What do you think?
Rate this book
The Cellar: A Suspenseful YA Horror and Thriller About Two Sisters and a Dangerous Monster Romance
Meredith Willis is suspicious of Adrien, the new guy next door. When she dares to sneak a look into the windows of his house, she sees something in the cellar that makes her believe that Adrien might be more than just a creep—he may be an actual monster.But her sister, Heather, doesn’t share Meredith’s repulsion. Heather believes Adrien is the only guy who really understands her. In fact, she may be falling in love with him. When Adrien and Heather are cast as the leads in the school production of Romeo and Juliet , to Heather, it feels like fate. To Meredith, it feels like a bad omen. But if she tries to tear the couple apart, she could end up in the last place she’d ever want to the cellar. Can Meredith convince her sister that she’s dating the living dead before it’s too late for both of them?
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
10 people are currently reading
875 people want to read
About the author
A.J. Whitten
2 books12 followersA.J. Whitten is the pen name for well-known romance author Shirley Jump and her teenage daughter, Amanda Jump.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 100 reviews
January 29, 2011
A.J. Whitten's The Cellar is supposed to be a mix of zombies and Romeo and Juliet. I could have done with more Romeo and Juliet and less zombies. The horror in this book isn't very "I'm going to have nightmares for weeks because of this"--it felt more just gratuitous. However, for the segment of young adult readers who enjoy horror lite with a smattering of Twilight, this will be enjoyable.
Personally, I would have liked if this story stayed with a third-person narrative. The switch between first-person and third-person narration felt jumpy and interrupted the flow of the novel.
Additionally, the dialogue felt forced--like it was trying too hard to sound like teenagers (which is strange since the author's teenage daughter helped her write this). It was like the author felt that if she said Facebook and Hollister enough, the writing would seem more young adult. To me, it just felt unauthentic. I mean, I think I was in junior high the last time I heard someone say something and then end it with "not", and this book did it more than once.
However, The Cellar does offer some unique twists to today's tired young adult storyline. Although it's another "love at first glance from across the school hallway" story, the hot stalker guy...really truly is a baddie. Usually, it turns out he's misunderstood and trying to overcome the evil of his species, but Adrien really truly is a baddie. When he left Meredith in the cellar near the end, I knew he hadn't really reformed. You can expound about how his love for Heather redeemed him at the very end, but when he didn't save Meredith and wanted to FEED MEREDITH TO HER SISTER, he was every bit the selfish, creepy, obsessive baddie we met on his first day of school. He tells Heather not to judge him and to see him for what he wants to be, but then he didn't even free her sister. Yep, I'm going to judge him right there.
And can we please stop telling 16-year-olds that it's okay to be engaged and obsessive about marriage...as a junior in high school??? What was Heather thinking? (And wouldn't it be so gross to kiss a zombie? I mean, he eats people with that mouth. I couldn't stop thinking that every time he drew close to her.)
So, fans of horror have a nice, sanitized young adult horror novel that will appeal to many teens. There's nothing in this book to give you crazy nightmares--just a lot of zombies eating people again...and again...and again, but it just feels so detached that it's not even scary.
And Meredith? Points for NOT falling for the creepy guy. That's my favorite part of this book.
Personally, I would have liked if this story stayed with a third-person narrative. The switch between first-person and third-person narration felt jumpy and interrupted the flow of the novel.
Additionally, the dialogue felt forced--like it was trying too hard to sound like teenagers (which is strange since the author's teenage daughter helped her write this). It was like the author felt that if she said Facebook and Hollister enough, the writing would seem more young adult. To me, it just felt unauthentic. I mean, I think I was in junior high the last time I heard someone say something and then end it with "not", and this book did it more than once.
However, The Cellar does offer some unique twists to today's tired young adult storyline. Although it's another "love at first glance from across the school hallway" story, the hot stalker guy...really truly is a baddie. Usually, it turns out he's misunderstood and trying to overcome the evil of his species, but Adrien really truly is a baddie. When he left Meredith in the cellar near the end, I knew he hadn't really reformed. You can expound about how his love for Heather redeemed him at the very end, but when he didn't save Meredith and wanted to FEED MEREDITH TO HER SISTER, he was every bit the selfish, creepy, obsessive baddie we met on his first day of school. He tells Heather not to judge him and to see him for what he wants to be, but then he didn't even free her sister. Yep, I'm going to judge him right there.
And can we please stop telling 16-year-olds that it's okay to be engaged and obsessive about marriage...as a junior in high school??? What was Heather thinking? (And wouldn't it be so gross to kiss a zombie? I mean, he eats people with that mouth. I couldn't stop thinking that every time he drew close to her.)
So, fans of horror have a nice, sanitized young adult horror novel that will appeal to many teens. There's nothing in this book to give you crazy nightmares--just a lot of zombies eating people again...and again...and again, but it just feels so detached that it's not even scary.
And Meredith? Points for NOT falling for the creepy guy. That's my favorite part of this book.
April 6, 2011
I love me a good zombie story!Especially one that is not about the stereotypical goofy-stupid kind of zombies.
The Cellar was a book that started very strong but I am afraid had a somewhat disappointing second half.
The writing was pretty good, very funny and witty.I admit it,the detailed and very gory descriptions gave me quite a scare when I was reading the book in the middle of the night.Regardless of that,though,first 200 pages went by without my even noticing it, it was that good!
Then, the rest of the book happened.Which was not necessarily bad, but not what I was expecting, either.Even though the characters were mostly OK, likeable enough, there was definitely no lead you could connect with,even a little bit.You see, the narrative was divided into 3 POVs,that of Meredith, Heather and Adrien.Thing is,only Meredith's POV was in the 1st person and the other two were in the 3d.So inevitably, I found myself siding more with Meredith and less with her sister Heather.Now I know that that was there for a reason and to make a point but I found it a bit unfair because I believe that they both were right in their own way.
Also,as much as I found Adrien beautifully disgusting, I felt that his romance with Heather was forced.At first I thought that what he was doing was for a specific purpose and he was just being his monstrous self and I would totally have loved it, if that was the case.Making him see Heather like something more than a prey, would also have been great if it had 200 pages more to develop.Unfortunately it didn't have, so it just wasn't believable enough.
All in all, The Cellar is a book with a great potential,if you're into gore and living dead,which even though I liked a lot at the beginning, kinda fell flat for me right around the end.
This book has been given to me by NetGalley, free of charge.
The Cellar was a book that started very strong but I am afraid had a somewhat disappointing second half.
The writing was pretty good, very funny and witty.I admit it,the detailed and very gory descriptions gave me quite a scare when I was reading the book in the middle of the night.Regardless of that,though,first 200 pages went by without my even noticing it, it was that good!
Then, the rest of the book happened.Which was not necessarily bad, but not what I was expecting, either.Even though the characters were mostly OK, likeable enough, there was definitely no lead you could connect with,even a little bit.You see, the narrative was divided into 3 POVs,that of Meredith, Heather and Adrien.Thing is,only Meredith's POV was in the 1st person and the other two were in the 3d.So inevitably, I found myself siding more with Meredith and less with her sister Heather.Now I know that that was there for a reason and to make a point but I found it a bit unfair because I believe that they both were right in their own way.
Also,as much as I found Adrien beautifully disgusting, I felt that his romance with Heather was forced.At first I thought that what he was doing was for a specific purpose and he was just being his monstrous self and I would totally have loved it, if that was the case.Making him see Heather like something more than a prey, would also have been great if it had 200 pages more to develop.Unfortunately it didn't have, so it just wasn't believable enough.
All in all, The Cellar is a book with a great potential,if you're into gore and living dead,which even though I liked a lot at the beginning, kinda fell flat for me right around the end.
This book has been given to me by NetGalley, free of charge.
May 5, 2011
First impressions: The book opens with a tense scene where Meredith's sister, Heather, blurts that she wishes she had died instead of their father. This family is falling apart after a car accident that killed their patriarch, and this bombshell of a statement sets up a very complicated relationship between the sisters that really sucked me in.
Lasting impressions: Unfortunately, there were not enough likable elements in this book for me to recommend it.
Conflicting impressions: For me, the book was overly graphic with characters I didn't like or didn't care about. I didn't understand who I was supposed to be rooting for or against, particularly in light of the misleading tag line from the cover.
Overall impressions: Okay, deep breath. This is the first one star review I've given out on the blog. Usually if I dislike a book enough to give it one star, I've stopped reading, at which point I consider it a DNF, delete it from Goodreads, and don't write a review. So what makes this book different?
For one, I actually wanted to finish it. As stated above, the opening has a good hook, and by the time I got to the midpoint I decided I just had to see how it was all going to tie up. I can't say I regret reading the book, but I would certainly not recommend it to others - thus the one star.
Let me try to break down my feelings. First and foremost, I was really excited about this book because A) it's a horror tale, which I love, and B) it's based on Romeo and Juliet. Or so the cover, and to a lesser degree, the blurb, would have you think. I quickly discovered that the R & J link is not really there, other than the fact that Heather and Adrien take part in the school's production.
The first point of confusion for me was whether I was supposed to be focused on Meredith or Heather. The story alternates between their perspectives, as well as Adrien's. Meredith is told in first person, Heather and Adrien in a close third person. Adrien is the boy who moves in next door, and is some kind of zombie looking for eternal love. His primary motivation to find love is his loneliness, and so he can get rid of his fellow zombie/maternal figure, Marie. He decides he wants Heather, so he starts using his magical effects to make her fall in love with him.
The only problem is Heather's sister, Meredith. She sees right through his charms. They don't have an effect on her. This isn't really discussed, just mentioned. Meredith spends most of the book getting more and more suspicious of the creepy guy who never takes off his sunglasses, seems to be brainwashing her entire family as well as the town, and who she sees burying things in the back yard.
It felt like that old Tom Hanks movie, The Burbs. In that way, I kind of liked it. However, while that movie was scary and suspenseful and creepy, this book quickly became just plain gross. Chapter 7 takes us inside Adrien's house, where we witness him and Marie torturing a man they kidnapped for food. It's very graphic, very disturbing, and almost made me physically ill while reading it on the train to work. I ended up skimming those pages because I couldn't get through them.
The thing is, I'm not against violence or disturbing imagery in books. I read and have read a lot of crime and horror books. I like things scary and dark and eerie and yes, even sometimes gory. Here there was a lot of violence that seemed to pop up out of nowhere, and then beat you over the head with it. There was a lot of flesh-eating, a LOT of bugs, and most of it was truly grotesque. This book is not for the faint-hearted, I promise you. That said, it seems like the kind of gross-out material that would be really popular with adolescent boys.
Once we become aware that Adrien is a Bad Man, the story focuses on his quest to steal away Heather, and Meredith's half-assed attempts to stop him. Heather refuses to think this guy could be bad and thinks that Meredith just doesn't want her to be happy, so bats away Meredith's attempts to reason with her. Meredith, despite being convinced Heather is in real danger, never does anything other than try to talk her out of it. I found this ingenuine, as I can guarantee that if my sister were hanging around with a suspected serial killer, I'd physically restrain her if need be. On top of everything, the horrifying things Meredith sees (that spellbound Heather can't) are explained away by an eye disease. Silly old Meredith, just seeing things again. It didn't quite work for me.
At times it felt like we were supposed to think Adrien was really in love with Heather, whether because he was truly lonely or used to be a good person/zombie, I don't know. He never seemed motivated by love until the last few chapters, but his insistence on being with her throughout most of the book wasn't written as purely psychotic or obsessed. Adrien, more than anyone, could really have benefited by some fleshing out. In my mind, you can't have it both ways. Adrien is either a good guy who wants to find love and happiness, or he's really as awful as he is depicted here, in which case he shouldn't care at all about Heather's fate. When he pulled a complete 180 in the final scenes, it felt contrived and contrary to his character.
In the end, it seemed like the point of the book was for Meredith to stop Heather and Adrien, but the climax of the book involves intervention by a third party that, while leading to some resolution for the girls, ultimately deprives our heroine of the chance to tie up the story for herself. It confused the plot more than enhanced it, and it disappointed me as a reader.
Thank you to NetGalley and Graphia/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, but this just wasn't for me.
Lasting impressions: Unfortunately, there were not enough likable elements in this book for me to recommend it.
Conflicting impressions: For me, the book was overly graphic with characters I didn't like or didn't care about. I didn't understand who I was supposed to be rooting for or against, particularly in light of the misleading tag line from the cover.
Overall impressions: Okay, deep breath. This is the first one star review I've given out on the blog. Usually if I dislike a book enough to give it one star, I've stopped reading, at which point I consider it a DNF, delete it from Goodreads, and don't write a review. So what makes this book different?
For one, I actually wanted to finish it. As stated above, the opening has a good hook, and by the time I got to the midpoint I decided I just had to see how it was all going to tie up. I can't say I regret reading the book, but I would certainly not recommend it to others - thus the one star.
Let me try to break down my feelings. First and foremost, I was really excited about this book because A) it's a horror tale, which I love, and B) it's based on Romeo and Juliet. Or so the cover, and to a lesser degree, the blurb, would have you think. I quickly discovered that the R & J link is not really there, other than the fact that Heather and Adrien take part in the school's production.
The first point of confusion for me was whether I was supposed to be focused on Meredith or Heather. The story alternates between their perspectives, as well as Adrien's. Meredith is told in first person, Heather and Adrien in a close third person. Adrien is the boy who moves in next door, and is some kind of zombie looking for eternal love. His primary motivation to find love is his loneliness, and so he can get rid of his fellow zombie/maternal figure, Marie. He decides he wants Heather, so he starts using his magical effects to make her fall in love with him.
The only problem is Heather's sister, Meredith. She sees right through his charms. They don't have an effect on her. This isn't really discussed, just mentioned. Meredith spends most of the book getting more and more suspicious of the creepy guy who never takes off his sunglasses, seems to be brainwashing her entire family as well as the town, and who she sees burying things in the back yard.
It felt like that old Tom Hanks movie, The Burbs. In that way, I kind of liked it. However, while that movie was scary and suspenseful and creepy, this book quickly became just plain gross. Chapter 7 takes us inside Adrien's house, where we witness him and Marie torturing a man they kidnapped for food. It's very graphic, very disturbing, and almost made me physically ill while reading it on the train to work. I ended up skimming those pages because I couldn't get through them.
The thing is, I'm not against violence or disturbing imagery in books. I read and have read a lot of crime and horror books. I like things scary and dark and eerie and yes, even sometimes gory. Here there was a lot of violence that seemed to pop up out of nowhere, and then beat you over the head with it. There was a lot of flesh-eating, a LOT of bugs, and most of it was truly grotesque. This book is not for the faint-hearted, I promise you. That said, it seems like the kind of gross-out material that would be really popular with adolescent boys.
Once we become aware that Adrien is a Bad Man, the story focuses on his quest to steal away Heather, and Meredith's half-assed attempts to stop him. Heather refuses to think this guy could be bad and thinks that Meredith just doesn't want her to be happy, so bats away Meredith's attempts to reason with her. Meredith, despite being convinced Heather is in real danger, never does anything other than try to talk her out of it. I found this ingenuine, as I can guarantee that if my sister were hanging around with a suspected serial killer, I'd physically restrain her if need be. On top of everything, the horrifying things Meredith sees (that spellbound Heather can't) are explained away by an eye disease. Silly old Meredith, just seeing things again. It didn't quite work for me.
At times it felt like we were supposed to think Adrien was really in love with Heather, whether because he was truly lonely or used to be a good person/zombie, I don't know. He never seemed motivated by love until the last few chapters, but his insistence on being with her throughout most of the book wasn't written as purely psychotic or obsessed. Adrien, more than anyone, could really have benefited by some fleshing out. In my mind, you can't have it both ways. Adrien is either a good guy who wants to find love and happiness, or he's really as awful as he is depicted here, in which case he shouldn't care at all about Heather's fate. When he pulled a complete 180 in the final scenes, it felt contrived and contrary to his character.
In the end, it seemed like the point of the book was for Meredith to stop Heather and Adrien, but the climax of the book involves intervention by a third party that, while leading to some resolution for the girls, ultimately deprives our heroine of the chance to tie up the story for herself. It confused the plot more than enhanced it, and it disappointed me as a reader.
Thank you to NetGalley and Graphia/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, but this just wasn't for me.
August 22, 2023
They mentioned worms in the guys eyesholes and I just can't get that outta my head. *screams internally* idk how to feel about bc I've been trying to finish reading other books I just dont care to anymore. So this was a breath of fresh air to me.
June 3, 2011
Also see the review on my blog.
Let me begin by telling you how many horror books I've ever read: zero. I don't even watch horror movies because they freak me out too much. But while The Cellar was, in fact, a horror, it wasn't overwhelmingly scary. The author (I know it's not just ONE author, but it's easier to say the author than saying it the drawn out way.) focused more on the creepy aspects, like bugs and bugs and more bugs. BIG bugs. Lots of them. There was also lots of human torture (they are zombies,) and explicitly described dead bodies.
I liked Whitten's version of zombies. The first thing that comes to mind when you think "zombie" is those brain-hungry mindless ones. But not this time! These zombies can think for themselves, use mind-control powers on people, and even make various creepy animals and bugs do their bidding. This take on zombies was very original and enjoyable.
I like how even though Adrien was the antagonist, you could really understand his side. He wasn't purely evil, he was lonely. He found his true love – Heather – and wanted to spend his eternity with her. He wanted her to be happy with him. You could almost root for Adrien to win because he was just trying to "live" his own life in the only way he knows how.
What bugged me the most was that the author kept repeating the same things constantly. The problems Marie caused. Heather couldn't stop thinking about Adrien. How badly Adrien wanted Heather forever. Meredith thought there was something wrong with Adrien. Etcetera. It was as if the author ran out of things to say at that point, but did not want to end the chapter so soon. The story was good, but the repetitive paragraphs got very old.
The story never fully explained some things, and that was frustrating to me. Like why wasn't Meredith batting her eyelashes along with her sister and the rest of the school? She was not affected by any of Adrien's powers, but we don't know why.
I think The Cellar deserves 3 stars, because it was good, but not remarkable. It was enjoyable, but at the same time forgettable. I wasn't hanging on the edge of my seat, and I didn't really feel too sad when it was over. It was a fun, dramatic, dark read, but nothing to go crazy about. I will, however, keep an eye on this author in the future. Oh, and last thing: You don't mess with Ben & Jerry's. Ever! I will never look at Chunky Monkey the same again. ;-)
Let me begin by telling you how many horror books I've ever read: zero. I don't even watch horror movies because they freak me out too much. But while The Cellar was, in fact, a horror, it wasn't overwhelmingly scary. The author (I know it's not just ONE author, but it's easier to say the author than saying it the drawn out way.) focused more on the creepy aspects, like bugs and bugs and more bugs. BIG bugs. Lots of them. There was also lots of human torture (they are zombies,) and explicitly described dead bodies.
I liked Whitten's version of zombies. The first thing that comes to mind when you think "zombie" is those brain-hungry mindless ones. But not this time! These zombies can think for themselves, use mind-control powers on people, and even make various creepy animals and bugs do their bidding. This take on zombies was very original and enjoyable.
I like how even though Adrien was the antagonist, you could really understand his side. He wasn't purely evil, he was lonely. He found his true love – Heather – and wanted to spend his eternity with her. He wanted her to be happy with him. You could almost root for Adrien to win because he was just trying to "live" his own life in the only way he knows how.
What bugged me the most was that the author kept repeating the same things constantly. The problems Marie caused. Heather couldn't stop thinking about Adrien. How badly Adrien wanted Heather forever. Meredith thought there was something wrong with Adrien. Etcetera. It was as if the author ran out of things to say at that point, but did not want to end the chapter so soon. The story was good, but the repetitive paragraphs got very old.
The story never fully explained some things, and that was frustrating to me. Like why wasn't Meredith batting her eyelashes along with her sister and the rest of the school? She was not affected by any of Adrien's powers, but we don't know why.
I think The Cellar deserves 3 stars, because it was good, but not remarkable. It was enjoyable, but at the same time forgettable. I wasn't hanging on the edge of my seat, and I didn't really feel too sad when it was over. It was a fun, dramatic, dark read, but nothing to go crazy about. I will, however, keep an eye on this author in the future. Oh, and last thing: You don't mess with Ben & Jerry's. Ever! I will never look at Chunky Monkey the same again. ;-)
December 24, 2010
Ok. So Weird boy moves in next door. Sister falls in love with him. See a Dead body hanging in the neighbors basement: body is being eaten by neighbor and his mother...."brains are the best"... All the girls are acting weird at school. Something is def. going on!
This book not only had an incredibly smart Zombie (which is unusal because they are always brain-dead flesh eaters), but also a love story. (*ahhh* right?)
It really is...who would have thought that a zombie would make a swoon worthy boyfriend?
This is THE FIRST book I have ever read that I immediatly re-read. I seriously read this book through 2 times in one week! I fell in love with Adrien...and kinda wanted Meredith (the main character) to leave him alone, because of his awesome swoonworthy-ness. There is a lot of action and romance in this book, but guess what...they never even kiss! This is the type of romance zombie story that will fill your hearts with affection and infections...ha ha. I would def. recommend this one L.O.V.E.D it!
This book not only had an incredibly smart Zombie (which is unusal because they are always brain-dead flesh eaters), but also a love story. (*ahhh* right?)
It really is...who would have thought that a zombie would make a swoon worthy boyfriend?
This is THE FIRST book I have ever read that I immediatly re-read. I seriously read this book through 2 times in one week! I fell in love with Adrien...and kinda wanted Meredith (the main character) to leave him alone, because of his awesome swoonworthy-ness. There is a lot of action and romance in this book, but guess what...they never even kiss! This is the type of romance zombie story that will fill your hearts with affection and infections...ha ha. I would def. recommend this one L.O.V.E.D it!
November 26, 2010
What I Can Tell You:
I loved it! It's a mystery. It's horror. It's young love. It's young adult. It's everything. A.J. White does a great job of creating an interesting story about sisters Heather and Meredith, who are high schoolers who recently lost their loving father. When neighbors move into the old Victorian house things start getting weird.
New neighbor "living dead" Adrien and his "mother" Marie are interesting. All the girls in school find Adrien super hot but Meredith is convinced there is something up with him and she is going to prove it. Why did she see him digging in the back yard at night? Why is his mother never seen? Why are there bugs all over the house? Ravens? Flesh Eating Fish kept in tanks?
The correlation between Romeo and Juliet and Heather and Adrien really works.
I think young adult fans will love this. Perfect book for ages 14+
I loved it! It's a mystery. It's horror. It's young love. It's young adult. It's everything. A.J. White does a great job of creating an interesting story about sisters Heather and Meredith, who are high schoolers who recently lost their loving father. When neighbors move into the old Victorian house things start getting weird.
New neighbor "living dead" Adrien and his "mother" Marie are interesting. All the girls in school find Adrien super hot but Meredith is convinced there is something up with him and she is going to prove it. Why did she see him digging in the back yard at night? Why is his mother never seen? Why are there bugs all over the house? Ravens? Flesh Eating Fish kept in tanks?
The correlation between Romeo and Juliet and Heather and Adrien really works.
I think young adult fans will love this. Perfect book for ages 14+
November 3, 2010
The zombies in this book aren't your standard shuffling along, not thinking or communicating zombies. They are in the vein of Haitian voodoo zombies and it's interesting to see ones that can act like normal everyday people. But they do have to replace their host bodies as they decay.
I give this book a 5 out of 5. It's a very interesting and fast paced read. Plus it's a little gorier than most young adult fare.
Read the full review here.
I give this book a 5 out of 5. It's a very interesting and fast paced read. Plus it's a little gorier than most young adult fare.
Read the full review here.
February 20, 2011
Like Darren Shan meets Stephenie Meyer. Double euwww.
July 19, 2011
The reason I wanted to read The Cellar was because it advertised itself as Romeo and Juliet with zombies, only not in a Quirk classics way. That sounded like it could be hilarious. It wasn't for an assortment of reasons. 1: It took itself way too seriously. 2: Having the school do a modern version of Romeo and Juliet does not make this a modernization of said play; the story has to back it up. 3: These zombies are totally not following the rules and are, perhaps, other fantastical creatures. All in all, some seriously false advertising. Now I will expand on these points.
The Cellar is supposed to be a horror, sweet romance and tragic romance all in one. Whitten wants you to go 'Ack!,' 'awww' and 'boohoo.' I did none of these things. There were no joke attempts. How can you have the premise of Romeo and Juliet + zombies and not think it should be hysterical, especially if you're completely changing the plot until its unrecognizable as the original play anyway? I think part of why Whitten (another mother/daughter writing team) wrote this book was because they thought it would be awesome to write a story about a sexy zombie. Here is an excerpt of Adrien (totally a zombie) meeting Heather for the first time:
"'You look lost,' a deep voice said from behind her. 'Like me.'
Heather turned, about to blast whoever was bothering her this time. She stopped. Stared.
At the very guy who has moved in next door to her. From far away this morning, she hadn't seen any details, but now—
Oh, now she did.
Up close, he was...gorgeous. Dark hair, a bit long in the back, just enough to curl over his collar, long dark jeans, a black suit jacket, something no other guy would have dared to wear, very A&F-ish, over a white T, untucked. He wore sunglasses—not Ray-Bans, but something very similar and very...mysterious. They reflected back her face, the shock in her eyes." (9)
Holy misuse of punctuation, Batman! These ladies are definitely from the Twilight/Lisa McMann school of writing. Also, is this guy supposed to sound like a stud? Because what he sounds like is a pompous asshat.
In this book, the school is performing Romeo and Juliet. Conveniently, Heather is Juliet and Adrien is Romeo. Because of this, they decide that they are exactly like the bard's star-crossed lovers, especially since her family is against them. Oh noes! Only not really, because of everyone but Meredith ends up supporting them. Mostly its just Heather thinks everyone wants to keep her from happiness. The frame of the story doesn't fit at all, nor does the fact that they don't both die. Fail.
Most disconcerting perhaps were the 'zombies.' Adrien and his 'mother' Marie are obviously something else altogether. Marie has to get herself a new skin with magic and soul-sucking every so often. So, basically, she's a witch from Stardust. Adrien apparently looks perfect and doesn't smell like decay; the only sign that he's not human are the worms in his eyes. Umm, what? For some reason, he really reminded me most of the Oogie Boogie man, thus the song. I think it was the way he commanded legions of creepy crawlies and the way he criticized all of his enemies/prey. Even the regular zombies did not necessarily act like zombies are supposed to. One of them was able to focus on more than commands from its maker or its hunger. Weird and out of character for how the others were. It was a necessary plot point, but I'm not buying it.
So yeah, I kind of hated it. However, fans of books like Cryer's Cross, another incomprehensible horror fantasy, will probably enjoy this.
The Cellar is supposed to be a horror, sweet romance and tragic romance all in one. Whitten wants you to go 'Ack!,' 'awww' and 'boohoo.' I did none of these things. There were no joke attempts. How can you have the premise of Romeo and Juliet + zombies and not think it should be hysterical, especially if you're completely changing the plot until its unrecognizable as the original play anyway? I think part of why Whitten (another mother/daughter writing team) wrote this book was because they thought it would be awesome to write a story about a sexy zombie. Here is an excerpt of Adrien (totally a zombie) meeting Heather for the first time:
"'You look lost,' a deep voice said from behind her. 'Like me.'
Heather turned, about to blast whoever was bothering her this time. She stopped. Stared.
At the very guy who has moved in next door to her. From far away this morning, she hadn't seen any details, but now—
Oh, now she did.
Up close, he was...gorgeous. Dark hair, a bit long in the back, just enough to curl over his collar, long dark jeans, a black suit jacket, something no other guy would have dared to wear, very A&F-ish, over a white T, untucked. He wore sunglasses—not Ray-Bans, but something very similar and very...mysterious. They reflected back her face, the shock in her eyes." (9)
Holy misuse of punctuation, Batman! These ladies are definitely from the Twilight/Lisa McMann school of writing. Also, is this guy supposed to sound like a stud? Because what he sounds like is a pompous asshat.
In this book, the school is performing Romeo and Juliet. Conveniently, Heather is Juliet and Adrien is Romeo. Because of this, they decide that they are exactly like the bard's star-crossed lovers, especially since her family is against them. Oh noes! Only not really, because of everyone but Meredith ends up supporting them. Mostly its just Heather thinks everyone wants to keep her from happiness. The frame of the story doesn't fit at all, nor does the fact that they don't both die. Fail.
Most disconcerting perhaps were the 'zombies.' Adrien and his 'mother' Marie are obviously something else altogether. Marie has to get herself a new skin with magic and soul-sucking every so often. So, basically, she's a witch from Stardust. Adrien apparently looks perfect and doesn't smell like decay; the only sign that he's not human are the worms in his eyes. Umm, what? For some reason, he really reminded me most of the Oogie Boogie man, thus the song. I think it was the way he commanded legions of creepy crawlies and the way he criticized all of his enemies/prey. Even the regular zombies did not necessarily act like zombies are supposed to. One of them was able to focus on more than commands from its maker or its hunger. Weird and out of character for how the others were. It was a necessary plot point, but I'm not buying it.
So yeah, I kind of hated it. However, fans of books like Cryer's Cross, another incomprehensible horror fantasy, will probably enjoy this.
March 25, 2011
This ARC was provided from the great folks at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt via Netgalley, and I thank you!!
So WOW this is a scary, horror filled, creepy skin crawl inducing, not to be read alone in the dark, version of Romeo and Juliet.....and I LOVED it!!! This book will creep you out and drawl you in faster than you can say "boogieman." You don't even have to be a big Romeo & Juliet, or Shakespeare fan to enjoy this book.
First the Tragedy
Due to a tragic car accident sisters Heather and Meredith are left without a father. It's been almost a year since the accident and the grief of his death is tearing their family apart. With every one choosing to handle their grief in different ways you almost instantly feel how separated everyone is. Meredith is the strong one, bottling it all up, never allowing herself to cry, because you feels like she has to for her mother and sisters sake. Her mother is Dr. Phil's dream patient, because her method of coping seems to be with her trusty credit card in hand, and endless shopping sprees. And then there is Heather, who is taking it worst of all of them. Heather blames herself for her father's death. She doesn't eat, talk, participate in school, or anything she used to do. Meredith and Heather are only 10 months apart in age and have always been close. First losing her father, and now losing her sister, how much more can Meredith take?
Then There is Adrien
Adrien is the new kid at school. Every guy wants to be his friend, all the girls want to date him, well almost everybody. While the whole school seems to orbit around this hot mysterious, sun glass wearing boy, Meredith isn't buying it. It isn't long before Adrien sets his sites on Heather. But his interests in Heather go a whole lot further than a high school fling. His hunger for her is growing. Will Heather love him despite his secrets? Will she give Adrien everything he longs for, or will Meredith be able to stop him before she loses Heather for good?
You can't help but feel sorry for these girls, and has the story unfolds about their fathers death your heart will ache for them. While this story handles some pretty heavy family issues, it is an easy and quick read. A.J. Whitten leave no stone unturned in this tragic love story. It will chill you to the bone, give you nightmares, make your heart ache, and at times even make you laugh. I love being in Meredith's head. Getting to really know her snarky sarcasm. She made me LOL on more than one occasion.
"Proof in the pudding. The neighbors hated muffins and basketball. Start a witch hunt and run them out of suburbia." lolz That's just one of many sassy comments that made this funny.
A.J. Whitten took a historic love tragedy, added some horror, sprinkled in laughter, a heap of heartache, and tie it all perfectly in a modern twist. I even love how she lines all her ducks in a row at the end. Leaving you feeling completely satisfied. This my friends is a must read!!
So WOW this is a scary, horror filled, creepy skin crawl inducing, not to be read alone in the dark, version of Romeo and Juliet.....and I LOVED it!!! This book will creep you out and drawl you in faster than you can say "boogieman." You don't even have to be a big Romeo & Juliet, or Shakespeare fan to enjoy this book.
First the Tragedy
Due to a tragic car accident sisters Heather and Meredith are left without a father. It's been almost a year since the accident and the grief of his death is tearing their family apart. With every one choosing to handle their grief in different ways you almost instantly feel how separated everyone is. Meredith is the strong one, bottling it all up, never allowing herself to cry, because you feels like she has to for her mother and sisters sake. Her mother is Dr. Phil's dream patient, because her method of coping seems to be with her trusty credit card in hand, and endless shopping sprees. And then there is Heather, who is taking it worst of all of them. Heather blames herself for her father's death. She doesn't eat, talk, participate in school, or anything she used to do. Meredith and Heather are only 10 months apart in age and have always been close. First losing her father, and now losing her sister, how much more can Meredith take?
Then There is Adrien
Adrien is the new kid at school. Every guy wants to be his friend, all the girls want to date him, well almost everybody. While the whole school seems to orbit around this hot mysterious, sun glass wearing boy, Meredith isn't buying it. It isn't long before Adrien sets his sites on Heather. But his interests in Heather go a whole lot further than a high school fling. His hunger for her is growing. Will Heather love him despite his secrets? Will she give Adrien everything he longs for, or will Meredith be able to stop him before she loses Heather for good?
You can't help but feel sorry for these girls, and has the story unfolds about their fathers death your heart will ache for them. While this story handles some pretty heavy family issues, it is an easy and quick read. A.J. Whitten leave no stone unturned in this tragic love story. It will chill you to the bone, give you nightmares, make your heart ache, and at times even make you laugh. I love being in Meredith's head. Getting to really know her snarky sarcasm. She made me LOL on more than one occasion.
"Proof in the pudding. The neighbors hated muffins and basketball. Start a witch hunt and run them out of suburbia." lolz That's just one of many sassy comments that made this funny.
A.J. Whitten took a historic love tragedy, added some horror, sprinkled in laughter, a heap of heartache, and tie it all perfectly in a modern twist. I even love how she lines all her ducks in a row at the end. Leaving you feeling completely satisfied. This my friends is a must read!!
February 12, 2011
I've always been on the fence about horror novels, and zombies in particular. While I kind of liked this one a little bit, it reminded me why I generally steer clear of zombies. They're just gross. These ones were no exception. Except that maybe they were a little grosser than usual because of the bugs.
When Adrien first showed up at school, I'll admit that I had a major crush on him. I knew there was something up, but come on. Who DOESN'T like a guy who marches to the beat of his own drummer and does it spectacularly? Plus there's the fact that he wore a perfectly tailored suitcoat with jeans. That's just hot. (men, are you listening? Perfectly tailored suitcoat with jeans = HOT.) And he wore sunglasses all the time. That bit seemed a little Don Johnson in Miami Vice to me but it worked for the mystique of the character.
After about half a class period with him though, I didn't like him at all. Not even one little bit, and his hotness totally evaporated. He just became creepy. The author didn't keep us in suspense for very long about him, so I had almost the whole book to hate on him. I liked that. :P
See, I just don't buy a zombie with a conscience. So maybe we're looking at a revamping of the breed, but it didn't work for me. Kind of like the Twilight vampires don't work for me. Give me Count Dracula any day. Maybe it's just that I'm so used to the mindless eating machines of old to give a little on this; I don't know. But I wanted "BRRRRRAAAAAAAAAIIIIINNNNNNSSSSS" and all I got was "I love her. I want her for eternity. I don't want to eat her."
I just don't buy the zombie love story aspect.
There's some redemption at the end though. I'm not going to spoil it entirely, but it did go nicely with the "I love her" bit. Not saying I bought it, but I *get* it.
Marie is definitely mostly your stereotypical zombie type. The mostly comes into play because she's not entirely controlled by her desire to eat. (BRRRRRAAAAAAAAAIIIIINNNNNNSSSSS)
I did like Meredith a lot. She's scrappy. Poor thing is just trying to hold her family together and seeming to be a colossal fail at it. But she persists. I think the strength of her character is the reason that Adrien had no power over her. (oh, and these zombies can have supernatural mind control too.)
I like that she got what was coming to her in the end. I'll let you read and see what that is.
Overall, the book was fine. Lots of elements that I just didn't care for, but some that I did. I can definitely see a niche for it, and I think that fans of teen horror will like it a lot.
For me, it's a meh.
When Adrien first showed up at school, I'll admit that I had a major crush on him. I knew there was something up, but come on. Who DOESN'T like a guy who marches to the beat of his own drummer and does it spectacularly? Plus there's the fact that he wore a perfectly tailored suitcoat with jeans. That's just hot. (men, are you listening? Perfectly tailored suitcoat with jeans = HOT.) And he wore sunglasses all the time. That bit seemed a little Don Johnson in Miami Vice to me but it worked for the mystique of the character.
After about half a class period with him though, I didn't like him at all. Not even one little bit, and his hotness totally evaporated. He just became creepy. The author didn't keep us in suspense for very long about him, so I had almost the whole book to hate on him. I liked that. :P
See, I just don't buy a zombie with a conscience. So maybe we're looking at a revamping of the breed, but it didn't work for me. Kind of like the Twilight vampires don't work for me. Give me Count Dracula any day. Maybe it's just that I'm so used to the mindless eating machines of old to give a little on this; I don't know. But I wanted "BRRRRRAAAAAAAAAIIIIINNNNNNSSSSS" and all I got was "I love her. I want her for eternity. I don't want to eat her."
I just don't buy the zombie love story aspect.
There's some redemption at the end though. I'm not going to spoil it entirely, but it did go nicely with the "I love her" bit. Not saying I bought it, but I *get* it.
Marie is definitely mostly your stereotypical zombie type. The mostly comes into play because she's not entirely controlled by her desire to eat. (BRRRRRAAAAAAAAAIIIIINNNNNNSSSSS)
I did like Meredith a lot. She's scrappy. Poor thing is just trying to hold her family together and seeming to be a colossal fail at it. But she persists. I think the strength of her character is the reason that Adrien had no power over her. (oh, and these zombies can have supernatural mind control too.)
I like that she got what was coming to her in the end. I'll let you read and see what that is.
Overall, the book was fine. Lots of elements that I just didn't care for, but some that I did. I can definitely see a niche for it, and I think that fans of teen horror will like it a lot.
For me, it's a meh.
December 31, 2010
This review is also published at http://living-for-books.blogspot.com/
Again, many thanks to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for letting me read this book!
Romeo and Juliet meet the living dead…
There’s something strange about the new guy… That would be fine if “strange” meant that the new guy had an obsession with frogs or that he reads his books backwards, but nothing’s that simple anymore…
After Meredith Willis’ dad dies in a car accident, she’s the only one who’s kept it all together, the only one that is “normal” in her family; her sister Heather blames herself for causing the car crash and won’t let herself be happy and her mum has become a shopaholic in order to deal with the stress and grief.
So when a new neighbour in sunglasses and a red hot Camaro moves into the old, run down home next to Meredith’s and becomes the non-stop talk of the school… Meredith can’t help but be suspicious. Unexplainable things happen to her whenever she’s around Adrien St. Germain, bugs crawling up her legs, vultures following her to school…
So in order to find information on the mysterious Adrien, Meredith sneaks a look into his windows and discovers in the cellar a deep dark secret that could destroy them all…
Unfortunately, Heather doesn’t feel the same way about Adrien as Meredith does, she argues that Adrien is the only person that understands how she feels. With every step that Heather takes towards Adrien, the more danger that she is putting her family in, can Meredith stop her before it’s too late?
I found The Cellar very enjoyable, the characters were strong and the story had romance, but not a sickening amount of it. And combined with the mystery and horror, it was an absolute blast! I found the character Heather slightly annoying, she was selfish and too trusting! But of course she was a huge part of the book, without her, The Cellar would have been very different. I also liked the fact that living dead in this novel had actual emotions and could actually think, it’s different compared to other novels where all the zombies are mindless corpses running around trying to eat people, it was a pleasant surprise!
4 out of 5 stars!
Again, many thanks to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for letting me read this book!
Romeo and Juliet meet the living dead…
There’s something strange about the new guy… That would be fine if “strange” meant that the new guy had an obsession with frogs or that he reads his books backwards, but nothing’s that simple anymore…
After Meredith Willis’ dad dies in a car accident, she’s the only one who’s kept it all together, the only one that is “normal” in her family; her sister Heather blames herself for causing the car crash and won’t let herself be happy and her mum has become a shopaholic in order to deal with the stress and grief.
So when a new neighbour in sunglasses and a red hot Camaro moves into the old, run down home next to Meredith’s and becomes the non-stop talk of the school… Meredith can’t help but be suspicious. Unexplainable things happen to her whenever she’s around Adrien St. Germain, bugs crawling up her legs, vultures following her to school…
So in order to find information on the mysterious Adrien, Meredith sneaks a look into his windows and discovers in the cellar a deep dark secret that could destroy them all…
Unfortunately, Heather doesn’t feel the same way about Adrien as Meredith does, she argues that Adrien is the only person that understands how she feels. With every step that Heather takes towards Adrien, the more danger that she is putting her family in, can Meredith stop her before it’s too late?
I found The Cellar very enjoyable, the characters were strong and the story had romance, but not a sickening amount of it. And combined with the mystery and horror, it was an absolute blast! I found the character Heather slightly annoying, she was selfish and too trusting! But of course she was a huge part of the book, without her, The Cellar would have been very different. I also liked the fact that living dead in this novel had actual emotions and could actually think, it’s different compared to other novels where all the zombies are mindless corpses running around trying to eat people, it was a pleasant surprise!
4 out of 5 stars!
November 8, 2010
Meredith and Heather Willis are sisters dealing with the recent death of their father, and with the new kid who has moved in next door. Check it out on goodreads. Or read my review, and then decide whether you want to bother or not.
What is good about this book... hmmm. Well, there exists this genre of horror for people who don't like horror. This is one of them. The Cellar reads about one level up from a Goosebumps story, so this is not a real horror story. So, there is the good. Now, everything else.
To begin, the dialog. The characters in this book talk exactly like an old person thinks teens should sound like. Example, "Maybe it's his cologne. Eau de hunk."... "Maybe I should try some. Think they sell that at Hollister?"(egalley pg 117).
An actual line from pg 157: "He would have his forever bride." And, because they are teen girls, Heather and Meredith say "Oh, my God" every other line on every page! OMG! All teens talk like that all of time! Like, wow!
Adrien, the creature/lover boy is so 1980's lame with his permanent sunglasses and red Camaro that he is laughable. Heather is not fleshed out at all, all she gets to be is depressed (and to say OMG!)
The thing that really drove me nuts was the constantly changing POV. We are with Meredith, then in Heather's head somehow, and then we are with Adrien-with no transition, and all in the same section of the same chapter. I was so confused at one point...
After an incident with smell, we are informed that our main narrator has an eye condition and that may make her unreliable. What that has to do with smelling her dad's cologne is beyond me. I have never heard of an eye condition that could explain giant bugs crawling up your leg either, but these authors have. The same eye condition explains away bugs in Adrien's eye sockets as well bodies hanging on chains in the basement. Hmm.
A.J. Whitten is the pen name for Shirley Jump, a grocery store romance novelist (you know those romance novels they sell next to magazines, but not next to the bestsellers? Jump wrote The Cellar with her teenage daughter.
April 14, 2011
I received an early ebook from NetGalley.
This is a YA book with zombies. More than just brains are eaten.
POV is confusing. Meredith speaks in the first person, while we the reader see/hear what Heather is thinking in the third person while Meredith is not present.
Heather is a cautionary tale for teens driving while using a cell phone. Heather feels tremendous guilt about the accident that killed her father and brought such pain to her mother and sister. Then the new boy moves in across the street and straight into Heather's mind and heart. Too bad he eats people while they are still alive. Adrien falls for Heather as well, wanting to keep her and turn her. The two end up as leads in the school play "Romeo and Juliet". There is the requisite showdown of zombies at the high school with lots of dead bodies.
Some things are never explained, like Meredith and Sam's complete resistance to Adrien's mind control. Also how sometimes Meredith was strong enough to fight a zombie and other times not, without a reason for the descrepancy being given. Dead dad showing up was a given; at least he smelled like Old Spice instead of rot. Heather gets her chance to apologize to Dad and he forgives her... "s'okay"; so Heather is instantly cured of her 8 month depression. Well...it is a zombie book so I guess I can't expect sanity. This was a very fast read.
There are some lines regarding Fuch's disease, and how Meredith will need "dead corneas" at some time in the future. She is talking about organs harvested from a brain-dead person. I did not care for the cavalier way she refers to the gift of sight, one resulting as a consequence of someone's death. When my own family member died young, her massive injuries left only her corneas as the only tissue able to be harvested. I hope her corneas went to a more deserving individual than Meredith.
This is a YA book with zombies. More than just brains are eaten.
POV is confusing. Meredith speaks in the first person, while we the reader see/hear what Heather is thinking in the third person while Meredith is not present.
Heather is a cautionary tale for teens driving while using a cell phone. Heather feels tremendous guilt about the accident that killed her father and brought such pain to her mother and sister. Then the new boy moves in across the street and straight into Heather's mind and heart. Too bad he eats people while they are still alive. Adrien falls for Heather as well, wanting to keep her and turn her. The two end up as leads in the school play "Romeo and Juliet". There is the requisite showdown of zombies at the high school with lots of dead bodies.
Some things are never explained, like Meredith and Sam's complete resistance to Adrien's mind control. Also how sometimes Meredith was strong enough to fight a zombie and other times not, without a reason for the descrepancy being given. Dead dad showing up was a given; at least he smelled like Old Spice instead of rot. Heather gets her chance to apologize to Dad and he forgives her... "s'okay"; so Heather is instantly cured of her 8 month depression. Well...it is a zombie book so I guess I can't expect sanity. This was a very fast read.
There are some lines regarding Fuch's disease, and how Meredith will need "dead corneas" at some time in the future. She is talking about organs harvested from a brain-dead person. I did not care for the cavalier way she refers to the gift of sight, one resulting as a consequence of someone's death. When my own family member died young, her massive injuries left only her corneas as the only tissue able to be harvested. I hope her corneas went to a more deserving individual than Meredith.
October 6, 2011
I like The Cellar.
*****
WEIRD.
The Cellar got this weird take on zombies that until now, I’m still not sure if I like it or not. Either way, I’m satisfied with its ending.
A family tragedy left Meredith and her sister, Heather, in tatters. While Heather found solace in isolation, Meredith struggled to be strong and be the glue that sticks her family together. Heather’s vulnerability catches Adrien’s eye, whether as food or love interest, I don’t really know at first. Meredith is suspicious of Adrien and his interest to Heather. Her snooping around Adrien’s house almost always got her in trouble. Bravo for her because despite Adrien’s efforts to (not yet) kill her, she continues to search for the truth to protect Heather. Man, I hate Adrien and those tricks he played on Meredith. Heather is annoying. Sam, Heather’s ex-boyfriend, is what got me going on to finish the book. He’s so sweet.
Zombies appearing as normal people by eating (literally) humans piece by piece like they are an assortment of candies to chomp on – not my sort of thing. And there is that one nagging question: Why is Meredith immune to Adrien’s influence?
I kinda enjoyed reading The Cellar if only for Meredith’s determination and budding romance with a guy. If you want to read on zombies, don’t start with this one, though. The Cellar is like a dessert – you can opt to have it or not. If you did, you won’t be bothered much if it’s not delicious. Why? Coz you’re full already from the main course. But it doesn’t hurt either if you enjoyed it.
*****
WEIRD.
The Cellar got this weird take on zombies that until now, I’m still not sure if I like it or not. Either way, I’m satisfied with its ending.
A family tragedy left Meredith and her sister, Heather, in tatters. While Heather found solace in isolation, Meredith struggled to be strong and be the glue that sticks her family together. Heather’s vulnerability catches Adrien’s eye, whether as food or love interest, I don’t really know at first. Meredith is suspicious of Adrien and his interest to Heather. Her snooping around Adrien’s house almost always got her in trouble. Bravo for her because despite Adrien’s efforts to (not yet) kill her, she continues to search for the truth to protect Heather. Man, I hate Adrien and those tricks he played on Meredith. Heather is annoying. Sam, Heather’s ex-boyfriend, is what got me going on to finish the book. He’s so sweet.
Zombies appearing as normal people by eating (literally) humans piece by piece like they are an assortment of candies to chomp on – not my sort of thing. And there is that one nagging question: Why is Meredith immune to Adrien’s influence?
I kinda enjoyed reading The Cellar if only for Meredith’s determination and budding romance with a guy. If you want to read on zombies, don’t start with this one, though. The Cellar is like a dessert – you can opt to have it or not. If you did, you won’t be bothered much if it’s not delicious. Why? Coz you’re full already from the main course. But it doesn’t hurt either if you enjoyed it.
October 17, 2010
I didn't know what to expect from this book when I first picked it up. From the brief description, I gathered I'd probably like it (love zombies when they're done right), but the comparison with Romeo and Juliet really threw me. I couldn't see how it would work.
But it did work. The only thing for me that didn't work was the switch from first person to third person. If you want other people's perspectives, just stick to third person for the whole thing. It really did confuse me when one minute I'd be in Merideth's head and the next, following Adrien or Heather around.
The story read very quickly, and was written well. The voice was strong, even when not in first person, and I got a sense of the characters I was around. Merideth was strong, but vulnerable, and I could see a lot of myself in her, in that she had to be strong for her family.
There were some gruesome scenes in this book. If you're not a fan of gore or blood, I wouldn't pick this book up. But I love that stuff. And was really pleased that Whitten didn't shy away from describing scenes of bloodshed.
The ending was fast paced, but answered all questions I had. I don't really have too many complaints about this story except that I would have liked a scene with Heather, properly, at the end to see how she was dealing with the aftermath.
I'd recommend this to lovers of horror. Definitely a book I won't forget in a while!
But it did work. The only thing for me that didn't work was the switch from first person to third person. If you want other people's perspectives, just stick to third person for the whole thing. It really did confuse me when one minute I'd be in Merideth's head and the next, following Adrien or Heather around.
The story read very quickly, and was written well. The voice was strong, even when not in first person, and I got a sense of the characters I was around. Merideth was strong, but vulnerable, and I could see a lot of myself in her, in that she had to be strong for her family.
There were some gruesome scenes in this book. If you're not a fan of gore or blood, I wouldn't pick this book up. But I love that stuff. And was really pleased that Whitten didn't shy away from describing scenes of bloodshed.
The ending was fast paced, but answered all questions I had. I don't really have too many complaints about this story except that I would have liked a scene with Heather, properly, at the end to see how she was dealing with the aftermath.
I'd recommend this to lovers of horror. Definitely a book I won't forget in a while!
February 9, 2011
The Cellar by A.J. Whitten is not your typical Young Adult Zombie story. It's more of a love story taking the premise of Romeo and Juliet with a horror slant. Heather and Meredith are sisters that recently lost their father to a tragic accident. Since the accident Heather has become withdrawn while Meredith starts to see things. Not long after, new neighbors move in across the street, Adrien St. Germaine and his "mother" Marie who are zombies. Marie is consistently looking for a new "body" to take over so she can become youthful again. Adrien finds something special in Heather and wants to keep her as his "forever love." Meredith however starts snooping and finds things wrong with Adrien and tries to keep Heather away from him. Overall, I thought this was a page turner, but some of the details of the zombies eating brains and such was a little gross and at times too much to be a "young adult" novel.
January 19, 2011
I got this as an advanced reader on my Kindle. The cover of the book is misleading. I thought that I was going to be reading about Romeo and Juliet coming back to life as Zombies or something like that. I'm giving it two stars because it's a very played out storyline. The concept was interesting but, the book felt like it just went on and on. In this book we find another female doormat character named Heather. Luckily, her sister Meredith is on the ball. Heather falls in love with a Zombie named Adrien who wants to marry and turn her. They are cast as Romeo and Juliet in a school play. Adrien and his friend Marie find people who "won't be missed" and chain them up in the cellar for food.
December 9, 2015
When I requested this title on netGalley, I didn't really know what to expect. I rarely read books about zombies, they're not really my thing, but I thought I'd give it a try.
In my opinion, the idea had a lot of potential - mix classic with modern and you'll have a large audience - but the writing, the characters and the development of the story were far from being great.
Also, I have to say I was bored through most of the book because the plot was pretty predictable and the part I liked the most was actually the relationship between Meredith and her sister's ex-boyfriend.
There's not much to say. The Cellar was just not for me.
In my opinion, the idea had a lot of potential - mix classic with modern and you'll have a large audience - but the writing, the characters and the development of the story were far from being great.
Also, I have to say I was bored through most of the book because the plot was pretty predictable and the part I liked the most was actually the relationship between Meredith and her sister's ex-boyfriend.
There's not much to say. The Cellar was just not for me.
December 6, 2010
Actually I don't know what page I'm on since I'm reading it on my kindly, but I'm less than halfway through it. I'm enjoying it, but I would prefer if the main baddie was a little less totally evil. I appreciate complex characters.
It was entertaining, but I won't be re-reading this book. Good, short read though!
It was entertaining, but I won't be re-reading this book. Good, short read though!
January 1, 2011
Totally freaky in a good way....I was drawn to the book b/c of the Romeo and Juliet aspect...plus, it had a pretty creepy but awesome cover!!
I just devoured it in one sitting....it had a lot of great twists and turns...sometimes I would look at the page number and think, "Well, where else can this go?" and then BAM!
Blog review to come.
I just devoured it in one sitting....it had a lot of great twists and turns...sometimes I would look at the page number and think, "Well, where else can this go?" and then BAM!
Blog review to come.
October 17, 2011
This was a very quick read and I powered through it. It was fun and gory which was what I found most enjoyable about it. It started off great but veered off into silly land towards the end. I mean it got REALLY silly and some of the lines were particularly cheesy and over the top. But all and all if you are looking for something amusing, gory and quick then this is the one for you.
March 25, 2011
I really didn't like this book. Look for my review in School Library Journal! :)
July 21, 2011
Originally reviewed on The Book Smugglers: http://thebooksmugglers.com/2011/07/b...
Things haven’t been the same at home since that one fated night a year earlier, when Heather swerved into oncoming traffic, getting into an accident that ended her father’s – riding in the passenger seat – life. Since then, Heather and Meredith’s mother has disconnected with emotion and responsibility by spending all her time shopping at the mall, and Heather has fallen from star student to depressed, disinterested teen. Try as Meredith might, she can’t find a way to connect with her mother or younger sister, though she struggles to hold her family together as best she can. Everything changes once more with the arrival of a new family that moves into the dilapidated house next door. Adrien St. Germain takes the small, sleepy Massachusetts town by storm as the Hot New Guy – complete with his perpetual sunglasses, his sweet camaro, and his devastating good looks. Heather finds herself falling hard for Adrien, especially when they are cast together as the leads in the school production of Romeo and Juliet.
Meredith seems to be the only person in the entire town seems to be immune to Adrien’s charms. There’s something about the new guy that doesn’t seem right. First, there’s his reclusive mother (whom no one has ever seen). Then, when Mer gets a glimpse behind Adrien’s glasses she swears she sees maggots and blowflies instead of eyes. And then there’s the small matter of disappearing people in town…
Meredith knows that Adrien is not who he pretends to be, and with her sister – and everyone else in town – fallen to the boy’s spell, Meredith alone must discover the truth of the St. Germain family before it is too late.
I wanted to love The Cellar. I really, really did. The book’s concept is fantastic and begins strong, as it perverts a well-known YA paranormal romance trope: the Hot New Guy (who happens to be a monster and is obsessed with quiet, everyday girl). Adrien rolls up into town all Edward Cullen-y with his sweet ride and his cool clothes and his otherworldly air. Of course, all the girls in school swoon for his badass air of nonchalant hotness, and, of course, one girl in particular catches Adrien’s eye. The relationship between Inhumanly Hot Adrien and Shyly Disengaged (and Damaged) Heather is instantaneous, and the spark of that attraction soon blooms to full on I LOVE YOU I MUST HAVE YOU ALWAYS AND FOREVER PRECIOUSSSS obsession status in a matter of days. Yes, this is almost the exact same progression as Twilight (and all the YA paranormal romance books that came after it).
The difference with The Cellar? It treats the 100 year-old monster crushing on a teenager as the truly creepy, disturbing, obsessive relationship that it actually is.
I loved the idea of The Cellar – because Adrien is treated as a ravenous, scheming monster that wants to steal Heather to be his “forever bride” and fantasizes about killing and eating her family. I loved that this teenage “love” is unmasked as obsession, and that essentially, The Cellar turns Twilight on its head and shows just how fucked up this particular relationship is. I loved the brutality of The Cellar, the descriptions of Adrien and his “mother” luring victims, playing with them, and devouring them piece by piece. Actually, the mother-son relationship and story at large also kinda reminded me of that Stephen King movie Sleepwalkers, with the giant cat shapeshifters that would devour the souls of young girls. It’s a fun movie. But, I digress.
While I liked The Cellar in theory, however, there is a disconnect between a good idea and a well written novel. Unfortunately, this YA horror title tripped up in its execution. First, the book is written in an awkward narrative structure, rotating from Meredith’s first person point of view voice to Heather in the third person, and then to Adrien in the third person. Not only did this get confusing (especially in scenes with both Heather and Meredith), but Adrien’s sections were incredibly cheesy. There’s a lot of repetition and laughable inner-dialogue (i.e. “She would pay. Oh yes, she would pay.”), a lot of attempts at being grotesque with descriptions of blowflies and what-have-you, but never really succeeding because of the nacho cheese-style voice. Furthermore, as the book is a slight 276 pages – and these are small sized pages with huge font – there just isn’t enough time to develop the characters into anything beyond two-dimensions.
The most disappointing thing about The Cellar, however, came in the book’s final act – literally, with the opening night of Romeo and Juliet. There’s a flurry of action as zombies take over the town in a half-baked plot development, and then it is revealed to readers that Adrien TRULY loves his Juliet, Heather, and is painted in the end as somewhat sympathetic (you know, despite his brainwashing of her family members, his schemes to devour her sister, and his murders of countless other women and men in the town). At the end of the book, Heather’s reaction to these revelations is NEVER addressed, leaving the book feeling rushed and sadly incomplete.
I will hand it to mother-daughter writing team A.J. Whitten, however, as they nail the tragic, obsessive nature of Romeo and Juliet – which, let’s face it, isn’t really romantic is it? It’s actually a very creepy “love story.” The macabre nature of this teenage tragedy is encapsulated wonderfully in The Cellar, and I appreciate that.
The Cellar isn’t a bad book, and it has some wonderful ideas and high points – unfortunately, due to its brevity and the many shortfalls in terms of writing, it never lives up to the promise of its ideas.
Things haven’t been the same at home since that one fated night a year earlier, when Heather swerved into oncoming traffic, getting into an accident that ended her father’s – riding in the passenger seat – life. Since then, Heather and Meredith’s mother has disconnected with emotion and responsibility by spending all her time shopping at the mall, and Heather has fallen from star student to depressed, disinterested teen. Try as Meredith might, she can’t find a way to connect with her mother or younger sister, though she struggles to hold her family together as best she can. Everything changes once more with the arrival of a new family that moves into the dilapidated house next door. Adrien St. Germain takes the small, sleepy Massachusetts town by storm as the Hot New Guy – complete with his perpetual sunglasses, his sweet camaro, and his devastating good looks. Heather finds herself falling hard for Adrien, especially when they are cast together as the leads in the school production of Romeo and Juliet.
Meredith seems to be the only person in the entire town seems to be immune to Adrien’s charms. There’s something about the new guy that doesn’t seem right. First, there’s his reclusive mother (whom no one has ever seen). Then, when Mer gets a glimpse behind Adrien’s glasses she swears she sees maggots and blowflies instead of eyes. And then there’s the small matter of disappearing people in town…
Meredith knows that Adrien is not who he pretends to be, and with her sister – and everyone else in town – fallen to the boy’s spell, Meredith alone must discover the truth of the St. Germain family before it is too late.
I wanted to love The Cellar. I really, really did. The book’s concept is fantastic and begins strong, as it perverts a well-known YA paranormal romance trope: the Hot New Guy (who happens to be a monster and is obsessed with quiet, everyday girl). Adrien rolls up into town all Edward Cullen-y with his sweet ride and his cool clothes and his otherworldly air. Of course, all the girls in school swoon for his badass air of nonchalant hotness, and, of course, one girl in particular catches Adrien’s eye. The relationship between Inhumanly Hot Adrien and Shyly Disengaged (and Damaged) Heather is instantaneous, and the spark of that attraction soon blooms to full on I LOVE YOU I MUST HAVE YOU ALWAYS AND FOREVER PRECIOUSSSS obsession status in a matter of days. Yes, this is almost the exact same progression as Twilight (and all the YA paranormal romance books that came after it).
The difference with The Cellar? It treats the 100 year-old monster crushing on a teenager as the truly creepy, disturbing, obsessive relationship that it actually is.
I loved the idea of The Cellar – because Adrien is treated as a ravenous, scheming monster that wants to steal Heather to be his “forever bride” and fantasizes about killing and eating her family. I loved that this teenage “love” is unmasked as obsession, and that essentially, The Cellar turns Twilight on its head and shows just how fucked up this particular relationship is. I loved the brutality of The Cellar, the descriptions of Adrien and his “mother” luring victims, playing with them, and devouring them piece by piece. Actually, the mother-son relationship and story at large also kinda reminded me of that Stephen King movie Sleepwalkers, with the giant cat shapeshifters that would devour the souls of young girls. It’s a fun movie. But, I digress.
While I liked The Cellar in theory, however, there is a disconnect between a good idea and a well written novel. Unfortunately, this YA horror title tripped up in its execution. First, the book is written in an awkward narrative structure, rotating from Meredith’s first person point of view voice to Heather in the third person, and then to Adrien in the third person. Not only did this get confusing (especially in scenes with both Heather and Meredith), but Adrien’s sections were incredibly cheesy. There’s a lot of repetition and laughable inner-dialogue (i.e. “She would pay. Oh yes, she would pay.”), a lot of attempts at being grotesque with descriptions of blowflies and what-have-you, but never really succeeding because of the nacho cheese-style voice. Furthermore, as the book is a slight 276 pages – and these are small sized pages with huge font – there just isn’t enough time to develop the characters into anything beyond two-dimensions.
The most disappointing thing about The Cellar, however, came in the book’s final act – literally, with the opening night of Romeo and Juliet. There’s a flurry of action as zombies take over the town in a half-baked plot development, and then it is revealed to readers that Adrien TRULY loves his Juliet, Heather, and is painted in the end as somewhat sympathetic (you know, despite his brainwashing of her family members, his schemes to devour her sister, and his murders of countless other women and men in the town). At the end of the book, Heather’s reaction to these revelations is NEVER addressed, leaving the book feeling rushed and sadly incomplete.
I will hand it to mother-daughter writing team A.J. Whitten, however, as they nail the tragic, obsessive nature of Romeo and Juliet – which, let’s face it, isn’t really romantic is it? It’s actually a very creepy “love story.” The macabre nature of this teenage tragedy is encapsulated wonderfully in The Cellar, and I appreciate that.
The Cellar isn’t a bad book, and it has some wonderful ideas and high points – unfortunately, due to its brevity and the many shortfalls in terms of writing, it never lives up to the promise of its ideas.
November 9, 2010
Review provided by Black Lagoon Reviews:
The Cellar by A.J. Whitten is a masterful, horrifying retelling of William Shakespeare's 'Romeo & Juliet'. Originally I was a little doubtful of this novel. Shakespeare and zombies? It was such an odd coupling, especially since the idea of the romantic lead character being played by a zombie was, well, a bit repulsive. However, fears aside, Whitten did a marvelous job mixing the two genres and adding a unique and likable twist to the zombie lore that was filled with suspense, action and a few unexpectedly touching moments.
My favorite aspect of the novel was the characters. They were all highly developed with unique voices that flowed through the novel, pulling me into the story with their grief and loneliness. I was actually a little surprised by this in fact. For some reason I saw this as being a very shallow read, but in truth, the characters are all quite complex in their own ways. Most surprising of all for me, however was my love of Adrien the zombie equivalent of Romeo because honestly, I'm not a big fan of the zombie niche. But, unlike most zombies he doesn't stumble around moaning for brains with flesh hanging off of his bones. To the contrary, he's a hunter who stalks his prey, who plots out strategy and thinks towards his future. He's charming, gorgeous and witty with an underlying layer of evil and menace that chilled me to the very core. Might I add, this is not something easily done with the books I tend to read! Every time I read his passages I couldn't help but be drawn to the charismatic character, who shockingly enough grew throughout the story. Who knew a zombie's character could actually evolve? Certainly not me!
Another aspect I loved about the novel was the quick pacing with a writing style that had a fluidity that I found to be quite pleasurable. It brought to life a sense of looming horror and reminded me a bit of watching a Hitchcock movie, slowly building to a climax only to back away and build yet again with even more suspense. The creepy tone of the settings also added a lot to this novel. They were perfectly chosen from mundane things like the dilapidated house next door, the neighborhood you walk through to school everyday and the everyday creatures surrounding us-birds, bugs and even fish. The only thing that I felt lacked in the novel was the point of view shifts. While it was a nice way to capture the various complexities within the characters, at times the shift from first person to third person was a little odd throwing off the pacing and lfusidity of the novel.
While this book is geared more towards young adults, I say to older readers to not be put off. If you are an avid horror lover you will love the graphic rendering of the zombies as they stalk, eat and wage war against both themselves and the hapless town. Yet, it was this contrast against a YA setting that really intrigued me. It was like watching 'Leave it Beaver' as made by Rob Zombie. Oddly enough making this more grotesque but utterly entertaining all the same.
In the end, regardless of if you love or hate zombies, as long as you are a fan of horror and suspense then this novel is for you! Be sure to check it out and add it to your wishlists.
The Cellar by A.J. Whitten is a masterful, horrifying retelling of William Shakespeare's 'Romeo & Juliet'. Originally I was a little doubtful of this novel. Shakespeare and zombies? It was such an odd coupling, especially since the idea of the romantic lead character being played by a zombie was, well, a bit repulsive. However, fears aside, Whitten did a marvelous job mixing the two genres and adding a unique and likable twist to the zombie lore that was filled with suspense, action and a few unexpectedly touching moments.
My favorite aspect of the novel was the characters. They were all highly developed with unique voices that flowed through the novel, pulling me into the story with their grief and loneliness. I was actually a little surprised by this in fact. For some reason I saw this as being a very shallow read, but in truth, the characters are all quite complex in their own ways. Most surprising of all for me, however was my love of Adrien the zombie equivalent of Romeo because honestly, I'm not a big fan of the zombie niche. But, unlike most zombies he doesn't stumble around moaning for brains with flesh hanging off of his bones. To the contrary, he's a hunter who stalks his prey, who plots out strategy and thinks towards his future. He's charming, gorgeous and witty with an underlying layer of evil and menace that chilled me to the very core. Might I add, this is not something easily done with the books I tend to read! Every time I read his passages I couldn't help but be drawn to the charismatic character, who shockingly enough grew throughout the story. Who knew a zombie's character could actually evolve? Certainly not me!
Another aspect I loved about the novel was the quick pacing with a writing style that had a fluidity that I found to be quite pleasurable. It brought to life a sense of looming horror and reminded me a bit of watching a Hitchcock movie, slowly building to a climax only to back away and build yet again with even more suspense. The creepy tone of the settings also added a lot to this novel. They were perfectly chosen from mundane things like the dilapidated house next door, the neighborhood you walk through to school everyday and the everyday creatures surrounding us-birds, bugs and even fish. The only thing that I felt lacked in the novel was the point of view shifts. While it was a nice way to capture the various complexities within the characters, at times the shift from first person to third person was a little odd throwing off the pacing and lfusidity of the novel.
While this book is geared more towards young adults, I say to older readers to not be put off. If you are an avid horror lover you will love the graphic rendering of the zombies as they stalk, eat and wage war against both themselves and the hapless town. Yet, it was this contrast against a YA setting that really intrigued me. It was like watching 'Leave it Beaver' as made by Rob Zombie. Oddly enough making this more grotesque but utterly entertaining all the same.
In the end, regardless of if you love or hate zombies, as long as you are a fan of horror and suspense then this novel is for you! Be sure to check it out and add it to your wishlists.
February 26, 2011
This book is contained zombies. Yes, zombies. The thought of it makes me want to read it because I love zombie-inspired stories and movies. So I didn't hesitate to permit a request for a ARC. Well, let's start shall we?
The Plot. It was a great plot. It is not a typical-ordinary-zombies you see on the movies who mindlessly eats whatever that is alive. Well, at first, they were only two, though when the story progresses at the end, obviously, they were a lot! And it has the uniqueness applied to the zombies, they talk, have a unnatural ability something like that, but the best part is... They still eat humans. Nice! :]
I really like the cellar part because this is where Meredith found out something more creepy about the male MC, Adrien St. Germain. To be honest, I don't like cellars at all either, thank God we don't have one here.
Anyway, the story focuses on 3 main characters, and yes you read it right 3 MC's. This includes Meredith, the person tells story in her point of view. Heather, Meredith's sister who happens to have a connection with the third MC, Adrien. The last two only narrates their parts but they are the reason why there is this story.
I am kinda confused who really is the protagonist here, is it either Meredith or her sister. Meredith is the one who discovered about Adrien's identity but her sister is the one who links with him. It is not a same paranormal romance we read that the female MC fell in-love with the male MC. No, this one is different. Meredith fell in-love with a sort-of-minor character here and partly contributes to the story.
The humor never stops me smiling. Thank goodness they always hit books with a bang. If I wanted to smile and laugh, this one is pretty good. Well, technically on this book is on the girls-obsessed-with-the-new-guy kind of humor.
The Characters. It appears I have mentioned their names now. I like Adrien when he is nice to Heather and from everyone else except to Meredith but when he's not. I just don't like him that much. He's selfish and I mean really, really selfish. Though at the end, I was kinda sad about what happened. [sorry no spoilers here!] Meredith and Heather are sisters. They have a very trauma story when they were little. And that's why the story get's longer, the family problem, and you will know it why when you read this one.
Tiny Flaw. There is a tiny flaw here my fellow readers. The Romeo and Juliet thingy. I was surprised that the book is called with "Romeo and Juliet meets the living dead". I was caught up with it that's why I wanted to read this one. It was just a school play with Heather and Adrien. They relate themselves with Romeo and Juliet. The forbidden love the proposal and such. It's good but I wasn't expecting it to be like that. But it is a great read after all.
I recommend this book of course, for those who love zombies like I do. And you will love the mix up of the unique story. But a precaution for readers. This book contains hard violence and gore. Let's give this at YA to Adults only. :]
*I received this free eGalley via from publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thanks guys!^^
The Plot. It was a great plot. It is not a typical-ordinary-zombies you see on the movies who mindlessly eats whatever that is alive. Well, at first, they were only two, though when the story progresses at the end, obviously, they were a lot! And it has the uniqueness applied to the zombies, they talk, have a unnatural ability something like that, but the best part is... They still eat humans. Nice! :]
I really like the cellar part because this is where Meredith found out something more creepy about the male MC, Adrien St. Germain. To be honest, I don't like cellars at all either, thank God we don't have one here.
Anyway, the story focuses on 3 main characters, and yes you read it right 3 MC's. This includes Meredith, the person tells story in her point of view. Heather, Meredith's sister who happens to have a connection with the third MC, Adrien. The last two only narrates their parts but they are the reason why there is this story.
I am kinda confused who really is the protagonist here, is it either Meredith or her sister. Meredith is the one who discovered about Adrien's identity but her sister is the one who links with him. It is not a same paranormal romance we read that the female MC fell in-love with the male MC. No, this one is different. Meredith fell in-love with a sort-of-minor character here and partly contributes to the story.
The humor never stops me smiling. Thank goodness they always hit books with a bang. If I wanted to smile and laugh, this one is pretty good. Well, technically on this book is on the girls-obsessed-with-the-new-guy kind of humor.
The Characters. It appears I have mentioned their names now. I like Adrien when he is nice to Heather and from everyone else except to Meredith but when he's not. I just don't like him that much. He's selfish and I mean really, really selfish. Though at the end, I was kinda sad about what happened. [sorry no spoilers here!] Meredith and Heather are sisters. They have a very trauma story when they were little. And that's why the story get's longer, the family problem, and you will know it why when you read this one.
Tiny Flaw. There is a tiny flaw here my fellow readers. The Romeo and Juliet thingy. I was surprised that the book is called with "Romeo and Juliet meets the living dead". I was caught up with it that's why I wanted to read this one. It was just a school play with Heather and Adrien. They relate themselves with Romeo and Juliet. The forbidden love the proposal and such. It's good but I wasn't expecting it to be like that. But it is a great read after all.
I recommend this book of course, for those who love zombies like I do. And you will love the mix up of the unique story. But a precaution for readers. This book contains hard violence and gore. Let's give this at YA to Adults only. :]
*I received this free eGalley via from publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thanks guys!^^
June 27, 2015
The story deviates from the summary and the phrase on the cover 'Romeo and Juliet meet the living dead in...The Cellar'. The situation between the lovers in the book bared a only very slight resemblance to Romeo and Juliet's forbidden love and sad fate.
Heather and Meredith are sisters and their family are undergoing complications in coping with losing a loved one. One day, Heather, who is in a state of depression encounters Adrien, a mysterious new guy at school who she connects instantly with. He has the whole school's female population at school under his spell. When things seem to become bright for Heather, Meredith feels something is not right and warns Heather but Heather takes it the wrong way; she thinks her sister doesn't want her to be happy.
Meredith takes it into her hands to confirm her suspicions of Adrien who lives next door that there is something very strange about him, by spying through his windows of his house's cellar at any chance. What she finds terrifies her and convinces herself that she must tell Heather and get her away from Adrien. However the worst thing has happened: Heather and Adrien become closer and closer, lands in the main leads of the school play 'Romeo and Juliet' and Heather won't believe a thing her sister says.
The book is told in various perspectives. Third person for everyone except for Meredith where first person narrative is used. Because of the changing narratives, the book felt a bit choppy and didn't flow very well when events of an earlier time were explained once again, but I could see it would have be restrictive for the story had only Meredith's point of view been presented.
The writing is so vivid you get to live through the dread and nausea Meredith experiences. While the atmosphere of the book was mostly glum, I liked how in Meredith's narration, she threw in some funny comments. Furthermore, there is blossoming feelings between Meredith and a childhood friend/sister's ex-boyfriend Sam which was nice break from the never-ending gloominess.
I couldn't ship the relationship that brewed up between Adrien and Heather. Not only because of Adrien being the repulsive 'monster' but also because of all his actions. Their relationship was manufactured and didn't run it's natural course- I felt that Heather was a pawn in Adrien's game and Adrien controlled every move. I just wanted her to snap out of it! By the end of the novel, I still couldn't make myself like this character and believe his love for Heather.
The major thing I disliked in the book was how the cousins (Tad and Ted) in the story are twins and they were poorly characterised and stereotypical (being a twin I felt strongly about this). I mean seriously, Tweedledee and Tweedledum are their nicknames? Finishing off each other's speeches? I couldn't take another bite of it (pun intended)!
The ending was a welcome twist I didn't see coming! Overall, The Cellar is a spine-chilling read but it hangs onto you, never letting go until you finish. (In my case, I had to because some time at around 3am while I was reading, my table light flickered off and wouldn't turn back on so I finished it thenext same day!)
Heather and Meredith are sisters and their family are undergoing complications in coping with losing a loved one. One day, Heather, who is in a state of depression encounters Adrien, a mysterious new guy at school who she connects instantly with. He has the whole school's female population at school under his spell. When things seem to become bright for Heather, Meredith feels something is not right and warns Heather but Heather takes it the wrong way; she thinks her sister doesn't want her to be happy.
Meredith takes it into her hands to confirm her suspicions of Adrien who lives next door that there is something very strange about him, by spying through his windows of his house's cellar at any chance. What she finds terrifies her and convinces herself that she must tell Heather and get her away from Adrien. However the worst thing has happened: Heather and Adrien become closer and closer, lands in the main leads of the school play 'Romeo and Juliet' and Heather won't believe a thing her sister says.
The book is told in various perspectives. Third person for everyone except for Meredith where first person narrative is used. Because of the changing narratives, the book felt a bit choppy and didn't flow very well when events of an earlier time were explained once again, but I could see it would have be restrictive for the story had only Meredith's point of view been presented.
The writing is so vivid you get to live through the dread and nausea Meredith experiences. While the atmosphere of the book was mostly glum, I liked how in Meredith's narration, she threw in some funny comments. Furthermore, there is blossoming feelings between Meredith and a childhood friend/sister's ex-boyfriend Sam which was nice break from the never-ending gloominess.
I couldn't ship the relationship that brewed up between Adrien and Heather. Not only because of Adrien being the repulsive 'monster' but also because of all his actions. Their relationship was manufactured and didn't run it's natural course- I felt that Heather was a pawn in Adrien's game and Adrien controlled every move. I just wanted her to snap out of it! By the end of the novel, I still couldn't make myself like this character and believe his love for Heather.
The major thing I disliked in the book was how the cousins (Tad and Ted) in the story are twins and they were poorly characterised and stereotypical (being a twin I felt strongly about this). I mean seriously, Tweedledee and Tweedledum are their nicknames? Finishing off each other's speeches? I couldn't take another bite of it (pun intended)!
The ending was a welcome twist I didn't see coming! Overall, The Cellar is a spine-chilling read but it hangs onto you, never letting go until you finish. (In my case, I had to because some time at around 3am while I was reading, my table light flickered off and wouldn't turn back on so I finished it the
September 14, 2013
You know when a finish a book, you know you should sit down and write the review right away but you don't? Well that's what happened here, so forgive me if this review is a little short. I'm actually going to write it using the 5 W's to help me remember and focus it :)
FIRST THOUGH. Since I'm writing this review on a Friday my typical For the Guys day I want to address if it's for the guys. For the Boys? Even though the main character is a girl - yes I think so! It's got that horror movie vibe going, so they might like it!
Who: The main character Meredith as great. Strong. Smart. Capable. I liked her quite a bit. Her sister - not so much. I get she was going through a very - very rough time but it just wasn't enough to garner any sympathy for her from me. I think the story would've been better if I wouldn't felt more for her. And the bad boy next store, Adrien ? One word - CREEPY! Ok wait two words - and YUCKY. He was suppose to be, so those aren't really bad words. Because part of the book is from Adrien's view I do think the boys could buy into this one.
What: What is this book about? Zombies. Yup this story is about zombies. A nice bit different look at them thought. They aren't brain dead, drag your feet along and moan zombies, but they are still creepy and yucky. Oh and about love. But mostly the yuckiness of zombies.
When: When did I cringe the most? When they ate - and I don't mean the two sisters. I don't normally cringe when reading but I did here! It was pretty gross at parts. That was intended! I showed you what Adrien was really like - and trust me after seeing how he did things you didn't like him! And if you've got a boy that's ok with that kind of stuff - this book would be great for him.
Where: Where did the story lose me some? Towards the end when I think I was suppose to feel something for Adrien . After seeing how cruel and horrible he was, I didn't buy into that much. It was kind've a hard switch to make. Blood and gore at one point, to seeing that he wants love the next. I just found that a bit hard for me.
Why: Why did I like it and why might both boys and girls? It was a very interesting retelling of Romeo and Juliet (ok that part might not interest boys). I liked that it was the whole dying for love bit with a sick little twist. And I'll admit that little twist was a nice change from all the other stories I'd been reading lately. It took that kinda over-done love story and freshened it up - ok freshened it up with death and bugs and blood, but still it a nice change! I think boys would like it for the same reason.
How: How would I rate it? I didn't love it. I didn't hate it. Like I said it was a nice change and great to see kind've a horror book show up in YA. I guess I'd rate it a 3 out of 5 stars if I had to.
Final thought: Zombies - check. Love - check. Blood and cringe worth yuckiness - check. A change of pace - YUP.
Best stick-with-you image: Adrien's eyes
Best for readers: Who can handle some graphic scenes
Best for ages: 13+
FIRST THOUGH. Since I'm writing this review on a Friday my typical For the Guys day I want to address if it's for the guys. For the Boys? Even though the main character is a girl - yes I think so! It's got that horror movie vibe going, so they might like it!
Who: The main character Meredith as great. Strong. Smart. Capable. I liked her quite a bit. Her sister - not so much. I get she was going through a very - very rough time but it just wasn't enough to garner any sympathy for her from me. I think the story would've been better if I wouldn't felt more for her. And the bad boy next store, Adrien ? One word - CREEPY! Ok wait two words - and YUCKY. He was suppose to be, so those aren't really bad words. Because part of the book is from Adrien's view I do think the boys could buy into this one.
What: What is this book about? Zombies. Yup this story is about zombies. A nice bit different look at them thought. They aren't brain dead, drag your feet along and moan zombies, but they are still creepy and yucky. Oh and about love. But mostly the yuckiness of zombies.
When: When did I cringe the most? When they ate - and I don't mean the two sisters. I don't normally cringe when reading but I did here! It was pretty gross at parts. That was intended! I showed you what Adrien was really like - and trust me after seeing how he did things you didn't like him! And if you've got a boy that's ok with that kind of stuff - this book would be great for him.
Where: Where did the story lose me some? Towards the end when I think I was suppose to feel something for Adrien . After seeing how cruel and horrible he was, I didn't buy into that much. It was kind've a hard switch to make. Blood and gore at one point, to seeing that he wants love the next. I just found that a bit hard for me.
Why: Why did I like it and why might both boys and girls? It was a very interesting retelling of Romeo and Juliet (ok that part might not interest boys). I liked that it was the whole dying for love bit with a sick little twist. And I'll admit that little twist was a nice change from all the other stories I'd been reading lately. It took that kinda over-done love story and freshened it up - ok freshened it up with death and bugs and blood, but still it a nice change! I think boys would like it for the same reason.
How: How would I rate it? I didn't love it. I didn't hate it. Like I said it was a nice change and great to see kind've a horror book show up in YA. I guess I'd rate it a 3 out of 5 stars if I had to.
Final thought: Zombies - check. Love - check. Blood and cringe worth yuckiness - check. A change of pace - YUP.
Best stick-with-you image: Adrien's eyes
Best for readers: Who can handle some graphic scenes
Best for ages: 13+
April 30, 2011
When the mysterious Adrien moves in next door, everyone is immediately taken with him. He’s cute and charming, and he seems to have nearly everyone under some sort of spell. Everyone except Meredith, his next door neighbor, who feels that something is off about him. Things get worse when she sees something in the cellar of his house that makes her think that Adrien’s not just a creepster. When he starts dating her sister Heather, Meredith realizes the situation might be dire. Can she save her sister without ending up in the cellar?
A.J. Whitten is a pen name for romance novelist Shirley Jump and her teenage daughter Amanda. The two have written one other book together–The Well, a modern take on Hamlet. With their second offering, the story of Romeo + Juliet is given a modern sheen and thrown into the YA Horror genre. A fast, quick read, fans of horror-lite will probably enjoy this story of forbidden love, tragedy, and zombies.
There are several things that Whitten does well. The first of these things is the construction of a fast-paced story. Whitten doesn’t waste time and doesn’t mince words, and Meredith and Heather’s story gets started right away, with Adrien showing up and casting a sort of spell over most of the town. Things progress quickly, and it isn’t long before Heather is smitten and Meredith is suspicious. The reader is treated to insights into Adrien’s plan, as well, helping to build suspense and create some terror as he tortures and eats victims in his cellar.
Which brings me to the other thing that Whitten excels at. The descriptions meant to convey horror and gore are done particularly well. When describing the hunt for prey and the slow process of eating said captured prey, the author(s) is clearly within her element: the scenes are gross and yet oddly fascinating. It’s clear that the mother-daughter team has a true passion for the horror genre, and they don’t shy away from a spot of violence.
However, there were things about the book that didn’t work for me as a reader. I never got a sense for any of the characters because they didn’t feel developed enough. Heather was annoying, Meredith was way too Mary Sue-ish for my liking, and everyone else felt like a bland stock character. Adrien wasn’t appealing, and while I realize that most people in the town were supposed to be under some sort of spell, the reader is supposed to believe that Heather’s love for him was true. There wasn’t enough of a personality there for me to see it. While I realize that the story is based on Romeo + Juliet, and that the basis of that story is a love-at-first-sight sort of thing, it still didn’t work for me here. Not believing in the love story, and not really caring about the love story made this a less exciting read.
Recommended for fans of YA horror and zombies.
The Cellar by A.J. Whitten: Graphia, 2011. Electronic galley from publisher.
A.J. Whitten is a pen name for romance novelist Shirley Jump and her teenage daughter Amanda. The two have written one other book together–The Well, a modern take on Hamlet. With their second offering, the story of Romeo + Juliet is given a modern sheen and thrown into the YA Horror genre. A fast, quick read, fans of horror-lite will probably enjoy this story of forbidden love, tragedy, and zombies.
There are several things that Whitten does well. The first of these things is the construction of a fast-paced story. Whitten doesn’t waste time and doesn’t mince words, and Meredith and Heather’s story gets started right away, with Adrien showing up and casting a sort of spell over most of the town. Things progress quickly, and it isn’t long before Heather is smitten and Meredith is suspicious. The reader is treated to insights into Adrien’s plan, as well, helping to build suspense and create some terror as he tortures and eats victims in his cellar.
Which brings me to the other thing that Whitten excels at. The descriptions meant to convey horror and gore are done particularly well. When describing the hunt for prey and the slow process of eating said captured prey, the author(s) is clearly within her element: the scenes are gross and yet oddly fascinating. It’s clear that the mother-daughter team has a true passion for the horror genre, and they don’t shy away from a spot of violence.
However, there were things about the book that didn’t work for me as a reader. I never got a sense for any of the characters because they didn’t feel developed enough. Heather was annoying, Meredith was way too Mary Sue-ish for my liking, and everyone else felt like a bland stock character. Adrien wasn’t appealing, and while I realize that most people in the town were supposed to be under some sort of spell, the reader is supposed to believe that Heather’s love for him was true. There wasn’t enough of a personality there for me to see it. While I realize that the story is based on Romeo + Juliet, and that the basis of that story is a love-at-first-sight sort of thing, it still didn’t work for me here. Not believing in the love story, and not really caring about the love story made this a less exciting read.
Recommended for fans of YA horror and zombies.
The Cellar by A.J. Whitten: Graphia, 2011. Electronic galley from publisher.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 100 reviews