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Diary of a Haunting #1
Diary of a Haunting
When Paige moves from LA to Idaho with her mom and little brother after her parents’ high-profile divorce, she expects to completely hate her new life, and the small town doesn’t disappoint. Worse yet, the drafty old mansion they’ve rented is infested with flies, spiders, and other pests Paige doesn’t want to think about.
She chalks it up to her rural surroundings, but it’s harder to ignore the strange things happening around the house, from one can of ravioli becoming a dozen, to unreadable words appearing in the walls. Soon Paige’s little brother begins roaming the house at all hours of the night, and there’s something not right about the downstairs neighbor, who knows a lot more than he’s letting on.
Things only get creepier when she learns about the sinister cult that conducted experimental rituals in the house almost a hundred years earlier.
The more Paige investigates, and the deeper she digs, the clearer it all becomes: whatever is in the house, whatever is causing all the strange occurrences, has no intention of backing down without a fight.
Found in the aftermath, Diary of a Haunting collects the journal entries, letters, and photographs Paige left behind.
She chalks it up to her rural surroundings, but it’s harder to ignore the strange things happening around the house, from one can of ravioli becoming a dozen, to unreadable words appearing in the walls. Soon Paige’s little brother begins roaming the house at all hours of the night, and there’s something not right about the downstairs neighbor, who knows a lot more than he’s letting on.
Things only get creepier when she learns about the sinister cult that conducted experimental rituals in the house almost a hundred years earlier.
The more Paige investigates, and the deeper she digs, the clearer it all becomes: whatever is in the house, whatever is causing all the strange occurrences, has no intention of backing down without a fight.
Found in the aftermath, Diary of a Haunting collects the journal entries, letters, and photographs Paige left behind.
313 pages, Hardcover
First published August 25, 2015
103 people are currently reading
5017 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 589 reviews
September 30, 2015
It’s been a ~roller coaster of expectations~ with this one, you guys. I saw this sitting on the shelf at work and was like, that cover, UNF. DO WANT. The premise seemed solid, no immediate red flags, and the Blair Witch-esque presentation with the whole M. Verano thing was charming. I was all set for this one to maybe potentially possibly actually be good, and then I saw the GoodReads rating. A hair over 3 stars is tellingly low for that site, and though my hopes were dashed, I decided to read it anyway, for the lulz if nothing else.
Then I started reading the book and it was actually?? not?? bad??? What?!? I spent like three hundred and some-odd pages being thoroughly baffled by the relatively terrible rating…
…and then I read the last ten pages.
Ah. That’s what everyone was so upset about.
Yeahhhhhhhh, they’re not wrong.
So I’m gonna get spoilery. Most of my issues are with the ending, and there’s no way to talk about that without completely ruining the ruinous “twist”. BUT we won’t get spoilery right off the bat, because there are things that I enjoyed, and we can talk about those first.
The Presentation
So the idea behind Diary of a Haunting is that it is an actual 100% legit diary…of a haunting. I mean, obviously, right, that’s the whole premise of the story, Cyna you dumbass, but no, when I say 100% legit I mean it’s presented as being 100% legit in the real-world, too, a’la The Blair Witch Project, the first Paranormal Activity, any given Slenderman series on YouTube, etc, etc. M. Verano is presented not as an author, but as an editor and participant in the events chronicled in the diary. He has an in-character forward and afterword, and even an adorable fictional bio on the back flap that implies there are more “diaries” on the way.
It’s wonderful and I totally dug it. I’m a big fan of horror stories that present themselves as Things That Have Actually Happened, so the dedication to the presentation of Diary of a Haunting as such makes me smile.
The Haunting Stuff
The premise, on the other hand, is generic as fuck, so when I saw that the book had such a low rating, I kind of assumed it was because it was just…tropey? And boring. I expected the usual blood-on-the-walls Amityville shenanigans, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that Diary of a Haunting actually does a pretty good job of creating its own mythology. The symptoms of the haunting were totally atypical, and I liked that.
A bunch of weird things happen, so I won’t list all of them, but the primary “supernatural” manifestation was a sort of…displacement of time and matter? Things would disappear and then reappear later, in greater number. For example, the heroine’s mother accuses her of borrowing a sweater, which she denies, but when they look in the heroine’s closet, they find not just the missing sweater, but four or five identical copies.
This keeps happening off and on, and as the book progresses, the effect intensifies and manifests in different ways. The heroine’s blog posts – through which the story is told, and we’ll get to that – double-post days after their initial publishing date. Text messages double-send or show up on the wrong phone. The heroine’s brother writes a word-for-word copy of a letter he’d sent days before without thinking anything of it. Eventually the heroine receives an entire phone call hours after it was supposedly made, while the person calling her sits in the same room, totally phone-less.
It’s a neat “effect”. It’s unusual, often undeniably supernatural, not overtly threatening or sinister, but still weird and creepy, especially that last phone call. It’s the sort of thing you could see working well on film, and best of all, it’s totally unique. I’ve never seen anything quite like this in a horror book, and it gives the story so much potential, you know? Like maybe it’s not ghosts, maybe they’re not haunted, maybe they’re reliving things without knowing it, maybe it’s not even supernatural at all, maybe it’s some kind of futuristic sci-fi thing! So many possibilities, so many places the book could end up!
Plus, with things being undeniably supernatural, the characters don’t spend half the book in supernatural denial. The mother is pointedly a new-age-y mysticism-loving type herself, so though the more skeptically-minded heroine resists for a while, when the inexplicable shit starts happening, nobody ever denies that it’s ghosts. It actually becomes an uneasy sort of running joke, but because the majority of the haunting seems so benign, the mother, subscribing passionately to the whole live-and-let-live thing, doesn’t really worry about it.
It’s refreshing, basically. Ghost house stories can get so goddamn tropey, I appreciated and truly enjoyed most of what Diary of a Haunting did with its haunting.
The Diary
This is where we start getting in to cons. So I get that the whole premise of the presentation that I liked so much kind of required that this be a told in journal form, but ughhhhh way to take the potential creep factor and chuck it out the window. I didn’t necessarily mind Paige’s voice or even Paige as a character, but with the story being recounted diary-style in said voice, the odds were completely stacked against it conjuring any sort of atmosphere at all, and it never quite overcame them. While I did find some of the ideas creepy (hello, hours-late phone call), the narration was just not up to the task…despite allowing itself to be distinctly more narrative-y than you’d expect from a teenage girl’s diary.
Sad to say the spookiest thing about the book is its cover.
But damn, that cover, right? UNF
Here’s where we cross completely into spoiler territory. You’ve been warned!
The Ending
The core explanation for the haunting isn’t terrible, but it is just about what you’d expect, and also kind of…dumb.
It’s just a shit reveal, man. It’s not well foreshadowed, it doesn’t really change anything, it makes the characters’ actions, before and after, seem incomprehensibly stupid, and it single-handedly knocks the book down at least a star.
Such a disappointment.
Read the gif-tastic version of this review, and more reviews like this at You'reKilling.Us
Then I started reading the book and it was actually?? not?? bad??? What?!? I spent like three hundred and some-odd pages being thoroughly baffled by the relatively terrible rating…
…and then I read the last ten pages.
Ah. That’s what everyone was so upset about.
Yeahhhhhhhh, they’re not wrong.
So I’m gonna get spoilery. Most of my issues are with the ending, and there’s no way to talk about that without completely ruining the ruinous “twist”. BUT we won’t get spoilery right off the bat, because there are things that I enjoyed, and we can talk about those first.
The Presentation
So the idea behind Diary of a Haunting is that it is an actual 100% legit diary…of a haunting. I mean, obviously, right, that’s the whole premise of the story, Cyna you dumbass, but no, when I say 100% legit I mean it’s presented as being 100% legit in the real-world, too, a’la The Blair Witch Project, the first Paranormal Activity, any given Slenderman series on YouTube, etc, etc. M. Verano is presented not as an author, but as an editor and participant in the events chronicled in the diary. He has an in-character forward and afterword, and even an adorable fictional bio on the back flap that implies there are more “diaries” on the way.
It’s wonderful and I totally dug it. I’m a big fan of horror stories that present themselves as Things That Have Actually Happened, so the dedication to the presentation of Diary of a Haunting as such makes me smile.
The Haunting Stuff
The premise, on the other hand, is generic as fuck, so when I saw that the book had such a low rating, I kind of assumed it was because it was just…tropey? And boring. I expected the usual blood-on-the-walls Amityville shenanigans, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that Diary of a Haunting actually does a pretty good job of creating its own mythology. The symptoms of the haunting were totally atypical, and I liked that.
A bunch of weird things happen, so I won’t list all of them, but the primary “supernatural” manifestation was a sort of…displacement of time and matter? Things would disappear and then reappear later, in greater number. For example, the heroine’s mother accuses her of borrowing a sweater, which she denies, but when they look in the heroine’s closet, they find not just the missing sweater, but four or five identical copies.
This keeps happening off and on, and as the book progresses, the effect intensifies and manifests in different ways. The heroine’s blog posts – through which the story is told, and we’ll get to that – double-post days after their initial publishing date. Text messages double-send or show up on the wrong phone. The heroine’s brother writes a word-for-word copy of a letter he’d sent days before without thinking anything of it. Eventually the heroine receives an entire phone call hours after it was supposedly made, while the person calling her sits in the same room, totally phone-less.
It’s a neat “effect”. It’s unusual, often undeniably supernatural, not overtly threatening or sinister, but still weird and creepy, especially that last phone call. It’s the sort of thing you could see working well on film, and best of all, it’s totally unique. I’ve never seen anything quite like this in a horror book, and it gives the story so much potential, you know? Like maybe it’s not ghosts, maybe they’re not haunted, maybe they’re reliving things without knowing it, maybe it’s not even supernatural at all, maybe it’s some kind of futuristic sci-fi thing! So many possibilities, so many places the book could end up!
Plus, with things being undeniably supernatural, the characters don’t spend half the book in supernatural denial. The mother is pointedly a new-age-y mysticism-loving type herself, so though the more skeptically-minded heroine resists for a while, when the inexplicable shit starts happening, nobody ever denies that it’s ghosts. It actually becomes an uneasy sort of running joke, but because the majority of the haunting seems so benign, the mother, subscribing passionately to the whole live-and-let-live thing, doesn’t really worry about it.
It’s refreshing, basically. Ghost house stories can get so goddamn tropey, I appreciated and truly enjoyed most of what Diary of a Haunting did with its haunting.
The Diary
This is where we start getting in to cons. So I get that the whole premise of the presentation that I liked so much kind of required that this be a told in journal form, but ughhhhh way to take the potential creep factor and chuck it out the window. I didn’t necessarily mind Paige’s voice or even Paige as a character, but with the story being recounted diary-style in said voice, the odds were completely stacked against it conjuring any sort of atmosphere at all, and it never quite overcame them. While I did find some of the ideas creepy (hello, hours-late phone call), the narration was just not up to the task…despite allowing itself to be distinctly more narrative-y than you’d expect from a teenage girl’s diary.
Sad to say the spookiest thing about the book is its cover.
But damn, that cover, right? UNF
Here’s where we cross completely into spoiler territory. You’ve been warned!
The Ending
The core explanation for the haunting isn’t terrible, but it is just about what you’d expect, and also kind of…dumb.
It’s just a shit reveal, man. It’s not well foreshadowed, it doesn’t really change anything, it makes the characters’ actions, before and after, seem incomprehensibly stupid, and it single-handedly knocks the book down at least a star.
Such a disappointment.
Read the gif-tastic version of this review, and more reviews like this at You'reKilling.Us
November 11, 2017
2 1/2 stars.
Spoilers ahead. You have been warned.
Aw man this was so disappointing. I actually found myself liking this so much, but then the ending ruined it. I've seen so many negative reviews on this and not to mention the really low ratings. But I actually really loved this and was sure this would deserve a solid 4 stars, but there seems to be a change of plans.
So this is written in diary entries by Paige, our ten year old MC. Okay she's not actually ten, but the way she writes her journal entries made me feel that way. And you know what's weird? I actually liked this 10 year old MC and this writing style. Paige records all the weird events that go on in the new house she lives in after she had to move because of her parents divorce.
*This is going to get spoiler-y*
Now let's talk about the ending because that's what basically ruined the whole book.
So the whole point of a horror book is to have your mind fucked by the mind-fucking ending right? BUT THIS BOOK JUST STARTED TO TALK ABOUT SOME WEIRD CULT SHIT AND I WAS SO CONFUSED. LIKE WTF FAM?
Like the last couple of pages were so fucking disappointing and such a stupid way to end a book. Like throughout the whole book, all these weird supernatural haunting shit happens, (ya know the usual stuff), but then the author decides that the whole reason for the haunting was because of some fucking cult or crazy father that locked his kid away. I would have liked a more mind-fucking explanation.
~Also this is not horrific. They always lie to me and say it's horrific.
Spoilers ahead. You have been warned.
Aw man this was so disappointing. I actually found myself liking this so much, but then the ending ruined it. I've seen so many negative reviews on this and not to mention the really low ratings. But I actually really loved this and was sure this would deserve a solid 4 stars, but there seems to be a change of plans.
So this is written in diary entries by Paige, our ten year old MC. Okay she's not actually ten, but the way she writes her journal entries made me feel that way. And you know what's weird? I actually liked this 10 year old MC and this writing style. Paige records all the weird events that go on in the new house she lives in after she had to move because of her parents divorce.
*This is going to get spoiler-y*
Now let's talk about the ending because that's what basically ruined the whole book.
So the whole point of a horror book is to have your mind fucked by the mind-fucking ending right? BUT THIS BOOK JUST STARTED TO TALK ABOUT SOME WEIRD CULT SHIT AND I WAS SO CONFUSED. LIKE WTF FAM?
Like the last couple of pages were so fucking disappointing and such a stupid way to end a book. Like throughout the whole book, all these weird supernatural haunting shit happens, (ya know the usual stuff), but then the author decides that the whole reason for the haunting was because of some fucking cult or crazy father that locked his kid away. I would have liked a more mind-fucking explanation.
~Also this is not horrific. They always lie to me and say it's horrific.
July 22, 2015
Holy s***.
I mean... oh muh geez.
This is the most frightening book I have ever read. I wanted to give it a 1 star on the principle that it scared me so bad, and I don't like being scared. I couldn't do it. Why? Because this book was put together so well, the writing was so good, and the story so compelling that I have to be honest and say that this book is very well done despite being absolutely terrifying. I read it straight through.
The writing itself is what made this book. It's supposedly written by a young teenage girl in a private online diary. So, don't expect flowing prose. The main character is writing her thoughts out the way that many of us have done before in our own private journals. Most of you probably don't write fancy when you're writing about your day. It's not like you're going to be writing a comparative essay concerning your breakfast choice for the morning ("The Virtues of Toast Over Poptarts: A Pondering") In this particular case, I think the writer got the voice of the narrator writing in her diary (the young teen girl) exactly right.
The book made me so jumpy that when I went in to the living room to fetch my computer for this review my Significant Other (who I could plainly see) made an unexpected movement at his desk, making me screech. Outloud. Legitimate scream.
Yes, I was expecting it to be creepy. I mean the title is "Diary of a Haunting", but GEEZUS!
It's all so sinister and disconcerting. It's the type of scary YA book that all other scary YA books are trying to be. This is not the type of book you want to read if you're just hoping to be creeped out a little bit (like me). This is the type of book you read if you enjoy being genuinely disturbed by a story.
I must be the biggest wuss, or perhaps just very particular things frighten me. I've seen in other reviews that people were not impressed or frightened by the content. This could perhaps be due to an expectation of Horror-Movie scare tactics, of which I believe there are very few.
It could also be that they were reading the book in the middle of the day. Or that, in general, they watch way more horror movies than I do.
For anyone hoping for a decent frightening read, I highly recommend this.
I mean... oh muh geez.
This is the most frightening book I have ever read. I wanted to give it a 1 star on the principle that it scared me so bad, and I don't like being scared. I couldn't do it. Why? Because this book was put together so well, the writing was so good, and the story so compelling that I have to be honest and say that this book is very well done despite being absolutely terrifying. I read it straight through.
The writing itself is what made this book. It's supposedly written by a young teenage girl in a private online diary. So, don't expect flowing prose. The main character is writing her thoughts out the way that many of us have done before in our own private journals. Most of you probably don't write fancy when you're writing about your day. It's not like you're going to be writing a comparative essay concerning your breakfast choice for the morning ("The Virtues of Toast Over Poptarts: A Pondering") In this particular case, I think the writer got the voice of the narrator writing in her diary (the young teen girl) exactly right.
The book made me so jumpy that when I went in to the living room to fetch my computer for this review my Significant Other (who I could plainly see) made an unexpected movement at his desk, making me screech. Outloud. Legitimate scream.
Yes, I was expecting it to be creepy. I mean the title is "Diary of a Haunting", but GEEZUS!
It's all so sinister and disconcerting. It's the type of scary YA book that all other scary YA books are trying to be. This is not the type of book you want to read if you're just hoping to be creeped out a little bit (like me). This is the type of book you read if you enjoy being genuinely disturbed by a story.
I must be the biggest wuss, or perhaps just very particular things frighten me. I've seen in other reviews that people were not impressed or frightened by the content. This could perhaps be due to an expectation of Horror-Movie scare tactics, of which I believe there are very few.
It could also be that they were reading the book in the middle of the day. Or that, in general, they watch way more horror movies than I do.
For anyone hoping for a decent frightening read, I highly recommend this.
October 28, 2021
This is the first instalment in the Diary of a Haunting series.
Paige moves to Idaho with her mother and could not be less thrilled about it. She, however, seems to be adjusting to their new lives and home better than her younger brother. Insomnia seems to have become his new normal and Paige often awakes in the middle of the night to find him looming over her. The frights she receives then pale in comparison to those from the abundance of spiders and flies that appear inside their home. Or from what is later revealed to lie inside the walls of it...
This was a super creepy, if slightly generic, haunting read that devolved into chaos in the final pages. I tore through this and definitely had a fun time with the storyline, even if my connection with all of the characters was lacking.
I liked the epistolary setting and the short chapters, which enhanced the pacing of the events occurring and kept me equal parts unsure and eager for what was continually revealed. I could not guess the trajectory and I was definitely spooked by just how quickly the unexplained occurrences began to be revealed.
Paige and her brother were characters I empathised with and longed the best for. The same could not be said for the supporting cast, who I had no real understanding of or feel for. Their personalities remained flat and they appeared only when convenient for the storyline rather than having a more continuous presence within these pages, which I would have appreciated and would probably have aided in my bonding with them on a deeper level.
The main source of my discontent stemmed from the conclusion, or the lack of one, however. I wanted to understand what was occurring in more concrete terms, especially as it seems the second series instalment follows a different main character and may be an unconnected story about another haunting. It ruined some my former enjoyment not to have more of an complete comprehension for what had happened and what was going to unfold next.
I did find this a sinister and eerie, if a little drama-filled and open-ended, read though and am glad to have added it to my spooky October tbr.
Paige moves to Idaho with her mother and could not be less thrilled about it. She, however, seems to be adjusting to their new lives and home better than her younger brother. Insomnia seems to have become his new normal and Paige often awakes in the middle of the night to find him looming over her. The frights she receives then pale in comparison to those from the abundance of spiders and flies that appear inside their home. Or from what is later revealed to lie inside the walls of it...
This was a super creepy, if slightly generic, haunting read that devolved into chaos in the final pages. I tore through this and definitely had a fun time with the storyline, even if my connection with all of the characters was lacking.
I liked the epistolary setting and the short chapters, which enhanced the pacing of the events occurring and kept me equal parts unsure and eager for what was continually revealed. I could not guess the trajectory and I was definitely spooked by just how quickly the unexplained occurrences began to be revealed.
Paige and her brother were characters I empathised with and longed the best for. The same could not be said for the supporting cast, who I had no real understanding of or feel for. Their personalities remained flat and they appeared only when convenient for the storyline rather than having a more continuous presence within these pages, which I would have appreciated and would probably have aided in my bonding with them on a deeper level.
The main source of my discontent stemmed from the conclusion, or the lack of one, however. I wanted to understand what was occurring in more concrete terms, especially as it seems the second series instalment follows a different main character and may be an unconnected story about another haunting. It ruined some my former enjoyment not to have more of an complete comprehension for what had happened and what was going to unfold next.
I did find this a sinister and eerie, if a little drama-filled and open-ended, read though and am glad to have added it to my spooky October tbr.
October 8, 2018
Más entretenido que original. El autor tomó tooodos los elementos principales de la literatura sobre casas embrujadas y los tiró en una historia que no se destaca para nada. No había lugar para situaciones terroríficas, el mismo autor las boicoteaba con actitudes infantiles de la protagonista. Disfruté su lectura porque es divertido, ágil y ya, pero no es un libro recomendado para quienes gusten de una lectura macabra de casas embrujadas y fantasmas.
September 1, 2015
Well this wasn't what I expected.
***SPOILER ALERT***
The cover and the summary on the back made it sound so intriguing. I love paranormal stuff and with Halloween creeping up, I thought it'd be great to start getting in the spirit early.
It started off interesting, I kind of liked the diary set up. The tone and the way it was written did remind me of a teenage girl. However, it quickly turned into a complete mess and the diary format just didn't work anymore by the end.
The story presents itself as some sort of haunting gone wrong. An entity in the house is toying with them Amityville style with bugs and spiders and weird goings on. Paige records all of this in her diary, brushing it off as funny or weird. Making casual mentions of her mother claiming they come from a long line of witches, blah blah blah.
And then the whole thing does a total 180 and by the end of the book all I could think was "What in the actual f*ck was this?"
I'm still not sure what happened at the end but it was like someone took a puzzle and forcefully glued the pieces together and tried to pass it off as a completed picture (or in this case, a story), when in reality it's a disconnected mess.
At the very end, the diary format just wasn't working for what happened. There was background details and hints that could have been subtly dropped by the author had they used a different format or had the diary been spread out to include her brother or mother, instead of the selective dialogue of a teenage girl.
Instead of getting hints that there was something off, mentally or paranormal, the diary entries just repeated with typos or weird messages. Which annoyed me so much I skipped them, it offered nothing to the story except me thinking her autocorrect sucks and she was double posting on accident.
Because of the limited background and dialogue, the ending made no sense. What the heck happened here? It went from a paranormal cult her hot-gay neighbor re-awakened to just downright confusing. Nothing was explained: her brother's behavior and health issues, the issues with the electronics (like the delayed phone call from her mother), and all the spiders. Nor was there any indication that she was blacking out and doing things without remembering (except for two occasions, when no one reported her or told her mother. Which her mother was such an obnoxious flake, it doesn't surprise me why they didn't).
Okay, I understand crazy people don't know they're crazy, but really? If her therapist was that concerned about her being dangerous she wouldn't have passively sighed and said:
"Well she's a total psychopath with dissociative identity disorder and clinical depression, who doesn't even realize it. But I'm sure she'll be fine in the general population without meds or treatment. Or hell, even being told she HAS a mental illness."
I'm not even sure what else to say about this, except it was a pretty disappointing read.
TL;DR: It was long winded, singular toned, lacking in detail, incomplete, and very confusing.
***SPOILER ALERT***
The cover and the summary on the back made it sound so intriguing. I love paranormal stuff and with Halloween creeping up, I thought it'd be great to start getting in the spirit early.
It started off interesting, I kind of liked the diary set up. The tone and the way it was written did remind me of a teenage girl. However, it quickly turned into a complete mess and the diary format just didn't work anymore by the end.
The story presents itself as some sort of haunting gone wrong. An entity in the house is toying with them Amityville style with bugs and spiders and weird goings on. Paige records all of this in her diary, brushing it off as funny or weird. Making casual mentions of her mother claiming they come from a long line of witches, blah blah blah.
And then the whole thing does a total 180 and by the end of the book all I could think was "What in the actual f*ck was this?"
I'm still not sure what happened at the end but it was like someone took a puzzle and forcefully glued the pieces together and tried to pass it off as a completed picture (or in this case, a story), when in reality it's a disconnected mess.
At the very end, the diary format just wasn't working for what happened. There was background details and hints that could have been subtly dropped by the author had they used a different format or had the diary been spread out to include her brother or mother, instead of the selective dialogue of a teenage girl.
Instead of getting hints that there was something off, mentally or paranormal, the diary entries just repeated with typos or weird messages. Which annoyed me so much I skipped them, it offered nothing to the story except me thinking her autocorrect sucks and she was double posting on accident.
Because of the limited background and dialogue, the ending made no sense. What the heck happened here? It went from a paranormal cult her hot-gay neighbor re-awakened to just downright confusing. Nothing was explained: her brother's behavior and health issues, the issues with the electronics (like the delayed phone call from her mother), and all the spiders. Nor was there any indication that she was blacking out and doing things without remembering (except for two occasions, when no one reported her or told her mother. Which her mother was such an obnoxious flake, it doesn't surprise me why they didn't).
Okay, I understand crazy people don't know they're crazy, but really? If her therapist was that concerned about her being dangerous she wouldn't have passively sighed and said:
"Well she's a total psychopath with dissociative identity disorder and clinical depression, who doesn't even realize it. But I'm sure she'll be fine in the general population without meds or treatment. Or hell, even being told she HAS a mental illness."
I'm not even sure what else to say about this, except it was a pretty disappointing read.
TL;DR: It was long winded, singular toned, lacking in detail, incomplete, and very confusing.
November 13, 2015
For more reviews check out my blog: The Book Goddess
Paige's life is turned upside down when her mother makes them move from California to Idaho. Her wanted a new life away from her ex husband. Paige isn't happy with this move at all. She's stuck in an old house with lots of nasty spiders and flies.
As this is a horror novel, weird things begin to happen. There's a buzzing noise in her little bother's room. There also a guy she meets along the way who helps her out and then she ends up killing him. It's so painfully obvious that the house is haunted and her mother doesn't age. She's one of those new age types. Her mother thinks they have the same right to live there too.
Paige doesn't like it. She feels something is wrong and the closer she gets to the truth, she sees that that she was right. They weren't friendly spirits but what she doesn't know is that it's far worse than she could ever imagine.
I actually liked this book, it was spooky and even had me looking over my shoulder a few times. I will say I think it was silly to make the only guy in this story around Paige's age gay. I mean I get that the author wanted no romance in this book but still. Straight guys and girls can be friends. It happens.
I will say that I totally saw the ending coming and it's wasn't much of a surprise but none the less I enjoyed this spooky read.
Paige's life is turned upside down when her mother makes them move from California to Idaho. Her wanted a new life away from her ex husband. Paige isn't happy with this move at all. She's stuck in an old house with lots of nasty spiders and flies.
As this is a horror novel, weird things begin to happen. There's a buzzing noise in her little bother's room. There also a guy she meets along the way who helps her out and then she ends up killing him. It's so painfully obvious that the house is haunted and her mother doesn't age. She's one of those new age types. Her mother thinks they have the same right to live there too.
Paige doesn't like it. She feels something is wrong and the closer she gets to the truth, she sees that that she was right. They weren't friendly spirits but what she doesn't know is that it's far worse than she could ever imagine.
I actually liked this book, it was spooky and even had me looking over my shoulder a few times. I will say I think it was silly to make the only guy in this story around Paige's age gay. I mean I get that the author wanted no romance in this book but still. Straight guys and girls can be friends. It happens.
I will say that I totally saw the ending coming and it's wasn't much of a surprise but none the less I enjoyed this spooky read.
August 2, 2015
3.5 stars The diary structure, especially with the snarky, cluttered narrative, wore me down before too long. And yet this story had to be told this way, and it has moments where it's genuinely funny as well as a little creepy--and I think the mystery is resolved in a mostly satisfactory way. I enjoyed it, though the style is going to be a turnoff for many.
A bit more of a review to come, probably.
A bit more of a review to come, probably.
August 2, 2020
Trigger warnings: mentions of cheating (in the past), creepy houses, insects, blood, implied possession, murder, fire.
So first of all, I FLEW through this book. The diary entry style works very effectively, and the black and white images of quite mundane things scattered throughout the book gave it a very creepy vibe. But the story itself was actually quite repetitive what with all the talk of the number of flies and spiders in the house, the mentions of her brother acting strangely, and of cold spots and weird text messages. And then the ending was incredibly rushed to the point where I feel like I have no idea what happened.
So, like, it was compelling. But I'm buggered if I could explain to you what happened.
So first of all, I FLEW through this book. The diary entry style works very effectively, and the black and white images of quite mundane things scattered throughout the book gave it a very creepy vibe. But the story itself was actually quite repetitive what with all the talk of the number of flies and spiders in the house, the mentions of her brother acting strangely, and of cold spots and weird text messages. And then the ending was incredibly rushed to the point where I feel like I have no idea what happened.
So, like, it was compelling. But I'm buggered if I could explain to you what happened.
June 20, 2018
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Paige and her family move to Idaho after her parents separation. Upon arriving at the new house, strange things begin to occur. There are strange noises coming from the rooms, things are disappearing and her younger brother, Logan is acting strangely. Paige soon discovers that a cult performed rituals inside their house many years ago that may be the cause of the paranormal activity she is experiencing.
Before purchasing this, I was immediately drawn to the creepy cover and wanted to pick it up, hoping for a scary story. I was intrigued that it was based on true events and was excited to read more. Unfortunately, this fell short for me. I wanted more scary things to happen, but I felt bored through out most of the story. I didn't feel anything towards Paige or her family and didn't care much for what was happening to her. The pictures were a nice touch, but I still wanted more. The ending was also insanely predictable, which definitely brought my enjoyment down.
Paige and her family move to Idaho after her parents separation. Upon arriving at the new house, strange things begin to occur. There are strange noises coming from the rooms, things are disappearing and her younger brother, Logan is acting strangely. Paige soon discovers that a cult performed rituals inside their house many years ago that may be the cause of the paranormal activity she is experiencing.
Before purchasing this, I was immediately drawn to the creepy cover and wanted to pick it up, hoping for a scary story. I was intrigued that it was based on true events and was excited to read more. Unfortunately, this fell short for me. I wanted more scary things to happen, but I felt bored through out most of the story. I didn't feel anything towards Paige or her family and didn't care much for what was happening to her. The pictures were a nice touch, but I still wanted more. The ending was also insanely predictable, which definitely brought my enjoyment down.
May 15, 2016
Okay. So. Happened upon this book when I was perusing my local book store. I was really drawn to it because of the creepy cover. I read the synopsis and thought it was interesting so I ordered it from my library. I've made the mistake of buying horror books in the past and reading them and wishing I had bought something else. Anyway, I just finished reading this book. Took me two afternoons to read. Holy beezus. I thought I was really going to love this book! I actually REALLY wish I liked this book but I REALLY do NOT like this book. Here are my reasons why:
1) It didn't need to be as long as it was. Could've been 150 pages instead of 300.
2) NOT CREEPY or SCARY enough!!! I mean LOOK AT THE COVER!!!!!
3) Some of the relationships the MC had made no sense. I have a close relationship with my friends and family so when I talk to them about something bothering me they don't just brush it off. So the whole MC's family dynamic in this book was shité.
4) Hated the haunting plot. It didn't make a whole lot of sense? It was too rushed and felt like a lot of BS to made into a book plot. I'm not a believer of ghosts but to me if the ghost or ghosts doing the haunting don't have a great reason for being there, why are they there? Ghosts are dead people's spirits. They have to have a plausible reason for staying around scaring the crap of of the living. Any ghost story you come a cross is real life like, a Weeping Lady, has a backstory as to why she's hanging around. This story is really just crap. I need to believe that it's real or how am I going to get scared?
5) The bugs. Really? You couldn't think of anything else to write about to scare someone? I mean, I get the heebie Jeebies around spiders too but seriously? They don't even have any reason to be there other than? What? Freak the MC out? Pointless!!
6) I feel like I wasted time I will never get back. I really could've been reading something worthwhile.
I'm sorry if this review reads as very harsh but I am being very honest here.
It wasn't an ALL bad (majority) read. It had a few chapters of genuine creepiness. It involved a freaky little kid scene, of course.
So read it, don't read it. Hey, you might even like it even if I didn't.
1) It didn't need to be as long as it was. Could've been 150 pages instead of 300.
2) NOT CREEPY or SCARY enough!!! I mean LOOK AT THE COVER!!!!!
3) Some of the relationships the MC had made no sense. I have a close relationship with my friends and family so when I talk to them about something bothering me they don't just brush it off. So the whole MC's family dynamic in this book was shité.
4) Hated the haunting plot. It didn't make a whole lot of sense? It was too rushed and felt like a lot of BS to made into a book plot. I'm not a believer of ghosts but to me if the ghost or ghosts doing the haunting don't have a great reason for being there, why are they there? Ghosts are dead people's spirits. They have to have a plausible reason for staying around scaring the crap of of the living. Any ghost story you come a cross is real life like, a Weeping Lady, has a backstory as to why she's hanging around. This story is really just crap. I need to believe that it's real or how am I going to get scared?
5) The bugs. Really? You couldn't think of anything else to write about to scare someone? I mean, I get the heebie Jeebies around spiders too but seriously? They don't even have any reason to be there other than? What? Freak the MC out? Pointless!!
6) I feel like I wasted time I will never get back. I really could've been reading something worthwhile.
I'm sorry if this review reads as very harsh but I am being very honest here.
It wasn't an ALL bad (majority) read. It had a few chapters of genuine creepiness. It involved a freaky little kid scene, of course.
So read it, don't read it. Hey, you might even like it even if I didn't.
November 5, 2016
I haven't finished a book in one sitting in a long time. I read this book in about 5 hours and let me tell you, what a strange and fascinating read. 4 stars!!
Let's start off with the author of this book. M. Verano is the author, it says so on the cover. There is an editor's note before the story begins signed M. Verano. We actually meet the character, "Monty" Montague Verano in the book as a professor of historical text in Idaho. So... if he is the editor of this book, a character in the book and the author of this book... is he a real person? The back flap where you can find the authors photo and a summary of the author is there, well the photo is missing, but it just says, what we already found out from reading the book itself. So is this a fictional re-creation of a real event? Was M. Verano actually present and this is an edited version of fact? I love not knowing.
'Diary of a Haunting', takes place in Moscow, Idaho. In an old Victorian home, the Blanton family move in on January 8. Right off the bat, Paige has a funny feeling about the home. On January 1st, Paige decides to start a journal and during her stay at the weird house she keeps the journal as up to date as possible. She writes about school and her friend Chloe. She talks about her brother Logan and her hippie-dippie mom. She discusses the divorce between her father and mother and his new wife of 22!!! But what Paige really documents is the eeriness of the house and it's subsequent haunting.
Paige collects data about the spiders and flies in her house. That is her main concern. The buzzing in her brother's room is obviously a nuisance and the fact that her brother has insomnia, so she adds that to her daily diary. But there is something major that she never documents.
I love that when you read this book that there is a hidden message in it's pages. I didn't realize this until I was pg 205. Then I had to go back through the entire book and write down the message. I'm not going to give it away. You'll just have to puzzle over that one yourself. It was fun to find though :D I also loved that each "chapter" is a new diary entry, so you are actually reading Paige's diary. Her diary is online on a private blog so she can be honest and not upset anyone. But is she truly honest with herself? She is the only one going to read the entries. I loved that she uses asterisks to bold the font in her writing because in written form it looks very strange, but as a reader you get the gist of what she is doing it for.
I have heard that 'Possession' the "sequel" isn't actually a sequel because it doesn't have the same characters, which makes me super excited. Just like Lemony Snicket is a character author of 'The Series of Unfortunate Events', I'm guessing M. Verano is the character author of bizarre paranormal stories that I can't wait to read more about. Definitely looking forward to the second book and happy I already own it!!
Let's start off with the author of this book. M. Verano is the author, it says so on the cover. There is an editor's note before the story begins signed M. Verano. We actually meet the character, "Monty" Montague Verano in the book as a professor of historical text in Idaho. So... if he is the editor of this book, a character in the book and the author of this book... is he a real person? The back flap where you can find the authors photo and a summary of the author is there, well the photo is missing, but it just says, what we already found out from reading the book itself. So is this a fictional re-creation of a real event? Was M. Verano actually present and this is an edited version of fact? I love not knowing.
'Diary of a Haunting', takes place in Moscow, Idaho. In an old Victorian home, the Blanton family move in on January 8. Right off the bat, Paige has a funny feeling about the home. On January 1st, Paige decides to start a journal and during her stay at the weird house she keeps the journal as up to date as possible. She writes about school and her friend Chloe. She talks about her brother Logan and her hippie-dippie mom. She discusses the divorce between her father and mother and his new wife of 22!!! But what Paige really documents is the eeriness of the house and it's subsequent haunting.
Paige collects data about the spiders and flies in her house. That is her main concern. The buzzing in her brother's room is obviously a nuisance and the fact that her brother has insomnia, so she adds that to her daily diary. But there is something major that she never documents.
I love that when you read this book that there is a hidden message in it's pages. I didn't realize this until I was pg 205. Then I had to go back through the entire book and write down the message. I'm not going to give it away. You'll just have to puzzle over that one yourself. It was fun to find though :D I also loved that each "chapter" is a new diary entry, so you are actually reading Paige's diary. Her diary is online on a private blog so she can be honest and not upset anyone. But is she truly honest with herself? She is the only one going to read the entries. I loved that she uses asterisks to bold the font in her writing because in written form it looks very strange, but as a reader you get the gist of what she is doing it for.
I have heard that 'Possession' the "sequel" isn't actually a sequel because it doesn't have the same characters, which makes me super excited. Just like Lemony Snicket is a character author of 'The Series of Unfortunate Events', I'm guessing M. Verano is the character author of bizarre paranormal stories that I can't wait to read more about. Definitely looking forward to the second book and happy I already own it!!
August 28, 2015
This book was super amazing! I bought it only because I absolutely loved the cover:P I beat myself up for even thinking about leaving it in the store! It was definitely worth the 23.00 spent on it! It was extremely entertaining I found Paige very funny and like a typical relatable girl in her situation. I loved Logan and Raph! I found Chloe odd and the mom wasn't my favourite because of her good vibe mumbo jumbo but I did suspect what the ending was and I was right BUT I don't know how I'm right the explanation isn't good enough for me I want details! How did she do it? Why did she do it? How could this have happened? What really happened to her in the end? What happened once she got into that house? Questions I know won't be answered but this book was amazing!! Definitely highly recommended!
July 4, 2018
I thought I would love this.
Not only is her name Paige but, it was also about supernatural things.
I liked the first half.
The entire ending ruined it for me.
Completely.
Read it until the ending. You don’t need to know how it ends.
Just meh.
Could have been better.
Not only is her name Paige but, it was also about supernatural things.
I liked the first half.
The entire ending ruined it for me.
Completely.
Read it until the ending. You don’t need to know how it ends.
Just meh.
Could have been better.
October 30, 2021
I bought this book totally based on the creepy cover. Turns out it was a well written horror story too!
June 6, 2016
THIS BOOK.
There are bad books you read because there is something you like about them. A character, the plot, the description. Something that makes the book bearable.
Others you read because you want to enjoy the trainwreck.
And then there are others that make you incredibly angry and will probably give you high blood pressure.
Guess which category this book fell into?
I will admit it up front, as you can tell by my one star rating. I HATED this book. Just everything was ridiculously stupid.
Character-wise, the main cast was stupid. Except for maybe Ralph and Chloe. But the main family? Logan, Paige and the mom? So dumb. Actually my most hated character was the mom. She was ridiculous. How do you parent? Not like her! All of the decisions she made, all of the comments she made, everything sounded so unrealistic and something someone in denial would say. It felt like the mom was just there to be a "straight man" to the plot's craziness. The fact that Logan was doing it too(although being possessed as well) was annoying me.
Also, apparently Paige is crazy? Apparently her dad thinks she does everything wrong and so does her mom. Like, I did not see a reason why this was the case at all. Paige had not bee that "crazy" at this point so it did not make sense at all.
Another reason why Mom is bad mom? She LETS FLIES LIVE IN THE HOUSE. Like apparently going through their front door is a dust cloud of them. THAT IS NOT HEALTHY AT ALL. Like why would ANYONE find that normal even if you are a hippy?
The creepiness of the house itself I would say was fine. It was creepy(as someone who is not a fan of spiders...) but it was creepy in the sense like ALL horror books do it. It didn't have anything really different in terms of the haunting.
The way the book ended too made me go, "eh?"
It felt kind of like a cop-out as the book was slow but then deus ex machina character comes in and EVERYTHING IS SOLVED. Also apparently Paige is crazy. There's that too. But it felt like utter crap.
Alright, now I shall tackle the part of the book that REALLY made me want to chuck the book across the room.
Dr. Clyde.
Oh Dr. Clyde.
This was obviously written by someone that doesn't understand therapy and what it entails.
A. She is a psychiatrist. These guys don't do therapy like every week. That's what a PSYCHOLOGIST is for. Or a LMHC/LPC. Psychiatrist prescribe drugs for different disorders. Since Paige was not getting pills, she would not have been a psychiatrist. Unless this lady was the only one in this apparently small town. Although why would someone with a doctorate hang out in a small town.
B. SHE IS A FREAKIN' PSYCHOANALYST. Why do all books that feature therapy HAVE TO FEATURE this type!? I feel like there's less of these guys around too! More CBT based/social learning/behavioral/ANYTHING. Anything that isn't talking about repression and symbolizing your brother as your father. I counted SO MANY THINGS that that stupid lady did wrong.
THIS is the reason why people think therapy is for crazy people. THIS is what makes people think that it is a load of crap. And this kind of stuff will always infuriate me to no end.
There are bad books you read because there is something you like about them. A character, the plot, the description. Something that makes the book bearable.
Others you read because you want to enjoy the trainwreck.
And then there are others that make you incredibly angry and will probably give you high blood pressure.
Guess which category this book fell into?
I will admit it up front, as you can tell by my one star rating. I HATED this book. Just everything was ridiculously stupid.
Character-wise, the main cast was stupid. Except for maybe Ralph and Chloe. But the main family? Logan, Paige and the mom? So dumb. Actually my most hated character was the mom. She was ridiculous. How do you parent? Not like her! All of the decisions she made, all of the comments she made, everything sounded so unrealistic and something someone in denial would say. It felt like the mom was just there to be a "straight man" to the plot's craziness. The fact that Logan was doing it too(although being possessed as well) was annoying me.
Also, apparently Paige is crazy? Apparently her dad thinks she does everything wrong and so does her mom. Like, I did not see a reason why this was the case at all. Paige had not bee that "crazy" at this point so it did not make sense at all.
Another reason why Mom is bad mom? She LETS FLIES LIVE IN THE HOUSE. Like apparently going through their front door is a dust cloud of them. THAT IS NOT HEALTHY AT ALL. Like why would ANYONE find that normal even if you are a hippy?
The creepiness of the house itself I would say was fine. It was creepy(as someone who is not a fan of spiders...) but it was creepy in the sense like ALL horror books do it. It didn't have anything really different in terms of the haunting.
The way the book ended too made me go, "eh?"
It felt kind of like a cop-out as the book was slow but then deus ex machina character comes in and EVERYTHING IS SOLVED. Also apparently Paige is crazy. There's that too. But it felt like utter crap.
Alright, now I shall tackle the part of the book that REALLY made me want to chuck the book across the room.
Dr. Clyde.
Oh Dr. Clyde.
This was obviously written by someone that doesn't understand therapy and what it entails.
A. She is a psychiatrist. These guys don't do therapy like every week. That's what a PSYCHOLOGIST is for. Or a LMHC/LPC. Psychiatrist prescribe drugs for different disorders. Since Paige was not getting pills, she would not have been a psychiatrist. Unless this lady was the only one in this apparently small town. Although why would someone with a doctorate hang out in a small town.
B. SHE IS A FREAKIN' PSYCHOANALYST. Why do all books that feature therapy HAVE TO FEATURE this type!? I feel like there's less of these guys around too! More CBT based/social learning/behavioral/ANYTHING. Anything that isn't talking about repression and symbolizing your brother as your father. I counted SO MANY THINGS that that stupid lady did wrong.
THIS is the reason why people think therapy is for crazy people. THIS is what makes people think that it is a load of crap. And this kind of stuff will always infuriate me to no end.
May 9, 2016
"The invisible are waiting for you."
Paige and her family go through a very heated divorce, which leaves the family in ruins.
They pick up their lives in LA and move to Moscow, Idaho. And they move into a house with the richest history of all.... (Speaks into the microphone.... queue the music)(Wave the lightning board) (Backdrop... dark and stormy night)
Mom, Paige and Little brother Logan all settle in for a nice change of scenery... until the insects come out to play. (Flies... we need hundreds of loud annoying flies) Paige starts to count and become obsessed with all of the flies and spiders that are covering the house.
Logan.... well let's just say he's going through some stuff. And by stuff I mean, sitting on Paiges bed picking bugs off of her face, playing video games at night and losing (even though he's a wiz) and writing the same letter over and over to dear old dad. Something spooky is going on here (Manic laughter)
Paige is set to find out the truth of this house and the story behind what is making her crazy. But what she doesn't realize is that this may have to come from the inside. Maybe she needs to seek inner peace to find the answers she craves....
This book wasn't as spooky as I was hoping for, but it didn't hurt the story at all. The ending could have been different. When they burned the letters, I thought oh this can't be the end! and it wasn't. Good job! Some parts I could have told you were coming, but for the most part, I was surprised. To the normal everyday person, this might be creepy... to me this is just a breeze. Now where is that Cabana boy with my drink.....
"The dead will bring you what you want."
Paige and her family go through a very heated divorce, which leaves the family in ruins.
They pick up their lives in LA and move to Moscow, Idaho. And they move into a house with the richest history of all.... (Speaks into the microphone.... queue the music)(Wave the lightning board) (Backdrop... dark and stormy night)
Mom, Paige and Little brother Logan all settle in for a nice change of scenery... until the insects come out to play. (Flies... we need hundreds of loud annoying flies) Paige starts to count and become obsessed with all of the flies and spiders that are covering the house.
Logan.... well let's just say he's going through some stuff. And by stuff I mean, sitting on Paiges bed picking bugs off of her face, playing video games at night and losing (even though he's a wiz) and writing the same letter over and over to dear old dad. Something spooky is going on here (Manic laughter)
Paige is set to find out the truth of this house and the story behind what is making her crazy. But what she doesn't realize is that this may have to come from the inside. Maybe she needs to seek inner peace to find the answers she craves....
This book wasn't as spooky as I was hoping for, but it didn't hurt the story at all. The ending could have been different. When they burned the letters, I thought oh this can't be the end! and it wasn't. Good job! Some parts I could have told you were coming, but for the most part, I was surprised. To the normal everyday person, this might be creepy... to me this is just a breeze. Now where is that Cabana boy with my drink.....
"The dead will bring you what you want."
Read
April 8, 2015DNF at 12%
There has always been something about ghost stories that fascinate me. Ghosts are one of my few fears in life and I've had personal experiences that started at about the same age as the main character of Diary of a Haunting.
That what was initially appealed to me about this title.
However, I struggled with the first 10%. The next few percent convinced me that this just is not the title for me.
I understand she is a teenager and teens can be fairly oblivious. But to move into a house and not notice that there are basement windows, with no basement...was questionable. Then, to have a friend point out that you can see windows from the outside of the house that are boarded up, but you never saw them yourself? You live there. It was too much. I couldn't buy into any of it.
Also, even though there were creepy things about the house...validly creepy...she seemed all too focused on the presence of mere spiders.
I don't believe I am the right audience for this book. Sadly.
There has always been something about ghost stories that fascinate me. Ghosts are one of my few fears in life and I've had personal experiences that started at about the same age as the main character of Diary of a Haunting.
That what was initially appealed to me about this title.
However, I struggled with the first 10%. The next few percent convinced me that this just is not the title for me.
I understand she is a teenager and teens can be fairly oblivious. But to move into a house and not notice that there are basement windows, with no basement...was questionable. Then, to have a friend point out that you can see windows from the outside of the house that are boarded up, but you never saw them yourself? You live there. It was too much. I couldn't buy into any of it.
Also, even though there were creepy things about the house...validly creepy...she seemed all too focused on the presence of mere spiders.
I don't believe I am the right audience for this book. Sadly.
October 25, 2025
Such a creepy story.
I’m always up for a haunting and got a good one here.
When her parents get divorced and her mother uproots them and moves to an old mansion in Idaho, Paige and her little brother have to accept it and adjust.
They probably would have settled in and begun over soon enough, except something is wrong with their new home. Things move around by themselves. Words appear written on the walls. And her brother begins to act strange.
Then there’s the weird neighbor that lives downstairs. What’s his story?
I fell into this story quickly and the author wasted no time building the creepy atmosphere. So many weird things started happening and the suspense built up.
Plenty of interesting characters prowl through the story, and I enjoyed seeing what would happen to who.
With it not being an easy mystery to figure out and plenty of bizarre scenarios, I had a haunting good time.
This book is from my own bookshelf. My review is freely given.
I’m always up for a haunting and got a good one here.
When her parents get divorced and her mother uproots them and moves to an old mansion in Idaho, Paige and her little brother have to accept it and adjust.
They probably would have settled in and begun over soon enough, except something is wrong with their new home. Things move around by themselves. Words appear written on the walls. And her brother begins to act strange.
Then there’s the weird neighbor that lives downstairs. What’s his story?
I fell into this story quickly and the author wasted no time building the creepy atmosphere. So many weird things started happening and the suspense built up.
Plenty of interesting characters prowl through the story, and I enjoyed seeing what would happen to who.
With it not being an easy mystery to figure out and plenty of bizarre scenarios, I had a haunting good time.
This book is from my own bookshelf. My review is freely given.
July 3, 2015
I don't know! I was extremely intrigued, but not scared or creeped out like I was expecting. The end didn't match the tone of the book, or the character. At all. It would have been a solid three if not for that.
Even so, I didn't hate reading it. I guess I need to let my thought permeate before fully reviewing.
Even so, I didn't hate reading it. I guess I need to let my thought permeate before fully reviewing.
May 11, 2016
My only issue was that I feel it is a cop out to make the only boy the MC age in the book gay so that there cannot possibly be a love interest. Because what? Every teen girl is so crazy there can't be a straight boy she hangs out with?
June 25, 2015
nahhhhhhhh. it wasn't scary nor was it that interesting. told in a diary, this book felt more like a science report than a scary novel.
August 22, 2018
The writing style wasn't for me. I couldn't connect to the characters, and I ended up essentially editing it while reading it. IT did have some creepy parts, but overall, I just wasn't feeling it.
May 13, 2017
I wanted to read Diary of a Haunting when it came out in 2015, but it wasn't a priority that merited paying MSRP. When I saw brand new copy at Books-A-Million for $5 last week, I had to have it.
Well, I'm so glad I only spent $5! This book fills me with such rage at how this novel .
My review is less of an actual review and more of an incoherent rant; it doesn't even cover everything that annoyed me because my hands hurt from typing. Here goes.
This book is written as journal entries by Paige, the MC. She's supposed to be sixteen, but the melodramatic tone of these entries (even when writing about mundane occurrences) reminds me more of my journal entries when I was 11 or 12 (yes, I used to be an avid diary keeper as an adolescent, so I know these things!).
The writing is further bogged down in hypothetical questions directed inward towards Paige (the nature of the book being her journal means she wouldn't be asking anyone else), and she uses like (as in I, like, blah blah blah, not as in I like apples) so often that it every time I read another like, my head mentally hurts. I'm not exaggerating to say that this novel could have trimmed multiple pages from the narrative if it was written more concisely, and my experience says that personal writing is to the point, while writing done for an audience is more flowery.
Paige thinks living in a city with book shops and cafes doesn't mean much when they aren't chain stores, when my small town has one coffee shop (not Starbucks, but don't care - I don't drink it) and 0 bookstores (which makes me cry). She also thinks only ugly people are shut-ins, that all gay people are popular & outgoing, and that saying things like, "no offense," actually makes things she says less offensive.
Paige is also pretty dense, in general. She never knew a guy was subletting their basement for a week or so until after her family moved into their new house because she doesn't listen when her mom talks, and she never walked around the back of the house to even look at it or she'd have seen the basement door. Inside the house, she should have noticed another Wi-Fi signal popping up on her laptop, since her journal is written online.
Paige's down on her new school because people were so nice to her on the first day that she thinks an L.A. transplant is the only interesting thing to come through Idaho. It couldn't be because they were just nice normally. She's oddly upset, though, when the cool girls spurn her for flirting with one of their boyfriends. A goth girl shows interest in being friends with Paige when the other girls won't speak to her, but she thinks of Chloe (the goth) as some sort of booby prize. Paige later references Chloe as someone who rubs people the wrong way, but last I knew, Chloe wasn't the one flirting with someone else's boyfriend!
Logan is 12, but thinks the postal system has died out in the wake of everyone having email. While handwriting letters HAS died out, that's not how Logan said it. He was surprised the postal system existed at all. As long as online shopping exists, there's a need for mail workers. Even if you consider UPS and Fedex as outside the normal system, a lot of third-party sellers on Amazon don't offer first class shipping, and it's pricey even when they do. A stupid rant, I know, but it's in response to a stupid book.
Paige's mom is ridiculous. She thinks it's some sort of hippie sin to kill flies. These flies cluster in a swarm at head level around the front door, and family and visitors have to walk through them on the way in. Sanitary concerns aside, flys are pests to have around (living in Florida and Georgia, we have the worst flying bugs almost all year in the form of flies, gnats, mosquitoes, and we can't kill them fast enough). Most people who had so many flies accumulating near their door would be embarrassed that visitors might think their house is dirty. Paige's mom also doesn't want to evict any ghosts, because they were there first; she says it with so much concern, you'd think she was forcing a living creature out on the street.
Paige cusses more and more frequently as the book goes on. It starts out with a few mundane words and escalates to more than one F-word on some pages alone. I don't normally care about cusding, though I don't do it often myself. It just doesn't seem right when it appears in this book, though.
The author, Verano, appears as a character in the book, I'm guessing so this farce of a novel seems real to readers. I love A Series of Unfortunate Events and All the Wrong Questions, so I'm not against an author inserting themselves into their stories. The difference is that Lemony Snicket is funny, clever, and writing about people (characters) he cares about . Verano is not funny or likable, and he doesn't care about anyone, just his research.
And there you go. Between this novel, Sunshine Girl, and the Asylum series, I have a track record of reading bad YA horror novels. The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey gave me high expectations for a genre that, it seems, rarely delivers.
Well, I'm so glad I only spent $5! This book fills me with such rage at how this novel .
My review is less of an actual review and more of an incoherent rant; it doesn't even cover everything that annoyed me because my hands hurt from typing. Here goes.
This book is written as journal entries by Paige, the MC. She's supposed to be sixteen, but the melodramatic tone of these entries (even when writing about mundane occurrences) reminds me more of my journal entries when I was 11 or 12 (yes, I used to be an avid diary keeper as an adolescent, so I know these things!).
The writing is further bogged down in hypothetical questions directed inward towards Paige (the nature of the book being her journal means she wouldn't be asking anyone else), and she uses like (as in I, like, blah blah blah, not as in I like apples) so often that it every time I read another like, my head mentally hurts. I'm not exaggerating to say that this novel could have trimmed multiple pages from the narrative if it was written more concisely, and my experience says that personal writing is to the point, while writing done for an audience is more flowery.
Paige thinks living in a city with book shops and cafes doesn't mean much when they aren't chain stores, when my small town has one coffee shop (not Starbucks, but don't care - I don't drink it) and 0 bookstores (which makes me cry). She also thinks only ugly people are shut-ins, that all gay people are popular & outgoing, and that saying things like, "no offense," actually makes things she says less offensive.
Paige is also pretty dense, in general. She never knew a guy was subletting their basement for a week or so until after her family moved into their new house because she doesn't listen when her mom talks, and she never walked around the back of the house to even look at it or she'd have seen the basement door. Inside the house, she should have noticed another Wi-Fi signal popping up on her laptop, since her journal is written online.
Paige's down on her new school because people were so nice to her on the first day that she thinks an L.A. transplant is the only interesting thing to come through Idaho. It couldn't be because they were just nice normally. She's oddly upset, though, when the cool girls spurn her for flirting with one of their boyfriends. A goth girl shows interest in being friends with Paige when the other girls won't speak to her, but she thinks of Chloe (the goth) as some sort of booby prize. Paige later references Chloe as someone who rubs people the wrong way, but last I knew, Chloe wasn't the one flirting with someone else's boyfriend!
Logan is 12, but thinks the postal system has died out in the wake of everyone having email. While handwriting letters HAS died out, that's not how Logan said it. He was surprised the postal system existed at all. As long as online shopping exists, there's a need for mail workers. Even if you consider UPS and Fedex as outside the normal system, a lot of third-party sellers on Amazon don't offer first class shipping, and it's pricey even when they do. A stupid rant, I know, but it's in response to a stupid book.
Paige's mom is ridiculous. She thinks it's some sort of hippie sin to kill flies. These flies cluster in a swarm at head level around the front door, and family and visitors have to walk through them on the way in. Sanitary concerns aside, flys are pests to have around (living in Florida and Georgia, we have the worst flying bugs almost all year in the form of flies, gnats, mosquitoes, and we can't kill them fast enough). Most people who had so many flies accumulating near their door would be embarrassed that visitors might think their house is dirty. Paige's mom also doesn't want to evict any ghosts, because they were there first; she says it with so much concern, you'd think she was forcing a living creature out on the street.
Paige cusses more and more frequently as the book goes on. It starts out with a few mundane words and escalates to more than one F-word on some pages alone. I don't normally care about cusding, though I don't do it often myself. It just doesn't seem right when it appears in this book, though.
The author, Verano, appears as a character in the book, I'm guessing so this farce of a novel seems real to readers. I love A Series of Unfortunate Events and All the Wrong Questions, so I'm not against an author inserting themselves into their stories. The difference is that Lemony Snicket is funny, clever, and writing about people (characters) he cares about . Verano is not funny or likable, and he doesn't care about anyone, just his research.
And there you go. Between this novel, Sunshine Girl, and the Asylum series, I have a track record of reading bad YA horror novels. The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey gave me high expectations for a genre that, it seems, rarely delivers.
July 12, 2019
WOW. I’m actually quite angry with how this all ended up. Even with the low ratings on goodreads I was still slightly optimistic for this one. I’m a sucker for hauntings and the premise of the book, while slightly generic, sounded pretty good.
I enjoyed the fact that this was written like an actual diary because it made me feel like all the weird things were actually happening. HOWEVER, the main character (I believe her name was Paige?) was so annoying and insufferable. A little inconsiderate especially when talking about the whole therapy issue and referring to herself and others as “crazy” NOT COOL.
I really appreciated the slow burn with the suspense and the unexplainable weird happenings throughout the house, but some of them were soooooooo subtle they almost weren’t necessary. Not to mention these subtle things kept happening with NO EXPLANATION even though I was already 80% into the book. At that point I feel like things should have started to unravel and give us answers. Without giving anything away, the twist at the end was a complete copout and honestly made me want to throw this book out the window. I will definitely not be continuing with this series and will probably be donating this book soon.
2 stars from me.
I enjoyed the fact that this was written like an actual diary because it made me feel like all the weird things were actually happening. HOWEVER, the main character (I believe her name was Paige?) was so annoying and insufferable. A little inconsiderate especially when talking about the whole therapy issue and referring to herself and others as “crazy” NOT COOL.
I really appreciated the slow burn with the suspense and the unexplainable weird happenings throughout the house, but some of them were soooooooo subtle they almost weren’t necessary. Not to mention these subtle things kept happening with NO EXPLANATION even though I was already 80% into the book. At that point I feel like things should have started to unravel and give us answers. Without giving anything away, the twist at the end was a complete copout and honestly made me want to throw this book out the window. I will definitely not be continuing with this series and will probably be donating this book soon.
2 stars from me.
March 8, 2023
I'm so conflicted in my feelings about this one. The haunting is pretty classic (things disappearing and reappearing, spooky sounds, weird feelings throughout the day, etc.), but I love the classics so I had fun. Reading through Paige's eyes was fun and I actually did enjoy her commentary. But the ending was so...I can't even say anticlimactic because there was a big climax...it was just disappointing. The explanation and ending could have been so much more creative like the format and certain diary entries were. Either way, it was an enjoyable read. I was sucked in from the start and loved the eerie atmosphere. Just end after page 295 and think of your own ending like a choose your own adventure story.
November 1, 2017
while the plot was creepy, the emotional connection between me and the characters just wasn't there?? it made seem kind of detached, like it was missing something
September 3, 2016
Creepy, haunting, unsettling, definitely great!
I tried this book some time ago on my ereader, I couldn’t get through it, not at all. And then some time ago I found the book in hardcover for a bargain price, and while I knew I didn’t like it on my ereader, I still wanted to try it out, this time in a physical form. I finally was in the mood for some horror and decided to read it. I fell in love with the book. The book clearly suffered from what I would call: tried-it-before-on-ereader-hated-it-but-then-found-the-physical-book-and-loved-it-case. It is not the first time that I tried a book on my ereader, didn’t like it and dropped it, but then found a physical copy and loved it when I read that. I still have no clue how this works, it is a bit strange, but I am also happy that I still get to enjoy the book.
And enjoy I did. This book was fantastic. It is written as a diary/journal. It is not always that this form works, sometimes it feels forced, or fake, but this one, I could just imagine the girl behind it. Sitting in the kitchen or if it is possible in her room (the internet is wonky, for reasons), typing away. Telling us about her life, about her new home, and also about the strange occurrences that happen there. She tells us about her worries, her fights with her mom (I really didn’t like the mom that much, she was a typical mom in a horror book, or the typical secondary character in a horror movie/book), about her brother, and of course about the weather (I did love reading about how shocked she was at more snow, and about other stuff, it made the book just seem so normal).
I never did trust the house from the beginning. But then again, I am sure I was supposed to, so it doesn’t really count. I do have to say that this book doesn’t use scare tactics, you won’t see a big spook scaring you in the midst of the night. Oh no, this book does it way more effective to give you goosebumps. There are mysterious happenings, our main girl’s brother doing very creepy things, spiders and flies, and voices, and some other stuff. I do have to say that while I love scares, I think I love this kind of horror more. It is unsettling, it is creepy, and it really gets in your skin. With each passing page, with each event happening, you will get more and more creeped out, and you really want to know what the hell is going on in that house.
What happened in the house, or to the house, well, I have to say that was really interesting, and I loved it. We slowly find out more and more, and in the end all the puzzle pieces click together to form one big puzzle.
I loved the ending especially, what a twist. I had my suspicions, well actually lingering feeling that something was amiss, but it wasn’t until the ending that I knew what. Really, the ending was just amazing and I have to say it still shocked me. No, I won’t tell anything, of course, but wow. Just wow.
The mom, well with the ending a lot is explained about her behaviour, and maybe not everything is as it seems, but I still didn’t like her. She was acting how you would see many people react and act in horror movies/horror books/etc. They don’t believe it, they will treat you as crazy, they will just think you did all of it. It is one thing that I really find frustrating. Often there is enough proof, but they will still not believe everything, only a part, or even nothing in the worst case. And yes, I can imagine why they would, I might even do the same should such a situation arise, but I wish that we would have more characters that just believed.
The mom was one of the two characters I didn’t entirely like. Professor Verano was the other. I can’t say why I don’t like him, as that would spoil things.
The book is also filled with photographs here and there. Nothing truly scary, but still it was a bit creepy and it gave atmosphere to the book (not that it needed that, it was unsettling enough).
All in all, this is one book that I would recommend to all. Be sure to have the hardcover, my version has a removable jacket which removes the girl in the corner when you lift it which makes the cover even creepier. I would say something about the girl, but I don’t want to spoil.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com
I tried this book some time ago on my ereader, I couldn’t get through it, not at all. And then some time ago I found the book in hardcover for a bargain price, and while I knew I didn’t like it on my ereader, I still wanted to try it out, this time in a physical form. I finally was in the mood for some horror and decided to read it. I fell in love with the book. The book clearly suffered from what I would call: tried-it-before-on-ereader-hated-it-but-then-found-the-physical-book-and-loved-it-case. It is not the first time that I tried a book on my ereader, didn’t like it and dropped it, but then found a physical copy and loved it when I read that. I still have no clue how this works, it is a bit strange, but I am also happy that I still get to enjoy the book.
And enjoy I did. This book was fantastic. It is written as a diary/journal. It is not always that this form works, sometimes it feels forced, or fake, but this one, I could just imagine the girl behind it. Sitting in the kitchen or if it is possible in her room (the internet is wonky, for reasons), typing away. Telling us about her life, about her new home, and also about the strange occurrences that happen there. She tells us about her worries, her fights with her mom (I really didn’t like the mom that much, she was a typical mom in a horror book, or the typical secondary character in a horror movie/book), about her brother, and of course about the weather (I did love reading about how shocked she was at more snow, and about other stuff, it made the book just seem so normal).
I never did trust the house from the beginning. But then again, I am sure I was supposed to, so it doesn’t really count. I do have to say that this book doesn’t use scare tactics, you won’t see a big spook scaring you in the midst of the night. Oh no, this book does it way more effective to give you goosebumps. There are mysterious happenings, our main girl’s brother doing very creepy things, spiders and flies, and voices, and some other stuff. I do have to say that while I love scares, I think I love this kind of horror more. It is unsettling, it is creepy, and it really gets in your skin. With each passing page, with each event happening, you will get more and more creeped out, and you really want to know what the hell is going on in that house.
What happened in the house, or to the house, well, I have to say that was really interesting, and I loved it. We slowly find out more and more, and in the end all the puzzle pieces click together to form one big puzzle.
I loved the ending especially, what a twist. I had my suspicions, well actually lingering feeling that something was amiss, but it wasn’t until the ending that I knew what. Really, the ending was just amazing and I have to say it still shocked me. No, I won’t tell anything, of course, but wow. Just wow.
The mom, well with the ending a lot is explained about her behaviour, and maybe not everything is as it seems, but I still didn’t like her. She was acting how you would see many people react and act in horror movies/horror books/etc. They don’t believe it, they will treat you as crazy, they will just think you did all of it. It is one thing that I really find frustrating. Often there is enough proof, but they will still not believe everything, only a part, or even nothing in the worst case. And yes, I can imagine why they would, I might even do the same should such a situation arise, but I wish that we would have more characters that just believed.
The mom was one of the two characters I didn’t entirely like. Professor Verano was the other. I can’t say why I don’t like him, as that would spoil things.
The book is also filled with photographs here and there. Nothing truly scary, but still it was a bit creepy and it gave atmosphere to the book (not that it needed that, it was unsettling enough).
All in all, this is one book that I would recommend to all. Be sure to have the hardcover, my version has a removable jacket which removes the girl in the corner when you lift it which makes the cover even creepier. I would say something about the girl, but I don’t want to spoil.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com
September 8, 2015
The story: Everyone in town thinks the old house is haunted...but things have gotten a lot worse since Paige and her family moved in. There's the creepy buzzing, her brother's seizures, the swarms of flies and spiders. When she starts looking for answers with her goth friend Chloe and hot-but-gay downstairs neighbor Raph, things go from strange to downright dangerous--and it's not clear whether Paige will end up with answers, or just end up dead.
June Cleaver's ratings: Language R; Violence PG-13; Sexual content PG; Nudity PG; substance abuse PG; magic and the occult PG-13; GLBT content PG; adult themes PG; overall rating PG-13 (probably 9th-up, due to the language).
Liz' comments: Although rather unevenly paced, this was still interesting enough to hold me until the very end--which I HATED: it was as bad as having the narrator wake up and find out that everything was a dream. Plus, even though the tension ratcheted up nicely throughout, the complete unexpectedness of Paige's actions lacked foreshadowing (or at least, nothing the average MS/HS kid who isn't a very sophisticated a reader would catch), and were so unexpected as to be out of character. This reader, anyway, felt a little betrayed by that. Boo!
ANNOTATION WITH SPOILERS:
Paige's mother, just clear of a nasty divorce, has moved Paige and her younger brother Logan to Moscow, Idaho, where mom's going to go to graduate school. As soon as Paige walks through their Victorian-era rental house, she notices a creepy buzzing noise in her brother's bedroom. There are also swarms of flies and spiders plaguing the house, and a strange multiplying of objects on occasion. What is going on here? Her mother, descended from "a long line of mystics" declares that they're just going to have to learn to get along with any spirits who might also be present...and even forbids Paige to kill any of the spiders or flies (whose presence never really is adequately explained, in my opinion).
Raph, the landlord's son and their basement neighbor, is a former TA for Professor Montague Verano (supposedly the person presenting Paige's diary). In the past, he has done research work for the Professor concerning the Psychiana Society, which was run by Dr. Williamson back in the day, and headquartered in this house. They hypothesize that something bad must have happened here, but there's no documentation to prove it. Eventually Raph became so obsessed with the project that he was let go, and even banned from accessing the documents about it.
Paige's brother Logan, whom she loves dearly, starts to have seizures (or wait--is he being possessed?)--and eventually ends up seeing a psychiatrist. Paige's mother decides that her daughter might also benefit from seeing the shrink too.
Eventually the group finds a cache of letters hidden in a secret floor in the house (which also served as a de facto asylum for Williamson's epileptic daughter) and decides to burn them in an effort to exorcise what's wrong with the place. But sadly, the burning doesn't take care of the problem--rather, it exacerbates it, and by the next morning, Paige (the human channel of the bad stuff going on in the house) has murdered both her brother and Raph. Finally, she realizes she can only cleanse her own soul by means of fire. The increasingly psychotic ramblings in her diary end here and she runs out into a wildfire encircling the Idaho town. Dr. Verano, who put in an "editor's note" at both front and back, points out that the final entries in the diary were written after Paige supposedly died in the fire, and says that while it's possible Chloe finished them up, the girl denies having done so. The end.
Yikes. Didn't see that coming, and because Paige had been such a lucid narrator throughout, I didn't believe her slip over the edge into possession/madness. Phooey.
June Cleaver's ratings: Language R; Violence PG-13; Sexual content PG; Nudity PG; substance abuse PG; magic and the occult PG-13; GLBT content PG; adult themes PG; overall rating PG-13 (probably 9th-up, due to the language).
Liz' comments: Although rather unevenly paced, this was still interesting enough to hold me until the very end--which I HATED: it was as bad as having the narrator wake up and find out that everything was a dream. Plus, even though the tension ratcheted up nicely throughout, the complete unexpectedness of Paige's actions lacked foreshadowing (or at least, nothing the average MS/HS kid who isn't a very sophisticated a reader would catch), and were so unexpected as to be out of character. This reader, anyway, felt a little betrayed by that. Boo!
ANNOTATION WITH SPOILERS:
Paige's mother, just clear of a nasty divorce, has moved Paige and her younger brother Logan to Moscow, Idaho, where mom's going to go to graduate school. As soon as Paige walks through their Victorian-era rental house, she notices a creepy buzzing noise in her brother's bedroom. There are also swarms of flies and spiders plaguing the house, and a strange multiplying of objects on occasion. What is going on here? Her mother, descended from "a long line of mystics" declares that they're just going to have to learn to get along with any spirits who might also be present...and even forbids Paige to kill any of the spiders or flies (whose presence never really is adequately explained, in my opinion).
Raph, the landlord's son and their basement neighbor, is a former TA for Professor Montague Verano (supposedly the person presenting Paige's diary). In the past, he has done research work for the Professor concerning the Psychiana Society, which was run by Dr. Williamson back in the day, and headquartered in this house. They hypothesize that something bad must have happened here, but there's no documentation to prove it. Eventually Raph became so obsessed with the project that he was let go, and even banned from accessing the documents about it.
Paige's brother Logan, whom she loves dearly, starts to have seizures (or wait--is he being possessed?)--and eventually ends up seeing a psychiatrist. Paige's mother decides that her daughter might also benefit from seeing the shrink too.
Eventually the group finds a cache of letters hidden in a secret floor in the house (which also served as a de facto asylum for Williamson's epileptic daughter) and decides to burn them in an effort to exorcise what's wrong with the place. But sadly, the burning doesn't take care of the problem--rather, it exacerbates it, and by the next morning, Paige (the human channel of the bad stuff going on in the house) has murdered both her brother and Raph. Finally, she realizes she can only cleanse her own soul by means of fire. The increasingly psychotic ramblings in her diary end here and she runs out into a wildfire encircling the Idaho town. Dr. Verano, who put in an "editor's note" at both front and back, points out that the final entries in the diary were written after Paige supposedly died in the fire, and says that while it's possible Chloe finished them up, the girl denies having done so. The end.
Yikes. Didn't see that coming, and because Paige had been such a lucid narrator throughout, I didn't believe her slip over the edge into possession/madness. Phooey.
February 18, 2016
Okay, so I started this after finding it while rearranging some books in my room (I gave up quickly on the rearranging...). I had forgotten about this book, but as soon as I saw it, I felt that I was totally in the mood for a book about a haunting, so I dived in, assuming I'd read a few chapters then get back to my other reads. But as I'm reading, I realized that I was really digging this book!
Let me first start with a short synopsis:
Paige is an LA transplant who moves with her mother and brother to Idaho after her parent's divorce. Their move has them living in a old, large mansion that pretty much sat untouched for a good, long time. Paige is quick to notice that things seem to not be right in the house, though she's not so vocal without first giving the place the benefit of the doubt. Fortunately for us, Paige has been logging everyday into an electronic diary, so we are able to keep up with all the strange occurrences, and we get to see when things start to get bad. Logan, Paige's brother, is having horrible insomnia, and is acting strangely. Paige's mother is no help, either, cause she thinks Paige should accept the spirit activity, and view it as "playful and mischievous", though Paige would rather not. When things finally seem to be at their worst, Paige finally reaches out to some outsiders for help, but with the way things are going, she can't help but worry that things will never be right in the house.
I feel like I can safely say that this is probably going to one of my favorite books I've read in 2016. Personally, there was nothing I could really point out as bad. There were a few times when Paige's mother had me wanting to bang my head against the wall, but honestly, that was not even all that bad. I loved the characters, and the progression of this book. I had no problem with the diary format, and since each entry was fairly short, this book seemed to go so much faster, and before I knew it, I was done with this book!
I will gladly recommend this book to other fans of ghostly reads, and hope you love it as much as I did!
Let me first start with a short synopsis:
Paige is an LA transplant who moves with her mother and brother to Idaho after her parent's divorce. Their move has them living in a old, large mansion that pretty much sat untouched for a good, long time. Paige is quick to notice that things seem to not be right in the house, though she's not so vocal without first giving the place the benefit of the doubt. Fortunately for us, Paige has been logging everyday into an electronic diary, so we are able to keep up with all the strange occurrences, and we get to see when things start to get bad. Logan, Paige's brother, is having horrible insomnia, and is acting strangely. Paige's mother is no help, either, cause she thinks Paige should accept the spirit activity, and view it as "playful and mischievous", though Paige would rather not. When things finally seem to be at their worst, Paige finally reaches out to some outsiders for help, but with the way things are going, she can't help but worry that things will never be right in the house.
I feel like I can safely say that this is probably going to one of my favorite books I've read in 2016. Personally, there was nothing I could really point out as bad. There were a few times when Paige's mother had me wanting to bang my head against the wall, but honestly, that was not even all that bad. I loved the characters, and the progression of this book. I had no problem with the diary format, and since each entry was fairly short, this book seemed to go so much faster, and before I knew it, I was done with this book!
I will gladly recommend this book to other fans of ghostly reads, and hope you love it as much as I did!
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