Review: One Hundred Candles by Mara Purnhagen

 One Hundred Candles, Mara Purnhagen

Release date: March 2011 (AU)

Publisher: HarlequinTEEN

Genre: YA, Paranormal, Romance  

Pages: 235

Series: Past Midnight

1. Past Midnight

1.5. Raising the Dead

2. One Hundred Candles
3. Beyond the Grave (23rd August 2011)
Author's website

I’ve opened a door that cannot be closed…

It has taken a long time for me to feel like a normal teenager. But now that I’m settled in a new school, it feels like everything is falling into place. And what better way to be normal than to go on a date with a popular football star like Harris Abbott? After all, it’s not as if Noah is anything more than a friend…

But my new life takes a disturbing turn when Harris brings me to a party and we play a game called One Hundred Candles. It seems like harmless, ghostly fun. Until spirits unleashed by the game start showing up at school. Now my friends and family are in very real danger, and the door that I’ve opened into another realm may yield deadly consequences.

I read Past Midnight a few months ago (I'll review it tomorrow) and it was one of those books that you couldn't read late at night. This is the same. Ghosts and seeing things at night is something I really hate, so I was hesitant to read this book, but then, since I'd really liked Past Midnight, I decided to give it a try.

So it starts off in a really creepy place: an insane asylum. And then something even creepier happens to Charlotte: someone being possessed by a demon. And it's definitely not good acting. When Charlotte returns to school, everything seems to be going haywire: her school is now 'haunted' because of a game she a few schoolmates played (called One Hundred Candles; you sit in a circle and tell real ghost stories and light a candle for each one, and then there's supposed to be spooky happenings because of the hundreds of spirits you've invited in by telling the ghost stories); her parents are fighting because her mother now believes in paranormal stuff and her father doesn't; Noah is acting funny and hates Harris, the boy Charlotte is seeing.

This book isn't as spooky as the one before it, but it's still enjoyable. I picked it up after I was struggling to finish two other books, and I spent most of the day reading it. I couldn't put it down, really. Charlotte is sceptical and intelligent, as well as being a generally cool girl. Instead of panicking because of apparitions and furniture moving, she decides to wait until there's more evidence of ghostly occurrences. Noah is totally jealous, too. It was so adorkable! :)

The character I most liked was Charlotte's sister Annalise. Charlotte and Annalise get on well with each other and I liked how Charlotte liked to call her and talk. I know that this will never happen between me and my own sister, so it was nice to read about their friendly relationship.

The book really picked up at the ending, and it's what made me pay more attention. The cliffhanger ending made me go ARRGH. But thankfully the next book will be out soon!

My verdict: An interesting (and spooky!) read that kept me on my toes. Definitely a lot different from most paranormal books out there and a must-read.