Review #198: Asylum- Madeleine Roux

Title: Asylum
Author: Madeleine Roux
Pages: 310
Rating: 3/5 Stars
Summary: Asylum is a thrilling and creepy photo-novel perfect for fans of the New York Times bestseller Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.

For sixteen-year-old Dan Crawford, New Hampshire College Prep is more than a summer program—it's a lifeline. An outcast at his high school, Dan is excited to finally make some friends in his last summer before college. But when he arrives at the program, Dan learns that his dorm for the summer used to be a sanatorium, more commonly known as an asylum. And not just any asylum—a last resort for the criminally insane.

As Dan and his new friends, Abby and Jordan, explore the hidden recesses of their creepy summer home, they soon discover it's no coincidence that the three of them ended up here. Because the asylum holds the key to a terrifying past. And there are some secrets that refuse to stay buried.

Featuring found photos of unsettling history and real abandoned asylums and filled with chilling mystery and page-turning suspense, Madeleine Roux's teen debut, Asylum, is a horror story that treads the line between genius and insanity.Review: I have been hearing a lot about this novel (more so around Halloween) and I thought it sounded really cool plus had creepy as shit photos in it. I feel like the premise of this novel was better than the actual book. There weren’t really any scary parts and I don’t feel like the photos added anything to the story because they didn’t really match up. I still don’t understand if the characters relation to the patients is important at all. Also, the Daniel Crawford mystery was never really solved, leading me to believe that this will be a series. 
I didn’t like these characters. Dan was like a nothing character. There were no greats, he was just there. Abby was thorn in just to be a love interest which, by the way, was not very believable. And Justin was so bipolar I wanted to smack him! They just became instant friends but continually fought. The only interesting character was Felix and now I know why.
This story was very “meh” for me. There was nothing special about it. It was a quick and easy read but the ending left me very frustrated and confused. I will probably read the next book just to see what will happen, but I am not sure if I would recommend this one to others.

About this author

Author of Allison Hewitt Is Trapped, Sadie Walker Is Stranded and the upcoming ASYLUM.

MADELEINE ROUX received her BA in Creative Writing and Acting from Beloit College in 2008. In the spring of 2009, Madeleine completed an Honors Term at Beloit College, proposing, writing and presenting a full-length historical fiction novel. Shortly after, she began the experimental fiction blog Allison Hewitt Is Trapped. Allison Hewitt Is Trapped quickly spread throughout the blogosphere, bringing a unique serial fiction experience to readers.

Born in Minnesota, she now lives and works in Louisiana.