“Alone” by Cyn Balog (Sourcebooks, 2017) is not just another Young Adult Horror/Mystery book, but it an adventure that is enjoyable and full of twists and turns.
The book involves the character Seda and her family, whose mother inherits a old house in Pennsylvania that in the past was used for murder mystery parties. The house is filled with secrets, hidden passageways, and creepy rooms with props like dead bodies and broken mirrors. When her mother decides that she doesn’t want to sell the house , unless the buyer will use it as a horror attraction for the parties that used to be thrown there, Seda shows more hatred towards the house, along with being away from her friends and her old school. When a group of stranded teenagers show up during a snowfall, things in the house start to take a mysterious turn, where noises are heard, and people start to disappear.
Seda’s mother is a well respected college teacher who is loved by her students, and also a major fan of horror and slasher films. Even her younger siblings are exposed to her mother’s love for the genre at ages six and four. The four other children enjoy playing with the props found in the house and playing jokes on each other (and Seda) throughout the house.
The house is, of course, not only filled with dark, hidden rooms, but is also hidden away from most of civilization, with the only local general store being twenty miles away at Art’s General Store. The house is on top of a mountain, which is a perfect setting for mysterious things to occur.
The great thing about this book is that it has all the typical stereotypes of a horror/mystery tale, without sounding predictable where the reader can predict what is going on. This story is a perfect example of a classic Gothic novel from the 1800s or 1900s, with twists and turns in the plot, along with the complexity of the main character Seda. Throughout the reading, the reader will wonder if what they are following is real, an imagination, or both (As with my writings of book reviews, no spoilers will be given). The mother is a writer who likes horror films, the siblings are still young enough to be innocent, and the main character has issues she is dealing with being a normal 15 year old besides having to be isolated in a castle filled with a history of fright.
Balog creates wonderful settings and twists in her book, and it is well written that an adult can read this book and not feel insulted that it’s a YA book. The chapters are short and starts out with press media statements that would have been in the brochure for the house when the visitors were there for their weekend escape. Some of the statements provide a small history of the house, and the people that are associated with the place. The writing makes the reader believe that they are actually in the house reading the notices.
Even if you are not a fan of the Young Adult genre, but love a good classic gothic themed book, this is the book to get. The reader will get sucked into the tale that they will be wondering what (and who) is real and what is not. Just when the reader thinks they have the ending figured out, there is another twist to the plot (even to the end). Sourcebooks has a wonderfully (and sometimes confusing, but in a good way) book that will take the reader on a mysterious expedition. There needs to be more books in this genre as great as “Alone.”
A Special Thanks for Sourcebooks Fire for the Advanced Reading Copy.
“Alone” by Cyn Balog is available where you find books or at http://www.sourcebooks.com. You can find more about Cyn Balog at cynbalog.blogspot.com
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