A gripping story that had me hooked from start to end.

This book is definitely has scared the shit out of me that I have to take quite some time finish reading this. The writing is all precisely. It's a story about a ghost name Sarah who is full of vengeance to revenge three guys who have actually responsible to what has happen to her and there is Cain. Cain who happen to live in a house where Sarah been murdered and he start seeing her right from the attic in her room, which she wants to communicate with him. This is when everything started to fall into a dangerous hole.

The plot line right from the start to the middle is good but when it comes to almost end of the books, which at the critical level everything start to get a little bit messy and fast. All in all, it's quite an interesting story if you're a fan of horror story. Anyway, it just in the epilogue of the story I got a little bit confuse.

I enjoyed this YA novel. Well developed characters, strong story line, and enough twists, turns and surprises to keep you turning page after page. I think young adults as well as adults will enjoy this book! Great job!

First of all, the Harry Potter references make my heart smile. Now, back to the story. This was a well written book with easily relateable characters whom you can't help but root for. The story flowed well and I wanted to read quicker to see how it ended. It was suspenseful, but I wouldn't call it scary. Thank you to NetGalley for my copy of this novel.

Sarah is a teenager who doesn't get attention from boys. When she does get attention from a popular boy in high school. She is suspicious of him but finds him to appear to be a kind sensitive boy. When he talks her going to a party, it ends with her dying. How did she die? Why? Cain's mother has bought a new home after she loses her husband. Cain hears noises but figures that the house is settling. Cain discovers he has a ghost who died as a teenaged girl. Her name is Sarah. Cain didn't know her but remembers her death. Sarah wants revenge though he doesn't tell Cain that right away. Cain has an accident here he becomes possessed by Sarah. He doesn't realize it at first even though he knows he is missing time. Sarah grows stronger ad gets her revenge even though Cain tries to prevent it. She becomes stronger after each killing. Cain discovers that she likes killing and she tends to kill him. Will Sarah kill Cain?

This is an excellent creepy ghost novel. The author makes the novel realistic. You care about Cain and his friends even though he doesn't think he can keep them safe. I think that adults who like horror will enjoy this story. I enjoyed reading this very much.

WOW! I am a HUGE horror fan, but often books fall so short of the mark. I actually had to read this with all the lights on. I got goosebumps and jumped at little noises! It was exquisite. I cannot offer enough praise for this spine chilling tale!

This story is about a teen-age boy who discovers a restless spirit/ghost living in his attic. Although he initially thinks the ghost wants his help, he quickly realizes that the spirit of Sarah wants vengeance against the people that she holds responsible for her death. Cain tries to stop her murderous rampage but falls short in saving those she is after. Because of his attempt to put her spirit back in the spirit world, Sarah is now intent on hurting him and his family and friends. With the help of his girlfriend’s aunt, they manage to put a stop to her hateful acts....or do they?

Geared toward the YA audience, this book is written from a teen-aged perspective, but I still found it a decent read. It has your paranormal elements of a haunting, a ghost out for revenge, possession and a little witchcraft thrown in. The story moved along at a decent pace and kept me interested throughout the entire story. Interesting characters, good plot and well written.

**I received a digital copy courtesy of Net Galley for reviewing purposes**

I needed to give this book a few days to settle because I couldn’t tell what my rating should be. The story revolves mainly around Cain Shannon, who finds out his house is haunted by Sarah, a loner unpopular girl who used to go to his school before she was murdered.
Cain is an easy character to get to like, his family and friends more so. It almost makes you wonder what they ever did to deserve Sarah. Story progression is well paced and it’s easy a book to get through.
There were parts I didn’t like which were related to mostly how scared Cain got every time he saw Sarah. He is into horror movies, he does sleep in his bedroom when he knows that is closest to the ghost and even when he figures out Sarah isn’t all kittens and rainbows he still talk to her, so I just couldn’t buy his whole trembling knees bit every single time he saw her. It would have made more of an impact if there was more show instead of tell.
I also felt the reasons Sarah was out to get Cain didn’t make sense. Sure she has trust issues with males because of the way she died, but he was trying to help her the entire time. Also the whole fact that Sarah could literally travel anywhere she wanted detracted from the whole possession arc. Why bother possessing Cain’s body if you can just steal his energy and go wherever you want?
The ending while aiming for one of those Stephen King like ‘this-is-so-not-going-to-end-well-endings’ about what is to come fell short because there was no proper reason for Sarah being able to do what she did.
All in all it wasn’t a bad read, just a rather unconvincing one.

So what pulled me to this book was first off the cover, it just screams creepy and PICK ME UP. Second after reading the blurb I knew I needed to see if it was going to be as good as it seemed.

Now if you are easily afraid then this might not be the book for you. If you like a good ghost story with a mystery behind it, then pick this book up.

So this story is told through the p.o.v. being a teenage boy. Cain is a young teenager who has taken up the responsibility of taking care of his sister which I love how he reads to her every night, and his mom. Cain lives in a house where out of the blue his attic door opens and he feels a rush of cold air. Well we all know what that means. Though not only does he need to figure out what is going on with all the creepy stuffy he has a girlfriend who is a big snob. You can just tell that won't last long.
With the help of his best friend Finn he starts looking into why his house maybe haunted and by who. When Cain finds out what exactly happened to Sarah he believes that they have to come clean but will they?
As time goes on it seems that Sarah who is the ghost is getting powerful, maybe even powerful enough to take matters into her own hands. The way she died hands has you going oh man, justice needed to be served.
I have to say that Finn was my favorite character. With this witty humor and willingness to take care of his best friend he was pretty cool in my book.
Not much else I can say on this book except that if you like ghost stories, pick this book up. I think this is a good read for maybe the older teenagers on up. I really like this author's writing that I will be looking for more of her work.

This book left me quite conflicted at how to rate it in the end. It's a Young Adult creepy ghostly story and it started off with really holding my interest. I could see where the plot was going early but sadly felt this book really feel flat and slow in the middle, for a long time. I was page-flicking and paragraph skipping. It was repetitive and predicable.

Then the last third blew my socks off! It was as though another author had taken over. The book got a lot darker, it had much more excitement in it and some really well written scenes. If only the whole book had been written even close to this level it would have been a five star read. The first two-thirds of the book were not the least bit scary but the latter, whoa! Really great stuff! I loved the twist at the end a LOT.

An interesting read that would no doubt appeal to YA readers of light horror and ghostly tales. Take a walk on the dark side with Sarah by Teri Polen. Disappointing that a good chunk of the book had me nearly give up however. 3 stars from me.

High School soccer star Cain has recently lost his father. He already has a hard time with the usual struggles of being a teenager, and trying to help out his mom cope with her husband's passing, as well as adjusting to living in a new house. Weird things start happening in the house, though. Paranormal things- rooms get cold, doors open and close, and soon Cain discovers the reason- there's a ghost of a teenage girl living in the house, who lost her life as a result of some cruel teenage boys. Cain and his friend Finn discover that the ghost, Sarah, wants some help in getting back at those boys. They feel sorry for her and want to help. But as they are drawn in by Sarah, she grows in power and they discover that she wants more from them. She wants revenge.

The author builds a great story, full of creepy atmosphere, the kind that makes you toss in your sleep after reading it. The suspense builds up well, and I was really drawn into the story. There are two things going on here- a scary and suspenseful ghost story, with a vengeful ghost and grisly elements. Also, there is a Young Adult morality tale about shallow youth culture and especially the way in which young star athletes are glorified and puffed up and how much of their bad behavior is swept under the rug, and how young females who adore them are often abused and discarded in their wake. This moral element to the novel never comes across as preachy, but is woven expertly into the story, and leaves you thinking about the story long after the book is over, which is a rare feat.

I had a hard time with the young adult dialogue, but that is only because it is real. Young adults are often shallow and self-absorbed and don't consider the consequences of what they do. Also, the teens here don't reach out for help until things have reached spilled over and reached a crisis, which is also typical teenage behavior. However, this time they are called to account, and its a great read. The novel ends with things not completely resolved, so perhaps a sequel is to follow. . ? Thanks NetGalley for the advance copy for review.

Imagine a Supernatural episode retold in the form of a teenage boy and his best friend Finn. It made me laugh at the banter between the two because it reminded me of Sam and Dean Winchester and what they could have been like as teenagers but with a different background story.

That being said.....it should not have been like that. Did I enjoy the story? Yes, but for reasons outside of the book. It needed to be original. It had it's moments, don't get me wrong, but it needed more.

For instance instead of Sara revealing her sins/murders to Cain by telling him, she should have forced visions into his mind. This would force Cain to relive the gruesome scenes in greater details and it would have added a new level of suspense to the novel. There were several more opportunities outside of that specific one where suspense could have been added. Instead, we are only told what transpires instead of witnessing it in our minds.

Should there be a sequel? Absolutely, but there needs to be more suspense!

Review: SARAH by Teri Polen

SARAH had me turning pages so rapidly, I'm surprised the Kindles didn't ignite. It's an emotional roller coaster wrapped tautly in some really frightening manifestations. The "good guy" characters are appealing and heartwarming. The "jerk" characters (excepting the "ghost") are less evil than self-centered, narcissistic, selfish, and emotionally blind. Now the ghost: she's in a category by herself, and believe me, she's carved out her own niche and fully fills it. There's gore, but not for its own sake. There's a good helping of medieval morality play here too: do somebody wrong, you will pay, maximally. SARAH was a one-sitting read for me, and I enjoyed it immensely. But I'm thankful it was a daytime read.

Insidious meets Paranormal Activity!

I really enjoyed this YA book. I was hooked from the beginning as the characters were believable and well-developed. This was a story about ordinary teens in a paranormal situation and it worked fantastically.

I did not see the twist around 50% of the way through. This was due to the clever writing of Polen and it revived my interest in the book. The whole book kept me on my toes throughout and that is a big plus in my book.