Member Reviews

I was able to grab an ARC of this from NetGalley, I'm so glad to have gotten that chance. This was a very interesting premise and I enjoyed the way it unfolded.

The ending wasn't my favorite and there were a few things throughout the book I didn't love. The therapist was kinda leading in sessions- sort of small things like that.

I would say overall it's a good read and worth the time.

Was this review helpful?

Five stars… Five stars… Five stars!!! This is the best book ever the ending is a mic drop! OMG… It is so so good! Rebecca has autism she is a senior at Claremont high school we’re becoming top of the class is something most students strive for everyone except Rebecca she just wants to graduate and is looking forward to her future that hasn’t always been the case but thanks to Dr. Tamara things are lookingbright. She’s a volunteer in the library and leaves for school much earlier than everyone else thanks to the librarian she has a key to get in and can even access files with the librarians login. When we first meet Rebecca it is right after the death of A senior named Yunwen Who seemingly ran right off of a cliff and although they called it an incident of self ending and everyone accepted it when basketball star in A student darrell’s smashed truck Becca is the first one to know when she walked up on the wrecked vehicle she heard noises in despite wanting to flea because it sounded like a trapped bird she tries to help but when gray ghostly looking fingers come out of the rec she runs and tells no one what she saw. Rebecca thinks something is suspicious about these deaths of these top knoch students but when another student named Oz is murdered she tries to figure out a pattern with the first two they were both friends with the girl also in the running to be valedictorian named Julie G but ours was not associated with this group he was more like her than them she does find out that all three thought they had relatives that didn’t exist for Yunwen she thought she was adopted and her mom was haunting her for Daryl he thought he had a brother named Ben who was also haunting him and poor Oz thought it was an uncle so when Rebecca wakes up outside of her apartment building and hears someone say “you found me.” See your think you will learned she is being haunted by a phantom ant that she does not remember at all but everyone including her therapist insist not only does she exist but that’s where she got her middle name Holly from even though Rebecca remembers her middle name being Ashley. Does this mean Rebecca is next? OMG there was a lot of details I left out of this summary this is not a long book but it is an awesome awesome read! This is hora at its absolute best if you had the right a list of the three best horror stories you’ve ever read I would definitely put this one at the top I cannot reiterate enough how awesome this book is I absolutely loved it it will probably read it again I will definitely be looking for books from this author in the future and can’t wait to get my hands on another. I want to thank definitely the author for writing it off-limits press for publishing it in NetGalley for allowing me to be an early arc reader in my free copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Was this review helpful?

This book kept me guessing the whole time and I was fascinated by it. I loved the focus on tulpas and how they can be materialized by human thought. This was a fast-paced thriller with great characters and a nice twist at the end. Highly recommended for those who like ghost stories.

Was this review helpful?

This thriller’s first sentence jumps right into the storyline and continues at a running pace all the way until the twisted turn at the end. The story is from the point of view of Rebecca (“Bex”), a high school senior, as she tries to uncover the connections of her fellow classmates’ recent deaths. If she wants to graduate with her classmates, then she better figure out who the killer is fast before she is the next victim.

The storyline thoroughly walks you through Bex’s thoughts and actions as she pieces together the mystery, and it also provided valuable insight into the complexity of autism. Throughout the story, Bex battles her confusion of the situation with her neurodiversity. The ghost hauntings certainly don’t help her either. You could actually feel the confusion come through the words. It was so well written that I actually got confused at times, but in a way that was obviously intentional to keep me guessing and moving forward in the story. I thought I had a suspicion of who the killer was, but the twist at the end was so unexpected that I had a “whoa” moment.

My only complaint was that I wish there were more scary, ghost moments. I didn’t feel as much terror as I was expecting. The setting of the quiet, dark library was perfect for ghostly encounters. This is especially true when one is alone…no, thank you.

The author, Mark Wheaton, takes you on a rollercoaster ride with this fast-paced ghost story! I recommend this book to anyone looking for a thriller read that can be completed in one sitting.

Thank you to @NetGalley and @OffLimitsPress for the opportunity to read and review this book with my own honest opinions!

Was this review helpful?

This is a horrible, horrible story… and a great book. It kept me reading compulsively and the ending left me gasping. Bex is an unusual teen. She notices patterns in a series of tragic deaths at her high school but, she may be mistaken. You see, Bex is autistic and doesn’t see the world like her colleagues. The more she finds out, the deeper she goes into the rabbit hole. Part of what works so well is that Bex is so likable, funny and relatable, even for people who are not on the spectrum. She explains her condition so well that you truly understand her, and I just wanted her to figure things out. Her relationship with her mother and sister is touching, and I enjoyed the look into what she’s really thinking, versus what she tells them. Everything is told from Bex’s point of view and, since she sees the world differently, I wasn’t sure I completely understood what was happening. Part of the plot explored one of my worst nightmares, so maybe I was especially inclined to love this book. Whatever made me enjoy it so much, it’s dark, but funny and fun.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#Off Limits Press!

Was this review helpful?

I loved this one! Such a creepy story and I loved the author’s writing style. I listened to the audiobook and I highly recommend it! The narrator helps bring the story to life and make it even better with her different voices for characters. She puts so much emotion into every voice and helps the suspense factor become very real.

Was this review helpful?

This is a wonderful, creepy little mystery story. Bex is autistic and doesn't like to mix too much with other people, particularly at school. But when three students in her school year all die strangely within a short space of each other things start getting really weird for Bex and she worries that she might be the next to die. A quick read but there was plenty packed in to the story to make it a very satisfying, and sometimes quite unsettling read. Recommended.

Was this review helpful?

Who Haunts You is a fast paced psychological thriller full of twists that I don't think anyone could have anticipated. The book had brilliant autism representation and the pacing was perfection. This book was the unique haunting story we've all been searching for this spooky season!

Was this review helpful?

Who Haunts You is a short and thrilling horror story that will keep you turning pages, desperate to solve the mystery. When Bex’s high school classmates begin dying in strange accidents, she fights the urge to get to the bottom of the mystery herself. One night, Bex is visited by a ghost of her own and realizes it is either to get to the bottom of the hauntings or end up like her dead classmates.

Bex’s character is neurodivergent and this book paints a picture of how much a toll it can take on both the neurodivergent person and their family that takes care of them as well as the guilt carried by the neurodivergent person for imposing that burden on their family. With the way this story progressed, it was so difficult to know which characters to trust and which ones to be suspicious of. The end kind of reminded me of Jennifer’s Body in a way so if that's your jam this one's for you!

I read this book in one sitting so if you are looking for a short, fast paced horror/thriller this is a good book for you. Following along as Bex questions her own sanity and that of those around her was thrilling and got me in the mood for Halloween almost immediately.

Was this review helpful?

This books plot was really difficult for me to follow and it was all over the places I see where the author was trying to go with it, it is just not how I would sell the story

Was this review helpful?

I thought this was the most clever and twist-filled little book I have read in a while. I thought the protagonist was written fairly well as she suffers from autism, the book flowed quickly and the only complaint I have is I wished it was longer!

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced readers copy! The book will be released in early September.

Was this review helpful?

I felt this book had lot of potential to be great but it never made it to great it was okay. I really wanted more and it never came.

Was this review helpful?

I was really looking forward to reading this. However that was not the case once I did start.

As a person who has a younger sister with autism, I thought it would be really interesting but I really struggled to finish the book. I had to push myself to do so.

The issue wasn’t with the characters as I think they were perfectly written. The issue ended up being the plot of the book itself.

Was this review helpful?

Marked as young adult, Who Haunts You is a fast-paced thriller that goes beyond high school.

"The more you look, the more you find, the more you believe..."
Rebecca, or Bex, is a student at Claremont High, a highly competitive high school. In less than a month, three students found their deaths. Now Bex could be the fourth one. Are these deaths only coincidental? Is it all in Rebecca's mind?

First big praise goes to Mark Wheaton for his representation of a teenager with autism. The character of Bex is everything but stereotyped, and this is due not only to the author's research and help from those that experience autism first-hand (he's also a parent to a neurodivergent daughter), but also to the fact that he is on the spectrum himself.

"[...]Everyone has a voice in their head saying they're not good enough; that's why we're all so susceptible to this manipulation. I think a part of me believed it had something to do with neurodiversity, and that not being able to trust my senses would make my susceptibility worse.
Now I'm thinking my neurodiversity may be what's kept me alive this long."

The second big praise goes to the author's ability to put a rich and elaborate (but not difficult to follow) plot with twists and turns into less than 200 pages. Some authors fail, but not Mark Wheaton! It probably helps that the book is delightfully fast paced. It was a treat to read.

If this wasn't enough, the book is a low-key critique of part of the American school system, and the cut-throat competitiveness of some institutions. Not to mention the overrated popularity that rules the school environment, and not only amongst students, but what is even worse, but at the top of the pyramid too. To keep my review spoiler free, I will not give away the name of the less popular character, and I will be using a gender-neutral pronoun: "their".

"I sleepwalk through the next few days. No one could ever accuse me of being less than cynical, but even I'm perplexed that the third death to strike Claremont High's senior class not only doesn't make anywhere near the impact of the first two - it doesn't make any impact at all. No one cries in the hallways. No one fills their social media feeds with memorial photos or messages related to [name of the character]. There are no flowers at "their" locker.
Classes aren't even canceled. When I stick my head into the auditorium, there are no sign of the grief counselors promised in the push notification seeking prayers for [name of the character]'s family."

Final Thoughts
It targets mainly young adults, but it is a good book for readers of any age - Who Haunts You was a pleasure to read. Mark Wheaton manages to tie more than one topic to the mystery, and doing so with competence. His representation of a character with autism is truthful (although not exhaustive, and he never pretends it is) and necessary, and the resolution of the mystery shows skills at owning his creation. A book that would easily be five stars, if the ending would have satisfied me more.

Was this review helpful?

Liked the idea of this but the characters lacked some depth and some of the story line was weak and a little unbelievable

Was this review helpful?

It was alright. I like the twist at the end where there's not a traditional happy ending. I wish I could see what happens to Bina in the end.

Was this review helpful?

Mystery enshrouds a group of high school students who die under strange circumstances. As an autistic student tries to uncover the meaning behind the deaths, she faced with questions of whether the seemingly supernatural events are related to a previous experiment, or are simply psychological.

A thriller. Not written as a YA book.

Was this review helpful?

4,5☆

Thank you to Off Limits Press and Netgalley for the arc of this book. All opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved how much was packed into such a short story. The horror element was well done as well as all of the characters and settings had depth to them, both things that some shorter stories lack but here they were done really well. It felt like I was reading a much longer book and I was completely sucked into the story. The writing is good and quite easy to get into. I think the ending and big reveals were perfect and I feel like the ending leaves room for a possible sequel while also working perfectly as a standalone work.

This book also features neurodivergent representation!

I would recommend this to horror lovers or beginners in search of a quick and fun story that pulls you in from page 1.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you so much to Off Limits Press and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

Rebecca an autistic teen in a competitive high school tries to keep to herself, with Anna Karenina for company and the comfort of the school library. Then three students die unexpectedly, leaving a trail of dark mystery round them, soon she is seeing a ghost of a relative that doesn’t exist. Is it all connected to the other students death and what really is it.

I really loved that our protagonist was autistic and represented so well too, she was a wonderful representation for Neurodivergency. I found multiple times that I saw parts of myself in her and things that I do, it was great finding a character I can really see myself in, in traits, in things we do. I very rarely find autistic characters and so it was really refreshing and wonderful having this character. She was such a fascinating character, I really enjoyed unfolding the story with her. It’s great to find an autistic character in books and this type of story was in a weird way perfect for her mind set.

The story was very unusual and very twisty, I loved the deep rabbit hole of solving what was going on, separating the reality from the self made up. I got into the story and myself wanted to figure out all the tiny details and figure out exactly who Holly was, why she was her life suddenly, what happened to the students and then who was behind the whole thing, it was so unique and really interesting, I didn’t even catch all the hints towards the truth. It continued to baffle and amaze me throughout with how it was written, with the unfolding of everything.

I personally didn’t enjoy the ending or end chapters at all, though I won’t spoil it for anyone else. But I just felt like it wasn’t how I wanted the story to go nor how I expected it to go. It felt kind of annoyed to me honestly. I wanted a better ending to this story, a better ending for Rebecca than she got, but that’s just me personally. I’m sure others would really like the ending it just wasn’t what I envisioned. Though still written great, and I could see what the author was doing and where they were taking the story I just personally didn’t enjoy it.

It’s a really fascinating book, it has lots of paranormal scares and unique twists and a great autistic protagonist, I got into it pretty quickly and was really intrigued the whole time. I think this is a worthy read, you’ll get sunk in and be so hooked with what is going on, it’s such a different story to anything else. It will confuse, amuse, intrigue and keep you guessing from start to finish.

Was this review helpful?

I've been reading a lot of haunting horror books recently, and this title fit right in with this kick. I enjoyed a protagonist who not only has to deal with the haunting, but the haunting as an autistic person. Mental illness and disabilities such as autism often puts into question a person's abilities to perceive the world the way "normal" people do, which adds a whole other layer to the dilemma of being haunted. Fun, fast read.

Was this review helpful?