Book Review: Last Seen Leaving by Caleb Roehrig

Feiwel & Friends
To be published Oct. 4, 2016
336 Pages

Flynn’s girlfriend, January has disappeared and the cops are asking him questions he cannot answer. And her friends are telling stories, he has never heard of. Determined to discover the truth about his girlfriend, Flynn hunt down answers but with a secret of his own, he has to tread lightly.

 *Short review*

I am disappointed in this book. Not just from the summary but from the book itself. It started off really really good. But then the author feel right into the predictability. And he didn’t just fall slowly, but the downfall was really fast.

I hated Flynn. He was a jerk and he had no right even close to complain about January when he was using the mess out of her. He had this sense of entitlement as her boyfriend; he had no right and he pissed me off.

What made the story predictably was Flynn’s secret and what happened to January. It was such a typical turn of events. Yeah, it had its little oh moments but there wasn’t many. The way it was written despite the predictability was really good. I kept reading the book but it was a struggle because I knew what was going to happen. Roehrig has talent as a writer but this book would be best for someone who has never read this type of story before.

I can’t say much about the characters because they were predictable as well as the romance.

Overall, I would have probably enjoyed this book better if I read this before I read any other disappearing act stories.

 

2 Pickles

Book Review: A Midsummer Night’s Scream by R.L. Stine

Ummm let’s just say this isn’t what I expected from the master of horror.

Feiwel & Friends
Published July 2, 2013
250 Pages

Claire has the perfect life; her family owns a movie company (although on the brink of bankruptcy) and she has an amazing best friend Delia (who is the perfect image). The only snag in Claire world is Jake, the boy she is in love with loves Delia and Delia loves Shawn (Jake’s best friend) who is in love with Claire.

Although Claire and Delia are trying to get the attention of their boys of choice they are also trying to launch their movie career by staring in the remake of Mayhem Manor. Mayhem Manor is a haunted house in which three teenagers making a movie died accidently. Claire’s family owned movie company is trying to remake it when you guessed it accidents begin to happen and people begin to die.

This book had so much potential it was dripping from the pages. But R.L. Stine dropped the ball big time. This book was nothing I would ever recommend. There was no personal struggle. All Claire cared about was getting the boy she liked to like her back; when things starting getting weird it affected none of the teenagers. A costar died and you’re going to the cheesecake factory -.- or you’re making corny jokes after you beat the bad guy.

The book was cheesy and it was poorly written. You cling on and keep reading because it’s R.L. Stine and you’re hoping for the big horror of the book. But the biggest horror was how the crappy the characters were and their lack of substance.

The only good thing about the book was the idea itself, not the Shakespeare part because it was really unnecessary.  The idea of a movie company remaking a movie in which real deaths take place in a haunted mansion was pretty cool.

Overall, the book gets 4 out of 5. Sorry Mr. Stine but you fell short on this one big time. Also i really really think the Shakespeare aspect was completely completely unecessary.

 

Tania Lasenburg is a communications major that plays video games and cyber stalks Gym Class Heroes. Follow her on twitter @mrztanyapickles