Asylum by Madeleine Roux

We are away at the moment, blogglings! (Camping, drowning, reading…the normal stuff.) But we will get back to you…on the 31st. Here is a freaky book review to keep you company while we’re gone.

Yay for creepy! Yes, really, yay. I know the blurb on this one doesn’t sound freaky, but trust me when I tell you, you can tear this book apart, page by page, but you will never forget the freaky images.

You’re welcome for that rendition of Tangled.

Thank you HarperCollins Australia for the ARC!

Blogglings, this one came out on August 20th.

For sixteen-year-old Dan Crawford, New Hampshire College Prep is more than a summer program—it’s a lifeline. An outcast at his high school, Dan is excited to finally make some friends in his last summer before college. But when he arrives at the program, Dan learns that his dorm for the summer used to be a sanatorium, more commonly known as an asylum. And not just any asylum—a last resort for the criminally insane.

As Dan and his new friends, Abby and Jordan, explore the hidden recesses of their creepy summer home, they soon discover it’s no coincidence that the three of them ended up here. Because the asylum holds the key to a terrifying past. And there are some secrets that refuse to stay buried.

Featuring found photos of unsettling history and real abandoned asylums and filled with chilling mystery and page-turning suspense, Madeleine Roux’s teen debut, Asylum, is a horror story that treads the line between genius and insanity.

 

Madeleine Roux received her BA in Creative Writing and Acting from Beloit College in 2008. In the spring of 2009, Madeleine completed an Honors Term at Beloit College, proposing, writing and presenting a full-length historical fiction novel. Shortly after, she began the experimental fiction blog Allison Hewitt Is Trapped. Allison Hewitt Is Trapped quickly spread throughout the blogosphere, bringing a unique serial fiction experience to readers.

Born in Minnesota, she now lives and works in Louisiana.

Okay, that just creeped me out. 

I’m a sucker for anything remotely creepy. And look at that cover! Does that not look like it’s going to scare your daylights out? Well, maybe I didn’t lose my daylights in fear (I survived Unwind by Neal Shusterman, so I can take a lot), but my skin crawled pleasantly. Yeah, that doesn’t make sense. But it’s a fact. I was actually hoping it’d be more creepy then it was.

Characters? The book is narrated by Dan Crawford. He’s an orphan, but has an awesome adopted family. But there’s obviously something wrong with him if he thought, “Hey, I want to do a pre-collage program in an old asylum! Because that sounds like fun and what could possibly go wrong in an old creepy building where they used to torture people legally?” Dude. No. Just no. 

I liked Dan’s character. Awkward. Socially inept. He totally wants to kiss the girl, but he has no Sebastian-crab to create the mood. Poor lad. His only downside is he reminded me 100% of Dan Cerelli from Six Impossible Things by Fiona Wood. He even has the same name! In the back of my head, I kept thinking Asylum was a sequel. My bad. (It could have been though.) 

Abby and Jordan were his side-kick-friends. For a 5-week camp, these guys got super chummy in the first week. Of course, they could only be friends when Dan learned Jordan wasn’t interested in Abby. What was Dan’s problem? The second a male looked at Abby, Dan spiralled into the dolldrums of self-doubt and she’ll-never-like-me, and instantly disliked every dude. But we ARE in an old asylum. So things are bound to be weird. 

The creep factor was awesome! The book has old, freaky pictures. Yes, real black-and-white pictures! I loved that. I know writing shouldn’t depend on pictures to accelerate it’s horror, but without the pictures, this book wouldn’t have been as good. 

Writing? Great, but not mind-blowing. Like I said, it relies on the pictures to help with the creep. So while I couldn’t tear my eyes off the page, it was mostly for the mystery and the pictures. Not the writing.

Plot? It was a mystery! I hate love mysteries because I have to read them in ONE DAY or my puny mind collapses on itself. I read this every spare moment. I wanted to know who was leaving the freaky messages. And what was it with Dan’s nightmares and memory lapses? And who was the stalker? WHO WAS THE MURDERER?! 

I’m talking about my poor mind, by the way. 

But what was with the ending? It was way too clean. The best part about horror and mystery is not having all the answers. But the ending is like a professionally wrapped present. I saw there’ll be a sequel in 2014, but I have no idea where they’ll go with that. Will I read it though?

YES.

Cait does still check for monsters under her bed. She’s seen Monsters Inc. She knows how it works. Between reading horror and watching Tangled, she rearranging her books in their new (and awesome) bookshelf. The real question is, organisation by colour, author, or title? She now reading THE SELECTION by Kiera Cass.