Say Her Name: In five days she will come

It was an entertaining read for Halloween, but it wasn‘t as spooky as anticipated. The plot was okay, nothing too new and the characters rather stereotypical. The writing was okay as well and the whole experience could have been worse. I‘m feeling bad for Mary and what had happened to her and that’s all I‘m saying here :)

Nothing special or new about this book. The characters were really flat and there wasn’t any character development at all. Even more so, you didn’t really get to know them. The book contained unnecessary romance as well and it was the typical “oh you saved me? Let’s make out before we’re killed!” I assumed how the book ends as soon as I got to know that there’s a character who avoids talking about Mary.

Damn. This was so good. I love retellings and I love the story’s surrounding bloody marry, so this was the perfect book to read. The writing was on point and so was the storyline. And the ending .... holy crap it was everything one could want from a horror movie/book.

Only two more days till Halloween and still looking for a scary book to read? Well Say Her Name by Juno Dawson is definitely a book you should consider reading. It isn't as scary as I expected it to be but it for sure gave me goosebumps and I may or may not have turned my bedroom mirror around to face the wall. Having said that, I want to tell you a little about the story first. Say Her Name is the story of Bloody Mary, somewhat of a retelling you could say. This book is basically about what happens when you call her. We all know the urban legend about Bloody Mary, don't we? We know that if you say her name aloud in front of the mirror three/five times she will come and get you? Has anyone ever tried it? I haven't and even though I don't really believe in ghosts I'd be way to scared to say her name aloud in front of a mirror. The legend of Bloody Mary comes to life when Bobbie and Naya, two best friends who go to a boarding school some place in the UK, decide to say her name along with a local boy from another school five times in front of their bathroom mirror. As they realize that Bloody Mary actually is a real ghost that will come for their lives they try to find out more about her, about Mary, about the person who she was and why she wants to hunt them down. So the three of them embark on a mystery solving journy to figure out what happened all these years ago in order to save their own lives. I love creepy stories, I love horror movies, scary books and I for sure love all the urban legends, so Say Her Name seemed like the perfect book for me to read around Halloween time which I did. It took me a little longer than I thought it would but only because I've been so busy with life the past couple of weeks. Another reason was that I wanted to only read it in bed late at night before going to bed because I wanted to be scared; I wanted to be terrified which I was to be honest, I was even too scared to use the bathroom and I did avoid all mirrors while I was reading the book though. "Drip, drip, drip. Drip, drip, drip. Drip, drip, drip." It's not that I haven't known anything about Bloody Mary and it's not that I've never watched a movie about Bloody Mary (the Supernatural Bloody Mary episode was sick) but reading about her was way different and more scary I believe. Every once in a while I had to look up from the book just to make sure that Mary didn't crawl up in my bed hiding under the blanket or something. The book definitely was scary, very scary sometimes but I wished it would have been a little more scary even. I've never had nightmares though I thought I would but they never came and usually when a horror movie really freaks me out I do have nightmares so this is how I know that the book didn't scare the hell out of me. One of the scariest things definitely is when the author starts describing arms and evil faces emerging from reflective surfaces. The author really created a great YA horror story perfect to read around Halloween. The gothic boarding school, dripping water, Halloween, a graveyard, weird dreams, mysterious things happening and an asylum altogether create the perfect atmosphere for Mary's story. What I really loved about this book was that it's not only some scary story without a real backstory or something. To be honest Marys backstory was one of the most interesting things in this book. It felt so real and very reasoned. I love so much that the story wasn't all about Mary the ghost, but also about Mary the girl, who she was and especially her fate. I also found the book really profound what I also didn't expect. Mary's story held me captivated, it was mysterious, interesting, sad also and scary. "Some people just shine a bit brighter than others and it's got nothing to do with what they look like." I also loved the romance in the book. Yes I know it's supposed to be a horror book but it doesn't hurt to throw some romance in there right? It wasn't rushed at all, it seemed all real, even though at the beginning I couldn't tell if their feelings were real or maybe forced/influenced by everything that was going on with them. I also liked the characters. They were really likeable, maybe a little stereotypical as well but that's usually how it is in horror stories right? Nontheless I really liked them, especially Bobbie who turned out to be my favorite character in the book. She wasn't all whiney even though she was scared to death. She is a strong character, trying to keep calm and make a sense of all of the things happening only to protect her friends and to still her friends fears. When the story came to an end I was a little disappointed, at first though. I thought the story would end in a more - lets say - supernatural way. But as I kept reading it all made sense and I really enjoyed the ending. The whole plot came together in a really good way. The last page actually left be behind with an uneasy feeling - a little scared too though. "Bobbie was worried putting her thoughts into words might make them true, but she was driving herself a little crazy." I wouldn't call Say Her Name the scariest book I've ever read but it is indeed a great Halloween read and perfect for anyone who wants to stay up way too late, cuddle up in bed with only a candle burning and a scary book in their hands. So if you are in for a nice, scary read I'd recommend you to pick this one up.

I'm not sure if I'm happy that I finished this or not. I could've read at least a few pages more but on the other hand it's good that I'm done! I tried reading this yesterday night and oh my god. It didn't work! Melissa can tell you how freaked out I was - although it was probably super funny for her - it was all dark, shortly before midnight and I sat with my back to the door, only a tiny, little light was on ... and then I read a creepy scene. It was horrible! I wasn't so sure of James Dawson's writing at first ... it's simple and easy to read but the fact that it's third person POV slightly disturbed me since I usually don't read them as much. However, as the novel progressed, I quite enjoyed it and had no problems feeling with the chracters - they were scared and freaked out and so did I. The cover is another thing I absolutely love about this book! It's already kind of creepy but so cool and awesome to look at. "Drip, drip, drip. Drip, drip, drip. Drip, drip, drip." Everything starts on Halloween night where a group of teenagers tell each other not-so-scary ghost stories. Sadie tells a story about an ex student at Pipers Hall (their boarding school), these days she's known as Bloody Mary, and because everyone thinks it's a stupid story she dares them to say her name five times in front of a mirror while the room is only lit by candles. Only three did it, our main character Bobbie, her best friend and roomate Naya and a handsome boy from another school, Caine. At first it's all fun but suddenly weird things are happening and Sadie goes missing and each of the three gets the same message: Five Days. That alone is some scary shit! I've never dared saying her name in front of a mirror and I probably never will. I just shook my head while reading that scene in the bathroom ... they all giggled and made fun of the situation but I knew it wouldn't end well. The characters were all likeable and I found myself liking Bobbie a lot! Her decisions were all rational to me and I think I would've acted the same way. Not really, I would've probably ran in a corner, screamed and peed myself whenever I saw a mirror. Or some other reflective surface. The same goes for Naya and Caine - all three were in this together and I liked how they worked as a team to solve this mystery and fight her. It was definitely suspenseful and thrilling and I even caught myself biting my nails at times. "Bobbie wondered if that's how long you truly live for - until the last person who remembers you, until the final bouquet on your grave." There were a few "boring" scenes, especially in the beginning, but once everything picked up on pace it was almost impossible to put it down. I just couldn't because I needed to know what would happen next! Some scenes were really, really creepy and if you're brave enough to read this at night, I admire you - you could also listen to some creepy "music", just go to Spotify or Youtube, search creepy and check the playlists! I tried. I obviously have a vivid imagination and heard lots of things at night which freaked me out even more ... but that's the fun while reading these books, no? Overall, I'd totally recommend this book! The ending was freaking fantastic and I loved the plot twist in it ... just OH MY GOD. The characters are great, the tension is built up slowly but constantly and that's exactly what I was looking for. So if you're up for some YA Horror, check this out! www.aworldbetweenfoldedpages.blogspot.com