For sixteen-year-old Dan Crawford, New Hampshire College Prep is more than a summer program—it’s a lifeline. An outcast at his high school, Dan is excited to finally make some friends in his last summer before college. But when he arrives at the program, Dan learns that his dorm for the summer used to be a sanatorium, more commonly known as an asylum. And not just any asylum—a last resort for the criminally insane.
As Dan and his new friends, Abby and Jordan, explore the hidden recesses of their creepy summer home, they soon discover it’s no coincidence that the three of them ended up here. Because the asylum holds the key to a terrifying past. And there are some secrets that refuse to stay buried.
This book has been one of the books that I chose for the ones that I disliked the most in 2013 = nothing positive ahead. This book combines two aspects that I think can make for an amazing story but oddly exactly these two always tend to disappoint me. One is to include photographs in the story and the second one is an asylum as the main setting.
The photographs themselves are great, no critique there. But how they are included in the story? Totally different thing. Besides one or two they could have been left out and it wouldn’t have made a difference.
Reading about them felt like going through a list of all cliches there are. And on top of that they were afraid of every damn thing and utterly whiny. There were just too many headdesk moments to not dislike them.
Not only that but also “insta-friendship”. It was just weird how obsessed this guy seemed to be about his new friends. He has only known them for a day and he is already talking about them like they have been friends for years.
There were quite a lot of references to books and movies. Too many actually so that it felt exaggerated. And as much as I liked some of them, they couldn’t make up for the boring story.
Not only was it pretty clear were this was going but it also revealed something that was just stupid in my opinion. Everything could have been explained in a perfectly normal way but suddenly something paranormal happens. I guess she needed that to have something to write about in a second book.
Sadly this really pretty book (dark green font!) was one big disappointment. Artificial, not at all creepy and cliche ridden, this is a book I would never have finished if I hadn’t read it together with some friends.
Miss Bookiverse
Klingt ein bisschen wie ein typisches Goosebumps Buch xD Hast du die mal gelesen früher?
Sind die Fotos nur so als Dekoelmente verstreut? Klingt auf jeden Fall alles sehr enttäuschend, aber auch gut zum drüber aufregen und amüsieren ;D
crini
Die hab ich als Kind geliebt! Auch wenn ich mich an die kaum noch erinnere,ich bin mir ziemlich sicher,dass die um längen besser sind! XD
Also ein Foto findet er tatsächlich auch,aber der Rest ist dann wirklich nur noch so Deko.Dann sinds mehr so Fotos die was aus der Geschichte zeigen,aber das Foto als solches kommt nicht in der Geschichte vor. Da ist Miss Peregrine schon um längen besser gewesen (auch wenn mir das auch nicht sonderlich gefallen hat XD)
Miss Page-Turner
Ohh no!:( I was actually too afraid to read it, asylum and all that, but now it sounds like a good thing I didn’t pick it up. A YA horror book with pictures that are bringing the story forward would be totally awesome. And boo for the insta love!! Totally appreciate your honest opinion, as always!