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readingrobin 's review for:

Horrid by Katrina Leno
4.0
adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book definitely won't please all readers out there but boy did it do it for me. I love a lot of subjectivity in my horror, as it really opens more possibilities in making the story truly terrifying. When I first started it, I was definitely getting some Shirley Jackson Haunting of Hill House vibes but at a YA level and, now that I'm finished, it seems like a very apt description. I saw the major plot twists coming, the downfall of reading so many books like this, but that ending was a welcome surprise and didn't pull any punches. While I thought the tone could have been a little more tense, as the creepy atmosphere lulls every now and then, I definitely want to check out more of Leno's books in the future!