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Charlotte Says by Alex Bell (view source)
Revision as of 12:26, 26 August 2020
, 12:26, 26 August 2020no edit summary
Jemima's mother died in an awful fire not long ago and that is why Jemima decides to leave London and take up a job as a teacher on the Isle of Skye. But leaving the place doesn't mean escaping the memories and Jemima is tormented by second-guessing what actually happened on that terrible night. It doesn't help that Miss Grayson, the mistress at the school, is a strange, forbidding sort, while the school itself is a thoroughly creepy old building.
When a gift of Frozen Charlotte dolls from a mystery sender arrives, Jemima finds the memories crowding her mind more and more intensely. Flashbacks come, involving a seance with the dolls, a row with her step-father, and flames licking the house. At first, Jemima puts down the series of violent accidents at the school down to her own vividly grieving imagination. But the girls who are pupils there are convinced the dolls are to blame...
... ooh! ''Charlotte Says'' is a prequel to the [[Frozen Charlotte by Alex Bell|first book]] in this fabulously creepy series, which itself is part of Stripes's ''Red Eye'' horror collection. I thought it was great - utterly gruesome and genuinely creeptastic. This second instalment sees us back in 1910, so that we can investigate the origin story of these murderous dolls. And it's as brilliant at stomach-churning high horror as the first. Perhaps it's even better. There are plenty of red herrings and a secret Jemima is keeping to discover. I found it much harder to guess how it would all turn out.
It's very scary, very gory, most definitely chilling and not everyone will make it out alive. I don't read much in the way of horror but I was so absorbed that I read the whole thing in one sitting, feeling a bit sick most of the time. This, I should think, is a sign that ''Charlotte Says'' works exactly as intended.
Definitely one for fans of horror everywhere. You don't need to have read [[Frozen Charlotte by Alex Bell|Frozen Charlotte]] first, but you might want to (I would).
If horror is your thing, you could also try [[My Swordhand is Singing by Marcus Sedgwick]] or , [[The Ribbajack and Other Curious Yarns by Brian Jacques]] or [[Uninvited by Justine Musk]].
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