House of Hollow, by Krystal Sutherland

 Savvy's Reviews

Not sure you want to dig into that new book? Let Savvy do the hard work for you! Here's her latest review!

 

House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland

 

Seventeen-year-old Iris Hollow has always been strange. Something happened to her and her two older sisters when they were children, something they can’t quite remember but that left each of them with an identical half-moon scar at the base of their throats.

 

Iris has spent most of her teenage years trying to avoid the weirdness that sticks to her like tar. But when her eldest sister, Grey, goes missing under suspicious circumstances, Iris learns just how weird her life can get: horned men start shadowing her, a corpse falls out of her sister’s ceiling, and ugly, impossible memories start to twist their way to the forefront of her mind.

 

As Iris retraces Grey’s last known footsteps and follows the increasingly bizarre trail of breadcrumbs she left behind, it becomes apparent that the only way to save her sister is to decipher the mystery of what happened to them as children.

 

The closer Iris gets to the truth, the closer she comes to understanding that the answer is dark and dangerous – and that Grey has been keeping a terrible secret from her for years. - GoodReads.com

 

The best way to describe this book would have to be a slow burning fire that infects the brain and keeps you hooked long after you put it down. This is an urban Grimm fairy tale set inside a nightmare. 

 

“My sisters. My blood. My skin. What a gruesome bond we shared.”

 

If you’ve read my reviews before you’ll know that I, of course, love horror but hate the slow burn thriller. Think of something like Haunting of Hill House or Haunting of Bly Manor… you’re terrified you’re going to see something horrific the whole time but eventually you start to let your guard down. Just when you do… Here comes the jump scare. 

 

For me this book was less about jump scares and more about grisly imagery. The girls themselves have literal flowers that will sprout out of any cut or bleed in their skin… It sounds beautiful and really fits in with my horror aesthetic but it’s not exactly a comfy thought. 

 

“I am the thing in the dark.”

What I loved about this book was how empowered each of the sisters were, especially Grey, the oldest sister, who has made the best of the circumstances at hand. I also loved the intense bond of sisterhood. That sort of twin telepathy that you have with someone you love where you always know when something is wrong even if you’re not together. 

 

I did have to put this book down right towards the end and come back to it because I seriously just didn’t see where the end could possibly be going… But that’s that jump scare we talked about. As soon as I picked it back up the twist began. It kind of wrapped up like “We Were Liars” by E. Lockhart except I know I actually did like this book. (I still have mixed feelings about WWL…)

 

So I’ll tell you this: If you read this book… be committed to seeing it through to the end because it will all make sense and it will all be worth it. I really did enjoy reading this book even if I had to revisit it later. 

 

For fans of “Here There Are Monsters” by Amelinda Berube and “Bone Gap” by Laura Ruby.

Savvy B. is an avid Young Adult fiction superfan. 

Savvy's Reviews will be archived here, so you can catch up on all her thoughts on her latest reads.

Horrid, by Katrina Leno

Savvy's Reviews

Not sure you want to dig into that new book? Let Savvy do the hard work for you! Here's her latest review!

 

Horrid by Katrina Leno 

 

Following her father's death, Jane North-Robinson and her mom move from sunny California to the dreary, dilapidated old house in Maine where her mother grew up. All they want is a fresh start, but behind North Manor's doors lurks a history that leaves them feeling more alone...and more tormented.

 

As the cold New England autumn arrives, and Jane settles in to her new home, she finds solace in old books and memories of her dad. She steadily begins making new friends, but also faces bullying from the resident "bad seed," struggling to tamp down her own worst nature in response. Jane's mom also seems to be spiraling with the return of her childhood home, but she won't reveal why. Then Jane discovers that the "storage room" her mom has kept locked isn't for storage at all — it's a little girl's bedroom, left untouched for years and not quite as empty of inhabitants as it appears....

 

Is it grief? Mental illness? Or something more...horrid? - GoodReads.com

 

That last line, “Is it grief? Mental illness? Or something more…horrid?” is what really pulled me into this book. That and the cover fits my perfect YA horror aesthetic. (Have you seen my TikTok about that? You should follow us @RandolphCountyLib) Anyway… if that wasn’t enough to pull you in, the opening line should finish the job and hook you for the rest of it. 

 

“She couldn’t remember the first book she had eaten.” 

 

I mean come on… you’re telling me you wouldn’t want to see just what she meant and read a little further? 

 

I recently posted a picture on our Instagram (second shameless plug: @AsheboroLibraryTeenZone) asking Katrina Leno what she put in this one. I was literally eating this book alive, tearing through it more than other books I’ve been reading lately. I didn’t want to work. I didn’t want to sleep. All I wanted to do was read this book which seems to fit the theme… I see you Leno. I’m on to you! 

 

Let’s talk about the story structure. I don’t know how many times I’ve said that I am just not a fan of the slow burning horror genre. I just get bored. But I don’t know if I would call this a slow burn. Because even though the horror slowly crept up on me while reading this, it felt fast paced. The writing is just incredible. It felt so natural and all of the conversations just felt real. Bravo because sometimes that’s really hard to pull off in a YA novel. 

 

I didn’t even notice how long I had been reading this book for until suddenly I was on page 100 on the first pick up. Incredible. Darkly disturbing and nearly gothic, time passes differently while reading this one. 

 

This story covers two of my favorite combined topics: ghost horror hauntings and mental illness. And let me tell you… I still cannot wrap my head around this ending. But in the best way possible. This was one of those where the ending really snuck up on me. There was so much happening and then suddenly I only had two pages left and I couldn’t possibly see the ending in sight! I was worried this amazing novel was about to just drop off right at the end. I didn’t think there could be a second one in the works… but then suddenly… just as quickly as it started, it ended. 

 

And boy did it. I gasped. Reread the last two pages… gasped again. And then proceeded to stare at the wall for five minutes. Of course, I then texted all my friends and told them they needed to read this book. (I may or may not have put some of them on hold without them knowing lol surprise y’all!)  

 

I’ve been reading a lot of banger books lately and it’s super exciting. It’s going to be rather unfortunate when I finally hit one that breaks this streak of awesome writing. Overall this book was different from the others for a few reasons.

1. The writing was genuine and felt completely natural

2. The storyline was possibly predictable but that didn’t ruin the enjoyment of the book

3. The bumps-in-the-night were such normal “house settling noises” that I found myself questioning the noises in my own house. (We happen to have a ghost at our house and he made himself very known while I was home alone reading this book. He must have been reading over my shoulder because a few of the noises that I’m used to hearing were too perfectly timed with what I was reading.)

4. The ending is unlike any other I’ve read. It reads like a movie and ends like one too. I’d love to see this adapted one day.

 

Thank you Katrina Leno but the ending of this book had no reason going this hard but it did. This is a classic addition to the YA horror genre and I loved it. All I have to say to you Katrina Leno is: Secret de Polichinelle…? Bravo my friend… bravo.

 

Savvy B. is an avid Young Adult fiction superfan. 

Savvy's Reviews will be archived here, so you can catch up on all her thoughts on her latest reads.