Young Adult Book Review – Horror Hotel

March 1, 2022
goodreadswithronna
Ages 12 and up, Ages 12 and up, Friendship, Horror, LGBTQ, Mystery & Thriller, Supernatural & Ghost Stories, Suspense, Teen and Young Adult Horror, Thrillers & Suspense, YA Fiction

HORROR HOTEL

Written by Victoria Fulton and Faith McClaren

(Underlined; Trade Paperback $9.99, Ages 12+)

Get ready to be scared from the moment you peek between the pages of Horror Hotel by the award-winning cowriting duo Victoria Fulton and Faith McClaren. What would the teen foursome who calls themselves the Ghost Gang do to reach one million YouTube subscribers? Maybe push some boundaries, maybe break some laws, and hopefully not get killed in the process!

Chase knows they need more than their usual documentary-style paranormal huntings, so he seeks something spooky but seemingly harmless. The plan he proposes involves sneaking out to spend the night at an infamous Los Angeles hotel. Once there, they’ll secretly film after dark, investigating the unsolved death of Eileen Warren. The Ghost Gang hopes to have it all covered: Chrissy sees ghosts, Kiki is TikTok famous, and Emma brings her skepticism. However, they soon discover their talent and experience may not be enough to survive the evildoings that await.

The fast-paced suspense will keep you turning pages. Told in short chapters, viewpoints alternate between all four teens. Eileen Warren’s blog posts (leading up to shortly before her body was found in the elevator shaft) are interspersed, adding another element of intrigue.

While romance surfaces throughout the story, the importance of true friendship anchors the story—captured in all of its imperfections. Chrissy can also sometimes hear people’s thoughts, which adds an interesting element when those moments of unfiltered honesty surface. Yet, as cool as her abilities seem to others, Chrissy often feels they are a curse because, “spoiler alert—there’s no otherworldly psychiatrist to help your cope with all the dead people.”

I like how the Ghost Gang comes to realize that “sometimes, it’s the dead who need our help—and the living we should fear.” So dim the lights and channel your inner sleuth to see if you can solve this gruesomely fun whodunit.

Reviewed by Christine Van Zandt (www.ChristineVanZandt.com),
Write for Success (www.Write-for-Success.com), @ChristineVZ and @WFSediting, Christine@Write-for-Success.com

Best Halloween Books for Kids

October 30, 2015
goodreadswithronna
Action & Adventure, Ages 12 and up, Ages 12 and up, Ages 3-6, Ages 3-7, Ages 4-8, Ages 5-8, Ages 7-10, Ages 8-12, Children's Book Reviews, Fancy Nancy, Halloween, Holidays & Celebrations, Juvenile Fiction, Middle Grade Fiction, Monsters, Mummy & Mummies, Picture Book Series, Read-alouds, Supernatural & Ghost Stories, Suspense, Witches & Witchcraft, YA Fiction

BEST HALLOWEEN BOOKS FOR KIDS 2015
A Round Up of Wickedly Wonderful Halloween Books for Boos & Ghouls
{Part 2}

BOOKS, THE BEST TREAT OF ALL!!

Fancy Nancy Candy Bonanza
Based on the creation of Jane O’Connor and Robin Preiss Glasser (Harper Festival; $4.99, Ages 4-8)
Fancy Nancy fans and those newly acquainted avec la petite fille adorable, will be in for a treat with this newest addition to the beloved series. Dressed up as, no surprise, the Sugar Plum Fairy, Fancy Nancy’s going trick-or-treating but must not overdo it as her mom has requested. How much candy will go in her pail versus in her mouth is the big question because everything Fancy Nancy gets looks scrumptious?! Stickers are a bonus to keep or give out to friends this Halloween.

It’s Raining Bats & Frogs
Written by Rebecca Colby and illustrated by Steven Henry (Feiwel & Friends; $16.99, Ages 4-8)
This unique story idea and imaginative artwork will have your kids rethinking rain just like the little witch Delia does in It’s Raining Bats & Frogs. As the title hints, the problem is each time Delia casts a spell and changes the rain into something else to make the Witch Parade less boring, like cats & dogs, hats & clogs or bats & frogs, pandemonium ensues! Maybe some water isn’t so bad after all when you consider (or actually experience) the alternatives!

Happy Halloween, Witch’s Cat!
Written and illustrated by Harriet Muncaster (Harper Collins Children’s Books; $15.99, Ages 4-8)
This new picture book is visually delightful. You may even find yourself wanting to try recreating a scene as a craft project with your child or making up your own scene. Muncaster has created the artwork for Happy Halloween, Witch’s Cat incorporating “… handcrafted miniature three-dimensional scenes using paper, foil, fabric, and other materials.” She then adds lighting, takes photos and voilà, a unique and exciting spread is created. The book’s as much a story about mommy and daughter together time as it a Halloween tale. “My mom is a witch, and I am her special witch’s cat.” Together the two go in search of the perfect costume for the young girl although nothing is just right. And, after all the hunting, in the end, a simple switcheroo turns out to be the best idea yet! Mom can be the witch’s cat and the daughter can be the witch. Problem solved in a most magical way.

I Want to Eat Your Books
Written by Karin LeFranc and illustrated by Tyler Parker (Sky Pony Press; $16.99, Ages 3-6)
I can never read enough books about libraries, bookstores and books themselves and LeFranc’s debut, I Want to Eat Your Books, satisfied that desire with a story not too scary for little ones, yet cute and humorous enough to keep ’em wanting to hear more. This read aloud rhyming picture book introduces a book chomping, bulgy-eyed, zombie boy whose goal is to devour all the library books at school! “The creature marches down the aisle and stops at Sci-Fi with a smile. Such crispy pages strewn with words. Our creature’s craving seconds – thirds!” But a clever student manages to turn the zombie’s hunger to eat books into one eager to hear them read aloud instead. Once instilled with an appreciation of the written word, it’s the zombie who saves the school from a mummy on the loose who easily gets wrapped up in a great story shared by zombie boy.

Rise of the Zombie Rabbit: Undead Pets #5
Written by Sam Hay and illustrated by Simon Cooper (Grosset & Dunlap; $5.99, Ages 6-8)
How did I not read numbers 1-4 of this hit series before picking up the latest? Ideal for reluctant readers and those looking for a quick, fun read, Rise of the Zombie Rabbit, kept me thoroughly entertained. It’s light on unsettling frights making it fine for nighttime reading. Main character, Joe, frequently gets visited by Undead Pets and this time it’s Fluffy rabbit who steals the show when she suddenly appears in a magic trick at Joe’s sixth-grade talent contest. This zombie bunny, however, won’t go away and leave Joe in peace until she gets Joe to help her find her owner’s lost necklace. Well actually the necklace had been borrowed which is the reason for the urgency in tracking it down. But how is Joe supposed to find it when the lawn it may be lost on belongs to Mr. Steel, Joe’s new neighbor who also happens to be a police officer?

BellaDonnaCovenRoad Bella Donna: Coven Road
Written by Ruth Symes and illustrated by Marion Lindsay (Sky Pony Press; $7.99, Ages 7-10)
What’s Halloween without some witches? Bella Donna and Sam are orphans living at Templeton Children’s Home. Bella Donna has wanted to be a witch since she can remember. Sam’s into all things creepy, crawly and wants a family that won’t mind his passion for worms and bugs. However both kids are told to keep these interests private. Then Lilith visits the orphanage and it’s clear she’s looking to adopt a child with Bella Donna’s “unique special skills.” Does she know the little girl’s actually a witch? Could Bella Donna be the perfect girl Lilith would want to keep after the trial month? It’s only when Bella Donna comes home early from school that she discovers Coven Road, with its thirteen houses, has changed drastically, and it could only mean one thing. The road, like its residents, is magical, and just the right place for a witchling (a young witch in training) like Bella Donna. This paperback has ten chapters all featuring black and white illustrations (my fave is the one of Coven Road) and is a quick read. It’s the first in a new series, and is sure to attract the interest of kids tweens into witchy adventures. Check out the book’s website at BellaDonnaOnline.co.uk to find out more about Bella Donna, her friends and the next book in the series, Too Many Spells.

Slasher Girls & Monster Boys
Stories selected by April Genevieve Tucholke (Dial; $17.99, Ages 12 and up)
Caution: do not read at bedtime or while home alone. Then again, for those of us who thrive on thrillers, go ahead, read it in the dark, play some foreboding organ music, and prepare to be unnerved by this fabulous collection of short stories certain to keep you coming back for more. This “powerhouse anthology featuring some of the best thriller and horror writers around” includes stories from Marie Lu, Carrie Ryan, Leigh Bardugo and Jonathan Maberry. The fourteen tales offer something eerie or supernatural for everyone, not only for Halloween, but year ’round if you prefer to be scared silly in spring or summer instead. Creaking floorboards, blood, chicken bones, lightning and pelting rain, they’re all here to unsettle us and they do so exquisitely. Finish a story and find the source of its inspiration at the end, upside-down. You’ll find influences as varied as Stephen King’s Carrie to Alice’s Adventure’s in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and will be impressed by the talent that’s been brought together to totally creep you out. Enjoy!

Reviewed by Ronna Mandel

Half-Life by Tina Ferraro Book Blitz

March 20, 2015
goodreadswithronna
Ages 14 and up, Supernatural & Ghost Stories, YA Fiction

Half-Life by Tina Ferraro
Leap Books, 2015 (March 24),
108 pp., Kindle Edition $1.99
& Rafflecopter Giveaway

Probably not a good idea to take advice from your dead twin sister.

Half-Life, Tina Ferraro’s new YA novella from Leap Books, is my favorite kind of ghost story: one in which the ghost is someone you are happy to see and wish would stick around. I’ve read several of Ferraro’s teen romances — she’s been a finalist for the Romance Writers of America RITA award twice — and while the supernatural twist is new, the elements I enjoy most in her books are all here: a main character who is frank, funny, and a bit clumsy; family dynamics that are real and give the story depth; and a sweet, good-hearted love interest. Thankfully, the love interest is not the ghost in question (that could get awkward!). Rather, the ghost is main character Trisha Traynor’s identical twin sister Chessie, who died from a virus when the twins were just five. Soon after Chessie died, Abby Lowe became Trisha’s best friend, helping fill the void Chessie left in Trisha’s life.

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Now that Trisha and Abby are sophomores in high school, Abby is obsessing over a new boyfriend, and Trisha feels like she’s been dumped. Who can you turn to when your best friend turns away? Trisha’s mom is always super busy, determined to live exclusively in the present so she doesn’t have to address her grief and guilt over the death of her child. Since Mom’s no help, Trisha finds support in a very unexpected place. On Halloween night, Chessie appears as a reflection in a mirror with a plan to help Trisha fix her friendship with Abby. The first action item: get Trisha a boyfriend of her own, pronto.

Sensing a supernatural time limit (Chessie keeps consulting an invisible wrist watch), Trisha sets her sights on attainable Chadwick O’Reilly instead of her longtime crush, drop-dead gorgeous Kirk Maxwell. But Trisha’s choices aren’t all working out so well. The more she sees of Chadwick, the creepier he looks. She assumes Kirk is out of her league, but maybe he’s actually interested? And not even Chessie can understand why Trisha is willing to risk everything to get on the good side of her mean-spirited next-door neighbor, Dawn Dupree.

– Reviewed by Mary Malhotra

Author Bio: Tina Ferraro been writing since she learned to hold a pencil, and sold upwards of a hundred short stories to national magazines before turning to novels. She is the author of three Random House novels, The ABC’s of Kissing Boys, How to Hook a Hottie and Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress, which have received distinctions such as the ABA Book Sense Award and two RITA nominations.

Her fourth YA, The Starter Boyfriend, has spent time on Amazon’s Top 100 Lists. She lives in Los Angeles with her rocket scientist husband, two cats and whichever of their three young adult children is in town. When not writing, she enjoys playing Facebook Scrabble, swimming, and chasing coyotes out of her neighborhood.

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