Morphues Road: The Light Review

Author: D.J. Machale

Release Date: April 20, 2010 (Today!)

Pages: 344 (ARC)

Publisher: Aladdin

Most Appropriate For Ages: 10+
Where I Got It: From publisher

Marshall Seaver is being haunted.

It begins with mysterious sounds, a fleeting face outside a window--all things that can be explained away. That is, until he comes face-to-face with a character who only exists on the pages of a sketchbook--a character Marshall himself created.

Marshall is quickly convinced these strange incidents have something to do with his best friend, Cooper, who has gone missing. Together with Cooper's beautiful but aloof sister, Sydney, Marshall searches for the truth about his friend while ultimately uncovering a nightmare that is bigger and more frightening than he ever could have imagined.
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The Light can be rather slow at times, but overall was decent.

I personally wasn't scared at all. I guess everything that happened to Marsh was too far-fetched for me to be afraid of. The plot did drag along at some points too. I thought that the book could've been shorter, and that maybe more questions could have been answered earlier in the book. However, the plot was interesting and left me guessing.

I kind of connected with the characters. I did like Marsh and could feel for him, as well as Sydney. But I never really loved them. I did want the two characters to develop feelings for each other, but there was hardly any romance in The Light.

The writing was OK. Marsh's narration was amusing, but other than that I found it to be lacking. For a bestselling author I felt like D.J. Machale could have been more descriptive. He's a good storyteller, though.

So I didn't love The Light, but I didn't dislike it either. It was enjoyable, and I think that fans of teen horror would agree.

And check out the awesome trailer for The Light:

The Devouring Review

Release Date: September 1, 2008
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers
Age Group: 14+
Pages: 240 (Paperback)

When dark creeps in and eats the light, Bury your fears on Sorry Night. For in the winter's blackest hours, Comes the feasting of the Vours, No one can see it, the life they stole, Your body's here but not your soul..." THE VOURS: Evil, demonic beings that inhabit human bodies on Sorry Night, the darkest hours of the winter solstice. When Reggie reads about the Vours in a mysterious old journal, she assumes they are just the musings of an anonymous lunatic. But when her little brother, Henry, begins to act strangely, it's clear that these creatures exist beyond a madwoman's imagination, and Reggie finds out what happens when fears come to life. To save the people she loves, Reggie must learn to survive in a world of nightmares. Can she devour her own fears before they devour her? The Devouring is an engrossing tale of terror that will have you wondering: what if your worst fears became your living nightmare?

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The Devouring is only 231 pages (the last nine pages are an excerpt from the sequel), so it really shouldn't have taken me 4 days to read...and yet it did.

The idea was awesome, but I feel that the whole "my mommy left us" thing got in the way of the story of the Vours. But when the storyline was centered on the Vours, it delivers the promised chills. There were some parts of the book that freaked me out. The book didn't grab me in any parts, even the parts when I felt it should've grabbed me.

Reggie and her brother, Henry-who had been "devoured"-were OK characters. I didn't feel a strong connection with them, even though Reggie wasn't whiny about her situation. Aaron was probably my favorite character, he was quirky, funny, and the only character I felt a slight connection to. Eben was my next favorite, but I was kinda expecting him to die, so I'd made peace with that possibility.

The writing wasn't great. Not bad, it just didn't stand out to me. Simon Holt's writing wasn't all that descriptive, but he is a decent storyteller.

Overall, this book delivers the promised chills...but it doesn't offer you much more than that. It was OK. I'm not sure if I'll be reading the sequel...I'd recommend it...but not in a heartbeat.

But I do love love LOVE the cover.