

I found this book while browsing hoopla and the premise intrigued me. It was also billed as the Haunting of Hill House meets Nina LaCour, both of which I am a fan of. I like YA novels and this is about two Arab girls on a spring break road trip visiting colleges. They get into an accident and have to stay in a small town while their car is being repaired. The motel they check into has one room left: 9, and bad things have happened in it.
What I liked: great narration; one for Mira, one for Layla, and one for the unnamed spirit. I also liked the representation of Arab girls with a queer inclusion. The cast of supporting characters were fine, nothing special. The researching in the library was interesting to me as was the mystery needing to be solved. However, I didn’t like how the mystery played out and it was never really solved, which was unsatisfying. I understand how the spirit fed off people’s guilt, but I still didn’t get where it came from or where it may go next. Wish that part was resolved.
Overall, I appreciated the diverse representation and the lack of cops in this book dealing with mysteries.
I found this book while browsing hoopla and the premise intrigued me. It was also billed as the Haunting of Hill House meets Nina LaCour, both of which I am a fan of. I like YA novels and this is about two Arab girls on a spring break road trip visiting colleges. They get into an accident and have to stay in a small town while their car is being repaired. The motel they check into has one room left: 9, and bad things have happened in it.
What I liked: great narration; one for Mira, one for Layla, and one for the unnamed spirit. I also liked the representation of Arab girls with a queer inclusion. The cast of supporting characters were fine, nothing special. The researching in the library was interesting to me as was the mystery needing to be solved. However, I didn’t like how the mystery played out and it was never really solved, which was unsatisfying. I understand how the spirit fed off people’s guilt, but I still didn’t get where it came from or where it may go next. Wish that part was resolved.
Overall, I appreciated the diverse representation and the lack of cops in this book dealing with mysteries.