Alone by Cyn Balog
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I received an ARC of Cyn Balog’s book , Alone, via NetGalley. This advanced e-copy was granted in exchange for an honest review.***4.5 STARS …for that ending alone.
At the time of this review, this book has not yet been published. It’s expected release date is November 7, 2017.
What a ride! I swear this story kept me guessing until the bitter end …and even now I find myself pleasantly surprised by all the clues I missed along the way.
Seda is a girl on the verge of a breakthrough or a breakdown–either was a possibility in this story. When Seda’s horror-genre obsessed mother inherits a Murder-Mystery Inn, Seda is less than thrilled to take up occupancy at the creepy locale. However, she reluctantly goes along and hopes their stay won’t last long.
As time ticks forward, it becomes clear to Seda that her family’s stay at the house will be a lot longer than planned–perhaps permanent.
Seda slowly begins to detach from the world around her. She takes comfort only in the presence of her younger siblings and the possibility that someday she’ll be able to return to the life she once knew. She’s hanging on by a thread, but it’s a strong enough one to keep her emotionally afloat…and then a group of uninvited teens arrive: placed on her doorstep courtesy of a car wreck and a snowstorm.
Their presence reawakens Seda’s longing–breaking down her last wall of defense–and that’s when things start to get very interesting.
The twists and turns the story took weren’t of the “OMG” nature, but they certainly made you unsure for whom you should be rooting: The mother whose placating ways seem to only make life more unbearable for Seda? Seda, whose life is being spent in isolation? The unsuspecting teens who only wish to go home?
As you get deeper into the story, not one character reveals themselves to be above reproach; yet you find yourself wanting a heroine/hero to appear and make sense of it all–make it better.
About midway through, I’ll admit, I thought I had it figured out: I’d gathered up all the clues, and followed the twisty arrows, and continued reading only to prove myself right; but, by the time the final page was turned, even I was questioning what was and wasn’t the truth.
Alone, in my opinion, is a book about isolation, loneliness, and the ways both can play on the mind. If you’ve ever read the book–or seen its interesting adaptation–The Shining, you have an understanding of how such things can play upon the mind, making one question their own reality. Seda is not immune to such things, if anything, she’s more susceptible to them because of her own internal struggles.
Seda proves to be a complex character, but she was also just a girl looking for something more than a house of horrors to fill in the details of her life. She wanted to have fun, and experience something befitting the biography of a “normal” teenage girl.
She begins to get a small taste of that with the arrival of the teens arrives; but their presence also exacerbates the demons within, and makes her more aware of the struggle she’s fought hard to keep at bay.
Highly recommend.
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