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4/5 STARS

Genre: YA Horror

Synopsis:
Evie, a teen, moves into an old home that is known as the Horror House where a girl went missing years ago. She begins to notice creepy things occurring and realizes something awful might have happened to the missing girl.

This was a good YA horror (book 1 of a series). It makes the song “Say, Say oh playmate” creepy with old attic, doll vibes. Think paranormal situations in a teen high school setting. I flew through this book and it leaves a few questions unanswered for the next book in the series. A great book for the fall! It is YA so it is somewhere in between Stephen King and the Goosebumps books for those seeking age an appropriate gauge. I will be reading the next book in the series for sure.

Thank you Penguin Teen for the ARC! 👧🏼🖤

First of all, I want to thank NetGalley and Penguin for sending me this wonderful ARC!

I am impressed! I don't know if this is the first book from the author, but I can tell you that I am amazed by it.

We follow the story of a girl named Evelyn Archer (Evie) who moves to a different city, to a house that's been in her family for quite some time, with her mother and her brother. Evie then begins to realize that something is wrong with the house, since her mother's cousin has disappeared 40 years ago. And Evie decides that she needs to understand how could someone just vanish from the face of the Earth without anyone noticing...

This book was so well written that I just wanted to finish it as fast as I could. I was in a reading slump and it just got me out of it!

I mean... Just read it!

2.5 stars - While I think the overall idea for the novel was interesting, the book really fell flat through its execution and I found it to be a pretty average read. I think my main gripe with the novel was the writing, which I found a lot of difficulty connecting to. While the story of Evie and her connection to the house and its spirits to be fleshed out, I could not move passed the lack of depth her interactions with other characters were. As readers, we are supposed to connect with Evie and understand why she would move down the dangerous path she sets herself on - especially because she is meant to feel lonely and have no one understand her. However, we had limited interactions with the individuals around her and even when we do, those moments feel so surface level and forced. I enjoyed how it wrapped up (really reminded me of A Great and Terrible Beauty) but I don't think I will be continuing in this series - even though there were some spooky scenes that creeped me out!

Evie and her mother and brother move out of the city for a fresh start and into their new home- called Horror House by locals. Evie learns about Holly Hobbie, who went missing from the home.

If you go into this one expecting a young adult horror, it’ll be very enjoyable. I love a good haunted house story but this one had a lot extra to it as well: teenage angst and drama, divorce and family issues, family and town history. I really enjoyed how the author brought it all together. I especially loved the tarot aspect and how it played a role. The book had a good conclusion but also left an opening for the next book.

“Where was there to go when the rot was hidden deep inside? Like a work in an apple, eating away at everything within?”

Holly Horror comes out 8/15.

Holly Horror by Michelle Jabes Corpora is a true ode to the 80’s even if the book itself takes place present day. It's categorized as YA Horror, but I would put it right smack in the center of middle grade and horror. While the main character and some of the supporting side characters are in their mid to late teenage years, the book reads like it was written for pre-teens. The characters are also more on the level of pre-teens when it comes to emotional development. This does nothing to damage the story or vibe of the book. It in fact does the opposite and gives the book a vibe that is a mix of Stranger Things and 80s horror/supernatural movies like The Lost Boys. A lot of this vibe also has to do with the setting.

In true 80s movie fashion, the main character and her broken family move from the big city to a small eastern town. In this case, it’s a move from New York City to the fictional town of Ravenglass, Massachusetts. The differences between New York and Ravenglass or stark. Where New York is big, loud, crowded, and busy, Ravenglass is small, quiet, sparse, and slow. Ravenglass is the quintessential small town. It’s ten miles from the nearest “big” city with a chain store, surrounded by trees, has one main street, everything is within walking distance, and everyone is in everyone else’s business. It’s small town life. It’s the perfect setting for decades old gossip to thrive and survive. It also creates an isolated environment that makes our main teenage characters feel stuck. For one thing, walking ten miles to the nearest big city is a major feat. For an all other and different thing, everyone knows your business. You can not hide. That’s mental and emotional torture for those teen years, and the main character of Holly Horror is no exception.

Evie Archer is a tortured soul. From her introduction, it’s clear to see she is a typical teenager going through typical teenage things. However, Evie is also a unique individual that lives at the beat of her own drum. This can be disastrous as a teenager where collective thinking and acting is more praised. Evie makes her own clothes for goodness sake. Talk about giving high school bullies an easy out on finding something to single you out about. That’s what makes her so loveable though. She sees the followers, but she walks in the opposite direction. There is a part in the novel where she dresses up as Claire from The Breakfast Club, another character walking in a different direction from the pack.

Evie and her younger brother Stan are the product of a recent divorce. Along with their mother Lynne, they are forced to move out of their New York apartment after the divorce proceedings due to financial concerns. Instead of moving to a smaller apartment in New York, Lynne decides to start fresh (run away?) to Ravenglass to live in the abandoned and believed to be haunted Hobbie House that once belonged to her aunt and uncle. Haunted you say? It’s ok. Lynne doesn’t believe in ghosts. It’s all hogwash. To Evie though, it becomes all too real. As soon as her family crosses the city limits, Evie begins to see, hear, and just feel that things are not right with her new home. Then, the shenanigans begin, and they don’t stop until the very end of the book.

This story is told in the third person, single POV. This couldn’t have been more perfect for this type of haunted house story. We see things only from Evie’s perspective, so the reader is left to figure out if what she is experiencing is real or not. We also get to see how she sees herself in the eyes of others. We get to read all of her thoughts, doubts, and assumptions she puts on others, especially her mother. Evie’s relationship with her mother is very strained. This is mostly due to her mother’s inability to know how to talk to her daughter out of fear and wanting what’s best for her. Of course, Evie sees it more as her mother not understanding or having time for her, typical teenage beliefs of their parents. This relationship is tried and tested throughout the book but ultimately develops in a very cathartic and positive way by the end of the book.

Evie has many relationships with many different characters in this book. We had her relationship with her brother Stan and her Aunt Martha, both of which moved and developed in their own separate ways. Then, there were the tentative friendships she made with Tina and the Birdie’s Diner family and the budding first-love relationship that grew between her and Desmond King. All the relationships got their own time to shine. However, it did feel as though the characters themselves were the tiniest bit underdeveloped. For instance, aside from his initial introduction as the “boy-who-has-it-all-but-wants-none-of-it”, we don’t really know much else about Desmond. This makes their love story feel slightly shallow. This goes for Evie’s relationship with Tina as well. The pull for wanting their relationships to survive and prosper at the end wasn’t as strong as it could have been.

Regardless, this book is brimming with literary and science references. There were great references to Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, Pinnochio, and Jane Eyre. There were also science references and explanations like black holes and Schrodinger’s cat. They were excellently placed references that were also educational. This is another area where the book reads like more of a middle grade book. The absolute best reference and plot device used in this book, however, were the tarot cards. The author does an excellent job of initially introducing them towards the beginning of the book as a way for Evie to open up about her emotional stress to the adults in her life. Only to bring them back in the climax as a key to victory.

The next book in the series comes out next year, and 2024 can’t come soon enough.

5/5

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers Group/Penguin Teen for providing an advanced copy of the finished book in exchange for an honest review.

Spooky season has begun! This book had just what I wanted, a creepy house where tragedy has struck, strange visions of dead girls, a friend to help investigate what exactly happened decades ago, and a splash of romance to top it off.

I found this to be an easy read and the plot jumps right in. The main character Evie starts noticing that something isn't right and starts being haunted by a presence. The little things added up and I thought the build up was nice and ended in a good climax.

What I didn't love was Evie and Stan's relationship. He wasn't there a ton, but played kind of a large role and I think we could have seen more of him.

The ending wasn't quite what I expected, but now I'm looking forward to the sequel!

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Penguin Workshop and NetGalley for the copy.

Atmospheric, beautiful and creepy and I just cannot wait for the second book. Sometimes YA horror disappoints, but this was very well done. I will be sure to read this author again. Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Teen for sending me an e-arc 4.5 stars! Get this on you fall reading list!

Excuse me but I need book two immediately to recover from the roller coaster Holly Horror just put me through. That ending!

I have to be honest I went into this book not expecting much. But I was completely blown away. Holly Horror is addictive and fast paced. I flew through the second half of this book. I absolutely loved the legends in this story. It was filled with so many good spooky scenes. I fell in love with the characters as well.

It did drag for me a little bit in the beginning but after about 30% in I was completely hooked. I seriously can’t wait for book two to come out.

Overall I had such a fun time reading Holly Horror. It gave me such nostalgic vibes. I felt like I was back in middle school falling in love with horror all over again. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves YA horror.
4.5/5 Stars

I did not realize when I requested this that the target age range was well below my years of life. Therefor, I do not think I am the right audience for this book. I will say that I do think it would appeal to my daughter and I love the cover and page designs very much. I have it five stars for as the aesthetics and after my kid reads it will happily see what she thinks and post a review to goodreads on behalf of her.

Evie, her mom, and her brother move into their family home after the divorce of Eveie’s parents. They move from Newyork to a small town called Ravenglass. Unfortunately, the house they are moving into is the talk of the town. Hobbie House is what the visitors call the house, but to the local residents, it is known as the Horror house. Evie begins to see and hear strange things in the house.

Holly Horror was an easy and fun read. Was it groundbreaking? No. However, I still liked the small-town feel of it. While reading Holly Horror, I found it more creepy than scary. Which was ok for me, but if you are looking for Holly Horror to be a scary read. This is not it. The romance in this book was done well. It was sweet. The romance was not rushed or forced when the characters revealed how they felt about each other. Some may call it insta lovey, but I would argue that most teenage high school romances are just that in real life. I want to mention that some of the characters seem like placeholders. The tone of the book also changes. I kept trying to put my finger on what was lacking in the story, but I could not figure out what was off.

The ending was ok. I wonder if all the questions will be answered in the second book. If so, I am interested because so many questions were left unanswered. I rate this book 3 stars, and I will be reading the next book.

Thanks, NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group for providing this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Holly Hobbie went missing 40 years ago. Evie Archer moves into her old house and gets swept up in the mystery, only to find herself going down the same rabbit hole Holly herself went down...

I love when a middle grade book manages to create a spooky environment without all the extras allowed in adult horror. It allows you to become more invested in the story and the characters themselves. The popups with the Patchwork Girl were perfect, and the description of Holly was creepy without being over the top. I loved the allusions to Alice in Wonderland with Schroedinger and the rabbit hole idea, along with the imagery included in the Wonderland scene. Truly a wonderfully weaved tale of horror through the eyes of a teenager.

I did dock it a point though because I felt that Stan seemed too old at times for being ten. For his shenanigans I would have guessed he was at least 13, more like 15, but that would be too close in age to Evie.

This book is the first book I have read by Michelle Jabès Corpora, and it will not be the last. I’m not going to lie I went into this book thinking it was going to be another "paranormal" book that was easily disproven or something that would miss the mark completely. I have been let down by a couple of YA horror stories recently and this book was my last hope in a way and it did not disappoint.

This isn’t a criticism of the horror stories I have read this year, but a lot of horrors rely on the shock factor. This book doesn’t the spookiness of this book starts off slow and starts to smoother you without you realising till it’s too late. This book reminded me of the unease that I felt reding The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich and I loved it. The Dead House has been added to my Halloween rereads for this year thanks to Holly Horror.

When a mother and her two children have nowhere else to go, they move in to a two-hundred-year-old house with a creepy past. What’s the worst that can happen? Oh, wait I know... As Evie settles into her new home, she discovers Holly’s old diary and becomes increasingly fascinated with the mystery surrounding Holly's life and death. You are just begging for trouble from the other side at this point.

Evie's an interesting character She was strong, resilient and is realistic. Poor Evie isn’t having the easiest time as her parents are going through a messy divorce, she is getting used to a new school and new town. However, the new house starts to whisper to Evie’s mind, too quiet for others to hear and starts seeing creepy visions of shadow like figures that no one else sees. I love how Michelle incorporated mental health into her book in a respectful way. Evie realises that the only way to avoid a fate like Holly's is to solve the mystery of Hobbie House.

This book is perfect for the spooky season

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I honestly was drawn to this story for the cover. It is beautiful and creepy. This was a quiet little horror novel with a good cliffhanger ending. I was surprised to see it had a sequel and then was invested for the ending.

This read to me like a middle grade book. The layout and language just didn’t say YA to me. I think this would have been a perfect horror to market to kids. There’s very little violence and supernatural elements to keep it interesting.

I got a lot of Coraline vibes in this book and that’s probably what made me enjoy it more. Evie was a very sympathetic heroine and I really liked the romance that built up between her and Desmond, even though it felt sort of random. I’ll be looking forward to the next book in the series for sure!

It was a good read ! Very good read !
Perfect for people who like ghosts stories or halloween ambience in general !

this book was good! i felt it was on the more juvenile side of ya, but i still had an enjoyable time with this book.

i thought the characters were interesting, and it definitely got spooky at times.
the reason for 3 stars is because i felt like some of the plot fell flat at times. ideas weren’t fully hashed out, and we were left with holes.

i certainly would give it a chance tho!

The cover of this book is extremely unique and really drew me into wanting to read this book. The book starts out without much originality. The parents are divorcing and the children end up with the mother in some location that is creepy and there is a mystery to solve. I very much felt that I was reading a children or middle school book when I started experiencing the dialogue. the interactions are very juvenile throughout and the mother just seemed to always be gone and to never be involved in the events in the home. The characters were very flat and I could not really understand what drew Evie to be interested in her love interest. It seemed more forced than anything due to events from Holly in the past as opposed to anything that has developed. I did end up liking the way the book wrapped up and liked the way it was left open to be a series. I really just wish there would have been more originality. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

Atmospheric, spooky, and intense- Holly Horror does not disappoint!

This book snuck up on me and I had not heard of this author or book until Penguin Teen reached out with their list of ARCs. I am thankful I was able to snag a copy, because this was bingable and fun!

This is a wonderful YA paranormal horror for the upcoming spooky season; and I highly recommend it if you enjoy haunted house horror!

Thank you so much to Penguin Teen for the e-arc! I look forward to book two!

Holly Horror by Michelle Jabès Corpora wasn’t originally one of the 2023 books I was anticipating. However, as soon as I read the synopsis, I knew right away it was something I wanted to read. After all, it appeared to have everything I look for in a paranormal horror novel: spooky house, secrets, more secrets, and an eerie history that was far more present than what the characters would’ve liked to admit. My instincts were spot on, because I thoroughly enjoyed this story.

Holly Horror has a somewhat typical beginning with a family moving to a new house under less than ideal circumstances. But “Hobbie House”—nicknamed “Horror House—came with a reputation, and it was one that was entirely earned. Part of my enjoyment of the book was the backstory Corpora wove into the present timeline. There was so much lore to think about as I was reading, and it arrived in well-timed allusions. I often questioned how the nuggets of information about the mystery would come into play later in the story, and it was one of the aspects about Holly Horror that helped gradually build the intensity. On the other side, while I didn’t find anything particularly too scary about the story, the spooky elements invoked a sense of unease, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Evie Archer was going through it in Holly Horror, but, in a general sense, I liked how Corpora built her character. Evie’s backstory really came back to haunt her, in a literal sense—no pun intended. The actions of her mother, the distance between her and her father, and her experiences with not being believed led to more harm than good. It really set her up as a character that would keep secrets, who wouldn’t say when something was wrong, or mention when she was afraid or hurt. She felt that she couldn’t be herself—and it made her susceptible—which was something reflected in the story by the way she handled stressful situations and her personal relationships. So “Hobbie House” wasn’t isolated—the town, Ravenglass, was within walking distance—but the feeling of isolation was something that permeated a large part of the story.

Holly Horror was intense, and that ending was too cruel of a cliffhanger. Luckily, there’s going to be another book in this series, and I’m looking forward to it!

Disclaimer: this copy of the book was provided by the publisher (Penguin Teen) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you!

I think this book is entertaining, and I look forward to seeing where the series goes. It's an intriguing way to resurrect Holly Hobbie, and I think the book is great even for people who are unfamiliar with it. I looked up more information about the classic character along the way. Also, this book gave me Are You Afraid of the Dark vibes, with it's haunted house and creepy toys, which I love. This is one of those tales with a very "teen feels like parents will never understand her" storyline, but it's engrossing because of the dynamics of the mom-daughter relationship, which is fraught with tension, care, and misunderstandings. Throw in a great character in an Aunt Martha, and you've got a lot of good female power happening. I really like that the book is so focused on Evie and her emotional experiences. I also just really want a patchwork dress or coat or something, so can we bring that style back? The brother's name is a distraction - Stan- I know people are named Stan, but should they be? Not really a 10 year old kid feeling name, but perhaps that's because I've been watching Golden Girls lately, so remove your personal associations with the name Stan if you need to.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Teen for sending me an early copy of this book! All opinions are my own!

I was not expecting to love this book the way I did, but I consumed it in under 24 hours, and I have zero regrets. Other than maybe how scared it made me at night. I really thought that this was going to be another "paranormal" book that was easily explained away by reality, but this book offered so much more than that, and it gave exactly what it was supposed to give!

I absolutely loved Evie and found her to be super relatable, especially with respect to her mental health and having issues with not being believed all the time. She was strong and resilient, but she was also very real. She was the girl next door or the girl I grew up with who this could have easily happened to, and that made the story that much harder to escape from.

The spookiness of this book really started off slow and snuck up on me. There were points where I had to take a breather and remember that I was not about to be killed by ghosts. (I hope). This book was so good at immersing you and taking you on this journey with Evie, and I loved every second of it. I can't wait to see where this story goes from here!

All my spooky girls are going to want to get their hands on this book before fall comes!!