On Nov. 16, 2018, I wrote a review for Bookish First on a First Impression (except about 100 pages) of The Haunted by Danielle Vega. After reading the excerpt I rated it 5 stars and wrote:
Hendricks is a high school junior who was from Philadelphia. Something went horribly wrong there and her family moved to a small town north of NYC. What that something is, the reader doesn't know yet. Piece by piece it is being revealed. Her parents bought an old house to fix up in this idyllic little town. If they had spent a little time googling their new address, they would have found their house has a name, Steele House, and a very nasty reputation. As Hendricks tries to settle into her new school, her "new" house, and make new friends. She is haunted by whatever happened in Philadelphia. Unfortunately, that is not the only thing haunting her.
Now having finished the book, I must downgrade the rating. Hendricks' mystery of what happened in her previous school is somewhat underwhelming. Many of the secondary characters are tropes. The popular beautiful girl who rules the social pyramid of the high school. The outcast boy who dresses all in black skips more school than he attends, and is antisocial. Hendricks' parents barely make an impression in the book.
The book is fun (for a horror/haunted house fan) until the last fifth of the book. Then the story starts to unravel. I do not want to reveal any spoilers but the end was very predictable. This is the first of Ms. Vega's work I have read. I do hope to read another in the future.
Hendricks is a high school junior who was from Philadelphia. Something went horribly wrong there and her family moved to a small town north of NYC. What that something is, the reader doesn't know yet. Piece by piece it is being revealed. Her parents bought an old house to fix up in this idyllic little town. If they had spent a little time googling their new address, they would have found their house has a name, Steele House, and a very nasty reputation. As Hendricks tries to settle into her new school, her "new" house, and make new friends. She is haunted by whatever happened in Philadelphia. Unfortunately, that is not the only thing haunting her.
Now having finished the book, I must downgrade the rating. Hendricks' mystery of what happened in her previous school is somewhat underwhelming. Many of the secondary characters are tropes. The popular beautiful girl who rules the social pyramid of the high school. The outcast boy who dresses all in black skips more school than he attends, and is antisocial. Hendricks' parents barely make an impression in the book.
The book is fun (for a horror/haunted house fan) until the last fifth of the book. Then the story starts to unravel. I do not want to reveal any spoilers but the end was very predictable. This is the first of Ms. Vega's work I have read. I do hope to read another in the future.