Continued from Goodreads. The first portion of this review can be found here:
...intrigue. You feel yourself reaching for a new page, trying to figure out why certain things are going on, and how the characters are going to deal with them.
Many readers in my demographic would avoid this book because it is marketed towards younger kids, but I wouldn't let that get in the way of you reading this. Despite it's age range, it is still pretty heart racing, and from the reviews of this book, scares middle aged adults (but I'm not sure if that is because of their own weakness or the book itself). It does have pretty simple writing, but I think that this benefitted this book. It helped with keeping a good pace and keeping the reader engaged.
Obviously this book is written for children, and they benefit from the themes, but I think that if you are looking for a short, spooky read this is perfect for you.
To demonstrate the writing, here are some of the quotes that I marked while reading: (Page numbers are for the hardback edition)
"Lies. Secrets. Blood and death. None of it made any sense. Ash wasn't sure anymore if the world had gone mad or if he had" (104).
"Night crowded in, hot and heavy, pressing down on him. He hardly knew if his eyes were open or closed. The darkness around his bed filled with footsteps, whispers, a rain of leaves falling slowly and silently. Ghosts calling to him and he had to follow, he had to, but he couldn't move"(134).
"Nothing stayed the same forever, not really. Not people, not families, not even the land itself. All you could do was hold on as best you could"(163).
"..it was simple. You stood by the people you loved and you did whatever you had to do to help them"(237).
Are you intrigued yet?
Here is me attempting to stay on my posting schedule. I have so far not failed, so I find that as an accomplishment. Also, you may notice that some of those quotes were picked because I relate to them... if you do, then pretend you don't. I read this book four years ago and I thought that I would reread it before getting rid of it. It looks like I won't be getting rid of it.