So what really bothered me about it? Well, the strong beginning started to taper off around page 100, when action and dialogue turned from something with promise to something just to fill the pages. I would imagine that less patience would be exercised by someone currently in high school and reading this book. But we're talking about high school nostalgia here, so my memories of that time are kind of like a cheesy movie anyway.

Moody high school drama set in a small town-check! Ominous and unexplained past events that promise to slowly reveal themselves, and a spooky old house with a reputation for being haunted-check check! I was getting Vampire Diaries, Riverdale-and yes, Twilight-vibes early on and was loving it (what can I say, I'm a sucker for this stuff).Īnd yes, I'll acknowledge the cookie-cutter characters and clich és (One of the characters literally asks the new girl, 'Who were you at your last high school? I need a clich é). The cool thing about this book is that it hit both of these points right off the bat. What can I say, they make me feel nostalgic. I'll also say that I have a thing for high school dramas. Stine and Stephen King (yes, probably much earlier than was appropriate, but I turned out OK-right?), so it's no surprise that I jump at the opportunity for a good spooky story. if they don't take her first.First off, I love ghost stories. With help from the mysterious boy next door, Hendricks makes it her mission to take down the ghosts. And, then, one night, things take a violent turn. Voices whisper in her ear as she lays in bed. But Hendricks isn't sure if it's the demons of her past haunting her. Hendricks learns from new friends at school that Steele House-the fixer upper her parents are so excited about-is notorious in town. Hendricks wants to lay low and forget her dark, traumatic past. That's what Hendricks Becker-O'Malley's parents said when they moved their family to the tiny town of Drearfield, New York.

ONE OF ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY'S 'BIGGEST AND BEST YA BOOKS OF THE SUMMER'įrom Danielle Vega, YA's answer to Stephen King, comes a new paranormal novel about dark family secrets, deep-seated vengeance, and the horrifying truth that evil often lurks in the unlikeliest of places.Ĭlean slate.

The haunted by danielle vega