Dark Souls
Author: Paula Morris
Publisher: Point
Publication Date: August 1, 2011
Pages: 292
Source: Received from Publisher
About the Book: Welcome to York, England. Mist lingers in the streets. Narrow buildings cast long shadows. This is the most haunted city in the world. . . .
My Thoughts: I was thrilled when I was asked to be a part of getting the word out about Dark Souls. I really enjoyed Ruined and recommend it to my students all the time. I loved the setting and the way it pulled me in to the story. I was interested in seeing how the author would go from a Southern gothic setting/feel to York, England. I enjoyed Dark Souls but didn’t feel quite as drawn to it.
Miranda is an interesting main character. There were times when I wanted to point some things out to her that I thought were obvious. Oh to have had the knowledge I have now when I was sixteen! I really appreciated the relationship she has with her brother. It’s clear that hey care about each other but they still banter and bug each other. It felt like an authentic sibling relationship. Actually, I liked the whole family! They’ve been through a lot but they are working through it together. I think this adds to the story.
The two main things that bothered me were the fact that sometimes the parents are referred to by their names and sometimes it’s mom and dad. It didn’t seem consistant to me and I was confused at first. This may have just been me. Also, the family is only in York for a little over a week and their first or second full day there they let their 16 year-old-daughter (who almost died six months ago!) wander the streets alone? I just didn’t see that. These things didn’t ruin the story for me but I thought about them more than once.
Overall I really enjoyed Dark Souls. I did find myself wishing that I had finished it in the daylight! I’m a baby and the anticipation of what would happen with the whole ghost aspect had me shivering! I recommend giving both Ruined and Dark Souls a try.
Random Things I Loved:
*The cover, fonts and embellishments… basically the over all look and feel of the book. I’m not sure I understand the dress but I still love it!
*The word “snickelways.”
*Miranda’s interest in history
*Northanger Abbey! Yea for creepy Jane Austen!
*The refernce to The Sound of Music (even if it did get “I am sixteen going on seventeen…” stuck in my head for the rest of the night.)
*The mom’s take on eighties fashion 🙂
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| Photo Credit: Robert Trathan |
About the Author: Paula Morris is the author of Ruined, and has published several novels for adults in her native New Zealand. She has lived in a number of cities around the world, including York, England. She now lives in Glasgow, Scotland, and teaches creative writing at the University of Stirling. Visit her online at www.paula-morris.com. Also check out the This is Teen Facebook page where Paula will be featured!
Giveaway: Thanks to Point and Big Honcho Media I have two copies of Dark Souls up for grabs! To enter simply leave a comment that somehow deals with ghost stories, Ruined, or Dark Souls. Don’t forget to include your email address! Must be 13 or older. US only. You have until 8/27 to enter!
Breezy1323
Ghost story’s, hmm. There was this vase that sat on the table for years. Then all of a sudden it was gone. No one said they moved it, but we couldn’t find it. Then we found it a few days later in a closet. Totally freaked us out
Breezyobreezy(at)aol(dot)com
Temara
A ghost story. My gran told me a story about when she was young her and her brothers wouldn’t behave and her mom kept getting on to them. They still wouldn’t listen to her though so she said if you all don’t be good I’ll call raw head and bloody bones. They still insisted on not listening so she said raw head and bloody bones three times. The next thing they know there’s banging on the front door and windows. Her mom gathered all the kids with her aound the fire with a holy bible and prayed. They didn’t move from there until her dad got home from work. When he came in the house her mom had him go check and see if anything was outside. When he went to check there was bloody hand prints on the door and windows and blood all around the house from where
raw head and bloody bones tried to get in.
Temara
I forgot my email address it’s temarasheppard@yahoo.com