Review: Asylum By: Madeliene Roux

 Title:  Asylum

 Author: Madeliene Roux

Published:  August 20th, 2013

Buy The Book: Amazon/Barnes and Noble

Source: E-galley from publisher

My Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Goodreads Summary:

Asylum is a thrilling and creepy photo-novel perfect for fans of the New York Times bestseller Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.

For sixteen-year-old Dan Crawford, New Hampshire College Prep is more than a summer program—it's a lifeline. An outcast at his high school, Dan is excited to finally make some friends in his last summer before college. But when he arrives at the program, Dan learns that his dorm for the summer used to be a sanatorium, more commonly known as an asylum. And not just any asylum—a last resort for the criminally insane.

As Dan and his new friends, Abby and Jordan, explore the hidden recesses of their creepy summer home, they soon discover it's no coincidence that the three of them ended up here. Because the asylum holds the key to a terrifying past. And there are some secrets that refuse to stay buried.

Featuring found photos of unsettling history and real abandoned asylums and filled with chilling mystery and page-turning suspense, Madeleine Roux's teen debut, Asylum, is a horror story that treads the line between genius and insanity

My Thoughts:

I was really curious to read Asylum, I don't do well with scary movies but, with creepy books they are only as creepy as the writing and your own imagination, I was excited to see the photos in the book and see how they added to the story but, for me this one just fell flat. The photos that were in the book really didn't add anything to the story it felt more like a show and tell,  the characters would find something, describe it and then there would be a picture of it. The book read a little young for me it was a little bit creepy but very tame, it would be good for a younger reader and I think if I would have read this one when I was younger it might have really crepped me out. 

 Dan is so excited to be spending his summer at New Hampshire College Prep, he gets to learn more about what he loves  pschology and he hopes to meet more likeminded  people like him who like to learn. He soon meets Abby and Jordan. Abby who immediately draws Dan's attention is an artist and Dan can't wait to spend more time with her, and Jordan a math genius who is secretly at this program instead of at the camp his parents sent him to because he told them that he is gay. But, the  dorms they are staying used to be an asylum, they are old and creepy and the locals just want Brookline to be torn down. Dan is itching to get a look at the creepy locked offices in their dorm and he convinces Abby and Jordan to come along. What they uncover are secrets that involve them even more then they ever thought that they could. 

I am always happy to read male narrators but, I just couldn't get into Dan, he was just sort of whiny, always second guessing himself and questioning everything from the what he said to the way he said  it and it kind of got onto my nerves after a while, although I have to say that it may be how a teenage boys mind works I really couldn't get around it. I was bored with his character and even with all of the creepiness that was going on around him it couldn't bring me back into the story.  The secrets we uncover as the story moves along always felt like they were just to convinent, and I just wanted to say out loud really, what is the chance of that actually happening or being true. The author just made it too easy. 

 Overall,  Asylum just wasn't for me, I was hoping to read something super creepy and I was excited for the photo aspect to the book but, neither one stood out for me. I recommend this one for a younger reader who is looking for a creepy read. 

Want some more thoughts on Asylum? Check out the links below!

Realm of Fiction

Sweet Tidbits 

Reading Between Classes