Tunnel of Bones by Victoria Schwab

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

I read the first book in this middle grade series, City of Ghosts, last fall, and felt like it was a very middle of the road read. I enjoyed it fine but really wanted more than it delivered. Still, I'm a big fan of Victoria Schwab and wanted to see where this story went, so I picked up book two, Tunnel of Bones, when it was recently released, and decided to use it as the "Book with Red on the Cover" challenge for Spookathon. I'm glad I did! I liked this one a lot more than the first book.

Cassidy Blake can interact with ghosts. Not only that, but after almost dying, it is her life's purpose to send ghosts to the beyond. Wouldn't be too bad, except for the fact that her parents host a show about the paranormal, leading the family to travel to the most haunted places in the world. This time, they're in Paris, and when the family goes to explore the Catacombs, a poltergeist is released that begins wreaking havoc on the city. 

I still want to know more about the side character Lara, but I liked how her and Cassidy developed a friendship that continued into this read. I also still thought the parents were clueless with Cassidy literally disappearing all the time, but I've written that off as a suspension of disbelief that is necessary for these adventures take place.

I really saw Casssidy growing in this one: not only maturing, but really coming into her own with her ghost-banishing talent. You get to see her grappling a lot with encountering danger versus fulfilling her purpose, ultimately deciding that there's a difference between being scared to do something and TOO scared to do something. Fear doesn't define action. The overall plot in this one was much better than the first as well, and the poltergeist story line really kept me intrigued. We hope to go to Paris in a few years, so I'll definitely write down all the haunted places mentioned in this book for my visit!

While I think this was originally supposed to be a duology, it looks like there will be a third book, Bridge of Souls, releasing some time next year. I heard rumors that this would be taking place in New Orleans, and if so I can't wait to read it!

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

I've loved everything I've read by Victoria (V.E.) Schwab thus far. So when I saw she was releasing a creepy middle grade novel, I knew I had to pick it up (even though middle grade normally isn't my thing). Unfortunately, City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab didn't quite live up to my (perhaps too high) expectations.

This story follows Cassidy, who travels with her parents to Edinburgh while they film the first episode of their ghost hunting TV show-The Inspectres. Her parents are obsessed with ghosts, but Cassidy can actually see them. In fact, her best friend is a ghost named Jacob who saved her life when she almost drowned. When Cassidy encounters more ghosts in Edinburgh than she knows what to do with, she meets Lara, another girl with the same gift who helps to enlighten Cassidy on her purpose.

While I chose to get the UK paperback edition (because the cover is just so gorgeous), I'm disappointed that both covers lead the reader to believe that the cat (affectionately named Grim) is a major player in the story. Spoiler alert: he isn't. 

The story itself felt very one dimensional to me. I should have been on the edge of my seat during certain parts of the plot, but I just wasn't. As a fan of any creepy read, I'm normally completely enveloped in these types of stories. I liked the characters enough, but overall something just felt missing. I also would have loved to know more about Lara. Granted, this is a middle grade read, so I might be looking for a depth that just doesn't exist in books for a younger age group. It also took me a lot longer to read than I anticipated.

The story was cute and overall I enjoyed the time I spent with it, but I wouldn't pick it up again, it didn't really stick with me, and I was definitely left wanting more. I think this is supposed to be a duology, and I did like it enough to still check out the second book when it comes out. Hopefully that one will have a little more of what I was looking for!

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

Island Games by Caleb J. Boyer

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

Island Games by Caleb J. Boyer follows two teenage boys, Matthew and Ryan, after they are randomly dropped on a desert island and forced to survive a series of traps and solve puzzles to try to escape the island. The boys soon discover that truly working together is their only hope for survival. As the story progresses, the boys are transported to different quadrants on the island, ranging from tropical to desert, prairie to frozen tundra. Each quadrant comes with its own set of challenges, which when successfully passed results in a bounty of supplies for the boys designed only to last until the next test.

I think this book is decent as a middle grade, but way too juvenile to be really considered young adult. The reading level and vocabulary just aligns much better with 6-8 grade than 9-12. The characters to me also acted more in the middle grade age range than high school range. Matthew and Ryan were smart, but also acted incredibly juvenile. In a life or death situation like survival on an island, I would hope there would be more seriousness and planning and less joking around. Yes, humor is a way to make light of a difficult time, but sometimes it just didn't suit the situation in this story.

The plot and overall concept were excellent. I think it's an interesting survival mix of the plot and excitement of The Hunger Games and the relationship building and conflict in Lord of the Flies. The writing, however, was less than fantastic. It was basic and extremely repetitive. Yes, I do have to acknowledge that the author is only 12 years old, but unfortunately that's pretty obvious from the writing. Boyer uses the exact same phrases over and over within the same paragraph, and I'm pretty sure if one of the characters said "Wow!" one more time I would have thrown the book across the room. Boyer would have greatly benefited from the use of a thesaurus.

I was also really displeased with the ending. It ended as if there was going to be another book, but there was no clarity in the author's note or anything else as to when that is actually happening (although the Amazon page definitely says this is the first in a series). So many questions were left up in the air without any clarification. I hate finishing a book and not knowing what happens, especially if I don't know when I can anticipate the next installment. Island Games was still an interesting and fun story, but unfortunately just didn't live up to my expectations of good writing.

Overall Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars

Thanks to Online Book Club for digital access to this novel! Island Games by Caleb J. Boyer is out now.