The Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall by Katie Alender

Title: The Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall
Author: Katie Alender
Publisher: Point/Scholastic
Release Date: August 25th 2015
Source: eARC from Publisher (thanks Scholastic!!)

Summary from Goodreads:

Asylum meets Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, in this riveting tale of ghosts, secrets, and family, from master of suspense Katie Alender.

Delia's new house isn't just a house. It used to be an insane asylum, a place to lock up "troubled" young women long ago. And a restless, wicked spirit is still at play--and it doesn't want defiant girls like Delia to go anywhere.

So the house kills her.

Now Delia is a ghost, trapped in her creepy home forever. As she meets the other ghost girls who haunt the narrow hallways, as well as the handsome ghost boy on the grounds, she learns shocking truths about the house's history. Delia also realizes that her alive and grieving sister might be the house's next target. Can Delia unlock the mystery of the old asylum, save her sister, and free herself?

Review

Wow, I really enjoyed this book, there were so many unexpected twists and turns, it had me flying through the pages. There was such a perfect balance of creepy horror and crazy ghost action. Delia inherits her great aunt’s property but little does she know she has inherited a super haunted abandoned asylum. This asylum was home to many women; women who range from being just opinionated to a tad bit unstable. Back when the site was at full capacity many women were unjustly admitted into the asylum. Now in its vacant state there are lingering spirits both friendly and malicious. Delia has to solve the puzzle through clues from her dead aunt and with the help of her ghostly friends.

Without giving away some twists in the story, friendship and team work is a huge factor in the book. I love each ghost’s quirky personality, their background on what led them to the insane asylum, and their role in the overall plot. Delia is a fighter, she grows throughout the story to care for others and really be a strong leader, a true friend, and loving sister. There is a good bit of lighter horror aspects; nothing too scary to give you nightmares but the writing is descriptive enough for you to picture some pretty intense images. I thought the amount of horror was just right. The plot weighs heavily on the scary mysterious evil presence, if you are looking for some romance blended into it, this is not the book.

Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall is a creepy, haunting, page-turning thriller. I highly recommend this book; the surprising adventure Delia has to embark on is a whirlwind, haunting good versus evil battle. I hands down plan to read more from Kate Alender.