Author: Vera Strange
Genre: horror
Similar books: Curse of the Dead-Eyed Doll by Thomas Kingsley-Troupe
The Fearsome Foursome by Amicus Arcane
Rating:
 |
| pass |
Summary (provided by publisher): Eleven-year-old Shelly Anderson just wants to be popular. Her parents have split and she has to start over at a new school with different classes, a brand new swim team and an unfamiliar social scene. So what if she just wants the cool kids to like her? Is that really too much to ask? So when Shelly finds a mysterious nautilus shell that summons the infamous sea witch, Ursula, she jumps at her chance to make a deal that will solidify her as one of the coolest girls in school. But when Shelly's wish quickly goes belly-up, she must figure out how to back out of the witch's deal before it forever binds her fate.
Grab your night-light, dear reader, and prepare to be CHILL-ed!
My opinion: Let's be frank: I found this a failure across the board. It fails to create complex characters, a frightening atmosphere, or a compelling plot. Shelly is a middle grade trope: a girl trying to be popular and willing to abandon all of her interests and beliefs to achieve that end. This might work if she were at all conflicted with her decisions. But she's not. She throws it all away without a thought. And the secondary and tertiary characters are no better. They have no depth, no complexity, no reality. There is no real tension in the progression of the plot, no threat that puts us on edge, no shivers or eeriness. The plot follows a predictable pattern up until the final chapters, each element telegraphed well in advance. This makes the ending that much harder to accept. It doesn't really resolve the plot. It just ends. If you're looking for a kid friendly scare, I'd look elsewhere.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
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