In the chilling prequel to Frozen Charlotte, Bell explores the dark secrets behind the Dunvegan School for Girls. In 1910, Jemima takes up a job offer after a devastating fire at her home, claiming the life of her mother. Wishing to start afresh, She travels to the school’s remote location on the Isle of Skye. She is not prepared for the horrific events that follow. Without headmistress Miss Grayson on her side, she begins to uncover the sinister truth surrounding the “accidents” happening to the school’s students. The weirdest thing about it all? It seems to have something to do with the spooky “Frozen Charlotte” dolls that the girls play with…
Horror novels
Frozen Charlotte by Alex Bell – Book Review
After the tragic death of her best friend, Sophie travels to the Isle of Skye to clear her mind of recent events. She stays at the former Dunvegan School for Girls, now the home of her cousins and Uncle. She gets to know Piper, eager to befriend Sophie, Lilias, the youngest sibling struggling with a difficult past, and Cameron, the moody piano prodigy. As Sophie stays longer, she learns that not is all that it seems – the creepy old dolls called ‘Frozen Charlottes’ in a locked cabinet begin to raise questions for Sophie. As she learns more about the family and witnesses some unusual events, she wonders what is really going on…
Cruel Summer by Juno Dawson – Book Review
One year on from leaving High School and the disastrous Ball, friends Ryan, Katie, Alisha, Ben, Greg and his girlfriend Erin are catching up on a villa holiday in Spain. They are all still struggling to move on from the suicide of their best friend, Janey, at the end of the Ball last year. Everything seems to be going well as the group relaxes in the sunshine, until an unexpected visitor arrives claiming Janey’s suicide was not only a murder but was committed by one of them.
Say Her Name by Juno Dawson – Book Review
One night, a group of friends decides to try and summon the ghost of Bloody Mary, just for a laugh. Anyway, what’s the worst that could happen? With a camera ready, they chant Bloody Mary five times into their bathroom mirror. Strange things begin to happen when one of the friends, Bobbie, discovers a message in the mirror – “five days,” it says. As they try to unravel the mystery, they learn that while many have tried to say her name for a dare, all Mary wants is the world to know the truth…
Say Her Name is based on a version of the legend of Bloody Mary. Piece by piece, the story is uncovered and it is not until the very end that there is an explanation of some of the scary goings-on in the book.
Even then, there are some things that are left open for you to interpret yourself. It was so gripping that I didn’t want to put it down over the two days during which I read it. The dialogue between the teenagers was so realistic that it really made the characters come to life and made it even more believable.
The book was scary in parts, mainly because as the story went on, there were many plot twists and details added that meant that you couldn’t predict how the story would work as the story progressed.
Overall, I loved this book – when I thought it couldn’t get any scarier, I really struggled to construct any theories about what was really going on. There was always something around the corner that would make me want to read on!