asylum – Mom Read It

About two years ago, I picked up Madeleine Roux’s Asylum, because I was in the mood for a good haunted house type story and the cover looked wonderfully creepy. I was not disappointed.

Dan Crawford is a 16 year-old who heads to a New Hampshire College Prep program. When he arrives, he learns that the summer housing is closed, and students are staying in the ramshackle Brookline Dorm, which happens to be a former psychiatric hospital. Shortly after arriving, Dan starts seeing some weird things. With his new friends, Abby – whose aunt was once a patient at Brookline – and Jordan, he starts trying to explore and learn more about Brookline’s secrets, but there are some things he probably shouldn’t look into.

I loved Asylum. Loaded with creepy photographs that enhance the hair-raising mood of the book, the old haunted mental hospital story never fails here. There is solid character development, and some unexpected twists that will keep you riveted to the book until you finish. For anyone who loves a good, creepy haunting story, this is your book. Fans of the Miss Peregrine series will enjoy this series – you’ve got the past interacting with the present and the photographs to enhance the mood, with a twist of horror.

The story continues in Sanctum, which picks up shortly after the events of Asylum. Dan, Abby, and Jordan are all back home and still in touch, each coping with the events that took place in Asylum. Each of the teens receives odd messages that send them back to Brookline for more answers. They arrive under the guise of prospective students for an open-house weekend, where they meet Micah and Cal, two student hosts. This time around, we delve into secret societies and ghostly messages that send the teens on a hunt for answers around the town and at a creepy, old-time carnival taking place over the weekend.

Sanctum had a bit of sophomore slump for me. We got a little bit away from the ghost story and delved more into secret societies, mind-altering drugs and brainwashing, and cult violence. It was still a good story with some bits of horror present throughout, but parts of the book fell flat for me and I found myself really getting annoyed with Dan, who enters Harry Potter/Order of the Phoenix levels of self-centeredness.

There are still fantastically creepy photos, this time of Brookline and a creepy carnival, so that alone is worth the price of admission if you’re an old-timey horror fan like I am. Abandoned buildings, haunted houses, creepy circus stuff – I’m here for all of it.

The third volume in the Asylum series, Catacomb, hits stores on September 1st. Review coming shortly!

Asylum, by Madeleine Roux
ISBN: 9780062220967
HarperCollins, 8/13
$17.99

Sanctum by Madeleine Roux
ISBN: 9780062220998
HarperCollins, 8/14
$17.99

Recommended for ages 12+

The Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall, by Katie Alender (Aug. 2015, Scholastic) , $18.99, ISBN: 978054564000

Recommended for ages 12+

Delia just inherited a house from her great-aunt Cordelia, but it’s not just any house – it’s a former asylum for troubled females, and there’s an evil that’s keeping a lot of the former residents there. Delia, who’s already in trouble with her parents for being defiant, can feel right away that something’s wrong with the house, but her parents ignore her – and the house kills her. Now, Delia’s a ghost, and she’s got an eternity to unravel the secrets of Hysteria Hall.

This is a fun haunted house novel with an intriguing mystery that kept me turning pages until the end. Delia is a likable character – she’s a rebel, she argues with her parents and gets annoyed by her younger sister, but there’s something inherently likable about her. As a ghost, she’s witty and sarcastic, but she’s incredibly vulnerable at the same time. She loves her family and feels their loss just as much as they do hers.

Delia meets other ghosts during her time at Hysteria Hall, and we get fascinating back stories on them, all of which are integral to the plot. Most are likable – there are a couple that should rile readers up, as any good ghost story should.

Told in the first person in Delia’s voice, The Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall is a good haunted house novel for readers who like their scary books lighter on the scary, heavier on the characters. I loved it, and can’t wait to get it on the shelves at my library. I foresee some great book discussions on this one.

Tag: asylum

The Asylum series, Volumes 1 and 2: Asylum and Sanctum

Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall is a good haunted house story