By: Medeleine Roux
Series: Asylum
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.
My Rating:
My Thoughts:
I suppose books such as Asylum and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children are not the right books for me. Believe me, I really want to like these books. I just don't. For some reason, while other people rave about these books I find them boring, semi predictable, and not in the least scary - especially the pictures.
However, I did enjoy this book more than Miss Peregrine's. I think this is because I was more intrigued with the paranormal aspect of the story. Anything paranormal usually gets me really exited and intrigued. I felt a little let down in this area because I thought it was going to center around ghosts and them being haunted. In a way, yes they were. Just not in the typical way I was expecting and you don't really see this until the end. There are bits and pieces thrown around throughout the story, but I was picturing more freaky things and not so much mystery behind the events.
I wish we would have gotten to see more of Dan's "obscurities" from the beginning versus near the end. There is a reason why Dan second guesses himself as a good person when chaos begins. I thought this aspect to Dan was interesting and could have been utilized more if it had been brought up in the beginning. This book had so much potential to be great if it would have utilized more of the twists and turns in the beginning of the book to make us doubt everything as time goes on instead of throwing everything together at the final minute.
The fact that this story was an easy read got me through to finishing most of it in one night. The characters were interesting enough to make me care about them and to be curious as to what happens next. Unfortunately, I will not continue on with the series as I was disappointed in this book, and the second book Sanctum revolves around a non-paranormal plot.
