Welcome to the Dark House

Return to the Dark House, by Laurie Faria Stolarz (July 2015, Hyperion), $17.99, ISBN: 978-142318173-6

Recommended for ages 12+

There’s always a sequel. Survivor Girl has to come back.

In last year’s Welcome to the Dark House, we met a group of contestants that agreed to appear on a reality show in the hopes of getting their big break in horror. Well, they did… sort of. In Return to the Dark House, we meet Ivy – the Survivor Girl – who’s still tormented by the events that took place at the Dark House, Parker, who she left behind, and more importantly, what the killer knew about her life.

But the killer’s not done with Ivy yet. He wants his sequel.

Ivy’s frustrated with what she sees as a lack of interest in her case by the police and even her guardian parents, Apple and Core. When messages and texts start showing up, Ivy decides to take matters into her own hands, joining forces with Taylor: the girl who ran away from the Dark House before it all began. But can she trust Taylor? Can she trust anyone?

I LOVED Welcome to the Dark House. It blended the ’80s slasher flicks that I grew up with into a reality TV environment that kids today have grown up with. Return to the Dark House reminds me a bit of the Scream movie series, with its meta-references to horror tropes and scream queens, and I LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT. Never humorous like Scream, Return to the Dark House is straight-up skin-crawling as we follow Ivy’s narrative and see her putting the pieces of her shattered life together. Taylor is one of those characters you kind of want to thump on the head, asking, “can someone be that vapid?” and then you remember from other books and movies that yes, yes someone can. Feelings for Taylor will start out sympathetic only to plummet into frustration and suspicion, and that’s exactly how it’s supposed to play out.

If you love horror, and haven’t read this book already, make this part of your Halloween season reading. It’s a worthy sequel that makes you hope for the almighty horror trilogy.

Welcome to the Dark House, by Laurie Stolarz (Hyperion, July 2014). $16.99, ISBN: 9781423181729

Recommended for ages 14+

Imagine your favorite horror movie director emails you about a contest – where YOU can be in his next movie. All you have to do is tell him about your worst nightmare. For six winning contestants, it’s the chance of a lifetime. For the seventh – a girl named Ivy Parker – it’s the chance to finally rid herself of a real-life nightmare that’s haunted her since she was a child.

Seven fans of horror director Justin Blake find themselves part of his next movie, based on his Nightmare Elf series. They all have secrets – some darker than others. That’s the price of admission. But shortly after settling in and getting to know one another, the group starts experiencing strange things – one member has gone missing. There are strange messages and bloodstains showing up. This is all part of the movie, right?

I loved this book. It’s a great, old-school slasher movie brought to YA, updated with a splash of reality show drama. We get a good backstory for each of the characters (within reason – read the book to see what I mean) – their personalities, their motivations, their secrets – and their interactions with other characters. These folks don’t gel together and become instant BFFs; there are personality clashes and internal issues that affect their actions and interactions. Set within the larger-scale story of Justin Blake’s contest, it’s a great character-driven story. Not all the characters are likable or even sympathetic. I appreciated that.

The book is a horror novel, so expect violence and mind games. If you’re a horror fan, you’ll love this book. If you’re an old school slasher movie fan like I am, you’ll recognize a lot of the tropes that make those movies (and the experience of watching them) so much fun. The book’s ending will hopefully leave you like it did me – wondering when we’ll find out more.

Tag: Welcome to the Dark House

Return to the Dark House… If you DARE.

Welcome to the Dark House: where reality turns deadly!