Nothing is what it seems in Sutherland's new novel

     From the author of the acclaimed novel, Chemical Hearts, Krystal Sutherland is back on the YA book scene with her newest novel House of Hollow. In this novel, which is set to be released on April 6th, things are not quite what it seems and readers will be questioning everything.
    Seventeen-year-old Iris Hollow has always been strange. Something happened to her and her two older sisters when they were children, something they can’t quite remember but that left each of them with an identical half-moon scar at the base of their throats. Iris has spent most of her teenage years trying to avoid the weirdness that sticks to her like tar. But when her eldest sister, Grey, goes missing under suspicious circumstances, Iris learns just how weird her life can get: horned men start shadowing her, a corpse falls out of her sister’s ceiling, and ugly, impossible memories start to twist their way to the forefront of her mind. As Iris retraces Grey’s last known footsteps and follows the increasingly bizarre trail of breadcrumbs she left behind, it becomes apparent that the only way to save her sister is to decipher the mystery of what happened to them as children. The closer Iris gets to the truth, the closer she comes to understanding that the answer is dark and dangerous – and that Grey has been keeping a terrible secret from her for years.
     I don’t want to say too much about the story for fear of spoiling anything, but I will say that if you’re looking for a darker YA novel, then this is a fabulous choice! This book is haunting, dark, creepy, but also quite fascinating. This book mixes so many different genres that it’s hard to categorize it so I’ll just describe it as a young adult mystery/sci-fi/fantasy/horror novel. I think I covered them all?
     This story also takes quite a few twists and turns and definitely has the reader guessing (alongside Iris) what’s real and what’s not. The plot is continuously engaging and will have you wondering what is up with the Hollow Girls and why things keep on happening to them. 
     While I usually don’t do creepy reads, this book was riveting and kept me engaged in the plot and what unique turn it was going to take next. If you’re into weird and twisty books, then this one's for you!
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*I received an ARC from Penguin Teen in exchange for my honest opinion.

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