Book review 9 - Asylum by Madeleine Roux

Pages: 310
Publisher: Harper Collins
Publication date: August 20th, 2013
Summary: 
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.

My thoughts:

This book definitely got better as it went along. It started out with a really underdeveloped storyline and really juvenile characters and I was a bit unsure if I would enjoy where the story was heading. The writing was weird and awkward at times but not hard to read. The romance was introduced really rapidly and had no build up so it didn't really make sense.  All of this, however, was solved by the end and improved throughout the story. The writing got less juvenile and immature as the story went on and I think this is due to the fact that the three main characters seem to grow up as the story progressed. I saw great character building in this novel that I don't usually notice that vividly in other books. The romance plot ended up lessening to the point where it was more of a background story, and I also see why it was included so rapidly. Overall a really huge improvement as it went on and I really enjoyed reading it.

That being said, the setting of the story is definitely the best part. I can picture this old asylum on a college campus, I can picture everything so vividly and I applaud the author for being able to do that. I really enjoy that she made the setting a character itself and did a very good job of that. The creepy pictures that remind me of a Miss Peregrine's style were such a great inclusion. It helps build this creepy vibe that left me feeling like I was there in some moments! It also gave me a great desire to go find and explore old abandoned asylums; which probably isn't a very good idea. 

I recommend this book, definitely, to anyone who likes a good creepy mystery story!

I'm going to continue on with this series because I really look forward to seeing where book 2 goes with the story and hopefully to see how book 3 concludes their story!