Review: The Dead and Buried by Kim Harrington

The Dead and Buried by Kim Harrington

• Pub. Date: January 01, 2013
• Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
• Pages:304
• Goodreads/Amazon/Book Depository

A haunted house, a buried mystery, and a very angry ghost make this one unforgettable thriller.

Jade loves the house she's just moved into with her family. She doesn't even mind being the new girl at the high school: It's a fresh start, and there's that one guy with the dreamy blue eyes. . . . But then things begin happening. Strange, otherworldly things. Jade's little brother claims to see a glimmering girl in his room. Jade's jewelry gets moved around, as if by an invisible hand. Kids at school whisper behind her back like they know something she doesn't.

Soon, Jade must face an impossible fact: that her perfect house is haunted. Haunted by a ghost who's seeking not just vengeance, but the truth. The ghost of a girl who ruled Jade's school — until her untimely death last year. It's up to Jade to put the pieces together before her own life is at stake. As Jade investigates the mystery, she discovers that her new friends in town have more than a few deep, dark secrets. But is one of them a murderer?

First Line: From the Diary of Kayla Sloane:
 I'm not stupid.

Review: I love a good ghost story especially one that is paired up with a murder mystery so of course I had to get my hands on The Dead and Buried. I don't usually talk about the cover of books much but I'm not a fan of this one, and I probably wouldn't have even cared but I remember seeing the original cover that was planned for this book and it was so much better and actually went with the story. ( I have the original posted below ).

The story is about a girl named Jade moving to a bigger town during her senior year of high school with her half brother, dad and step mom. She comes to find out her brother can see a girl that glimmers. The house they have moved into is apparently haunted by a girl (who just happened to be the most popular girl in school) who went to her school and was just recently murdered in that exact home. Now the ghost of the girl is forcing Jade to find out who killed her and threatening to do harm to her five year old brother if she doesn't.

The only character besides I'd say the ghost who was really fleshed out was Jade and I really did like her. She had a hobby of collecting stones and she knew what each stone meant and it's healing properties and she was her own individual she didn't care about what someones social status was. I also liked how protective and loving she was towards her half brother regardless of her rocky relationship with her step mom.

Now as far as the haunting goes, it was pretty cliched there was the temperature changes, Ouija board being used, and possession. I can't say I was creeped out by the book but there was the part of the possession that did get a little under my skin and that was mainly because it involved a little kid and for some reason anything involving kids and ghosts creep me out. As for the ghost - Kayla Sloane, well she was vicious. She was a mean and hateful yet somehow very popular girl alive and her horrible personality transferred over into the afterlife.

The mystery behind the murder is what really had me turning the pages. There was a cryptic diary left by Kayla in which we got to learn more about her and really learn about all the people that could have had a motive to kill her. Also Harrington did a good job with keeping the mystery around who the killer could be. I had kind of guessed who it was but didn't really find out until the end along with the main character.

Overall the book had a good flow to it and it was a quick read. It wasn't dark or super creepy but had a good murder mystery that kept my attention.

Original Cover

Review: Amber House by Kelly Moore, Tucker Reed, and Larkin Reed

Amber House by Kelly Moore, Tucker Reed, & Larkin Reed

• Pub. Date: October 1,2012
• Publisher:Scholastic, inc.
• Pages: 368

Sarah Parsons has never seen Amber House, the grand Maryland estate that's been in her family for three centuries. She's never walked its hedge maze nor found its secret chambers; she's never glimpsed the shades that haunt it, nor hunted for lost diamonds in its walls.

But all of that is about to change. After her grandmother passes away, Sarah and her friend Jackson decide to search for the diamonds--and the house comes alive. She discovers that she can see visions of the house's past, like the eighteenth-century sea captain who hid the jewels, or the glamorous great-grandmother driven mad by grief. She grows closer to both Jackson and a young man named Richard Hathaway, whose family histories are each deeply entwined with her own. But when the visions start to threaten the person she holds most dear, Sarah must do everything she can to get to the bottom of the house's secrets, and stop the course of history before it is cemented forever.

First Line: "I was almost sixteen the first time my grandmother died . "

Review: I knew I had to get my hands on this one when I first heard of it and I am glad to say it did not disappoint at all. Yes it was Gothic goodness mixed in with horror and just all around creepiness. I have a tendency to read late at night and I found myself paranoid about the littlest sounds that I heard thanks to this book and my overactive imagination.

The story circles around Sarah. Her grandmother has passed away leaving Amber House to her mother. Amber House has been passed down from generation to generation in her family except now Sarah's mom wants to get rid of it and sell it. Sarah and her brother Sam devise a plan to prolong their stay for a while due to their curiosity of the place and with the help of Jackson find the diamonds that are said to be hidden in the house somewhere.Sarah never could have imagined the dark secrets and unspeakable horrors Amber House held.

When reading this I felt like I was watching a movie. Amber House holds imprints of the past and the women of the family can see them through echoes. Which is already more then what Sarah bargained for but when those echoes turn out to be more then what they seem things get even more creepy then what they already were. There were light moments in the book but for the most part it was not a light read at all. Sarah discovers so much about her ancestors and barely any of it was good. There was so many horrible crimes, betrayals, deceit, family secrets  and the list goes on. Another thing that made the book interesting was the relationship between Sarah and her mother, they had some serious issues to deal with.  I really didn't like the mom especially with the way she kept having Sarah taking care of her little brother Sam who is autistic because she didn't know how to deal with him. And then the way she was towards Sarah just irked me. Selfish would describe the mom for majority of the book in my opinion.

Now on to the ending of the book, I loved it but I have soooo many questions. It's one of those endings that wraps everything up but now you have new questions in which you actually want a second book. Overall I really enjoyed reading Amber House.

Memorable Quote

"Do not sleep," she crooned as if to a baby. "No,no. Do not ever sleep. Because I live there now."