Review – Horrid by Katrina Leno (2/5 stars)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Horror/Supernatural
Length: 336 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Release Date: September 15, 2020
ISBN-13 : 978-0316537247
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Owlcrate
Rating: 2/5 stars
“Following her father’s death, Jane North-Robinson and her mom move from sunny California to the dreary, dilapidated old house in Maine where her mother grew up. All they want is a fresh start, but behind North Manor’s doors lurks a history that leaves them feeling more alone…and more tormented.
As the cold New England autumn arrives, and Jane settles in to her new home, she finds solace in old books and memories of her dad. She steadily begins making new friends, but also faces bullying from the resident “bad seed,” struggling to tamp down her own worst nature in response. Jane’s mom also seems to be spiraling with the return of her childhood home, but she won’t reveal why. Then Jane discovers that the “storage room” her mom has kept locked isn’t for storage at all–it’s a little girl’s bedroom, left untouched for years and not quite as empty of inhabitants as it appears….
Is it grief? Mental illness? Or something more…horrid?”
Series Info/Source: I got this book in my September Owlcrate. This is a stand alone book.
Story (2/5): This started out fairly promising; a small town and a creepy house with a mysterious history…it just never really went anywhere. The story was never that scary or creepy, and when secrets start to be revealed they just aren’t that interesting. It was a lot of reading to get not a lot of story. The final nail in the coffin for me was the ending. All these characters are introduced and all these things finally start to happen and the book just…ends…without any resolution whatsoever.
Characters (3/5): Jane was an interesting character. I enjoyed the relationship her and her mom have and how they initially try to make the best of things. I also liked how Jane is constantly struggling with her sanity and trying to figure out what is real and what is not. The side characters were fine too; although I never really felt like I got to know any of the characters well. I also didn’t feel like there was much character growth throughout the story.
Setting (3/5): I enjoyed the setting of the creepy house that Jane and her mom move into. I could have done without all the high school drama and bullying.
Writing Style (2/5): This whole book just seemed really rambling. It tried to build up this huge mystery and the reveal fell really flat for me. I understand the ending was supposed to be a bit twisted and kind of creepy. Unfortunately, the ending made the whole book feel like a waste of time. I couldn’t figure out why I would waste my time getting to learn about this town and these characters if the story was just going to….end…like that. I seriously thought pages were missing or this was part of a series or something. It was so disappointing.
My Summary (2/5): Overall this whole story felt so unsatisfying and like such a huge waste of time. I wouldn’t recommend it and I definitely won’t be reading anymore of Leno’s books. I got this from my Owlcrate and am really disappointed that this was their pick. The beginning was promising and I loved the creepy old house setting but in the end the big reveal and the strange ending were really lackluster.