Welcome to my Saturday Screams.
Both of these are from my own collection.
Let’s get to it!
~~~~~
Pandemic
by Yvonne Ventresca
Genre: YA Dystopian
My Review
This was much more than end of the world as we know it story.
Sure, there’s the mysterious illness that kills the majority of the world’s population. But, it’s more about a young teenager, Lilianna, and how she copes with everything that occurs.
The illness spreads globally at a fast pace. People are cut off from each. Communication is spotty and many don’t know if their loved ones survived.
Lilianna is home alone, coping with something disturbing that happened to her at school when it strikes. She navigates many unknowns as she seeks other survivors and struggles to survive.
This was a very good story. I enjoy apocalyptic scenarios, and while the plot wasn’t anything new, the character’s drove a powerful story of survival. Lil had to set aside that which haunted her in order to help others. She came across as very genuine and it was wonderful to watch her step into the role as care giver for young ones left alone when their parents succumbed to the virus.
A well written plot and fast read, and I’ll be checking out other books by this author.
4 Stars
Synopsis
Even under the most normal circumstances, high school can be a painful and confusing time. Unfortunately, Lilianna’s circumstances are anything but normal. Only a few people know what caused her sudden change from model student to the withdrawn pessimist she has become, but her situation isn’t about to get any better. When people begin coming down with a quick-spreading illness that doctors are unable to treat, Lil’s worst fears are realized. With her parents called away on business before the contagious outbreak-her father in Delaware covering the early stages of the disease and her mother in Hong Kong and unable to get a flight back to New Jersey-Lil’s town is hit by what soon becomes a widespread illness and fatal disaster. Now, she’s more alone than she’s been since the “incident” at her school months ago.
With friends and neighbors dying all around her, Lil does everything she can just to survive. But as the disease rages on, so does an unexpected tension as Lil is torn between an old ex and a new romantic interest. Just when it all seems too much, the cause of her original trauma shows up at her door. In this thrilling debut from author Yvonne Ventresca, Lil must find a way to survive not only the outbreak and its real-life consequences, but also her own personal demons.
~~~~~
Diary Of A Haunting
by M. Verano
Genre: YA Paranormal / Horror
My Review
Such a creepy story.
I’m always up for a haunting and got a good one here.
When her parents get divorced and her mother uproots them and moves to an old mansion in Idaho, Paige and her little brother have to accept it and adjust.
They probably would have settled in and begun over soon enough, except something is wrong with their new home. Things move around by themselves. Words appear written on the walls. And her brother begins to act strange.
Then there’s the weird neighbor that lives downstairs. What’s his story?
I fell into this story quickly and the author wasted no time building the creepy atmosphere. So many weird things started happening and the suspense built up.
Plenty of interesting characters prowl through the story, and I enjoyed seeing what would happen to who.
With it not being an easy mystery to figure out and plenty of bizarre scenarios, I had a haunting good time.
4 Stars
Synopsis
When Paige moves from LA to Idaho with her mom and little brother after her parents’ high-profile divorce, she expects to completely hate her new life, and the small town doesn’t disappoint. Worse yet, the drafty old mansion they’ve rented is infested with flies, spiders, and other pests Paige doesn’t want to think about.
She chalks it up to her rural surroundings, but it’s harder to ignore the strange things happening around the house, from one can of ravioli becoming a dozen, to unreadable words appearing in the walls. Soon Paige’s little brother begins roaming the house at all hours of the night, and there’s something not right about the downstairs neighbor, who knows a lot more than he’s letting on.
Things only get creepier when she learns about the sinister cult that conducted experimental rituals in the house almost a hundred years earlier.
The more Paige investigates, and the deeper she digs, the clearer it all becomes: whatever is in the house, whatever is causing all the strange occurrences, has no intention of backing down without a fight.
Found in the aftermath, Diary of a Haunting collects the journal entries, letters, and photographs Paige left behind.
~~~~
Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!
For a list of my reviews go HERE.
For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE
To see all of my giveaways click on the lucky horseshoe below!
