 |
| Read from July 2 to July 3, 2014 |
Publication Date: July 22, 2014
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Number of Pages: 368
Genre/s: Young Adult, Horror, Mystery/Thriller
Source: ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley
What’s your worst nightmare?
For Ivy Jensen, it’s the eyes of a killer that haunt her nights. For Parker Bradley, it’s bloodthirsty sea serpents that slither in his dreams.
And for seven essay contestants, it’s their worst nightmares that win them an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at director Justin Blake’s latest, confidential project. Ivy doesn’t even like scary movies, but she’s ready to face her real-world fears. Parker’s sympathetic words and perfect smile help keep her spirits up. . . at least for now.
Not everyone is so charming, though. Horror-film fanatic Garth Vader wants to stir up trouble. It’s bad enough he has to stay in the middle of nowhere with this group—the girl who locks herself in her room; the know-it-all roommate; “Mister Sensitive”; and the one who’s too cheery for her own good. Someone has to make things interesting.
Except, things are already a little weird. The hostess is a serial-killer look-alike, the dream-stealing Nightmare Elf is lurking about, and the seventh member of the group is missing.
By the time Ivy and Parker realize what’s really at stake, it’s too late to wake up and run. - (source)
For Ivy Jensen, it’s the eyes of a killer that haunt her nights. For Parker Bradley, it’s bloodthirsty sea serpents that slither in his dreams.
And for seven essay contestants, it’s their worst nightmares that win them an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at director Justin Blake’s latest, confidential project. Ivy doesn’t even like scary movies, but she’s ready to face her real-world fears. Parker’s sympathetic words and perfect smile help keep her spirits up. . . at least for now.
Not everyone is so charming, though. Horror-film fanatic Garth Vader wants to stir up trouble. It’s bad enough he has to stay in the middle of nowhere with this group—the girl who locks herself in her room; the know-it-all roommate; “Mister Sensitive”; and the one who’s too cheery for her own good. Someone has to make things interesting.
Except, things are already a little weird. The hostess is a serial-killer look-alike, the dream-stealing Nightmare Elf is lurking about, and the seventh member of the group is missing.
By the time Ivy and Parker realize what’s really at stake, it’s too late to wake up and run. - (source)
The moment I started reading Welcome to the Dark House, I just knew I was going to like it. I could say that this novel has the strongest beginning chapter among all the books I've read this year. The only question in my mind was: Can Welcome to the Dark House sustain this promising start?
The answer is it did, for the most part. We have multiple POVs that might seem seriously daunting if not properly handled, but it worked surprisingly well and it kept things interesting. I admire that Stolarz was able to create several characters with distinct personalities and voices. The only thing I find challenging at the start was remembering the characters' names.
Personally, what I loved most about Welcome to the Dark House were the characters' backstories. All of them are coping from their horrifying pasts, and for some of them, entering and winning the contest is an opportunity of a lifetime and a way to move forward with their lives. Although sometimes it feels that there's not enough time to get into a character's head or that it seems quite a short novel for such a diverse cast, I feel that these backstories were substantial enough so the readers could connect to them in some way.
Even though I enjoyed reading Welcome to the Dark House, this novel is not without flaws. At times, I was slightly annoyed because the narrative give the impression that we're supposed to take things at face value. For instance, I find it hard to believe that a contest this big could be kept under wraps and that they wouldn't bother to at least confirm if it's legit or not, before entering. Plot-wise, I think Stolarz could have raised the stakes higher to make the situation more unsettling and frightening. Also, not much horror happens until the latter part of the book. But I mostly didn't mind this, considering that I'm horrified as it is with the characters' backgrounds.
I believe there's a good chance that there'd be a sequel for this novel, and I'm excited to find out what will happen next. I'd definitely recommend Welcome to the Dark House for fans of light horror and R.L. Stine's Goosebumps series.
Cupid's Verdict:
 |
| 3.5 Cupids |
A copy was provided by the publisher at no cost via Netgalley
in exchange for an honest review.
This sounds super interesting. After reading your review, I'll have to give it a try :)
ReplyDeleteAmber @ Fall Into Books
I hope you do, Amber, and that you'll like it. Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteI have seen this one but actually avoided it because of that horror label it carries. Now I'm sorry for it as this book sounds so good and not as scary as I initially thought. I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Great review, Sarah :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tanja! I actually wished this book would be scarier but it made up for it with the characters' backstories.
DeleteHaven't heard of this one, but it sounds pretty good! I like getting to know characters, so learning about their backstories is definitely a plus for me. I don't usually love horror, but as you said this was "light horror", I might be able to handle it! Thanks for the review :).
ReplyDeleteI do think you'd be able to handle it, Liz. I'm more horrified at all the characters' past than with the plot itself.
DeleteWell now you definitely have me wanting to read this opening chapter Sarah! Normally I struggle with stories that utilize multiple POVs because I don't like being bounced around from one character to the next, but it seems like it's done well in this case and I'm glad it ended up benefiting the story overall. Looking forward to this!
ReplyDeleteI think the multiple POVs is one of the main strengths of the book. It's not jarring or abrupt whenever the POV changes from chapter to chapter. The opening chapter is amazingly creepy and really set up the book in a good direction. Thanks for stopping by, Jenny!
DeleteI'm completely intrigued by the opening chapter you mentioned! I'm glad you enjoyed the story, and the multi characters pov were handled well. Their backstories do sound really interesting as well. I was expecting this story to be a darker and scarier read from the cover, so it's good to know it's more of a light horror. Thanks for the wonderful review and stopping by Book Swoon, Sarah. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you! I hope I got you intrigued enough to pick up the book and read it. :)
DeleteLike everyone else, I want to read this opening chapter! I am so glad that even though this wasn't perfect you still really enjoyed it. It does sound like it has a lot of promise.
ReplyDeleteGreat review!
It does! It's an easy, entertaining read so I still enjoyed it. Thank you for stopping by! :)
DeleteMultiple POVs is definitely tough to pull off, but it sounds like the author did a remarkable job with it! To be honest, I'm not the bravest when it comes to scary books, so the fact that it wasn't super frightening is a good thing in my mind :)
ReplyDeleteI really admired how the author handled the POVs. I'm glad that it's not that really scary so you can still pick it up and read it. Thanks for stopping by, Aylee!
DeleteR.L. Stine! It seems like forever since I last read his books or even see his name. Funny, since I was a little obsessed with his books when I was a kid haha. x) It seems like an enjoyable book in overall, Sarah! Yay for strong opening! It's so strange that they don't even check whether it's legit or not. I'm very curious about the characters' background now. :)
ReplyDeleteWonderful review, Sarah! <3 :)
I was obsessed with his books too! Thank you for the kind comment, Hilda!
DeleteI'm just in love with the concept of this book... plus that super weird but interesting title! Glad that you enjoyed this one overall, though those 3.5 stars are a little bit disappointing. And like Jenny, I'm really intrigued about the book's beginning! I haven't come across that many books with BAM beginnings, which is a shame because beginnings are everything. Authors mostly tend to focus on cliffhanger endings, bleh.
ReplyDeleteWHEW, you won't believe how relieved I am that the multiple POVs thing was done well! I can't count the number of books I've read that were written in this way and failed miserably at it... I just found it hard to discern their voices from each other and connect with them emotionally! So yeah, I've kinda been scarred for life. O_O The characters here sound so interesting, too! What dark pasts do they have? What terrible secrets are they hiding? THE MYSTERY.
Sorry to hear about the slightly shallow and convenient plot, though. At least it wasn't too big of a problem, right? :) Anyways, brilliant review as always, Sarah!
Oh, the 3.5 stars is totally just because I know that this book has room for improvement and could be more frightening. I think you'd like the beginning of this book. When I started reading, I was so intrigued and I just wanted to keep on reading. Yeeesh, I hate cliffhangers as well. And you will know the MYSTERY once you read the book. ;)
DeleteThank you so much for the enthusiasm and for being so sweet, Megan.