Category: Thanksgiving Publisher: Big Pine Lodge Books
ISBN-10: 1475249993
Pages: 233
Copyright: Oct 1, 2012
ISBN-13: 9781475249996
Five troubled teens live together unsupervised and confront demonic forces.
Living together unsupervised, five troubled teens confront demonic forces and are compelled to deal with their problems in distinctly different ways. Paranormal meets psycho meets Goth in this story of a supernatural haunting and budding love.
High school junior, Ben, hacks into his step-father's real estate holdings and provides rooms in an old two-story house to various outcasts: the schizophrenic kid, the angry Goth girl, and the homeless girl who worships him. When Megan needs a place to live she comes to the rooming house with a different set of problems and the ability to confuse and attract Ben.
One by one strange and mysterious occurrences stretch the teens’ beliefs in the supernatural. How they deal with demons, real and imagined, has tragic as well as redeeming consequences.
Excerpt
Emily knew the precise moment that Ben returned, she felt him in her scars. She watched him carry some things to the house, heard the door close; she smiled when she heard him call out that Santa was here. He did that once before, in early December, insisting that she accept the gift he held out, not wanting her to wait until Christmas to use the mittens he knew she needed.
She went toward her door now, wondered what he had brought, and then heard Megan’s voice below. Oh no, he probably brought something for her. She scuttled back to her nest by the window and stared outside, was still staring fifteen minutes later when she saw them walk down the street, Ben shouldering a shovel, his other hand knotted with Megan’s.
She touched the skin on her arms, lightly at first, making it tingle. The image of Ben with Megan multiplied across her mind in broken mirrors, a repugnant picture that reflected her own self-loathing. She scratched at her scabs, felt the pricks of pain force away the ticklish sensations. She closed her eyes.
When she opened them she saw a figure standing at her door.
“Who–?” she started, but the figment waned to less than a shadow. Still, though, there was something at her door.
She rose slowly and held her hand out.
Its face was more womanly now, friendly, motherly. Yes, she knew this face. Its pearly white skin so shocking against the ruby lips, the stringy hair a match to her own. Her mother.
She stretched her fingers toward the face. The hallucination faded then sharpened. The eyes began to blaze. She drew her hands back to her own face. What’s wrong with me? The delusion grieved Emily; all around her fluttered a longing.
And a deadly fear.
Professional Reviews
Book Review from Sandy at Magical Manuscripts
I didn't know what to expect when I was asked to read this, but I am so glad I did. This book exceeded any preconceptions I may have had when I first read the synopsis. To be honest, I was expecting demons of the kind I had other books, but the demonic forces at play in this book reminded me of the Exorcist and Paranormal Activity. It was haunting, chilling and quite freaky.
It starts off with Ben, who uses a house with an untold past to help teens in desperate situations. Little does he realize what kind of forces are about to unleash themselves. The whole story line of this book kept me pivoted on the book all the way through.
I must admit that it was the characters that held my interest the most - especially Emily, Cori, Adam and Chuck. Each of them had serious issues - issues some people face everyday. And that's what made this book special. It's not very often that I read about characters that have their own distinct voice, but these characters do.
You have Megan, who actually seems to have a normal background until you read on and find out what made her move into the house. Then there's Ben - the boy who is quite wealthy, but not in a way where he is obnoxious. He cares and tries to take everyone into consideration until he meets Megan. What he doesn't realize is how his actions affected Emily, who was quite dependent on him.
Emily, whose fragile hold on the world is wrapped around the boy who saved her from the streets - Ben. There's a lot that not known about her, which adds to her mystery, but leads to her character not being developed as much as it could be. I really wanted to know more about her past.
Cori, who was so angry with the whole world. She came across as hating everyone, but she had a vulnerable side as well. She was obsessive about some things - particularly her bedroom. She was the one who seemed to live in the outside world more - and had more independence than any of the others. Well, I think so.
And Adam and Chuck - two characters who share a secret - one I didn't pick up on until I read more. They were unexpected and their grasp on reality was even worse than Emily's and she was bad. I'd really like to go into more about them, but for more information you need to read the book.
Imagine having that group of people sharing a house with a horrifying untold past and you can just imagine the outcome - or can you? It's the way the book unfolds that held me spellbound, and even as I write this it's like I'm rereading it and the ending all over again. An ending that makes me hope that there is a sequel.
There were only minimal things that I could mention about the book that I wasn't quite sure of. First, the characters' background. I would have loved to have known more about them. There just didn't seem to be enough of it for me. The other was the way Ben ended up with the house. It just didn't seem possible that a kid would be able to do that without someone finding out a lot sooner than they did. But, other than that there was nothing else I noticed or cared to mention.
So, now to my rating. I bet you have no doubts about what it will be.
Five out of five stars
Dark and Completely Engrossing
I had the opportunity to read this amazing book before it was published (helps to know the author, right?). I was so impressed by the storyline in this book. Completely unique, and filled with engrossing characters who were at once sympathetic and enthralling.
This is the story of teen Ben who's renting a house where he lets other troubled teens live. None of them know it's his house, they believe it's owned by their landlord, the mysterious Mrs. Kremer. The story begins when Megan moves into the house, upsetting the sort of strange balance these teens have found together. Her move-in is particularly upsetting to Emily, who has something of a crush on Ben, especially when Ben quickly develops feelings for Megan.
It would be a good enough story just watching this group of troubled kids dealing with their many, many issues, but something wicked has come into the house and creates new tensions. Each teen deals with one another, their own issues, and the strange new happenings in their own unique ways until finally everything comes to an explosive head.
Debra portrayed each of the kids in such realistic ways that I wanted to reach into the book and pull them out and give them a hug and protect them from the hurts they were going through. This is not a light read, as others have stated, but it's so fascinating I found it very difficult to walk away from, and couldn't wait to get back to it. Great book that you'll find yourself thinking about long after you've finished it.
strong psychological themes
*WARNING: I talk about the ending in the 2nd-to-last paragraph. Mild spoiler warning.*
I was drawn to read Sheltered because I really like stories with strong psychological themes... or at least, I like movies with strong psychological themes. For some reason, though, I haven't read many books that have much to do with psychology. Sheltered did not disappoint me there.
The story centers around five teens who live in an old house together and who have various issues that they are trying to work through. Although the narrative regularly shifts perspectives to all five kids, I thought of Ben and Megan as being the main characters, since they're the most "normal" and relatable kids and the two that the story focuses the most on. Plus, they're the only ones who are actually named in the synopsis. Ben basically owns the house, as an act of rebellion against his hated step-father. Megan comes to the house because she needs a place to stay while she works through some family issues.
The other characters include: Emily, an extremely shy girl with a crush on Ben; Cori, a rebellious goth girl; and Chuck, a schizophrenic boy who has a split personality. I liked those three characters more than Ben and Megan, mainly because they're more interesting. I always wanted to see what they would do next, and I wanted to see their problems resolved by the end.
Sheltered also has paranormal ghost/demon plot. I say ghost/demon because the paranormal occurrences could be either demonic possessions or hauntings; it isn't really clear until the end. The "outer demons" plot doesn't really tie into the "inner demons" plot until the very end, sadly, but it was creepy enough on its own to make up for that.
One thing I really loved about this book is how tense it is. The possession scenes are tense because they're so creepy, and the rest of the story is usually tense because the characters are constantly doing important things without anyone else knowing about it, which leads to some serious issues from a lack of communication. Sheltered isn't action-heavy by any means, but new problems are coming up at such a constant rate that I still had a hard time putting the book down.
I also loved the interactions between the characters. Emily, Cori, and Chuck all have very interesting personalities, and it's fun seeing them come together. I ended up attached to every one of them, despite their flaws. Ben and Megan are kind of boring compared to the other three, but they're still solid characters.
My only major complaint is that the ending is very abrupt. You'd think that the story would be over and everything would be resolved a little after the big climax, but not here. It was sort of like the book was going to end there, but then the author said "oh no, I forgot to tie up these subplots! QUICK, CRAZY THING!!" So then it's like a second climax got sort of shoved into the very end of the book and then, suddenly, the book's over.
Overall, Sheltered is a great page-turner with fun characters, lots of tension, and some great creepy scenes. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a YA-friendly psychological thriller.
