Our Thoughts Precisely: Holly Horror by Michelle Jabès Corpora

Title: Holly Horror

Series: Holly Horror #1
Author: Michelle Jabès Corpora
Source/Format: NetGalley; eARC
More Details: Young Adult; Horror; Paranormal
Publisher/Publication Date: Penguin Teen; August 15, 2023

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

"Playmate, come and play with me..."

A beloved classic reimagined with a dark twist.

After her parents' painful divorce, Evie Archer hopes that moving to Ravenglass, Massachusetts, is the fresh start that her family needs. But Evie quickly realizes that her new home—known by locals as the Horror House—carries its own dark past after learning about Holly Hobbie, who mysteriously vanished in her bedroom one night. But traces of Holly linger in the Horror House and slowly begin to take over Evie's life. A strange shadow follows her everywhere she goes, and Evie starts to lose sight of what's real and what isn't the more she learns about The Lost Girl. Can Evie find out what happened the night of Holly's disappearance? Or is history doomed to repeat itself in the Horror House?

Holly Horror by Michelle Jabès Corpora wasn’t originally one of the 2023 books I was anticipating. However, as soon as I read the synopsis, I knew right away it was something I wanted to read. After all, it appeared to have everything I look for in a paranormal horror novel: spooky house, secrets, more secrets, and an eerie history that was far more present than what the characters would’ve liked to admit. My instincts were spot on, because I thoroughly enjoyed this story.

Holly Horror has a somewhat typical beginning with a family moving to a new house under less than ideal circumstances. But “Hobbie House”—nicknamed “Horror House—came with a reputation, and it was one that was entirely earned. Part of my enjoyment of the book was the backstory Corpora wove into the present timeline. There was so much lore to think about as I was reading, and it arrived in well-timed allusions. I often questioned how the nuggets of information about the mystery would come into play later in the story, and it was one of the aspects about Holly Horror that helped gradually build the intensity. On the other side, while I didn’t find anything particularly too scary about the story, the spooky elements invoked a sense of unease, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Evie Archer was going through it in Holly Horror, but, in a general sense, I liked how Corpora built her character. Evie’s backstory really came back to haunt her, in a literal sense—no pun intended. The actions of her mother, the distance between her and her father, and her experiences with not being believed led to more harm than good. It really set her up as a character that would keep secrets, who wouldn’t say when something was wrong, or mention when she was afraid or hurt. She felt that she couldn’t be herself—and it made her susceptible—which was something reflected in the story by the way she handled stressful situations and her personal relationships. So “Hobbie House” wasn’t isolated—the town, Ravenglass, was within walking distance—but the feeling of isolation was something that permeated a large part of the story.

Holly Horror was intense, and that ending was too cruel of a cliffhanger. Luckily, there’s going to be another book in this series, and I’m looking forward to it!

About the author....

I've always wanted to be a writer, probably since the age of six. I spent most of my childhood years writing stories about mermaids in peril, ducks from space, and fan fiction where a girl resembling myself got to meet Agent Fox Mulder of the X-Files. After receiving my Bachelor's Degree in English and Theatre from UMBC, I went on to earn a Master's degree in Children's Literature from Hollins University. After that, I did some weird stuff. I was a wedding singer for a while. I also worked with animals in a vet's office, and at a wildlife rehabilitation center. Eventually, I moved to New York and worked as an assistant editor at Greenwillow Books, and then a concept creator for a well-known book All of these serendipitous events eventually led me to the #authorlife. Looking back, all those detours were exactly what I needed, because to be a writer, it's important to have some weird stuff to write about. Before I wrote books with my name on the cover, I was a ghostwriter for a world-famous middle-grade mystery series. I wrote my first five novels in that series, and enjoyed every minute of it. It was an honor to be a part of a legacy that is cherished by so many. When I'm not writing and editing books, you can usually find me at Crazy 88 MMA, training in the art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Competing at tournaments and being promoted to blue belt in BJJ were some of the proudest moments of my life. Some people may see videos of me rolling around on the floor and fighting my friends and think that I'm crazy. I can neither confirm nor deny the validity of this statement. I live in Frederick, Maryland with my dear husband, my two wonderful daughters, two guinea pigs named Fireball and Olive, and a very old cat named Callie.

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