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The Harrowing
Baird College's Mendenhall echoes with the footsteps of the last home-bound students heading off for Thanksgiving break, and Robin Stone swears she can feel the creepy, hundred-year-old residence hall breathe a sigh of relief for its long-awaited solitude. Or perhaps it's only gathering itself for the coming weekend.
As a massive storm dumps rain on the isolated campus, four other lonely students reveal Patrick, a handsome jock; Lisa, a manipulative tease; Cain, a brooding musician; and finally Martin, a scholarly eccentric. Each has forsaken a long weekend at home for their own secret reasons.
The five unlikely companions establish a tentative rapport, but they soon become aware of a sixth presence disturbing the ominous silence that pervades the building. Are they the victims of a simple college prank taken way too far, or is the unusual energy evidence of something genuine---and intent on using the five students for its own terrifying ends? It's only Thursday afternoon, and they have three long days and dark nights before the rest of the world returns to find out what's become of them. But for now it's just the darkness keeping company with five students nobody wants and no one will miss.
As a massive storm dumps rain on the isolated campus, four other lonely students reveal Patrick, a handsome jock; Lisa, a manipulative tease; Cain, a brooding musician; and finally Martin, a scholarly eccentric. Each has forsaken a long weekend at home for their own secret reasons.
The five unlikely companions establish a tentative rapport, but they soon become aware of a sixth presence disturbing the ominous silence that pervades the building. Are they the victims of a simple college prank taken way too far, or is the unusual energy evidence of something genuine---and intent on using the five students for its own terrifying ends? It's only Thursday afternoon, and they have three long days and dark nights before the rest of the world returns to find out what's become of them. But for now it's just the darkness keeping company with five students nobody wants and no one will miss.
247 pages, Hardcover
First published August 22, 2006
266 people are currently reading
3030 people want to read
About the author
Alexandra Sokoloff
37 books988 followersI'm the Thriller Award-winning and Bram Stoker and Anthony Award-nominated author of the bestselling and very feminist HUNTRESS MOON thrillers: Huntress Moon, Blood Moon, Cold Moon. Bitter Moon, Hunger Moon, Shadow Moon and the supernatural thrillers The Harrowing, The Price, Book of Shadows, The Unseen, The Space Between. The New York Times Book Review has called me "a daughter of Mary Shelley" and my novels "some of the most original and freshly unnerving work in the genre."
I'm a California native and a graduate of U.C. Berkeley, where I majored in theater and minored in everything that Berkeley has a reputation for. After college I moved to Los Angeles, where I made an interesting living doing novel adaptations and selling original thriller scripts to various Hollywood studios.
Now I (mostly!) live in Scotland with my Scottish crime-writing husband, Craig Robertson. We've just written a new mystery/thriller series together — and we're still married and haven't killed each other! LOST HIGHWAY will be out in 2026.
My HUNTRESS MOON series follows a haunted FBI agent on the hunt for a female serial killer, which means I can smash hated genre cliches and kill a lot of men who need to be killed.
In my paranormal and supernatural thrillers, I like to cross the possibility of the supernatural with very real life explanations for any strangeness going on, and base the action squarely in fact. THE UNSEEN is based on real paranormal research conducted at the Duke University parapsychology lab, and BOOK OF SHADOWS teams a Boston homicide detective and a practicing Salem witch in a race to solve what may be a Satanic killing. THE SPACE BETWEEN is an edgy supernatural YA about a troubled high school girl who is having dreams of a terrible massacre at her school, and becomes convinced that she can prevent the shooting if she can unravel the dream.
My non-fiction workbooks SCREENWRITING TRICKS FOR AUTHORS and WRITING LOVE, based on my internationally acclaimed workshops and blog, have helped writers of all levels all over the world finish their books and find agents and book deals. https://alexandrasokoloff.substack.com/
When I'm not writing I travel and I dance: jazz, ballet, salsa, Lindy, swing - I do it all, every chance I get.
Join the mailing list (and receive a FREE short story from the SHATTERING GLASS anthology!):
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Connect with me:
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Substack: https://alexandrasokoloff.substack.com -
Read more about the books! http://alexandrasokoloff.com
I'm a California native and a graduate of U.C. Berkeley, where I majored in theater and minored in everything that Berkeley has a reputation for. After college I moved to Los Angeles, where I made an interesting living doing novel adaptations and selling original thriller scripts to various Hollywood studios.
Now I (mostly!) live in Scotland with my Scottish crime-writing husband, Craig Robertson. We've just written a new mystery/thriller series together — and we're still married and haven't killed each other! LOST HIGHWAY will be out in 2026.
My HUNTRESS MOON series follows a haunted FBI agent on the hunt for a female serial killer, which means I can smash hated genre cliches and kill a lot of men who need to be killed.
In my paranormal and supernatural thrillers, I like to cross the possibility of the supernatural with very real life explanations for any strangeness going on, and base the action squarely in fact. THE UNSEEN is based on real paranormal research conducted at the Duke University parapsychology lab, and BOOK OF SHADOWS teams a Boston homicide detective and a practicing Salem witch in a race to solve what may be a Satanic killing. THE SPACE BETWEEN is an edgy supernatural YA about a troubled high school girl who is having dreams of a terrible massacre at her school, and becomes convinced that she can prevent the shooting if she can unravel the dream.
My non-fiction workbooks SCREENWRITING TRICKS FOR AUTHORS and WRITING LOVE, based on my internationally acclaimed workshops and blog, have helped writers of all levels all over the world finish their books and find agents and book deals. https://alexandrasokoloff.substack.com/
When I'm not writing I travel and I dance: jazz, ballet, salsa, Lindy, swing - I do it all, every chance I get.
Join the mailing list (and receive a FREE short story from the SHATTERING GLASS anthology!):
https://authoralexandrasokoloff.subst... -
Connect with me:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alexandra.so...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexandraso...
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/alexsokoloff...
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@alexandrasok...
Substack: https://alexandrasokoloff.substack.com -
Read more about the books! http://alexandrasokoloff.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 374 reviews
December 15, 2019
An okay read with some interesting religious bits. I never heard of a story that before God created life, his first creations were unsuccessful and could not contain life and shattered into pieces which were then confined to the abyss. When the students in the book consulted a rabbi about this story he said it was ridiculous because how could God be unsuccessful at creating life.
Anyway, the story was written in a way that seems to me to be a screenplay with a movie in mind. The students were stock characters of misfits and used language that is supposed to appeal to a young adult reader I assume, freaked is used a lot. The writer had an over fondness for having the students jolt or bolt away.
The scenes with the Ouija board were fun and always got my attention because Ouija board. I was surprised at the sudden shift to bloody violence at the end which didn't seem to fit the story which was very supernatural and ghostly up to that point.
Anyway, the story was written in a way that seems to me to be a screenplay with a movie in mind. The students were stock characters of misfits and used language that is supposed to appeal to a young adult reader I assume, freaked is used a lot. The writer had an over fondness for having the students jolt or bolt away.
The scenes with the Ouija board were fun and always got my attention because Ouija board. I was surprised at the sudden shift to bloody violence at the end which didn't seem to fit the story which was very supernatural and ghostly up to that point.
January 30, 2008
A simple ghost story stretched rather too long and with a bit too much emo for my tastes. Robin is a college student with angst—do you hear me? ANGST—who stays in her dorm over Thanksgiving instead of going home to her crazy (and ANGST-causing!) mom. She meets four other outcast-types, and then they all accidentally raise an evil spirit. As one does.
The first few séance-y scenes are the best in the book; Robin’s emo, which makes the first section drag, is finally sidelined, and there’s some fun creepy stuff. But there’s a lot of the characters being too dumb to realize REALLY OBVIOUS STUFF, and while the evil spirit they’ve conjured has an interesting and unusual origin story, it’s not enough to save the ending from feeling like the slightly sleepy lovechild of The Exorcist and The Shining. Further, the resolution is a little too pat, the-authorities-really-bought-that?-style, and there’s also a totally unnecessary epilogue of the you-think-it’s-over-but-it’s-not-really-over variety. I really appreciate the mere EXISTENCE of a horror novel that has women in active roles, and even being a little bit kickass, but other that the protagonist’s gender, this book doesn’t really have much to distinguish it from any other scary story.
The first few séance-y scenes are the best in the book; Robin’s emo, which makes the first section drag, is finally sidelined, and there’s some fun creepy stuff. But there’s a lot of the characters being too dumb to realize REALLY OBVIOUS STUFF, and while the evil spirit they’ve conjured has an interesting and unusual origin story, it’s not enough to save the ending from feeling like the slightly sleepy lovechild of The Exorcist and The Shining. Further, the resolution is a little too pat, the-authorities-really-bought-that?-style, and there’s also a totally unnecessary epilogue of the you-think-it’s-over-but-it’s-not-really-over variety. I really appreciate the mere EXISTENCE of a horror novel that has women in active roles, and even being a little bit kickass, but other that the protagonist’s gender, this book doesn’t really have much to distinguish it from any other scary story.
August 27, 2008
Not harrowing enough.
December 6, 2018
"It was all some dark, unfathomable mass, a vortex of chaos and confusion."
The Harrowing didn't really work for me. First, the synopsis makes it sound like the book is about the horrors that occur while students are stuck at school for Thanksgiving break. I was expecting something ominous and atmospheric like The Blackcoat's Daughter, but nope. This was only a portion of the book, so the synopsis was misleading.
The book is set at a dark and gothic-sounding university, and I feel like it was just a throw-away piece that the author felt like she had to have. There was no world-building with it to build dread or suspense. It was just...there. It could have been creepy, but the writing is lackluster.
The things that happen in this book should be interesting in theory, but they are shared in a way that didn't catch my attention. It had the pieces to be a cool story, but it wasn't woven together well.
Next up, there's an anti-Semitic ghost. Why? I don't know. It was weird and unnecessary. We also have some ghost rape thrown in, and it felt like focus was put on the wrong things. I skimmed most of the second half of the book. I'm done talking about this book now.
The Harrowing didn't really work for me. First, the synopsis makes it sound like the book is about the horrors that occur while students are stuck at school for Thanksgiving break. I was expecting something ominous and atmospheric like The Blackcoat's Daughter, but nope. This was only a portion of the book, so the synopsis was misleading.
The book is set at a dark and gothic-sounding university, and I feel like it was just a throw-away piece that the author felt like she had to have. There was no world-building with it to build dread or suspense. It was just...there. It could have been creepy, but the writing is lackluster.
The things that happen in this book should be interesting in theory, but they are shared in a way that didn't catch my attention. It had the pieces to be a cool story, but it wasn't woven together well.
Next up, there's an anti-Semitic ghost. Why? I don't know. It was weird and unnecessary. We also have some ghost rape thrown in, and it felt like focus was put on the wrong things. I skimmed most of the second half of the book. I'm done talking about this book now.
May 9, 2021
I picked this book up on a whim, and for very cheaply, whilst second-hand book browsing. I did not read the synopsis but was drawn in by the creepy cover and the sinister title font. I decided to forego an investigation of what to expect from reading this and go into it blindly once I had taken the book home, as well. I wrongly assumed that this was a thriller novel, with maybe some light horror elements, when it was in fact a very clear paranormal horror. And a very well-done one too, I might add!
This book is largely set in Mendenhall, a sprawling and ancient building housing student accommodation in Baird College. Most of its inhabitants have returned home for Thanksgiving, leaving five lonely students to wander its dark and draughty hallways, alone. These five individuals are all lost, in their own ways, but share a kinship, and something far more sinister, during their weekend together.
This did not break the mould for the outline that many haunted novels follow, but that is exactly what I loved about it. Give me all of the creaking floorboards, shadowy attic spaces, unexplained sounds inside the walls, and mysteriously tipped over furniture whenever a room is vacated, please! Sokoloff perfectly executed all of these well-used horror fiction features to craft something that left me feeling tense and uneasy, throughout.
The characters could also have been a little cliche if this author had not made their individual voices come to light, to mingle with those from the past, and make this a well-done and well-rounded Gothic and horrifying read.
This book is largely set in Mendenhall, a sprawling and ancient building housing student accommodation in Baird College. Most of its inhabitants have returned home for Thanksgiving, leaving five lonely students to wander its dark and draughty hallways, alone. These five individuals are all lost, in their own ways, but share a kinship, and something far more sinister, during their weekend together.
This did not break the mould for the outline that many haunted novels follow, but that is exactly what I loved about it. Give me all of the creaking floorboards, shadowy attic spaces, unexplained sounds inside the walls, and mysteriously tipped over furniture whenever a room is vacated, please! Sokoloff perfectly executed all of these well-used horror fiction features to craft something that left me feeling tense and uneasy, throughout.
The characters could also have been a little cliche if this author had not made their individual voices come to light, to mingle with those from the past, and make this a well-done and well-rounded Gothic and horrifying read.
May 16, 2024
The quote on the front of my copy described this perfectly " the exorcist meets scream". The book handles that concept well, but the actual content is a little on the tame side. I was most hooked when the teens were arguing with each other which made some great conflict. But the haunting scenes were low on horror details and I was left wanting a bit more. The author does stick the landing though as it ends pretty well. I would still reccomend but maybe not to my taste.
5 students who do not know each other well are all that is left in the college dorms on thanksgiving weekend. Bored, they start exploring and find an antique ouija board that summons a spirit. Things take a turn when this ghost shows he means to harm them and it makes their lives a misery for the rest of the semester. Can they exorcise the spirit before it ruins them completely?
5 students who do not know each other well are all that is left in the college dorms on thanksgiving weekend. Bored, they start exploring and find an antique ouija board that summons a spirit. Things take a turn when this ghost shows he means to harm them and it makes their lives a misery for the rest of the semester. Can they exorcise the spirit before it ruins them completely?
September 21, 2020
I enjoyed this, although I'd have to say that the first half of the book was stronger than the second. Nevertheless, it was a really interesting premise as I'm a sucker for horror with a religeous bent.
March 8, 2018
I bought this book a while back pretty much because the blurb on the inside flap sounded interesting. I brought it home and it instantly hit the top of my "Books that Must be Read Now" pile, and was soon lost as I added more and more books. I moved recently and had to take stock of my library, and that's when I found this little gem of a ghost story hiding in one of my moving boxes.
This book doesn't disappoint. In the beginning I was pulled in almost immediately, and when the action really started to happen I was confused, scared, and utterly unable to put the book down. I was actually apprehensive about reading it alone in the dark. lol
It's not easy to write a genuinely creepy contemporary ghost story, and Sokoloff actually did it while blowing the socks off of common stereotypes. I think this would make an excellent film, but it would have to be done right. Anyone with a recognizable name would be unable to play any of the parts. A recognized face would ruin the characters, especially since all of them appear very stereotypical on the surface, but end up becoming so much more.
I highly recommend The Harrowing to anyone who likes stories that go bump in the night. This isn't your typical ghost story.
This book doesn't disappoint. In the beginning I was pulled in almost immediately, and when the action really started to happen I was confused, scared, and utterly unable to put the book down. I was actually apprehensive about reading it alone in the dark. lol
It's not easy to write a genuinely creepy contemporary ghost story, and Sokoloff actually did it while blowing the socks off of common stereotypes. I think this would make an excellent film, but it would have to be done right. Anyone with a recognizable name would be unable to play any of the parts. A recognized face would ruin the characters, especially since all of them appear very stereotypical on the surface, but end up becoming so much more.
I highly recommend The Harrowing to anyone who likes stories that go bump in the night. This isn't your typical ghost story.
November 7, 2015
Now this was one fantastic book. It was made into a movie as well. I knew beforehand that this was the case but I have a rule that I read the book first, movie second. Of course when I do this, I constantly criticize the movie every time saying out loud, "That didn't happen, hey, that wasn't like that in the book." LOL.
I watched the trailer on YouTube but haven't seen the movie as of yet. I look forward to it though.
If your looking for a good spooky tale that you can about read in one sitting this is it. Perfect for Thanksgiving as it takes place during that time. Five students have stayed behind at their college during Thanksgiving break. In one form or another these students are outcasts, or the ones who have some tough issues going on in their personal lives. A massive rain storm as moved in and the students inadvertently come together in the main living room, beside a roaring fire. All would have been well until the Ouija board comes out. Bad idea. What they conjure leads them on a roller coaster ride towards potential death.
Loved the ending of the book. Its one of those stories that stays with you. The kind you think about days later, wishing you could read some more, wishing for another page or even just to read it again. I recommend this book!
I watched the trailer on YouTube but haven't seen the movie as of yet. I look forward to it though.
If your looking for a good spooky tale that you can about read in one sitting this is it. Perfect for Thanksgiving as it takes place during that time. Five students have stayed behind at their college during Thanksgiving break. In one form or another these students are outcasts, or the ones who have some tough issues going on in their personal lives. A massive rain storm as moved in and the students inadvertently come together in the main living room, beside a roaring fire. All would have been well until the Ouija board comes out. Bad idea. What they conjure leads them on a roller coaster ride towards potential death.
Loved the ending of the book. Its one of those stories that stays with you. The kind you think about days later, wishing you could read some more, wishing for another page or even just to read it again. I recommend this book!
October 29, 2010
The Harrowing was a pretty good book to read around Halloween. It was nicely scary, and the story idea was quite interesting. Ms. Sokoloff integrated Jewish creation lore into this story. I thought that it gave this story an individuality for a ghost story/supernatural horror story. This was a major strength of this novel.
I also really liked Robin, the main character. She starts this story at a complete low, but shows courage, ingenuity, and strength of character that is crucial for the ordeal she will face, along with her new-found friends.
The message that no one is worthless or a discard resonated with me. We all have a place in the world, and have individual worth as people. Through Robin, Cain, Lisa, Patrick, and Martin, this theme comes to life. There was a bit of a Breakfast Club vibe to this story that I enjoyed. You see the five archetypes for young adults come together: The musician/artsy kid (Cain), the sexy promiscuous girl who no guy can resist (Lisa), the football star (Patrick), the nerd (Martin), and the depressed, black-wearing strange girl (Robin). Each character has their own issues that they are dealing with that make them feel like that are burdened down by life. On the downside, I wish that Lisa's character had been given a little more depth. I didn't really get to see why she was promiscuous, other than something in her past had driven her down that path. Perhaps she was molested and no one believed her. Also, I felt that Waverly, Robin's Southern Belle roommate, and Patrick's girlfriend, could have been more three-dimensional. I realize she was just a secondary character, but she's an important one.
The major reason I did not rate this higher was a matter of personal tastes. I am not a fan of the teen slasher horror motif. Unfortunately, that was the direction that this story went towards. I sound like a fuddy-duddy, but I didn't like all the drinking and drug use. Yes, I know lots of college students toke up and get drunk, but it made me uncomfortable. It started out nicely eerie and gothic, which I really appreciated. However, I didn't see why the possessed character had to turn into an ax-wielding murderer. That seemed a little off-course from the original direction of the story. In fact, I could have done without that element. The demise of one of the characters seemed to be too abrupt and the way in which the character's body was used seemed kind of crude and unnecessary. If the author wanted to convey a sense of risk to the characters, I think there were other ways to go with this.
Overall, this was a good book. I liked the very unique idea behind the haunting, and it had some good messages about identity, tolerance (it touches on anti-semitism) and friendship. I just wish that the story had kept to the original gothic elements and atmosphere the whole way through.
I also really liked Robin, the main character. She starts this story at a complete low, but shows courage, ingenuity, and strength of character that is crucial for the ordeal she will face, along with her new-found friends.
The message that no one is worthless or a discard resonated with me. We all have a place in the world, and have individual worth as people. Through Robin, Cain, Lisa, Patrick, and Martin, this theme comes to life. There was a bit of a Breakfast Club vibe to this story that I enjoyed. You see the five archetypes for young adults come together: The musician/artsy kid (Cain), the sexy promiscuous girl who no guy can resist (Lisa), the football star (Patrick), the nerd (Martin), and the depressed, black-wearing strange girl (Robin). Each character has their own issues that they are dealing with that make them feel like that are burdened down by life. On the downside, I wish that Lisa's character had been given a little more depth. I didn't really get to see why she was promiscuous, other than something in her past had driven her down that path. Perhaps she was molested and no one believed her. Also, I felt that Waverly, Robin's Southern Belle roommate, and Patrick's girlfriend, could have been more three-dimensional. I realize she was just a secondary character, but she's an important one.
The major reason I did not rate this higher was a matter of personal tastes. I am not a fan of the teen slasher horror motif. Unfortunately, that was the direction that this story went towards. I sound like a fuddy-duddy, but I didn't like all the drinking and drug use. Yes, I know lots of college students toke up and get drunk, but it made me uncomfortable. It started out nicely eerie and gothic, which I really appreciated. However, I didn't see why the possessed character had to turn into an ax-wielding murderer. That seemed a little off-course from the original direction of the story. In fact, I could have done without that element. The demise of one of the characters seemed to be too abrupt and the way in which the character's body was used seemed kind of crude and unnecessary. If the author wanted to convey a sense of risk to the characters, I think there were other ways to go with this.
Overall, this was a good book. I liked the very unique idea behind the haunting, and it had some good messages about identity, tolerance (it touches on anti-semitism) and friendship. I just wish that the story had kept to the original gothic elements and atmosphere the whole way through.
September 18, 2012
I read this with my horror group at Shelfari. I picked up this book during a free promotion by the author.
This is a story set at a Midwestern college campus. A handful of students are staying on campus over the Thanksgiving holiday. Of course, this is when things start to happen.
One of the students finds a Ouija board and together the group makes contact with a former student at the college, Zachary. From there, things go from bad to worse.
I don't want to spoil any part of the plot, but I can say a few things without doing so. It seemed to me that this book peaked too early. The pacing was very good up until about 2/3 of the way through. Then the excitement dropped off and left me somewhat uninterested in the final denouement.
Also, though I did like some of the characters, they kind of resembled the kids from The Breakfast Club. We had a slut,a jock, etc. A few of the characters were not fully fleshed out any further than their Breakfast Club monikers.
I did like the writing style and the bits of Freud and Jung that were slipped in as part of one student's POV. I also liked the usage of Jewish mythology-something that I was not familiar with at all. I like being introduced to new myths or spiritual beings.
All in all, this was a fun read. I would've liked to have the characters be more fully developed and I would've liked the excitement to have lasted all the way to the end and not just to the 2/3 point. Thank you to Ms. Sokoloff for the free read.
This is a story set at a Midwestern college campus. A handful of students are staying on campus over the Thanksgiving holiday. Of course, this is when things start to happen.
One of the students finds a Ouija board and together the group makes contact with a former student at the college, Zachary. From there, things go from bad to worse.
I don't want to spoil any part of the plot, but I can say a few things without doing so. It seemed to me that this book peaked too early. The pacing was very good up until about 2/3 of the way through. Then the excitement dropped off and left me somewhat uninterested in the final denouement.
Also, though I did like some of the characters, they kind of resembled the kids from The Breakfast Club. We had a slut,a jock, etc. A few of the characters were not fully fleshed out any further than their Breakfast Club monikers.
I did like the writing style and the bits of Freud and Jung that were slipped in as part of one student's POV. I also liked the usage of Jewish mythology-something that I was not familiar with at all. I like being introduced to new myths or spiritual beings.
All in all, this was a fun read. I would've liked to have the characters be more fully developed and I would've liked the excitement to have lasted all the way to the end and not just to the 2/3 point. Thank you to Ms. Sokoloff for the free read.
May 30, 2011
As much as I wanted to adore this novel from beginning to end I have to say that it was a mixed bag of nuts. The first half was brilliant, well not literary genius but tantalizing and gripping, I was at the book's mercy as it kept tugging at me, begging to be read some more. The second half took a nose dive into the juvenile corner that it never managed to climb out of, overall I liked it but the ending fizzled out, if the author kept the momentum and originality going and actually made it scary then it would have been a five star book. I'm glad I read it though, Sokoloff is really growing on me and I will definitely be buying anything she writes.
Baird College is abandoned by the students as everyone rushed home for the Thanksgiving holiday, last classes are finishing and everyone has food on their mind. The pounding rain and black clouds add ominous dread and overall sense of unease, the few unlucky students left at school know they will face empty halls and dark rooms without the usual chatter and mayhem. It seems that some families don't care to have their kids back, if anything they would rather stay alone and eat their meals from the vending machine than face their dysfunctional and abusive relatives and somehow the unwanted rejects find companionship under the unusual circumstances. Robin, Lisa, Patrick, Cain and Martin find comfort in each other's presence as they settle into one of the common rooms and all is well until Lisa finds an Ouija board. The game has been included in numerous books and movies and it's really no different in The Harrowing, the students somehow call something into their own real and then are faced with trying to figure out what the heck it is and how to get rid of it.
At first the game seems innocent enough but soon Robin feels that the answers are too strange, her insecurities flare up and she gets paranoid and worries that the others are playing a trick on her. Robin is one pathetic heroine, someone who has no respect for her own life she doesn't do anything to make me care for her. My biggest problem with Robin was that she gave the impression that she would have to die in order to feel alive; she had nothing going on for her, not even in her own head.Her clothing alone was drab and depressing, her outlook on life dark, if she at least possessed some intelligence I would have something to respect her for but overall she wasn't more than a shadow. Her comrades are almost as paper thin as she is, Lisa the flirt and Patrick the dumb jock, and there are also Martin and Cain - barely distinguishable until the end. One of them is a brooding musician and the other "a scholarly eccentric" - one can only know that because of the description on the back of the book, their language and mannerism doesn't reveal any of those qualities. I would for once love to read a book about average people, I don't need five different lame characters, they can be similar but real, not cookie cutter roles that one expects from a predicable story. The ending wasn't scary at all, if anything I was just reading it to finish it, my eyes drifting mindlessly though the words without being affected by them...the scenes were a collage of recycled stories.
I don't want to spoil the story anymore, but I felt like the back of the book described one thing and I was expecting the tale to be different, it was stressed that the Thanksgiving break was the high point of the story, well once it ended everyone went back to their regular schedule and the momentum broke only to be picked up much later, if the story continued in the way the book is described I believe it would have been much better.
Baird College is abandoned by the students as everyone rushed home for the Thanksgiving holiday, last classes are finishing and everyone has food on their mind. The pounding rain and black clouds add ominous dread and overall sense of unease, the few unlucky students left at school know they will face empty halls and dark rooms without the usual chatter and mayhem. It seems that some families don't care to have their kids back, if anything they would rather stay alone and eat their meals from the vending machine than face their dysfunctional and abusive relatives and somehow the unwanted rejects find companionship under the unusual circumstances. Robin, Lisa, Patrick, Cain and Martin find comfort in each other's presence as they settle into one of the common rooms and all is well until Lisa finds an Ouija board. The game has been included in numerous books and movies and it's really no different in The Harrowing, the students somehow call something into their own real and then are faced with trying to figure out what the heck it is and how to get rid of it.
At first the game seems innocent enough but soon Robin feels that the answers are too strange, her insecurities flare up and she gets paranoid and worries that the others are playing a trick on her. Robin is one pathetic heroine, someone who has no respect for her own life she doesn't do anything to make me care for her. My biggest problem with Robin was that she gave the impression that she would have to die in order to feel alive; she had nothing going on for her, not even in her own head.Her clothing alone was drab and depressing, her outlook on life dark, if she at least possessed some intelligence I would have something to respect her for but overall she wasn't more than a shadow. Her comrades are almost as paper thin as she is, Lisa the flirt and Patrick the dumb jock, and there are also Martin and Cain - barely distinguishable until the end. One of them is a brooding musician and the other "a scholarly eccentric" - one can only know that because of the description on the back of the book, their language and mannerism doesn't reveal any of those qualities. I would for once love to read a book about average people, I don't need five different lame characters, they can be similar but real, not cookie cutter roles that one expects from a predicable story. The ending wasn't scary at all, if anything I was just reading it to finish it, my eyes drifting mindlessly though the words without being affected by them...the scenes were a collage of recycled stories.
I don't want to spoil the story anymore, but I felt like the back of the book described one thing and I was expecting the tale to be different, it was stressed that the Thanksgiving break was the high point of the story, well once it ended everyone went back to their regular schedule and the momentum broke only to be picked up much later, if the story continued in the way the book is described I believe it would have been much better.
July 11, 2010
This is a scary book.I read it in one sitting on a rainy day and boy was I spooked.The atmosphere outside may have had something to do with it but even if it was sunny I think that this book would have scared me quite a bit.
I think that my Goodreads friends will do themselves a favor by reading this book(especially Danielle and Grace).
There were interesting characters and the plot moved right along so that I didn't need to skip any pages which I tend to do with most books because they can get bogged down in too many descriptions or what have you.
I'm off to read another book by the same author and will review it when done.Very good book.
I think that my Goodreads friends will do themselves a favor by reading this book(especially Danielle and Grace).
There were interesting characters and the plot moved right along so that I didn't need to skip any pages which I tend to do with most books because they can get bogged down in too many descriptions or what have you.
I'm off to read another book by the same author and will review it when done.Very good book.
September 30, 2019
"Does evil come from without or within us?"
This question resonates throughout this book by Award-winning screenwriter Alexandra Sokoloff.
While everyone else at Baird College rush out for their long Thanksgiving holiday, five students opted to stay for secret reasons.
They stumbled upon each other in the deserted "manor hall" and made an unlikely bond. For laughs, they played with an Ouija board and was able to call on a presence who introduced himself as "Zachary".
It was all fun and games until things began happening. It started off as funny, then creepy, then full blown haunting.
They try to figure out if they were being victims of a college prank or not.
Each of "Zachary's" answers to their questions hit home one way or another in each of them. Little did they know that this simple contact was something more sinister.
.
.
Reading this book, I thought to myself, "this would make a fine horror movie" and lo and behold, it was actually made into one! I liked how it gripped me from page 1. Although some events were a bit too slow for me, I particularly liked the origin and background story, -it made it stand out from other horror stories; as well as the pondersome questions thrown here and there.
.
.
I give this a ⭐⭐⭐. 5 rating and would recommend to anyone who'd want to read about things that go bump in the night while at the same time ponder on philosophical questions about life.
This question resonates throughout this book by Award-winning screenwriter Alexandra Sokoloff.
While everyone else at Baird College rush out for their long Thanksgiving holiday, five students opted to stay for secret reasons.
They stumbled upon each other in the deserted "manor hall" and made an unlikely bond. For laughs, they played with an Ouija board and was able to call on a presence who introduced himself as "Zachary".
It was all fun and games until things began happening. It started off as funny, then creepy, then full blown haunting.
They try to figure out if they were being victims of a college prank or not.
Each of "Zachary's" answers to their questions hit home one way or another in each of them. Little did they know that this simple contact was something more sinister.
.
.
Reading this book, I thought to myself, "this would make a fine horror movie" and lo and behold, it was actually made into one! I liked how it gripped me from page 1. Although some events were a bit too slow for me, I particularly liked the origin and background story, -it made it stand out from other horror stories; as well as the pondersome questions thrown here and there.
.
.
I give this a ⭐⭐⭐. 5 rating and would recommend to anyone who'd want to read about things that go bump in the night while at the same time ponder on philosophical questions about life.
December 3, 2022
Send help speedily... drowning in adverbs exceedingly
November 28, 2023
the beginning was so promising
May 26, 2020
This was like reading an installment of The Merciless by Vega only the writing was much improved. I’m going with a 3 here, but I still might change it.
This was very strange and reminded me so much of those first few books in that series, that it was eerie. I wonder who wrote/ published first at this point.
This followed a much more sensical storyline than Merciless, but was just as bizarre. A very strange thing; a world altering thing would happen to the teens staying in the dorm over the holidays (and later with the dorm full of ppl and surrounded by police , yadda yadda) and the MC just kept going to her dorm room and going to sleep like, “well, I’ll pick this demon thing back up tomorrow ..” OR hey I’ll just go stay in your room ‘girl I have known less than a two days ‘! Then we have one dude refusing to believe any of it though he was right there. Most of the characters are pretty frustrating.
This was absurd!
I guess there is no bonding like getting drunk, stoned, and messing with a Ouija board; following none of the rules (Hello & Goodbye); and having one of those good ole demon convos! Yep, let’s just all park it in the nasty dorm lounge, random strangers all, and stay there and end up getting drunk, etc. Ah, college fun.
I realized this was getting insanely bent, but I kept reading. I wondered when they were going to realize it was a demon.
The trope of one of them being possessed and communicating with it was even there. What I didn’t expect was some of the aspects of myths from Judaism that were included. There was a little history included of this particular thing happening before and it being connected to a Jewish previous incident. That part was very interesting. That is what kept me reading. I don’t know if it’s true or not so like all horror stories I took it with a grain of sand and moved on.
This was very strange and reminded me so much of those first few books in that series, that it was eerie. I wonder who wrote/ published first at this point.
This followed a much more sensical storyline than Merciless, but was just as bizarre. A very strange thing; a world altering thing would happen to the teens staying in the dorm over the holidays (and later with the dorm full of ppl and surrounded by police , yadda yadda) and the MC just kept going to her dorm room and going to sleep like, “well, I’ll pick this demon thing back up tomorrow ..” OR hey I’ll just go stay in your room ‘girl I have known less than a two days ‘! Then we have one dude refusing to believe any of it though he was right there. Most of the characters are pretty frustrating.
This was absurd!
I guess there is no bonding like getting drunk, stoned, and messing with a Ouija board; following none of the rules (Hello & Goodbye); and having one of those good ole demon convos! Yep, let’s just all park it in the nasty dorm lounge, random strangers all, and stay there and end up getting drunk, etc. Ah, college fun.
I realized this was getting insanely bent, but I kept reading. I wondered when they were going to realize it was a demon.
The trope of one of them being possessed and communicating with it was even there. What I didn’t expect was some of the aspects of myths from Judaism that were included. There was a little history included of this particular thing happening before and it being connected to a Jewish previous incident. That part was very interesting. That is what kept me reading. I don’t know if it’s true or not so like all horror stories I took it with a grain of sand and moved on.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 31, 2009
The Harrowing by Alexandra Sokoloff
Mass Market Paperback - October 30, 2007
4 Stars
Robin Stone is a troubled young woman. Her means of escape from her unbalanced mother was by running away to college paid with guilt money from her absentee father.
Still, she remains unhappy and depressed in the academic arena and feels like a shadow nobody will miss if she's gone. When Thanksgiving comes, she stays in the echoing Mendenhall dormitories rather than going home to her mother for the long holiday weekend.
She finds that she's not alone and on the first night with the help of drugs and alcohol she makes friends with the unlikely mixture of remaining students: Martin, Patrick, Cain and Lisa.
Lisa finds a Ouija board. Its uncanny responses freak everybody. Have they really contacted the spirit of Zackary Prince or is she the blunt of a practical joke? And then it gets stranger.
The Harrowing is not a book you want to read when you go to bed unless you plan on sleeping with your eyes open and listening for the bump in the night. Especially when you read Chapter Twenty-One!
Ms. Sokoloff is a talented writer. She drew characters with personal insecurities, placed them in a recognizable setting, and then threw in paranormal elements, causing me to become quickly caught into the story. I accepted that stretch when reality told a step away. I look forward to reading her next book.
Reviewed by Jackie from Bookaholics Romance Book Club
Mass Market Paperback - October 30, 2007
4 Stars
Robin Stone is a troubled young woman. Her means of escape from her unbalanced mother was by running away to college paid with guilt money from her absentee father.
Still, she remains unhappy and depressed in the academic arena and feels like a shadow nobody will miss if she's gone. When Thanksgiving comes, she stays in the echoing Mendenhall dormitories rather than going home to her mother for the long holiday weekend.
She finds that she's not alone and on the first night with the help of drugs and alcohol she makes friends with the unlikely mixture of remaining students: Martin, Patrick, Cain and Lisa.
Lisa finds a Ouija board. Its uncanny responses freak everybody. Have they really contacted the spirit of Zackary Prince or is she the blunt of a practical joke? And then it gets stranger.
The Harrowing is not a book you want to read when you go to bed unless you plan on sleeping with your eyes open and listening for the bump in the night. Especially when you read Chapter Twenty-One!
Ms. Sokoloff is a talented writer. She drew characters with personal insecurities, placed them in a recognizable setting, and then threw in paranormal elements, causing me to become quickly caught into the story. I accepted that stretch when reality told a step away. I look forward to reading her next book.
Reviewed by Jackie from Bookaholics Romance Book Club
December 4, 2015
A competent, yet less-than-enthralling horror novel.
July 31, 2020
***Spoilers included***
“So who was right? Do our demons come from without, or within us?” (6).
I got one of my friends to read this too who really enjoys horror and we discussed that though it’s filled with horror cliches and a simplistic plot, something about this book is just really good. I read my husband books on trips while he drives and this was a perfect pick for that. We had some great discussions about it and were excited to see what would happen next. It was easy to follow, not too long, and felt like watching a movie. In fact, I’m surprised it hasn’t been made into a movie because it would easily translate well into film.
I went to an older small liberal arts college that had alleged “haunted” buildings on campus. Additionally, some of my friends freshman year began hanging out with this predatory older guy who said he was a prince in his home country and eventually they were all going out into the woods to do cult rituals. One day, one of my friends burst out crying that someone in their cult was going to die that night. Now, I was 18 and thought it all ridiculous, so no I didn’t report it to anyone and they all lived, but this showcases that college kids do fall into things like this more than one would think.
When I was trying to figure out if there was a movie version, I stumbled upon something that said Sokoloff was inspired to write this when she studied mental illness and thought about college students. So, of course, the whole time I thought that Robin would be the one really behind everything or that she was imagining it. Then, I felt like Martin would have just been insane from neglect, but it turns out the supernatural elements were real. Maybe Sokoloff was just inspired when she wrote that Robin was the gateway because she was suicidal, which is an interesting metaphor. I like books with twists, even if I can see them coming, but I wasn’t disappointed that this book was actually supernatural. I also liked that Sokoloff provided origins for the spirit. It was a complete story with a very Jumanji (the old Robin Williams one, thank you) ending.
Also, I had no idea that Jung was into seances, but that’s pretty cool! (22). I minored in Psych in undergrad and never learned that, which is disappointing. Why is the eccentric stuff censored instead of embraced? Oh, because standard psychology often seeks to be a science rather than a human intuitive school of thought. I also thought the history of the Ouija board was interesting (85).
Some of the Jewish history got a little tedious, but it did make sense that Martin, who was othered even in the group of outcasts with no romantic interests and his family’s history of faith, would embrace the spirit. This connects to the quote I listed at the beginning. Maybe the worst evil is when people quit fighting the negative external forces and instead allow themselves to be corrupted by them.
I just think it sucked that Patrick died. He wasn’t a bad guy and it sounds like he suffered a lot of abuse from his father. What a cruel end for him.
“So who was right? Do our demons come from without, or within us?” (6).
I got one of my friends to read this too who really enjoys horror and we discussed that though it’s filled with horror cliches and a simplistic plot, something about this book is just really good. I read my husband books on trips while he drives and this was a perfect pick for that. We had some great discussions about it and were excited to see what would happen next. It was easy to follow, not too long, and felt like watching a movie. In fact, I’m surprised it hasn’t been made into a movie because it would easily translate well into film.
I went to an older small liberal arts college that had alleged “haunted” buildings on campus. Additionally, some of my friends freshman year began hanging out with this predatory older guy who said he was a prince in his home country and eventually they were all going out into the woods to do cult rituals. One day, one of my friends burst out crying that someone in their cult was going to die that night. Now, I was 18 and thought it all ridiculous, so no I didn’t report it to anyone and they all lived, but this showcases that college kids do fall into things like this more than one would think.
When I was trying to figure out if there was a movie version, I stumbled upon something that said Sokoloff was inspired to write this when she studied mental illness and thought about college students. So, of course, the whole time I thought that Robin would be the one really behind everything or that she was imagining it. Then, I felt like Martin would have just been insane from neglect, but it turns out the supernatural elements were real. Maybe Sokoloff was just inspired when she wrote that Robin was the gateway because she was suicidal, which is an interesting metaphor. I like books with twists, even if I can see them coming, but I wasn’t disappointed that this book was actually supernatural. I also liked that Sokoloff provided origins for the spirit. It was a complete story with a very Jumanji (the old Robin Williams one, thank you) ending.
Also, I had no idea that Jung was into seances, but that’s pretty cool! (22). I minored in Psych in undergrad and never learned that, which is disappointing. Why is the eccentric stuff censored instead of embraced? Oh, because standard psychology often seeks to be a science rather than a human intuitive school of thought. I also thought the history of the Ouija board was interesting (85).
Some of the Jewish history got a little tedious, but it did make sense that Martin, who was othered even in the group of outcasts with no romantic interests and his family’s history of faith, would embrace the spirit. This connects to the quote I listed at the beginning. Maybe the worst evil is when people quit fighting the negative external forces and instead allow themselves to be corrupted by them.
I just think it sucked that Patrick died. He wasn’t a bad guy and it sounds like he suffered a lot of abuse from his father. What a cruel end for him.
February 15, 2020
I will start by saying that this book has been one of my favourite stories in a long time.
I first bought this book during a quest to find an actual scary story. One that would make me nervous about reading alone at night. I had no idea that this book would tick that box in a big way. Like other reviewers have alluded, this book fell by the wayside and got buried under other "to read" piles. However in an effort to tidy up my shelves, I decided to tackle this little diddy. Let me tell you, I'm glad I did!
I lived through each scene with the characters. The author writes in a way that transported me to the world within the words completely. The tension and fear is palpable during the more "horror-centric" scenes and I found myself on the edge of my metaphorical seat during the more intense moments!
Sure the characters initially fall into old and tired character tropes, but as the story progresses the characters start to develop and grow into more three dimensional people.
I won't say too much, in fear of spoilers, but I will say this. If you are on the fence about whether this book will scare you and leave you wanting more, try it. Just try it and see, it isn't a slow burn and that works to advantage here. You may find yourself lost in the rooms of Medenhall with Robin......
I first bought this book during a quest to find an actual scary story. One that would make me nervous about reading alone at night. I had no idea that this book would tick that box in a big way. Like other reviewers have alluded, this book fell by the wayside and got buried under other "to read" piles. However in an effort to tidy up my shelves, I decided to tackle this little diddy. Let me tell you, I'm glad I did!
I lived through each scene with the characters. The author writes in a way that transported me to the world within the words completely. The tension and fear is palpable during the more "horror-centric" scenes and I found myself on the edge of my metaphorical seat during the more intense moments!
Sure the characters initially fall into old and tired character tropes, but as the story progresses the characters start to develop and grow into more three dimensional people.
I won't say too much, in fear of spoilers, but I will say this. If you are on the fence about whether this book will scare you and leave you wanting more, try it. Just try it and see, it isn't a slow burn and that works to advantage here. You may find yourself lost in the rooms of Medenhall with Robin......
September 20, 2019
This one fell a little short for me. Not particularly likeable characters with any depth and the haunting stuff wasn’t done in a particularly scary way.
July 18, 2016
Robin Stone, a freshman at Baird college, won't be going home for Thanksgiving weekend to her drunken mother.
Patrick O'Conner, football star, won't be going home to his institutionalized mother and psycho jock-building father.
Cain Jackson, musician (and orphan) has no one to go home to.
Lisa Marlowe isn't missed.
Martin Seltzer can't return to his 'faithful' father.
So, on a dark and stormy night, they all congregate in the lounge of their dorm, Mendenhall, and bond over beer, weed, and pure, unflinching, palpable loneliness.
Until...
The rectangular box was brown with age and frayed at the edges, but Robin recognized the graphic on the front immediately. A Ouija board.
What the five unwittingly unleash on Mendenhall, a thing they believe to be a nineteen-year-old boy who died there more than eighty years ago, terrorizes them long after the game is though, Thanksgiving has passed, and the storm has blown over.
A long-dead, antagonizing spirit takes them and attempts to pick them off one by one, wanting their life, their blood, their light and their love.
The unlikely warriors band together the fight the demon, avenge a death and save a friend.
But not all of them will survive.
Whoa whoa WHOA.
I was so surprised at this. I wasn't expecting to be to captivated and sucked into the story and, dare I say freaked the frak out.
Horror novels, especially ghost stories, have to work hard to scare me. Alexandra Sokoloff's debut novel had me looking over my shoulder in the dark and jumping at sounds outside my window.
This started off a bit forced, and when I read this;
The class collectively surged to its feet, reaching for coats and notebooks and backpacks in an orgy of release.
I promptly snapped the book shut to read the back cover again, muttering
"Shit, please tell me I didn't buy another skinbook hiding in a horror novel."
And, no, I hadn't.
The Harrowing does have some highly sexual themes throughout, but that's been a main theme in horror since the beginning.
After a rocky few first chapters, once the main cast has been introduced and the common denominator revealed, it moves along great right until the end.
This highly psychological horror studies the Fruedian ghost theory, (see: the manifestation of hysteria) which serves a huge part to the plot, and also the Jewish faith's Kabbalah and the book of the Zohar, making the tension rise higher and the depth of the story deeper.
This book was so unnerving, I'm a little irked I didn't save it for Hallo-reads (unrelated note: I got a ton of love over 31 Days of Hallo-reads last year, and I hope you'll all be excited to hear I'm working on this year's reading list as we speak, featuring the likes of Richard Laymon, Dean Koontz and Seth Grahame-Smith).
I read a book similar to this earlier this summer, Project 17, and while I recommend both, this one is clearly aimed at an older audience and is plotted a little better. I think I recommend this one more.
***I read this for the #makemereadit 2016 challenge! :D Thanks to everyone who voted and gave input, it is very much appreciated. <3 ***
Patrick O'Conner, football star, won't be going home to his institutionalized mother and psycho jock-building father.
Cain Jackson, musician (and orphan) has no one to go home to.
Lisa Marlowe isn't missed.
Martin Seltzer can't return to his 'faithful' father.
So, on a dark and stormy night, they all congregate in the lounge of their dorm, Mendenhall, and bond over beer, weed, and pure, unflinching, palpable loneliness.
Until...
The rectangular box was brown with age and frayed at the edges, but Robin recognized the graphic on the front immediately. A Ouija board.
What the five unwittingly unleash on Mendenhall, a thing they believe to be a nineteen-year-old boy who died there more than eighty years ago, terrorizes them long after the game is though, Thanksgiving has passed, and the storm has blown over.
A long-dead, antagonizing spirit takes them and attempts to pick them off one by one, wanting their life, their blood, their light and their love.
The unlikely warriors band together the fight the demon, avenge a death and save a friend.
But not all of them will survive.
Whoa whoa WHOA.
I was so surprised at this. I wasn't expecting to be to captivated and sucked into the story and, dare I say freaked the frak out.
Horror novels, especially ghost stories, have to work hard to scare me. Alexandra Sokoloff's debut novel had me looking over my shoulder in the dark and jumping at sounds outside my window.
This started off a bit forced, and when I read this;
The class collectively surged to its feet, reaching for coats and notebooks and backpacks in an orgy of release.
I promptly snapped the book shut to read the back cover again, muttering
"Shit, please tell me I didn't buy another skinbook hiding in a horror novel."
And, no, I hadn't.
The Harrowing does have some highly sexual themes throughout, but that's been a main theme in horror since the beginning.
After a rocky few first chapters, once the main cast has been introduced and the common denominator revealed, it moves along great right until the end.
This highly psychological horror studies the Fruedian ghost theory, (see: the manifestation of hysteria) which serves a huge part to the plot, and also the Jewish faith's Kabbalah and the book of the Zohar, making the tension rise higher and the depth of the story deeper.
This book was so unnerving, I'm a little irked I didn't save it for Hallo-reads (unrelated note: I got a ton of love over 31 Days of Hallo-reads last year, and I hope you'll all be excited to hear I'm working on this year's reading list as we speak, featuring the likes of Richard Laymon, Dean Koontz and Seth Grahame-Smith).
I read a book similar to this earlier this summer, Project 17, and while I recommend both, this one is clearly aimed at an older audience and is plotted a little better. I think I recommend this one more.
***I read this for the #makemereadit 2016 challenge! :D Thanks to everyone who voted and gave input, it is very much appreciated. <3 ***
October 30, 2022
Creepy atmosphere, interesting storyline, action-filled conclusion!
June 14, 2015
The Harrowing is marketed as 'Scream meets The Exorcist' and I'd say that is a fair description. This is the debut novel of an author who's also a screenwriter, and it shows. This book reads like a movie; it's scary, jumpy, spine-chilling and keeps you on the edge of your seat. It's well written and yet has a nice easy flow to the prose without being too simplistic. The imagery is vivid and the atmosphere is tense.
Robin, the main character, starts out as a very paranoid, self-pitying young woman who is being crushed by the knowledge that her father didn't want her and her mother's a drunk. Life is difficult and she feels unloved, invisible and totally alone. She's mistrustful of everyone, until she meets four other students who also didn't go home for Thanksgiving, and comes to realise that she isn't the only one who feels lonely, and there are people who are just as unhappy as she is.
The other four characters also play a major role in this movie book and they are somewhat predictable but great reading all the same. Patrick: the jock, who's big and tough, but is really just a puppy dog inside and shows what a true hero he is by the end of the book. Cain: the brooding, cynical, good looking musician who comes to believe and helps Robin in her quest to find out the truth. Lisa: the sexy, bitchy bimbo who really has more substance than people realise, honest. And Martin: the quiet, scholarly geek who suddenly becomes the center of attention.
After a night playing on the Ouija board and witnessing fairly spooky goings on, this unlikely five form a bond that changes their lives forever. At first they think what is happening is a joke, a prank set up by one of them. But soon they realise it isn't a joke at all; it is all too real and they have to fight to stay alive.
Favourite Passages:
"Violent longing stabbed through her - a wish that something would happen, that someone would hear, move, respond, that a door would open and everything, everything would change. There was a sort of electric tingling under her fingers... The planchette suddenly moved..."
"The whole energy of the attic room had changed. Robin could feel it - the intense, curious focus of the five of them, and a sense of almost conspiratorial intimacy from the board. She felt vaguely that they were being lulled, that whatever they were talking to was working toward something. The thought made her cold with fear."
Verdict
This is a really great read, especially if you like horror and even more so if you like scary teenage horror movies!
I actually give the 7/10 by Goodreads doesn't do half starts, grrr.
Robin, the main character, starts out as a very paranoid, self-pitying young woman who is being crushed by the knowledge that her father didn't want her and her mother's a drunk. Life is difficult and she feels unloved, invisible and totally alone. She's mistrustful of everyone, until she meets four other students who also didn't go home for Thanksgiving, and comes to realise that she isn't the only one who feels lonely, and there are people who are just as unhappy as she is.
The other four characters also play a major role in this movie book and they are somewhat predictable but great reading all the same. Patrick: the jock, who's big and tough, but is really just a puppy dog inside and shows what a true hero he is by the end of the book. Cain: the brooding, cynical, good looking musician who comes to believe and helps Robin in her quest to find out the truth. Lisa: the sexy, bitchy bimbo who really has more substance than people realise, honest. And Martin: the quiet, scholarly geek who suddenly becomes the center of attention.
After a night playing on the Ouija board and witnessing fairly spooky goings on, this unlikely five form a bond that changes their lives forever. At first they think what is happening is a joke, a prank set up by one of them. But soon they realise it isn't a joke at all; it is all too real and they have to fight to stay alive.
Favourite Passages:
"Violent longing stabbed through her - a wish that something would happen, that someone would hear, move, respond, that a door would open and everything, everything would change. There was a sort of electric tingling under her fingers... The planchette suddenly moved..."
"The whole energy of the attic room had changed. Robin could feel it - the intense, curious focus of the five of them, and a sense of almost conspiratorial intimacy from the board. She felt vaguely that they were being lulled, that whatever they were talking to was working toward something. The thought made her cold with fear."
Verdict
This is a really great read, especially if you like horror and even more so if you like scary teenage horror movies!
I actually give the 7/10 by Goodreads doesn't do half starts, grrr.
November 20, 2009
One of the things that I've noticed about many good books is that the first chapter gets overlooked in the revision process in favor of getting the rest nearly perfect.
That was the case here with this book. The beginning felt clunky. I honestly felt that the book should have started on page 7 with the following sentence: "In the two months she'd been at Baird, she made zero friends."
It wasn't until this point that I was actually drawn into the story. All the stuff before that felt, unnecessary, especially with the later references to the psyche class lectures and texts as well as the exchanges between the students. The Prologue, I could take or leave.
Like I said, once I hit the above line, I was hooked. I wanted to keep reading. Sokoloff did a terrific job of building complex characters. She also did a really good job at building suspense and maintaining a certain level of that suspense throughout the book.
Robin, Cain, Lisa, Patrick, Martin and Waverly are well constructed, with believable reactions and personalities. There is something about each one that most people can relate to, and make you care about them and what happens to them.
What does happen to them?
Well, the front cover tells you it's a ghost story. It is a ghost story, but not a typical haunting. This ghost story begins with the ever popular Ouija Board, but not just any board, one of the original boards from 1920, one with some history attached to it.
It starts out as some game for five students to kill some time over the long Thanksgiving weekend, but evolves into something more. What seems like an interesting topic for a psyche paper quickly develops into more than any of them can truly understand or handle.
Beliefs are called into question.
Do these college students have the strength to deal with what they've unleashed?
You'll have to read the book to find out because it is definitely worth the read and I kept imagining how cool of a movie this book would make!!!
That was the case here with this book. The beginning felt clunky. I honestly felt that the book should have started on page 7 with the following sentence: "In the two months she'd been at Baird, she made zero friends."
It wasn't until this point that I was actually drawn into the story. All the stuff before that felt, unnecessary, especially with the later references to the psyche class lectures and texts as well as the exchanges between the students. The Prologue, I could take or leave.
Like I said, once I hit the above line, I was hooked. I wanted to keep reading. Sokoloff did a terrific job of building complex characters. She also did a really good job at building suspense and maintaining a certain level of that suspense throughout the book.
Robin, Cain, Lisa, Patrick, Martin and Waverly are well constructed, with believable reactions and personalities. There is something about each one that most people can relate to, and make you care about them and what happens to them.
What does happen to them?
Well, the front cover tells you it's a ghost story. It is a ghost story, but not a typical haunting. This ghost story begins with the ever popular Ouija Board, but not just any board, one of the original boards from 1920, one with some history attached to it.
It starts out as some game for five students to kill some time over the long Thanksgiving weekend, but evolves into something more. What seems like an interesting topic for a psyche paper quickly develops into more than any of them can truly understand or handle.
Beliefs are called into question.
Do these college students have the strength to deal with what they've unleashed?
You'll have to read the book to find out because it is definitely worth the read and I kept imagining how cool of a movie this book would make!!!
August 25, 2010
Really not much of a spoiler, but if anything vaguely resembling a factoid from a book will ruin it for you, pass this one by.
My mind is very distracted right now by the death of a dear friend, so I picked up this book from my big stack of stories home from the library. After re-reading the summaries of all the other books I had trudged home with, this one seemed the most brainless.
It's a story we've heard before. Ouija boards and wicked spirits. So, I was sure I could whiz through it and not really be impressed, but distracted well enough without too many brain synapses firing.
I was pleasantly surprised at the first half of the book. It really called to me to read it, but then, and perhaps it's just the cynical state I'm in... Then, it dive-bombed.
Oh so much teen angst. The obligatory raped by a spirit scene, thankfully relatively brief. So much that was just not scarey.
What happened?
I think it was my state of mind that changed. Perhaps the book was just a fluff read and I should have left it at that. I think this author has promise. And I think this story would have been well received if I were 15. That really is the audience that the author was aiming at.
My mind is very distracted right now by the death of a dear friend, so I picked up this book from my big stack of stories home from the library. After re-reading the summaries of all the other books I had trudged home with, this one seemed the most brainless.
It's a story we've heard before. Ouija boards and wicked spirits. So, I was sure I could whiz through it and not really be impressed, but distracted well enough without too many brain synapses firing.
I was pleasantly surprised at the first half of the book. It really called to me to read it, but then, and perhaps it's just the cynical state I'm in... Then, it dive-bombed.
Oh so much teen angst. The obligatory raped by a spirit scene, thankfully relatively brief. So much that was just not scarey.
What happened?
I think it was my state of mind that changed. Perhaps the book was just a fluff read and I should have left it at that. I think this author has promise. And I think this story would have been well received if I were 15. That really is the audience that the author was aiming at.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 15, 2008
Ever since Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House scared the living hell out of me at age 11 (even if I didn't completely understand it all at the time), I've enjoyed stories that involve supernatural nasties. I love gloomy old houses, spooky woods, creaking noises at night, and all those things that hint at the existence of unseen entities lurking at the edge of the real world. Something about ghosties and ghoulies can still hit a few vital nerves that the most awful of real-world horrors do not. It's a stimulating sense of awe rather than disgust and depression over the evil that men do.
More at The Blog Where Horror Dwells...
The Harrowing
More at The Blog Where Horror Dwells...
The Harrowing
September 27, 2012
This is quite a nice little ghost/monster story! Five "discarded" college students, with nowhere to go for Thanksgiving, stay at school in an old dormitory where they discover a dilapidated Ouiji board. They decide to see what it has to say and - well - you can guess the rest. There are no great surprises but it is well-written and nicely paced with wonderful atmosphere and some very interesting characters. I thought it was a bit like "The Breakfast Club" meets Ghost Story but it also reminded me in places of one of my favorite novels, The Secret History. Very enjoyable with the right amount of creepiness.
February 23, 2014
Baird College Mendenhall dorm will be empty for this Thanksgiving break. Well almost empty! Robin Stone decided that she has nothing to go home for. Little did Robin know that there were four other students who had the same plans. The others were Patrick, a jock; Cain, a musician; Lisa, a tease; and Martin, a scholar. A massive storm dump wind and rain on the isolated campus.The five stumbled upon each other in the student lounge.Right from the beginning they felt that there was a presence in the room with them. One of the group finds an old Ouija board with some strange writing on the inside of the box. They decide to try an contact the presence that is in the room with them. The connection is made and it is one hell of a roller coaster ride to the end. Alexandra Sokoloff is a good writer and an excellent storyteller. I would highly recommend this book.
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