Review: Welcome To The Dark House by Laurie Stolarz

Welcome To The Dark House

(Dark House #1)

by Laurie Stolarz

July 22, 2014

Disney-Hyperion

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.

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I love me a campy, scream-fest B horror movie, and that’ exactly what Laurie Faria Stolarz’s Welcome to the Dark House feels like, right down to the cliche, yet fun scare tactics; predictable, yet entertaining plot; and rigidly characterized, yet amusing cast.

Everyone has nightmares, some people are just more haunted by there’s than others. Seven essay contest winners are given the opportunity of a lifetime and win a trip to an exclusive, behind the scenes look at the new horror movie from famous Justin Blake. The seven strangers find themselves in a luxurious replica of the Dark House from one of Blake’s movies, but the thrills and frights suddenly feel too real. One of the seven is missing, one is talking to herself, three are caught up in a love triangle, and Ivy and Parker are enjoying getting to know each other...but when literally faced with their nightmares, things turn awesomely, creepily deadly!

Cinematic in scope, Welcome to the Dark House combines many horror movie elements, in both predictable and new ways, creating a genuinely fun and spooky reading experience. Yet, like many of those movies, Welcome to the Dark House suffers from a character overload, cheesy dialogue, and slow pacing.

What Welcome to the Dark House and Stolarz get right is the creepy, spine-tingling atmosphere. From the whole Justin Blake horror movie world the author has created, to the isolated Dark House and amusement park, this is an atmosphere and world that will keep readers fully engaged and on the edge of their seats. Blake’s Nightmare Elf and Hotel 9 movies and characters are creeptastic and over-the-top in the best ways possible. The frights and thrills are plentiful, at least in the last half of the book.  The first half is pretty slow as it is spent getting to know the characters and introducing us and them to the Dark House.

The story unfolds from six different perspectives (Ivy, Parker, Natalie, Frankie, Shayla, and Garth), but Ivy is the main character and focused on the most. We get a detailed glimpse into Ivy’s past, nightmare, and general personality, but the other characters not so much. All six essay winner’s each clearly have their role and trope to play (perky, hot girl; bad/tough boy, freak, All-American guy, goth chick, innocent/virginal girl) and are rigidly characterized as such, with little complexity (which may have been totally intentional!). But, that doesn’t mean these characters aren’t amusing and entertaining, because they are!

Once the characters find themselves in the amusement park and must face their nightmares, the real thrills and chills start! Stolarz offers an awesome mix of gory, heart-pounding, outrageous, psychological scare-tactics and frights. This part of the book is a lot fun, even if some of it is predictable and cheesy. However, I was disappointed by the rushed ending and the many questions left unanswered.

My Final Thoughts: Far from perfect, but entertaining nonetheless, Welcome To The Dark House is a fun story to escape into for a few hours. Campy horror fans, who don’t take their horror too seriously, will get a kick out of this book!

MY RATING

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Laurie Faria Stolarz grew up in Salem, MA, attended Merrimack College, and received an MFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College in Boston.

Interview and Review: S.A. Bodeen, author of Shipwreck Island

I'm stoked to have author S.A. Bodeen stopping by today to chat about her new middle-grade adventure, Shipwreck Island! You can also read my review below...

Shipwreck Island

by S.A. Bodeen

July 29, 2014

Macmillan

Sarah Robinson is deeply troubled in the wake of her dad’s second marriage. She now has to deal with a new stepmom and two stepbrothers, Marco, who is her age, and Nacho, who’s younger. Even though they’ve all moved from Texas to California to start life as a new, blended family, none of the kids seem remotely happy about it.
Sarah’s dad and stepmom then decide to take the whole family on a special vacation in order to break the ice and have everyone get to know one another. They’ll fly to Tahiti, charter a boat, and go sailing for a few days. It’ll be an adventure, right? 
Wrong. Dead wrong.  
Shipwreck Island is the first installment in a series from S.A. Bodeen.

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S.A. Bodeen’s Shipwreck Island is an exciting middle-grade adventure, full of thrills, laughs, and fantastical creatures.

Sarah Robinson is not happy that her dad has remarried a woman he met online. She’s even more unhappy that her new stepmother and two new step-brothers, Marco and Nacho, have moved into the Robinson’s California home. Sarah, Marco, and Nacho get an even bigger nasty surprise when their parents tell them that they will all be taking a private cruise vacation, as a way to get to know each other. A luxurious boat, experienced captain, and cruise around Tahiti: what could go wrong? EVERYTHING! Shipwrecked on a mysterious island, this new blended family must learn to work together if they are going to survive.

Bodeen combines everything a captivating middle-grade read needs- excitement, humor, great storytelling, and likable characters- in Shipwreck Island, to create a fun, edge-of-your seat story that will keep younger readers anxiously turning pages until the cliffhanger ending!

With a mix of adventure, relatable contemporary aspects, and fantastical sci-fi elements, Shipwreck Island will easily amuse and entertain younger readers from beginning to end. From the first moments these characters become a blended family to their less than fun ocean journey and their perilous island adventures, Bodeen crafts an atmosphere ripe with anticipation, mystery, and fun chills. The island this family finds themselves marooned on, dubbed Shipwreck Island, makes for a wonderfully eerie and twisty setting! Giant crabs, kangaroos with claws, terrifying birds, weird sounds and sights- this island is full of the unexpected, the impossible, dark whimsy, and spine-tingling fun!

Sarah, Marco, and Nacho are all likable, endearing characters in their own ways, and I had fun getting to know each of them. Young readers will love Sarah’s humor, Marco’s bravery, and Nacho’s sweetness, and their engaging interactions with each other.

Shipwreck Island is a shorter read and, while I would have happily welcomed more, younger readers will love this bite-sized size book and easily gobble the story up in one sitting. Bodeen leaves us with a shocking, exciting cliffhanger ending and I’m definitely excited for more.

My Final Thoughts: With thrills, humor, fantastical elements, and engaging characters, this middle-grade adventure will please young and older readers alike!

MY RATING

What three words best describe Shipwreck Island?  

Peril. Adventure.  Suspense.

Can you give us your best one sentence pitch to convince readers, especially reluctant readers, to give Shipwreck Island a try?

Shipwreck Island is like Swiss Family Robinson meets Lost…

Grab a copy of Shipwreck Island and answer the following:

favorite chapter? 16

favorite page? 180

favorite setting/place? I like their camp under the monkey pod trees.

flip to a random page and give us a 1-2 sentence teaser: His eyes locked with hers. “I have a feeling that we haven’t seen the worst of this place. Not at all.”

What inspired Shipwreck Island? How did the story come to be?

Jean Feiwel suggested I write a middle grade series reboot of The Swiss Family Robinson, and I knew it needed a very contemporary  spin with a big dose of creepy. Shipwreck Island is where my imagination led.  

Young Sarah, Marco, and Nacho make for three different, yet equally likable characters. Can you briefly tell us a bit about each of them and what makes them special?

Sarah likes her life the way it is. She sees her new step-brothers as invaders to the life she has with her father. She stands up for herself and her family. Whether the boys and their mom will ever be considered family to her remains to be seen…

Marco is a big brother, often annoyed by his younger sibling. He is tough, strong, and doesn’t like having to pull up roots to move in with a new family. He doesn’t let his fear get the best of him, and down deep, he’d do anything to protect his mother and brother.

Nacho is a collector of information, much of which he retains. He wants his older brother to respect him, but time after time he gives Marco reasons to make fun of him. He is the most open-minded of the kids, the only one willing to make a go of their new family situation.  

The characters in Shipwreck Island end up on quite a mysterious, unique island and must rely on some serious survival skills...what would say are the top three things one must have or do to survive being shipwrecked?

Fire-making: top of the list. Shelter-building: also an asset. Common sense/a level head: also important. If you run around freaking out, you won’t be able to build a fire or cook or do anything you need  to.

Shipwreck Island ends in such an exciting, yet cliffhang-ery way...can you tell us anything about what’s to come in book two?

Book 2 starts up seconds after Book 1 ends and the reader will learn much more about the new character and possibly that eerie message in the sand…

As a middle-grade author, why do you think middle-grade is so important? Who is your absolute favorite MG hero and heroine?

I think middle grade is when independent readers really branch out, discover what they like to read, and begin to form lifelong solo reading habits. Providing terrific books at this age is crucial in order to develop/ foster/maintain that love of reading. Oh, it’s hard to pick a favorite. Hero: Charlie Bucket  Heroine: Karana, from Island of the Blue Dolphins.

Fill in the blanks:

I’m really awesome at baking desserts.

I’m really embarrassed to admit that I can’t swim.

The last great book I read was She is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick.

If you were to create and bake a cupcake inspired by Shipwreck Island, what would it look and taste like, and what would you call it?

I think it would be marbled Madagascar vanilla and mango, with cream cheese frosting and green-tinted shredded coconut on top. I would call it The Moonflight Delight, of course.

Thank you so much for stopping by, S.A. Bodeen!

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S.A. Bodeen is the author of The Garden and The Compound, which earned her an ALA Quick Pick for Young Adults, a Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year, and a Publishers Weekly "Flying Start." She is also the author of several picture books, including  Elizabeti’s Doll, winner of the Ezra Jack Keats Award. Bodeen grew up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin. Her first friends were cows, which she named after characters in books. From there she went on to be a Peace Corps volunteer in East Africa, and has lived in seven states, as well as a remote Pacific island. She adores books and is a big fan of cheese. She lives in Oregon. 

The Family Romanov Blog Tour {Guest Post & Giveaway}

I'm thrilled to have The Family Romanov Blog Tour stopping by today! Author Candace Fleming is here with a great Guest Post and you can enter the awesome Giveaway to win a copy of this fascinating middle-grade historical biography of your own...

The Family Romanov:

Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall Of Imperial Russia

by Candace Fleming

July 8, 2014

Random House Kids

ages 9-12

From the acclaimed author of Amelia Lost and The Lincolns comes more nonfiction at its very best—and a perfect resource for meeting Common Core standards.
Here is the riveting story of the Russian Revolution as it unfolded. When Russia’s last tsar, Nicholas II, inherited the throne in 1894, he was unprepared to do so. With their four daughters (including Anastasia) and only son, a hemophiliac, Nicholas and his reclusive wife, Alexandra, buried their heads in the sand, living a life of opulence as World War I raged outside their door and political unrest grew. 
Deftly maneuvering between the lives of the Romanovs and the plight of Russia’s peasants—and their eventual uprising—Fleming offers up a fascinating portrait, complete with inserts featuring period photographs and compelling primary-source material that brings it all to life. History doesn’t get more interesting than the story of the Romanovs.

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Top Ten Facts About The Romanovs

by Candace Fleming

Just ten favorite facts about the Romanovs?  It’s so hard to choose!  There’s so much about them that sparks my curiosity; so much that breaks my heart.  Still, without further ado, and in no particular order are ten intriguing moments drawn from their lives:

Fact #1:  Nicholas and Alexandra fell in love when Alix was very young.  Just twelve years old when she arrived in Russia for a family wedding, she was swept off her feet by the dashing, sixteen year old future tsar.  The couple spent four blissful days at Peterhof, rambling through the gardens and picking flowers.  They even used one of their diamonds to scratch “Alix, Nicky” on a windowpane.  Before she left, Nicky tried to give her a jeweled brooch.  Alix refused it because she was sure her grandmother, Queen Victoria, would disapprove.   She did, however, leave with his heart.

Fact #2:  Nicholas II was a chain smoker.  He smoked cigarettes made especially for him by Benson & Hedges.  Each was stamped with the imperial crest – a gold, double-headed eagle. Even while in captivity in Tobolsk, his friends managed to send him these fancy cigarettes.  But by the time he arrived in Ekaterinburg, he was forced to beg his captors for the cheap tobacco rolled in cardboard tubes that they smoked.  It’s been said that going without cigarettes was one of worst hardships he suffered there.

Fact #3:  One might think the Romanovs spoke and wrote to each other in Russian.  But they didn’t.  Because Alexandra never managed to fully grasp the language, husband and wife communicated in English.  (She also spoke French and her native language, German). This continued after the children were born.  Why not use one of Alix’s other languages?  Because speaking German in the tsar’s household would have been considered inappropriate while French was reserved for the language of the court.

Fact #4:  Alexandra believed in mystics long before the arrival of Rasputin.  In fact, before the infamous monk arrived at the palace, another charlatan had been welcomed – “Dr” Philippe.  Philippe claimed he could heal the sick by chanting, predict the future by praying, and make himself invisible just by donning a magic hat.  Desperate for a male heir after giving birth to three daughters, Alexandra turned to this French mystic.  Secretly meeting with him, she underwent a “moral examination” by peering deep into his eyes for a few seconds.  Philippe declared her next child would be a boy… if she partook of his “astral medicine.”    Alexandra eagerly followed his instructions.  She prayed for hours on end, forced down glassfuls of bitter herbal concoctions and bathed in the moonlight on what  “Dr.” Philippe called “astrologically auspicious nights.”  And was her next child a boy?  No.  Six months later she gave birth to Anastasia.

Fact #5:  Nicholas loved wearing uniforms and he owned several hundred of them.  Each came complete with matching sabers, sashes, hats and medals.  Every morning a servant whose only job was to keep track of which accessories went with which uniform laid out all the appropriate pieces.  Nicholas’ dresser would help him into this costume after his morning bath.

Fact #6:  Even though Nicholas was the richest man on the planet, owning one-sixth of the world’s land mass, he gave his children just nine dollars a week in allowance.  Out of this they were expected to buy themselves little luxuries like notepaper and perfume, as well as purchase any presents they wanted to give.  Who did the kids buy for?  Their guards – the Cossacks of the tsar’s escort, and the sailors on the imperial yachts.  In their isolation, the children turned to these people for friendship.  The grand duchesses, as well as Alexei, not only knew the names of the men who guarded them, they also knew the names of the men’s families.  Talking freely, the kids listened to stories of the men’s home lives and looked at photographs of their wives and children.  They formed close attachments to their guards, and generously spend their little bit of pocket money on them.

Fact #7:  The Romanovs third daughter, Marie, was incredibly strong.  As a small child she could lift her male tutors clear off the ground.  She most likely inherited this strength from her grandfather, Tsar Alexander III, who was so strong he could bend iron pokers and twist silver forks into knots.  Marie had another unusual ability, too.  She could paint a picture with her left hand while writing a letter with her right!

Fact #8:  The heir to the throne, Alexei, had atrocious table manners.  He wouldn’t sit up, chewed with his mouth open, licked his plate and teased the dinner guests.  One of his favorite table tricks was rolling pieces of bread into pellets, and shooting them into the guests’ soup.  Once he crawled under the table and snatched a slipper off a female visitor’s foot.  Nicholas commanded his son to return it.  Alexei did, but not until he’d stuffed a big, juicy strawberry into the shoe.  Then he smashed it back onto her foot.   The guest screamed.  Alexei was banned from the dining room for a week.

Fact #9:  The Romanovs loved animals and kept a curious assortment at Tsarskoe Selo.  Among them was Vaska the cat and Ortipo, a French bulldog who slept so soundly he kept the girls up at night.  There was Vanka, a trained donkey from an Italian circus who snuffled through the children’s pockets for treats and the rubber balls he like to chew on.  There was an elephant with its own stable (a gift from the King of Siam), two llamas, and a mouse that lived in Marie and Anastasia’s room.  There was also parrot that resided – of all places – in the tsar’s bathroom.  And there was a King Charles spaniel who earned the nickname “rascal” because he did his “governor-general” on the carpets.  The girls’ parents gave them a silver scoop and shovel with which to clean it up.

Fact #10:  After the Romanov’s murder, an icon was found in the rooms in which the family had been held.  On the back in Olga’s hand was written the following prayer.  Whether she wrote it herself, or copied it from someplace else is not known, but it must have reflected her feelings during the last days of her captivity:

Give Patience, Lord to us, Thy Children,

In these dark stormy days to bear

The persecution of our people,

The torture falling to our shores.

Give strength, Just God, to us who need it,

The persecutors to forgive,

Our heavy, painful cross to carry

And Thy great meekness to achieve.

When we are plundered and insulted,

In days of mutinous unrest

We turn for help to Thee, Christ Savior,

That we may stand the bitter test.

Lord of the word, God of creation,

Give us Thy blessing through our prayer

Give peace of heart to us, O Master,

This hour of utmost dread to bear.

And on the threshold of the grave,

Breathe power divine into our clay

That we, Thy children, may find strength

In meekness for our foes to pray.

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Candace Fleming awarded herself the Newbery Medal in fifth grade after scraping the gold sticker off the class copy of The Witch of Blackbird Pond and pasting it onto her first novel—a ten-page, ten-chapter mystery called Who Done It? She’s been collecting awards (her own, not Elizabeth George Speare’s) ever since.

Today, Candace is the versatile and acclaimed author of more than twenty books for children, including the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award-winning biography, The Lincolns; the bestselling picture book, Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!; and the belovedBoxes for Katje.

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