When I received Project 17 in the mail this week, I diverted from my current read to dive right in. I have Halloween fever, and was promised some chilling, supernatural thrills from this book by Laurie Faria Stolarz, YA writer best known for Blue is for Nightmares. The back cover even promised a story that is "Blair Witch meets The Breakfast Club," which sounded pretty good to me.
It's a fair comparison. But unfortunately, the book just didn't pack the shiver-inspiring horror I was looking for. It may give goosebumps to younger YA readers (I'm thinking 11-14 year olds), but any older teen or adult reader who considers themselves a horror junkie will probably be a little disappointed by this rather tame ghost hunting tale.
The story premise is a good one: six clique-crossing teens embark on a night of reality TV making in the notorious Danvers State Mental Hospital. This location is truly one of the most haunted in the U.S., and has been explored by TV shows like Ghost Hunters and memorialized by movies such as Session 9 -- so, there's atmosphere a-plenty, and lots of potential for real scares. Props to Stolarz for chosing a real location with real history.
Stolarz also does a great job of drawing realistic teen characters that run the gamut of high school stereotypes. Director Derik is the womanizing slacker bent on winning an MTV reality show internship to get out of his dead-end future working in his parents diner. Mimi is the goth chick with a hidden agenda. Liza is the school valedictorian looking for a last-ditched extracurricular activity to boost her Ivy League college application. Tony and Greta are wannabe actors looking for a shot at being discovered. Chet is the goofy sidekick written to provide comic relief. Stolarz writes the story in chapters that alternate viewpoints between these six characters, and does a great job of establishing a unique voice for each of her main players.
Of course, while in the mental hospital, the teens learn about themselves and eachother. It's very after school special at times, honestly. However, my biggest problem with the book was the pat ending. Everything gets tied up in a neat little bow. I guess in a different medium -- say, cinema -- everyone would have died a la The House on Haunted Hill. This ending is more appropriate to the young reader audience, I guess. But it was still a little to clean and simple for my taste.
The book is not a bad read, I think I just had too high of expectations going in. I would recommend it to anyone interested in the paranormal, or for middle school readers just beginning to cut their teeth on horror. Parents of children in this age group should know that while the "horrors" are pretty gentle (no gore, mostly psychological thrills)here is a fair amount of realistic teen language used, including cursing.
It's a fair comparison. But unfortunately, the book just didn't pack the shiver-inspiring horror I was looking for. It may give goosebumps to younger YA readers (I'm thinking 11-14 year olds), but any older teen or adult reader who considers themselves a horror junkie will probably be a little disappointed by this rather tame ghost hunting tale.
The story premise is a good one: six clique-crossing teens embark on a night of reality TV making in the notorious Danvers State Mental Hospital. This location is truly one of the most haunted in the U.S., and has been explored by TV shows like Ghost Hunters and memorialized by movies such as Session 9 -- so, there's atmosphere a-plenty, and lots of potential for real scares. Props to Stolarz for chosing a real location with real history.
Stolarz also does a great job of drawing realistic teen characters that run the gamut of high school stereotypes. Director Derik is the womanizing slacker bent on winning an MTV reality show internship to get out of his dead-end future working in his parents diner. Mimi is the goth chick with a hidden agenda. Liza is the school valedictorian looking for a last-ditched extracurricular activity to boost her Ivy League college application. Tony and Greta are wannabe actors looking for a shot at being discovered. Chet is the goofy sidekick written to provide comic relief. Stolarz writes the story in chapters that alternate viewpoints between these six characters, and does a great job of establishing a unique voice for each of her main players.
Of course, while in the mental hospital, the teens learn about themselves and eachother. It's very after school special at times, honestly. However, my biggest problem with the book was the pat ending. Everything gets tied up in a neat little bow. I guess in a different medium -- say, cinema -- everyone would have died a la The House on Haunted Hill. This ending is more appropriate to the young reader audience, I guess. But it was still a little to clean and simple for my taste.
The book is not a bad read, I think I just had too high of expectations going in. I would recommend it to anyone interested in the paranormal, or for middle school readers just beginning to cut their teeth on horror. Parents of children in this age group should know that while the "horrors" are pretty gentle (no gore, mostly psychological thrills)here is a fair amount of realistic teen language used, including cursing.
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