Review Detail

HORRID is an intensely creepy story that follows Jane and her mother, Ruth. Jane's father has just died and after finding out that were in dire financial straights, Ruth is moving them across the country from California back to Maine, where her mother's house has been empty in the years since she died. The house is dilapidated and full of creaks and sounds.

As Jane begins to go around town, people remark about how much she looks like someone else- though her mother is quick to cut them off from saying more. Her mother is a terrible liar, so we know she is hiding something big from Jane, and it seems that everyone in the small town but her know. At the same time, the groans and such from the house are not just settling. Jane is hearing a person from the locked room that her mother claims is just storage and seeing shadows from it.

Jane never really knows if she is just imaging things or if the things she sees and hears are real. Not everyone is town is welcoming, and Jane is barely holding herself together between the grief over her father's sudden death and the cross-country move during her senior year of high school.

This book covers some heavy topics, and it's hard to say what all without giving things away, but pica is one that we learn about early on, as Jane eats books as a way to self-regulate. The ending really shocked me, and we never really find out what is real. The paranormal elements are really well woven such that even the reader is left guessing. This is definitely a super-creepy book that is perfect for Halloween reading.

HORRID is an intense and compelling YA horror novel that will leave readers reeling. Highly recommend for people looking for some creepy Halloween reads.