anctum by Madeleine RouxPublished August 26th 2014
“In this haunting, fast-paced sequel to the New York Times bestselling photo-illustrated novel Asylum, three teens must unlock some long-buried secrets from the past before the past comes back to get them first. Featuring found photographs, many from real vintage carnivals, Sanctum is a mind-bending reading experience that blurs the lines between past and present, genius and insanity, perfect for fans of the smash hit Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.
Dan, Abby, and Jordan remain traumatized by the summer they shared in the Brookline asylum. Much as they’d love to move on, someone is determined to keep the terror alive, sending the teens photos of an old-timey carnival, with no note and no name. Forsaking their plan never to go back, the teens return to New Hampshire College under the guise of a weekend for prospective students, and there they realize that the carnival from the photos is not only real, it’s here on campus, apparently for the first time in many years.
Sneaking away from sample classes and college parties, Dan and his friends lead a tour of their own—one through the abandoned houses and hidden places of the surrounding town. Camford is hiding a terrible past, and the influence of the asylum runs deeper than Dan ever imagined.”
I read Asylum a couple of year ago and I thought it was okay. I didn’t love it but I couldn’t put my finger on what I didn’t like. I feel the exact same with Sanctum.
I’m really not sure what about this book I didn’t like. It wasn’t the writing style but kinda was, it wasn’t the characters but it kinda was, it wasn’t the plot but it kinda was. It was just an overall… good.
I felt like as a critical reader, I had to turn off the critical part of my brain so I could get though this book. A lot of the things that happened just happened to move the plot along. It felt really planned and well thought out. I felt somethings could have been written differently and maybe a little bit better. The whole plot felt a little like a cheap horror movie. That’s not a bad thing but it wasn’t really for me.
I never really got into the characters. They were very normal and a little plain. Again, not a bad thing. It just wasn’t for me.
Overall, Sanctum is a good read. It’s not one of my favorites but there’s really nothing wrong with it. A lot of people compare this series with Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (and rightly so. It’s remarkably similar) and I personally like Miss Peregrine’s a million times more.
If you’re looking a quick read, this series is a good place to start.
2 COMMENTS
Josephine
8 years agoFirst of all let me just comment on how creepy the cover looks! Maybe it’s just me, because I get freaked out terribly easily. This was a nice review, I’ve never heard of these books before but they sound interesting. xoxo
Taylor
8 years agoYes! This cover creeps me the heck out as well! :D