Ja, das Cover von „Sarah“ sieht sehr düster aus und schreit eher nach einem Geist, der aus einem Brunnen krabbelt, obschon es sich bei „Sarah“ wenn zwar auch um einen wütenden und rachsüchtigen Geist handelt, die Geschichte aber doch eher in den Bereich der klassischen Spukerzählungen fällt. Die Handlung könnte weitgehend auch während einer Episode der berühmt-berüchtigten Spuk-Mockumentarys erzählt werden; für jene „Geisterbegegnungen im echten Leben“-Sendungen wäre das große Finale wohl zu überdramatisiert, das war nun eher spielfilmmäßig, aber ich habe mir auch gut vorstellen können, dass anstelle des Showdowns zum Schluss plötzlich Sky du Mont ankäme, um sein TLC-„Haunted“-Sprüchlein aufzusagen: „Klingt unglaublich? Aber so wurde es uns zugetragen!“

Der Jugendliche Cain, frisch zum Fußballkapitän der hiesigen Highschoolmannschaft befördert (und darum doch etwas cooler und statusbehafteter als seine Teamkollegen, wobei die Mannschaft per se ja schon nur wenig ernstgenommen wird: immerhin spielen die bloß Fußball und nicht ordentliches Football!) und darum jetzt mit einer sehr nervigen und shoppingsüchtigen Trophy Girlfriend gesegnet, wobei er diesen Segen verflucht, sich aber aus Schüchternheit und Nettigkeit nicht traut, Schluss zu machen, stellt in diesem Roman bald fest, dass es bei ihm zuhause auf dem Dachboden spukt. Natürlich befindet sich der Zugang zum Dachboden auch in seinem Zimmer und so erhält er regelmäßig Besuch von Sarah, die zwar in seinem Alter ist und zu Lebzeiten auch auf dieselbe Schule gegangen ist, die er aber nicht wirklich kannte: Irgendwann ist Sarah spurlos verschwunden und da sie nun bei Cain spukt, ist sie offensichtlich tot – und in ihren Tod und das darauffolgende Verschwinden ihrer Leiche sind laut Sarahs Erzählungen drei Mitschüler involviert. Cain will Sarah nach dem ersten Schreck zunächst helfen, ihren Frieden zu finden, stellt aber zu seinem Schreck fest, dass Sarah sich nach einer Verletzung seines geschwächten Körpers bemächtigen kann und dass sie eben doch eher auf Rache als auf ewigen Frieden aus ist… tja, aber wie wird Otto Normalbürger nun also überhaupt einen Geist los?! Schwer, wie sich im Verlauf der Geschichte herausstellt…

„Sarah“s Zielgruppe dürfte sich alterstechnisch eher im Bereich Cains ansiedeln; ich würde sagen, dieses Buch ist für Leser ab 14 geeignet, sofern sie nicht vor ihrem eigenen Schatten Angst haben. Minderjährige, die inzwischen zu alt für „Trapped in Room 217“ von Thomas Kingsley Troupe sind, sind dann grade alt genug für „Sarah“ geworden. ;)

Ich empfand „Sarah“ als durchaus guten Jugend-Horrorroman, zumal Cain auch eine recht sympathische Hauptfigur war, die zuweilen einen gewissen Galgenhumor an den Tag legte und grade sein bester Freund, der ihm mehr Bruder war, war zudem mit einer gehörigen Portion Sarkasmus ausgestattet, so dass die Geschichte nicht nur Angst machte, sondern auch mal zum Lachen brachte.
Was mich ein wenig störte, war jedoch, dass Sarah sehr viel redete; eigentlich wurde die komplette Hintergrundgeschichte ganz freimütig vom Geist ausgebreitet (ja, mir war das Gespenst zu geschwätzig): Ich hätte es einfach noch etwas schöner gefunden, wenn da auch noch ein bisschen mehr erforscht hätte werden müssen als nur wie man einen Geist bekämpft.

First let me state I am not the audience for this book. I do enjoy a good scary book on occasion tho' and this one's cover just drew me in (it reminds me of creatures I've seen in a couple movies I can't recall the names of just now...one had a guy crawling across a ceiling, and the other some hideous girl crawling down some steps with what looked like her head on wrong- *shudder*). But over all, I think younger YA's will enjoy this tale. It has a ghost, a possession, wrong girlfriend, right girlfriend, friends and family. Just enough chill to read with the lights on!

From the beginning I was engrossed in this story, although towards the middle where I expected the storyline to become fast paced it became more predictable and slow burning, which disappointed me quite a bit due to my high expectations of the book. But then the unexpected happened and I that led myself that I held in there, the ending was amazing! It became much darker and twisted, i just wish tge whole book was leveled (as i said the 1st and 3rd part were phenominal!) Really great stuff! I loved the twist at the end a LOT.

My first impression of this book came from its cover and the knowledge that this is the debut of Teri Polen. I was reminded of ghost stories in pop culture movies and thought this could go one of two ways: a suspenseful and terrifying ride or end up a complete flop.

As the story begins we are immediately met with the inner dialogue of Cain Shannon and begin to understand his everyday high school problems, particularly in the dating department. This gives the reader plenty of time to adjust and prepare for the conflict that is coming. It almost seems like your typical cut and dry exposition but, considering the length of the work being shorter, Polen's writing begins to create settings but also fairly rounded characters and situations with depth. Cain is immediately relatable in his sarcastic and witty thoughts, filled with humor edged with truth that every teen can relate to. Primary character relationships are entertaining and even wholesome at times, balancing the much darker contemporary tones the novel has: from bullying and body-shaming to physically assaulting people.

When the spooks and eerie situations begin, a theme of characters stating the obvious begin to appear but, while this would normally give the book a stale taste, Polen crafts the story so that it actually adds an element of self-awareness. Rather than being outright terrifying, there is a sense of impending dread and tension as characters know what they probably should and shouldn't do and make decisions based on that comprehension. It reminds the reader that these characters are just teens, just like the intended reader and that grabs you and holds you in the story.

"Neither one of us remembered much about Sarah, but she was right about the cliques at school. Like you needed to belong to one of them to validate your existence..."

What I found most surprising, and eventually the most captivating, aspect of the work was how morals were utilized and how Cain, and even his friend Finn, mature in their understanding of people and of themselves. Without the paranormal elements this story could easily be something along the lines of a contemporary mystery.

Overall, Sarah is a 4 out of 5, in my opinion. The social commentary of school status, popularity, even gender and the amount of privilege that accompanies each of these themes makes this a compelling read but also how Polen uses her knowledge of horror to create a multi-dimensional tale filled with chills and an edge.

If the cover is any thing to go by, you know there are going to be quite a few things that make you stay up a night. From being possessed unknowingly by a ghost to being witness to horrific paranormal outbursts of murderous rage, Sarah sits high on the shelf of How To Write Proper YA Ghost Thrillers.

Nothing in this book has bored me and it’s quite apparent why it was an Indie Next Generation Book Award finalist.

Scary.

If you like ghost stories you are gonna love this book. It is creepy, scary, and even terrifying in parts. Teri Polen has done an awesome job on this book. If it were made into a movie I would definitely go see it.

Seventeen year old Cain has a lot going on his life. He is the captain of the soccer team. He has a horrible snob girlfriend he can't stand. He has recently lost his Father to a tragic accident and has moved into a new house.

Cain and his best friend Finn are in his bedroom one night playing video games when the attic door opens by itself and a rush of freezing air comes in. The boys go to check it out but find nothing. The attic door continues to open by itself at different times. One night while Cain is alone he goes back up to the attic to see if he can figure out what is going on. While upstairs he sees fresh blood on the floor then it disappears. He hen finds out Sarah a missing girl from his high school's blood was found in the attic but she was never found.

Eventually Sarah takes form and tells Can what happened that night. Cain decides to try and help her so she can rest in peace. Bad move Dude. Sarah takes advantage of Cain's generosity. She is out for revenge not for help.

As things get deadly Cain decides to try and exorcise Sarah. Sarah isn't going to stand for this at all. Not only is she after her killers but she turns on Cain as well.


I received this book from the Author or Publisher via Netgalley.com to read and review.

This book is everything you could hope for in a teen haunting story - Cain, a likable high school student. He's a talented soccer player, cares deeply for his family following the death of his father and is just trying to do the right thing while navigating this crazy world.
The last thing he needs is for a ghost girl to start walking down the stairs from the attic and make herself at home in his bedroom. Obviously, that's exactly what happens and he has to figure out exactly what her story is and why she's still wandering the earth.

The writing is really atmospheric and spooky, the tension definitely sends chills down your spine the closer you get to the end of the book - the beginning is a little bit tame so I was starting to wonder where the author was going to go with the second half... I needn't have worried! It gets darker and hangs on to you tightly.


The only thing that did bother me was how teenage girls were portrayed, on one hand you had the vacuous, hideously selfish popularity queen who would go out with any boy who could enhance her social standing and then on the other side of the spectrum you had the 'cool girl'. The one who enjoys sports, plays a classical instrument, is 'different from all the other girls' and automatically believes anything the boy has to say about ghosts haunting his bedroom. Given that Cain himself is so middle of the road, the author is capable of writing characters that aren't just highschool stereotypes.


So, gender politics aside, this really is a book worth picking up if you're a fan of ghost stories with a nasty edge.

After losing his dad Cain moves into a new house with his mother and his younger sister. His mom is a realtor, so she got a great deal on this house. The door to the attic is in Cain's bedroom and soon after moving in strange things are starting to happen. Doors are opening by themselves, temperatures suddenly drop and stuff is moving on its own. Cain decides to investigate by setting up a video camera and the results are shocking. Can he find out what needs to be done to restore the peace in his home?

Sarah was a girl who went to the same school as Cain. He never really knew her, but he did know that she disappeared a while ago. Her body was never found and the police weren't able to find out what happened to her. Cain has a pretty good idea now that he knows that Sarah's ghost is living in his attic. Cain and his best friend Finn are trying to help Sarah to get justice. They discover that a bet went wrong in a horrible way, which ended with Sarah passing away. When Cain realizes that he's blacking out he fears that Sarah has been taking over his body. He needs to find a way to protect himself against a ghost that seemed harmless in the beginning. But what if Sarah has no intention of leaving?

Cain has had a hard time after his father died. He feels responsible because he's the only man in the house and tries to help his mother by taking care of his younger sister. They're close and considerate towards one another. Cain is very good at sports and is even the captain of his soccer team. He has no clue about how to handle girls, but he's confident on the soccer field. Cain is a sensible boy. I loved how he thinks about his family first and how protective he is. When Cain says exactly what's on his mind he is absolutely hilarious. I laughed out loud many times while reading his perception of the people around him. Cain is a great guy with a terrific resourceful brain.

Sarah is a creepy story that made my heart race. I hate attics and basements, I avoid them as much as I can and will only go there if I have no other choice. At my former job all of the supplies were stored in the basement and if I was the unlucky one who had to go down there, I always felt miserable and uneasy. I recognized the feelings Cain describes when he's being watched. When I saw the eerie cover of Sarah I couldn't wait to find out if the story would be just as scary. It absolutely is. I put down the book several times while I was reading late at night because it was so frightening. I'm definitely curious to find out what more Teri Polen has in store for her readers.

I have to admit the cover of this book immediately caught my attention. It was creepy and fit perfect for a horror story. The plot is carried out pretty much like your standard paranormal tale. It's done well, keeping the reader entertained and engaged. I found myself on the edge of my seat once of twice, ok several times. Sarah is one of those conflicting antagonists that you feel bad for yet still want to see defeated. Her story could have been ripped straight from the current news headlines, which makes it feel more real in a way.
Cain was a good hero. I like how even though he was a jock, captain of the soccer team, he wasn't really high on the social ladder making him more relatable. I was conflicted about the romance angle though. He whined through half the book that he didn't like his current girlfriend, while flirting with another girl, yet didn't want to hurt her feeling by breaking up with her. Yet he was making dates with the other girl. In my opinion this was un-needed the whole thing only gave us one plot point, and lowered the character in my eyes.
Despite this little issue the overall plot and characters were wonderful. I really enjoyed this book and would like to see more from this author.

‘Sarah’ is an interesting novel as it is written for the young adult fiction market. It is centred around Cain, the normal high school jock who is a bit deeper than the run of the mill. His best friend Liam who is the quirky best friend and the mother and sister family unit rounding out the central characters. There is also the airhead materialistic girlfriend and the more suited friend who is more suited for the main character.
The book starts out innocently enough with Cain leading his life in his typical fashion when something starts to go amiss. Polen builds her plotting very well and she has really done a superior job with her characterisations and action. The action moves at a reasonably good pace keeping the reader engaged. The book kept my interest and I was eager to see how everything plays out.
As you continue reading the rather well done haunting thriller, the story starts to take a turn that made me feel uncomfortable. This was not due to the haunting aspect or the violence that soon ensures. It had to do with the victimisation of Sarah and the almost justification of the crimes that were permitted against her. I personally felt that the author missed the ball on this and should have made Sarah more sympathetic considering what she had to endure which caused her premature death. The retribution which is the result of this injustice is turned inward to provide a killing machine hinged on revenge no matter what.
With the main characters protecting the perpetrators of the original crime and not a real sense of the wrong in which they initially committed, this left me feeling that what they did was not necessarily wrong. With the added character of Lindsey, I felt that she could have rounded out the story to give a woman’s perspective to the crime. This aspect sat really uneasy with me. This may be due to the fact that this is written for a specific market and felt this issue could have been better handled.
The story is well written though there are some cultural references that should have been better investigated such as Fallout 4 reference which is not a multiplatform game and the young adult market would know this. The usage of the term ‘Dude’ from time to time as this places the characters in a time warp from the 90’s instead of the millennials in which they are. These are very small critiques in the overall effect of the novel.
The story is well written and although repetition sometimes overshadow the original writing style this novel is a winner and it delivers on so many more aspects than some of the contemporaries out there at present time. The characters are very likable and their interrelationships help carry the plot to their horror conclusion. The characters are written to the effect that you truly care about their outcome and Teri Polen has really shown her true style in producing and materialising these to make them real and fleshed out.
The overall haunting aspects are very well done and handled masterfully and the tension is built brilliantly. The Sarah character from her metamorphosis into the horror she is to become is described in absolute detail and lifts off the page. Teri Polen looks like an author to look out for and could be very interesting from this new voice.

Overall, this is well worth the read but as stated below, the reasoning behind the crime that was committed has left me feeling a bit anxious on how this will play to a younger audience. If it wasn’t for this aspect I would have rated this five stars but due to personal conflict about this issue I have rated this a 3.5 star rating.

Regret that I lost access to this book when I had to replace my broken kindle. Many thanks for the opportunity and apologies.

Well tbh I didn't find this book that scary until towards the end! Then it got real scary ahah the twist was amazing and in all it was worth waiting for, started off strong but lacked depth I thought in the middle then the end got going and boom there you are!.....I enjoyed the book quite a lot though and would read more by the author, reminded me of a cross between Blair with and that creepy ring character oh and the kid that sees dead things!!!!....in all not a bad read not too unrealistic just right.

Thank you NetGalley for lending me this book for an honest review!
What a great read, with some wonderful surprises to boot.
The three main characters are wonderfully loyal to each other and have a great relationship. I loved how that was highlighted in the book and loved how the main character treated his family and friends with respect. This was a great, fast paced, easy to read book and the ghost story part was pretty freaky. The suspense was built up pretty quickly and well played out. I would recommend this book to anyone and would read more by this author! Solid 4 stars!

sarah by Teri Polen.
Seventeen-year-old horror fan Cain Shannon thought helping a ghost find her killers would be the supernatural adventure of a lifetime. Now, he just hopes to survive long enough to protect his family and friends from her.
A bet between friends goes horribly wrong, resulting in Sarah’s death. When she returns to seek justice against those responsible, Cain agrees to help her. But when he discovers Sarah has been hijacking his body, he realizes she wants retribution instead of justice.
Terrified of what could have happened when he wasn’t in control, Cain commands Sarah to leave his house - but exorcising her isn’t that easy. She retaliates against her murderers in bloody, horrific ways, each death making her stronger, then sets her sights on Cain. With the help of friends, Cain fights to save himself and his loved ones and searches for a way to stop Sarah before she kills again.
absolutely fantastic read with fantastic characters. hooked from page 1. I was reading this with all the lights on. so spooky. highly recommended. 5*. netgalley and black rose writing.

I feel very conflicted about this YA novel so please bear with me as I try to explain why!

The positives first. The plot is very interesting and well thought out. Although not entirely original it isn't your run of the mill haunted house story either.

The main characters are well rounded and sympathetic. They each have a strong voice and are relatable. The author is very good at creating tension and does not shy away from scary/unsettling images.

The narration and pace of the story feels perfect for a young adult book - no slow enough to be condescending but with simple sentence structures and short chapters that will help to encourage reluctant or not so confident readers to stick with it. I would certainly use this book in my teaching role for my higher level students - adults that struggle with literacy and/or have slight learning difficulties.

The messages that this story carries are important ones. The main message is especially vital for both male and female readers.

Now for the negative's. There is rather a lot of repetition in the story. Not just parts of the back story but actual sentences in a couple of instances. This did grow to be tiresome and, had I read this aged fourteen I would have felt the same way. Unfortunately this did tend to slow the story down at times. Reading the exact same joke from four chapters ago isn't great.

The book centres on one character and what happened to her. I felt that the sudden shift in her personality was rushed. More time should have been taken to really understand her and what happened to her.
The fact that she is automatically disbelieved is not great. It's a VERY sensitive subject and to have the rest of the characters do that could easily lodge the idea, in some young people's heads, that they would also be treated with scepticism.

A few times throughout the story there were errors. Mostly continuation errors but a couple of glaring mistakes. For example, two of the characters are playing a video game. Fallout 4. In the story one of the characters 'gets the guy' of the other. Fallout 4 is not a multiplayer game, a friend cannot 'get' you in any way.
Yes, a small thing but hugely annoying when you know that it is wrong. As Fallout 4 is such a popular game this will not go unnoticed by many young adults!

The ending did feel rather rushed. An extra chapter or two to explain what happened and to explore the feelings of the characters properly would have been nice.

So yes, this is an extremely mixed review. Most of the negative's are small and I would have given another star if not for the slightly mixed message surrounding the title character - I was disappointed with that.
The author is obviously very talented and writes perfectly for the YA market. Just a little more time and care would have made it awesome.

This book was like a watered down horror story, made to look scary, but really wasn't. The writing wasn't awful, but told most of the story rather than showed. The dialogue was unrealistic and the characters inconsistent. Read my full goodreads review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1914805461?type=review#rating_112188010

Fun quick read for the YA horror loving set. I blew through this in one sitting. Fun story with a few good scares that younger audiences will enjoy.

This is a very creepy ghost story/horror novel that would definitely appeal to a YA audience. I found the friend, Finn very annoying, but otherwise this was a tense, enjoyable read. The action built to a scary climax with a satisfying last twist.

Actual rating: 2.5 stars

This was an interesting one. When I finally decided to give this a read, I wasn't really feeling myself and wanted nothing more than to feel another emotion other than sadness and confusion... So of course I turned to horror. Only, this wasn't really scary at all. Sure there were moments that made me uncomfortable, a little edgy before going to bed and not wanting to read it at night, but it wasn't truly horrifying.

We're following Cain, a teenage boy, who discovers his house is haunted by a vengeful spirit who wants to seek revenge.... So nothing too creative there, but it was enough to have me intrigued.

I read it over two days so it is certainly an easily read book, although there were times where I found myself pretty bored. Most of those times were during schools times. Our main charter, Cain, is 17, so a lot of his life was spent at school. I both liked and disliked this. I really liked that because it made the story somewhat believable and creditable and also enhanced the suspense when you waited for the next creepy thing to happen! However, the thing I didn't like was that it had far too much high school drama that I really didn't care for. Granted I didn't zone out but I couldn't wait to move on.

I also felt like our characters weren't the most developed, but good enough and failed to see a lot of the time how some incidents were relevant... They got revealed later and made sense but until then I was wondering why they happened!

And the spoilers! Oh my gosh the amount I was spoiled for Harry Potter was excruciating! Maybe I'm late to the game as I've only read the first novel recently, but in my defense not everyone has read that series! I think yes, it could have been referred to, a lot of books do it, but there was no need to have the level of detail it did.

Some minor inconsistencies, though commented on by the characters, didn't really get resolved with any explanation, so I am left hanging by a thread a little bit.

Some of the character choices were kind of annoying. For example, despite everything Cain knew about horror, he still let his curiosity in the beginning get the best of him and Lindsey was cool until she almost ruined everything!

Aside from that, I did think Cain and Finn's friendship was very admirable and some of opinions they shared were quite nice to here from someone of such a stereotyped gender and age range.

The epilogue definitely has some cliff hanger vibes, but I'm happy to leave this story there. It just didn't really deliver what I was craving, but it was a decent story.

I didn't enjoy this book at all. It felt like a poor retelling of Stir of Echoes, with elements of Paranormal Activity thrown in. The author lost me early on, with the dialogue about "the frigid arctic air coming down the stairs from your un-air-conditioned attic..." A real person would either not care enough to make a point of it, or do some investigating to figure out what was going on. Or prop a chair or something against a door that wouldn't stay closed. I'm a fan of YA horror, but I just couldn't suspend my disbelief enough to enjoy this one.