Devil in Ohio
by Daria Polatin
Hardcover, 320 pages
Published November 7th 2017 by Feiwel & Friends
ISBN: 9781250113610
Checked Out From Library
About:
A strange, damaged girl lives with a family after escaping a cult in this debut YA suspense/thriller that was inspired by true events.
When fifteen-year-old Jules Mathis comes home from school to find a strange girl, her mother explains that Mae is one of her patients at the hospital and will be staying with their family for a few days. But shortly after, Mae is wearing Jules’ clothes, sleeping in her bedroom, edging her out of her position on the school paper, and kissing Jules’s crush. Then things get weird.
Jules walks in on a half-dressed Mae, she’s startled to see a pentagram carved into her back. Soon white roses start turning up on the front porch, a rabid dog bites one of Jules’ sisters, and Jules’ parents, who never fight, start arguing behind closed doors.
Jules pieces clues together and discovers that Mae may be a survivor of the strange cult that has taken over a nearby town. And they will stop at nothing to get Mae back.
When fifteen-year-old Jules Mathis comes home from school to find a strange girl, her mother explains that Mae is one of her patients at the hospital and will be staying with their family for a few days. But shortly after, Mae is wearing Jules’ clothes, sleeping in her bedroom, edging her out of her position on the school paper, and kissing Jules’s crush. Then things get weird.
Jules walks in on a half-dressed Mae, she’s startled to see a pentagram carved into her back. Soon white roses start turning up on the front porch, a rabid dog bites one of Jules’ sisters, and Jules’ parents, who never fight, start arguing behind closed doors.
Jules pieces clues together and discovers that Mae may be a survivor of the strange cult that has taken over a nearby town. And they will stop at nothing to get Mae back.
Rating:
I had really high hopes for this book. I heard Daria Polatin speak at the YA Conference at the beginning of the month and this book sounded creepy and amazing! While I feel like she tried to have a suspenseful creep factor, most of the time it missed it’s mark. It didn’t have me keeping my lights on at night, or worrying that someone was coming for me. I was also under the impression that Mae was going to be creepier than she really was. She just ended up being a hurt kid who was just trying to fit into a new “world” and sometimes did things awkwardly without realizing who she was hurting. I also don’t feel like the “cult” really tried all that hard to get Mae back, which hurt the creep vibe. There just wasn’t any tension there. I wasn’t really ever worried that the family was going to be hurt, or that Mae was going to get taken. There was family drama, which made the book a bit better. Though I still don’t quite get the mother’s obsession. I know something happened to her to make her want to help Mae, but neglecting your own family and job…. It just seemed over kill. The ending was kind of disappointing. There’s closure, but at the same time there’s not. I don’t want to spoil the end so read the book and you’ll see what I mean.There is drinking and “mature” content in the book, not much but it’s there, so younger teens might not be the best audience. Older teens who are into mystery cult stories might enjoy this one though.
*Book photo and review are owned by Erin. To see her personal blog click her signature above^*
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