad. I thought it was perfect for the Halloween season because it had some pretty creepy scenes where I was getting goosebumps I'll be honest. Definitely pick it up for this October, you won't be disappointed!
June 9, 2018
Oddly, I found the horror/supernatural elements of this book the least satisfying — which is not to say poorly done, but just that I found the characterizations and narrative voice so very strong and satisfying that some of the “spooky” elements (ex: possession, exorcism) seemed almost a distraction to me, not as well developed nor interesting as the characters, their relationships, and psychological backdrop. Overall, I’d say that’s more a tribute to the strengths of the writing than a criticism of the work. I was very interested in and moved by the narrator and enjoyed the book overall, although I did think ultimately it is much more impressive as ya personality-oriented fiction than horror/supernatural genre. I’d love to read more by this author outside of those genre trappings.
March 13, 2019
IT WAS NOT THE GREATEST READ, BUT I DON'T REGRET IT.
I honestly think it fulfilled its purpose, it wasn't boring and the main character was really likeable. The whole exorcism arch was a bit too much like all exorcism/supernatural movies or tv shows, and the romance was like something pulled out of Wattpad but overall I enjoyed the plotline. I guess it managed to keep my attention, which is one the greatest accomplishments a book of this caliber can achieve; I guess it had what it takes to entertain an avid reader of the supernatural. 👻👹🤷
I honestly think it fulfilled its purpose, it wasn't boring and the main character was really likeable. The whole exorcism arch was a bit too much like all exorcism/supernatural movies or tv shows, and the romance was like something pulled out of Wattpad but overall I enjoyed the plotline. I guess it managed to keep my attention, which is one the greatest accomplishments a book of this caliber can achieve; I guess it had what it takes to entertain an avid reader of the supernatural. 👻👹🤷
September 5, 2020
I was very pleasantly surprised. To be honest, I had very low expectations about this book for two reasons: 1 - I don't like YA and 2 - this book had low overall rating here, on GR. Now I wonder if a lot of people didn't like this book for the same reasons that made me like it: it didn't feel as a typical YA, the main characters, Marin and Dominic, were actually believable teenagers, the romance was only hinted at here and there and didn't take over the entire plot the way it usually does in YA novels.
October 26, 2017
I read this purely for the Halloween season. It wasn't the greatest book of all time, and the main schtick (the female protagonist can see pain in other people) was somewhat confusing in its consistency and application. Once I got over trying to actually pin that down and figure out what the deal was it was much easier to just read along and enjoy the story. There were some definite creepy parts and it served its purpose of being a fun Halloween addition to my normally scheduled reading.
October 9, 2018
This book wasn't too bad. There were some drawn out parts that could have been shortened, but nothing a little skim reading couldn't conquer. I'm really not into exorcism books or movies because they all have the same storyline and it doesn't really pique my interest, but I still continued to read this book to the end. I did like the style of writing and the other parts of the story that weren't about the possession.
May 19, 2017
I'd give this book more of a 4.5 but that's not an option. I would have given it a five but it was somewhat predictable, but that might just be cause of how much I read. Either way I really liked this book as a horror book. Even though it was really that scary but it still classifies as supernatural to me.
June 7, 2017
There is so much I can say about this book. It had so many surprising parts like her nan having a heart attack but still making it even tho the doctor said it was impossible. Marin seeing people's pain and pretty much healing them she had a gift. This book was so spooky. It was about witchcraft and a girl begging possessed. Evil vs good.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 8, 2020
At first I thought this book would be long and boring I couldn’t get into it. I usually don’t give up on a book but I did put it aside for awhile. I’m happy I kept reading it the book finished well but it was very confusing.
October 22, 2017
Good story but needed to be written by some one eles.cause I was rather bored with it even though I liked it go figure
January 25, 2019
this book was pretty good. Followed a predictable storyline and wasn't very scary for me but it was a good story.
February 3, 2021
Had some interesting parts. A chapter or two felt like they were directly ripping off the Excorcist
October 24, 2022
overwhelmingly 'meh', good story but it's unfortunately another YA horror novel ruined by bullshit unimportant secondary romance plots. i don't like exorcism stories i don't know why i picked it up.
October 19, 2015
SPOILER!!!!
Le iba a dar 3 estrellas hasta que llegaron los últimos capítulos y tuve que subirle a 4.
Me gustó la historia, me encantó la protagonista, odié al papá y entendí perfectamente su deslike por el colegio católico pero lo que más me dolió fue que dejara fuera de la historia a Lucy. Si, se que no tenía nada que ver en la historia con Cassie y Dominic pero me encantó el personaje de Lucy y me hubiese gustado que apareciera más en el libro.
- En cuanto a Dominic, hubo momentos en los que me caía muy mal porque sólo pensaba en su hermana y no veía que toda la situación también era muy difícil para Marin y ella más tonta/enamorada todo lo hacía por el!!! Aunque por otro lado igual se entiende que el estaba asustado y haría lo que fuera por tener a su hermana de vuelta.
- La parte cuando Marin le cuenta a Dominic sobre lo que pasó en su casa y como la hermana la obligó a presenciar el rito y como la dejó encerrada, todo eso fue tan triste de leer y pude sentir completamente el miedo/terror de Marin al pensar en todo eso.
Si lo piensan, al principio Marin estaba asustada de tantas cosas, pero al final del libro vez que ella está superando lo de su madre, aceptando su "don" y dejando atrás toda la locura que pasó con Cassie. Así que por ese lado me gustó mucho el final del libro porque no es un; "Y vivieron felices para siempre" pero al mismo tiempo te da esperanzas de que a pesar de todo lo malo y terrible que pasó durante toda la historia, aún quedan cosas buenas por las que agradecer.
- Por otro lado, la historia de la posesión/los espíritus y todo eso me encantó. He leído muy pero muy pocos libros sobre terror/suspense pero éste lo encontré entretenido y de verdad que por momentos me daba miedo leer por que no sabía que pasaría! Esas escenas donde Marin iba a visitar a Cassie(poseída) me recordó mucho a Constantine (una de mis películas favoritas <3)
- En cuanto a la habilidad de Marin, también me encantó! Fue algo original y no sé muy bien por qué pero me hizo acordar mucho de la trilogía Wake/Fade/Gone así que eso es un importante plus! A pesar de que leo bastantes libros YA, no soy mucho de leer ciencia ficción/fantasia Ya. Cuando leo ciencia ficción es la normal, la vieja escuela xD Pero este libro me hizo darme cuenta que seguramente si leyera más libros de este tipo los apreciaría bastante ;)
p.d: algo gracioso que me pasó al final con el exorcismo fue que por momentos me acordaba de Scary Movie y era raro porque eran escenas de terror pero me daban risa, aunque eso no es culpa del libro si no mía. El tema es que yo nunca vi El Exorcista porque vi antes Scary movie y me daba mucha risa toda esa situación y el trolleo entre el padre y la poseída.
Le iba a dar 3 estrellas hasta que llegaron los últimos capítulos y tuve que subirle a 4.
Me gustó la historia, me encantó la protagonista, odié al papá y entendí perfectamente su deslike por el colegio católico pero lo que más me dolió fue que dejara fuera de la historia a Lucy. Si, se que no tenía nada que ver en la historia con Cassie y Dominic pero me encantó el personaje de Lucy y me hubiese gustado que apareciera más en el libro.
- En cuanto a Dominic, hubo momentos en los que me caía muy mal porque sólo pensaba en su hermana y no veía que toda la situación también era muy difícil para Marin y ella más tonta/enamorada todo lo hacía por el!!! Aunque por otro lado igual se entiende que el estaba asustado y haría lo que fuera por tener a su hermana de vuelta.
- La parte cuando Marin le cuenta a Dominic sobre lo que pasó en su casa y como la hermana la obligó a presenciar el rito y como la dejó encerrada, todo eso fue tan triste de leer y pude sentir completamente el miedo/terror de Marin al pensar en todo eso.
Si lo piensan, al principio Marin estaba asustada de tantas cosas, pero al final del libro vez que ella está superando lo de su madre, aceptando su "don" y dejando atrás toda la locura que pasó con Cassie. Así que por ese lado me gustó mucho el final del libro porque no es un; "Y vivieron felices para siempre" pero al mismo tiempo te da esperanzas de que a pesar de todo lo malo y terrible que pasó durante toda la historia, aún quedan cosas buenas por las que agradecer.
- Por otro lado, la historia de la posesión/los espíritus y todo eso me encantó. He leído muy pero muy pocos libros sobre terror/suspense pero éste lo encontré entretenido y de verdad que por momentos me daba miedo leer por que no sabía que pasaría! Esas escenas donde Marin iba a visitar a Cassie(poseída) me recordó mucho a Constantine (una de mis películas favoritas <3)
- En cuanto a la habilidad de Marin, también me encantó! Fue algo original y no sé muy bien por qué pero me hizo acordar mucho de la trilogía Wake/Fade/Gone así que eso es un importante plus! A pesar de que leo bastantes libros YA, no soy mucho de leer ciencia ficción/fantasia Ya. Cuando leo ciencia ficción es la normal, la vieja escuela xD Pero este libro me hizo darme cuenta que seguramente si leyera más libros de este tipo los apreciaría bastante ;)
p.d: algo gracioso que me pasó al final con el exorcismo fue que por momentos me acordaba de Scary Movie y era raro porque eran escenas de terror pero me daban risa, aunque eso no es culpa del libro si no mía. El tema es que yo nunca vi El Exorcista porque vi antes Scary movie y me daba mucha risa toda esa situación y el trolleo entre el padre y la poseída.
July 5, 2016
I enjoyed the book a lot. It was intriguing, and I liked seeing the characters go through stages of faith in God, and seeing Marin's internal battle. The demon was very real, in my opinion (not that I have ever seen a demon or an exorcism). This book was scary, but I definitely enjoyed that about it, and it was also very eye opening about feelings and spiritual things. As readers we got to see how everyone blamed themselves for that deaths of the people they loved, and that is a very realistic thing. Seeing also how the different characters took death (in particular suicide) was very moving to me seeing how both Marin and her father blamed themselves for Mrs. Winter's death, when in reality it wasn't their fault at all. Marin's mother was dealing with depression which can come in episodes depending on what type of depression you are diagnosed with. Mrs. Winter reminded me a little of Megan's mother in Forman's book I WAS HERE. It hurt me to see that in putting herself out of her misery, Mrs. Winters put all of her loved ones in pain. It was also very interesting to see how Marin can see everyone else's pain, but her own pain is invisible to her. It was interesting (i know i am saying that word a ton) to just see that kind of....whatever my word aren't really making sense right now. Usually our own pain is the only thing we can see and we are blinded by it. We don't see the pain of others because all we can think of is our own pain. But Marin can see the pain of others but not her own (until the end). I don't know what it means or how that connects but yeah. Also i felt the deepest sympathy for Cassie. All she wanted to do was talk to her gram. She was in pain after losing her. Instead she summoned a demon. Sin often appears good in our eyes until we have to face the consequences. Summoning a spirit seemed like a good thing for cassie to do (in her eyes). But in the long run summoning any the of spirit is dangerous. One of the very scary things about spirits to me is that if you call them they actually come. the y are SO much easier to bring than to get rid of. Wigi (ik i just butchered that word but i don't feel like looking up the correct spelling) boards, and magical powers and witchcraft can look really fun and good, but it brings about demons and the wreck of you soul, and that is some seriously freaky ish. Long story short, this is a thought provoking book that was very interesting and y'all should read it. :)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 27, 2017
It was an alright book, it was kinda slow and Had a relatively predictable ending. wasn't an entire waste of time reading this, but definitely would not read again
January 13, 2015
I'm having a hard time with this one. It's one of my review books and I was excited when I got it because by the cover and the book jacket it seemed like it was going to be a super freaky supernatural story. It was not. There were some supernatural elements, Marin could see people's pain as colors and shapes and Cassie is possessed by some sort of spirit, but for the most part it seems more like a story about a girl struggling with her mother's death and her family relationships. The book mostly concentrates on the struggle Marin has with seeing pain, it hurts her eyes and makes it weird for her to connect with other people. And then, of course, it turns into a story about her crush all of a sudden paying attention to her and obviously liking her, too. And then there are weird flashbacks and just weird explanations and justifications for people's actions. I mean, Marin's grandmother gets sick and Dominic is still bugging her to help him with his sister? And then all of a sudden the Catholic priest is involved and totally believes everything? And there is random information scattered throughout the book that seems like it's trying to be factual when it comes to exorcism and religion, because there is also randomly a religious struggle aspect to this story, too, and I almost want to Google stuff to see if the author actually did research or not. Dominic suddenly knew the infinity symbol turned sideways meant evil, their Catholic priest knew all about studying exorcisms, etc. And what actually possessed Cassie? Actually, the more I think about this story and all of its inconsistencies and sudden revelations, the more I really don't like it at all. I'm changing my rating from a 3 to a 2, although I could almost give it a 1. The actual exorcism scenes were actually pretty scary, though, even though parts seemed ripped off of The Exorcist, and for some reason I cared about the end of the book. But the end was completely unsatisfying since absolutely nothing was explained even a little bit. Let's say a 1.5.
August 9, 2015
3.5 stars
Whose spirit was it? Was it grandmas or someone else’s, because if it was grandmas, she sure was a wicked woman? I loved the cover of this novel and that is why I grabbed it while volunteering one Friday morning at the library. There was some creepiness inside the pages but not what I was initially hoping for, I wanted more! I wanted more horror and less drama, hold off on the drama people and give me the willies, the OMG, I can’t read the words on this page fast enough willies. There were times when the character Cassie was talking about her experience in the closet and it was intense. Marin was listening closely, not believing what he was hearing and I swear I was hovering over my Kindle like it was a bowl of Orange Leaf yogurt. There were times it reminded me of The Exorcist and those images floated into my mind, but hey, that’s okay, the author added her own twists and it was all good. What really grabbed me and made me ponder was the premise of the main character’s gift. Her gift was the ability to see pain/discomfort in others. She sees this in orbs/blots of color around people usually the area of their pain/discomfort. How amazing is that? She wears sunglasses most of the time as the colors can be overwhelming but imagine seeing people with orbs floating on them showing where their pains/discomforts are (tooth, cancer, stomachache, sprains, etc). I know it could be overwhelming to have such a gift but just this ability excites me. Anyway, the activity that happens in this book occurs in the closet. This closet only a select few individuals know about and now that the story has been told, something has to be done and done now! The real question is: can it be undone? I wish the story went deeper into the magical and immoral aspect of the story but the story became more dramatic with the characters lives. The characters had their own drama outside this malicious event and it slowed down the pace of the story, I wasn’t ready for that.
Whose spirit was it? Was it grandmas or someone else’s, because if it was grandmas, she sure was a wicked woman? I loved the cover of this novel and that is why I grabbed it while volunteering one Friday morning at the library. There was some creepiness inside the pages but not what I was initially hoping for, I wanted more! I wanted more horror and less drama, hold off on the drama people and give me the willies, the OMG, I can’t read the words on this page fast enough willies. There were times when the character Cassie was talking about her experience in the closet and it was intense. Marin was listening closely, not believing what he was hearing and I swear I was hovering over my Kindle like it was a bowl of Orange Leaf yogurt. There were times it reminded me of The Exorcist and those images floated into my mind, but hey, that’s okay, the author added her own twists and it was all good. What really grabbed me and made me ponder was the premise of the main character’s gift. Her gift was the ability to see pain/discomfort in others. She sees this in orbs/blots of color around people usually the area of their pain/discomfort. How amazing is that? She wears sunglasses most of the time as the colors can be overwhelming but imagine seeing people with orbs floating on them showing where their pains/discomforts are (tooth, cancer, stomachache, sprains, etc). I know it could be overwhelming to have such a gift but just this ability excites me. Anyway, the activity that happens in this book occurs in the closet. This closet only a select few individuals know about and now that the story has been told, something has to be done and done now! The real question is: can it be undone? I wish the story went deeper into the magical and immoral aspect of the story but the story became more dramatic with the characters lives. The characters had their own drama outside this malicious event and it slowed down the pace of the story, I wasn’t ready for that.
May 16, 2015
Ever since her mother committed suicide, Marin has been able to see people's pain, manifested in brightly colored shapes under their skin. Marin is just trying to deal with all that when a girl in her class at Catholic school, Cassie, has a fit in the middle of Mass. As if Cassie's fit isn't disturbing enough, she points at Marin as she's being carried out and screams, "You! It's you!"
Soon Marin is being forced to remember the time six months ago when Cassie invited her to her house. Something happened then, something manifesting as a writhing black shape inside Cassie's head.
While most of this was your basic possession/exorcism story, Marin's unique abilities made this interesting. I loved the occult stuff, as well as how Marin processes her grief and her relationships with her Nan, father, best friend Lucy, and the budding romance with Dominic, Cassie's brother. I wished a bit more time had been spent on exploring Cassie's grandmother and the spell book, but overall this was a fast read and had all the horror elements I love.
Soon Marin is being forced to remember the time six months ago when Cassie invited her to her house. Something happened then, something manifesting as a writhing black shape inside Cassie's head.
While most of this was your basic possession/exorcism story, Marin's unique abilities made this interesting. I loved the occult stuff, as well as how Marin processes her grief and her relationships with her Nan, father, best friend Lucy, and the budding romance with Dominic, Cassie's brother. I wished a bit more time had been spent on exploring Cassie's grandmother and the spell book, but overall this was a fast read and had all the horror elements I love.
August 18, 2015
I'd say 3.5 is a proper score to match how I felt about this book.
I was honestly hoping it would be scary - which it wasn't at all.
That doesn't mean it was bad - it wasn't - but I was still disappointed. It wasn't what I expected.
The dust jacket described it as if it were a horror novel.
It had a lot of interesting points that were technically connected but the different parts felt kind of disassociated (for lack of a better word).
It could have just been me because I took so many breaks while reading it.
In summary:
It wasn't bad, but it wasn't what I expected.
It didn't have me dying to turn the page and find out what happened.
It had interesting ideas that didn't get developed to their full potential (example: it would have been a more interesting book if the author had bailed on the possession plot and just focused on the "pain sight" sixth sense business).
Decent read, just know what you're getting yourself into. It is NOT a scary book. If that's what you're looking for, look elsewhere.
I was honestly hoping it would be scary - which it wasn't at all.
That doesn't mean it was bad - it wasn't - but I was still disappointed. It wasn't what I expected.
The dust jacket described it as if it were a horror novel.
It had a lot of interesting points that were technically connected but the different parts felt kind of disassociated (for lack of a better word).
It could have just been me because I took so many breaks while reading it.
In summary:
It wasn't bad, but it wasn't what I expected.
It didn't have me dying to turn the page and find out what happened.
It had interesting ideas that didn't get developed to their full potential (example: it would have been a more interesting book if the author had bailed on the possession plot and just focused on the "pain sight" sixth sense business).
Decent read, just know what you're getting yourself into. It is NOT a scary book. If that's what you're looking for, look elsewhere.
June 15, 2015
Mmmm, nope. I didn't like it. I did like the concept that the main character could see pain in colors, but it wasn't really a great story. I fear that perhaps there was too much that the author wanted to convey with the story, but not enough time or space. I didn't actually buy into any of the characters, or their plights. There was also a lot of religious undertones, which I don't know if it helped the story much.
2 out of 5 stars. Thanks Edelweiss.
2 out of 5 stars. Thanks Edelweiss.
September 16, 2015
I liked it, though I wasn't actually that creeped out by it. Maybe I'm getting too hard to scare...I don't know. But I was hoping to be scared and it didn't really worked. That being said though, it did have some good creepy stuff that I appreciated, and I did like it. But I kind of wonder...who's spirit was it inside of her? There were a couple other things like that that did not get explained, but I've started just assuming most horror books have loose ends.
September 4, 2015
I recommend this book to people who enjoy horror and/or mystery. Galante did a fantastic job on sending chills up my spine and leaving me thirsty for more. Not only does the novel have a unique story but it has many unexpected twists and builds suspense on every page you read. I highly recommend this book and I'm sure many people would enjoy it.
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