Review- The Devouring

Title: The Devouring
Author: Simon Holt
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers
Find it here: Amazon, Goodreads
Source: Library book

"When dark creeps in and eats the light,
Bury your fears on Sorry Night.
For in the winter's blackest hours,
Comes the feasting of the Vours,
No one can see it, the life they stole,
Your body's here but not your soul..."

THE VOURS: Evil, demonic beings that inhabit human bodies on Sorry Night, the darkest hours of the winter solstice.

When Reggie reads about the Vours in a mysterious old journal, she assumes they are just the musings of an anonymous lunatic.  But when her little brother, Henry, begins to act strangely, it's clear that these creatures exist beyond a madwoman's imagination, and Reggie finds out what happens when fears come to life.

To save the people she loves, Reggie must learn to survive in a world of nightmares.  Can she devour her own fears before they devour her?

My thoughts:

I loved this book! I was a little hesitant to pick it up for a couple reasons. 1. It's a little bit older of a book and I hadn't heard much about.  2. It's a bargain book on Amazon (sometimes a bad sign). 3. The synopsis makes it sound kind of weird and definitely different.  I was completely thrown off by all these factors and ended up falling in love after only a few chapters.  I was so engrossed that I read it in one sitting!

The Devouring is a horror novel so for all of you who don't like horror, you will most likely not like it.  But I love horror!  Ever since I read Carrie by Stephen King in the seventh grade, I have loved horror books! It's something about not knowing what's lurking around the next corner that sucks me right in.  Not only is the Devouring horrifying, but it's also somewhat gruesome.  Author Simon Holt does not spare on the details.  Since I read this whole book in broad daylight, I wonder if I would have had a hard time reading it at night.  It makes me think about all my worst fears and what it would feel like to be overwhelmed by them.  It kind of gives me the creeps.

The Devouring is also part mystery, the characters trying to figure out how the Vours work and where they come from while trying to save the life of a child.  There's also the mystery of the journal and trying to figure out if the scenes depicted actually happened or if they were just the ramblings of a crazy person.  Then there's something mysterious going on with the bookshop owner that he's not letting on just yet.  Which of course means I can't wait to read the next one so that I can find out more!

I just loved this book so much because it was a mix of the two things I love the most: mystery and intrigue with horror.  I can't wait to dive right into Soulstice and find out more about the Vours!

Review-Twenty Boy Summer

Title: Twenty Boy Summer

Author: Sarah Ockler

Publisher: Little Brown

Rating: 5/5

Find it here: Goodreads, Amazon

Blurb:

"Don't worry, Anna. I'll tell her, okay? Just let me think about the best way to do it."

"Okay."

"Promise me? Promise me you won't say anything?"

"Don't worry." I laughed. "It's our secret right?"

According to her best friend Frankie, twenty days in Zanzibar Bay is the perfect opportunity to have a summer fling, and if they meet one boy every day, there's a pretty good chance that Anna will find her first summer romance. Anna lightheartedly agrees to the game, but there's something she hasn't told Frankie-she's already had that kind of romance, and it was with Frankie's older brother, Matt, just before his tragic death one year ago.

My thoughts:

On the cover of the copy of the book that I bought it said that Twenty Boy Summer will tear your heart apart and then put it back together. That is exactly what it did. I was in tears by chapter two and I was having a hard time keeping it together through the first half of the book. But then everything turns around and even though it was not the perfect happy ending, it was realistic.

I really enjoyed reading the character Anna because she reminds me a lot of me. The way she keeps all her emotions and thoughts inside is a lot like me when I was growing up. But she is also kind, compassionate and selfless when it came to her best friend's happiness. I also learned a lot from Anna and the importance of moving on with life even though you've suffered a life altering loss.

Sarah Ockler's writing style is beautiful and fantastic. Although Twenty Boy Summer may seem like a lighthearted, fluffy read, it is so much deeper and inspiring than I would have imagined.