Bobby is at boarding school and it’s Halloween; she and her friends are hanging out and telling ghost stories, until Bobby and her friend, Naya, get dared to summon Bloody Mary – the girl everyone talks about, no–one believes in and who died at Piper’s Hall School for Young Ladies, the very same school that Bobby and Naya board at. Of course Bloody Mary is just a ghost story, so when told to chant her name five times in front of a candle–lit mirror at midnight, Bobby and Naya think nothing of it. However, this is a mistake, because the ritual changes their lives forever; she comes for them in the dark, in their dreams, in reflections… she’s everywhere.
This book came out a couple of years ago and I’ve wanted to read it ever since it came out because I thought it seemed really interesting and haven’t read many horror books.
It’s complicated how scared I actually was because I wasn’t scared as such, more paranoid. When my sister saw what I was reading, the first thing she did was chant Bloody Mary’s name in front of my mirror and although it wasn’t midnight, there weren’t candles and she only said it three times, I still got really paranoid. It’s not because I believed that it was actually real – I know that it’s just a work of fiction – but I thought, why risk the fact that it could be true? It’s not necessary to say someone’s name in front of a mirror at midnight in candlelight, because nothing will come of it anyway and you would have just wasted your time and a few hours of sleep!
Anyway… I think I’m probably a bit too old for this book now, as it didn’t scare me. However, I think it is well–written and I can imagine myself at 11 or 12 being scared by this book.
I think that the characters were really good because there was a wide selection of different personalities, which kept the book interesting.
There was also a love interest which was really good!
I think that the historical part of the story; the history behind Mary Worthington AKA Bloody Mary was really interesting and the way that you found out about what happened to her was really well done.
Although the book was probably a bit young for me by the time I read it, I was still compelled and made myself keep reading it because I was desperate to know what was going to happen next.
If you want to read this book or if you like horror books then I would suggest you do, because it was quite a good horror book, it just wasn’t my kind of thing unfortunately.
2.5/5 stars.
- Buy this book at the Guardian Bookshop
