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{Review} Asylum by Madeleine Roux


Pages: 310
Publication date: August 20, 2013
Publisher: Harper Teen
How I got the copy: Library
Rating:  3 Stars
  
    
  
From Goodreads:
Asylum is a thrilling and creepy photo-novel perfect for fans of the New York Times bestseller Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.

For sixteen-year-old Dan Crawford, New Hampshire College Prep is more than a summer program—it's a lifeline. An outcast at his high school, Dan is excited to finally make some friends in his last summer before college. But when he arrives at the program, Dan learns that his dorm for the summer used to be a sanatorium, more commonly known as an asylum. And not just any asylum—a last resort for the criminally insane.

As Dan and his new friends, Abby and Jordan, explore the hidden recesses of their creepy summer home, they soon discover it's no coincidence that the three of them ended up here. Because the asylum holds the key to a terrifying past. And there are some secrets that refuse to stay buried.

Featuring found photos of unsettling history and real abandoned asylums and filled with chilling mystery and page-turning suspense, Madeleine Roux's teen debut, Asylum, is a horror story that treads the line between genius and insanity.


    The first time I ever laid eyes on this cover I got chills.  It's so creepy and definitely what my nightmares are made of.  But sadly, it wasn't scary at all.  Upon reading the last sentence of the book I was left thinking "this is not what I signed up for".  Where were the creepy ghosts that I was promised on the cover?


    While it wasn't paranormal really it was pretty creepy.  The photographs were what really had me freaked out though...the writing not so much.  It was definitely a plot oriented book so I didn't really care about the characters enough to care if they made it out alive at the end.  And the weird romance just confused me.

    I did enjoy the mystery though.  I always enjoy a good mystery.  So while this wasn't my all time favorite book every I was still able to read it in a day (during Dewey's readathon!).  If you're looking for something creepy this is a good pick.  Not too scary, but it'll definitely get you in the mood for Halloween.
“It was a house for those who could not take care of themselves, for those who heard voices, who had strange thoughts and did strange things. The house was meant to keep them in. Once they came, they never left.” 
― Madeleine RouxAsylum
Melanie from YA Midnight Reads: 1 star