Dark Souls - Book Review

Title ~ Dark Souls
Series ~ Single Title
Author ~ Paula Morris
Release Date ~ August 1, 2011
Age Group ~ Young Adult
Publisher ~ Scholastic
Source ~ The Teen {Book} Scene

GOODREADS SUMMARY

Welcome to York, England.
Mist lingers in the streets.
Narrow buildings cast long shadows.
This is the most haunted city in the world. . . .

Miranda Tennant arrives in York with a terrible, tragic secret. She is eager to lose herself amid the quaint cobblestones, hoping she won't run into the countless ghosts who supposedly roam the city. . . .

Then she meets Nick, an intense, dark-eyed boy who knows all of York's hidden places and histories. Miranda wonders if Nick is falling for her, but she is distracted by another boy -- one even more handsome and mysterious than Nick. He lives in the house across from Miranda and seems desperate to send her some sort of message. Could this boy be one of York's haunted souls?

Soon, Miranda realizes that something dangerous -- and deadly -- is being planned. And she may have to face the darkest part of herself in order to unravel the mystery -- and find redemption.

REVIEW

Miranda and her brother suffer an emotional blow when they are involved in an awful car accident. To help them heal, their parents take the family to York for an extended trip. York has a charming feel to it with a winding maze of cobblestone streets and old buildings. Beneath the surface, however, lies a mysterious past.

While in York, Miranda sees ghosts, lots and lots of ghosts. The ghosts themselves are unique because they have the injuries that they acquired when they died. Spooky indeed! Miranda is not alone in seeing ghosts. Nick, the local boy who teaches Miranda about York, has a painful past of his own. I liked how Team Nick and Miranda unraveled the mystery behind the ghosts.

The ghosts have their own stories that they share with Miranda. I was especially touched by the story of a little girl named Mary who died at the hands of her caretaker. I wouldn’t have expected that I would be moved by a ghost’s story, but I was.

There’s another boy who lives across the street from Miranda. She can see him from her window, but he is mostly a mystery. And there are also some really weird things happening around town, as if various ghosts weren’t enough weirdness for one book.

The plot starts out a little slow, but I’m glad I gave it a chance because it picked up nicely and then I couldn’t stop reading. Dark Souls is a spooky mystery with an extra unique setting.

RATING

4 Liked

COVER COMMENTS

So cool. York is exactly as I pictured it with the narrow, stone streets and old buildings. Miranda has spotted a ghost. He really does look like a ghost since he’s all blurred out. Such an original cover!