Knowing me, I like to read a lot of books. I especially love to read fiction that deals with the haunted places, the paranormal, and the... you know, the Luigi's Mansion scenarios. During this month of May, I was hooked to to a book called Asylum.
This book is a young adult fictional novel written by Madeleine Roux. When I first came across this, the front cover promised a thrill ride inside something haunted. The tagline that written on the cover was: "Prepare to be lost in...", and then it said the title. It worked. I was hooked. People say not to judge a book by its cover; so, I didn't judge, but instead, took the time to read it.
The story is about a 16-year-old named Dan Crawford who goes to a summer program for gifted students. It turns out that he's socially awkward, but wants to gain some friends that would at least tolerate is love for history. He learns about the place that the students will stay in, which is a sanatorium-turned-dormitory. When he arrives, he meets both Abby the artistic/love interest and Jordan (who's considered gay) the egotistical friend of hers. During their stay, they explore the hidden basements and creepy settings, and learn about the former psych ward's dark past. It turns out that some of the things in this building somehow link to the pasts of Dan and his friends; and it's up to them to put all the pieces of the puzzle together and to discover the truth.
Now how did this book fair?
Personally, I love this book. It's got everything that a horror-movie fan has always dreamed of: suspense, mystery, social moments, and magnificent visuals. I'm not kidding: this book has many realistic photographs from real asylums and realistic letters that take illustration to a whole new level.
When I first read this book, I was amazed that it was a page-turner. I wanted so badly to keep reading. It's like walking into a safer version of American Horror Story: Asylum.
Well, to be fair, that's a personal preference. I wouldn't really recommend this book for people who are a faint of heart, or those that don't want to be intimidated by another horror story. I completely understand.
But what really sucks right now was that the copy that I have of this book was borrowed from my school library, and that it's due today. After today, I don't return to school until August!
(Note to self: ask for this book for my birthday.)
On the bright side though, I was happy to learn that this book has a sequel called Sanctum.
Plus, there's word about a novella called The Scarlets.
Now, I am anticipated to try to get both of these books, seeing that I enjoyed the first book. So, wish me luck on getting these books!
Whatsoever Critic
Sources:
Asylum
Amazon.com (about sequel and novella)
Courtesy: Madeleine Roux, HarperCollins Publishers
No comments:
Post a Comment