One Hundred Candles by Mara Purnhagen
It’s taken a long time for me to feel like a normal teenager. But now that I’m settled in a new school, where people know me as more than Charlotte Silver of the infamous Silver family paranormal investigators, it feels like everything is falling into place. And what better way to be normal than to go on a date with a popular football star like Harris Abbott? After all, it’s not as if Noah is anything more than a friend….But my new life takes a disturbing turn when Harris brings me to a party and we play a game called One Hundred Candles. It seems like harmless, ghostly fun. Until spirits unleashed by the game start showing up at school. Now my friends and family are in very real danger, and the door that I’ve opened into another realm may yield deadly consequences.
If you haven’t read Past Midnight, you can read my review of it here. There is also a FREE (for a limited time) Ebook of Past Midnight #1.5 (Raising the Dead) which you can find out about here.
This second book in the Past Midnight series brings us back to Charlotte as she tries to live her senior year like all the other kids in school. Normal. And so far things are working out pretty well. Even though things didn’t go the way Charlotte wanted in the romance department with Noah, they have remained really good friends. As she tries to distinguish her feelings for him, she suddenly finds herself being interested in another boy, Harris. Harris is popular and gorgeous, and really seems to be interested in Charlotte. So when he wants to bring her to a “supernatural” party, she’s more than willing to go, even if her ghost-debunking parents wouldn’t approve. Also, find out about FIRST AND THEN by Emma Mills // Pride & Prejudice on Steroids here.
At the party, everyone goes around telling scary stories that were supposed to have actually happened to them. Then they would light a candle. The goal was to tell One Hundred Stories and light One Hundred Candles, in the hopes that the “ghost” that is haunting the host’s house would go on its way. However, things don’t go according to plan. Soon the halls of Charlotte’s high school are being “haunted” by things that seem eerily familiar. The One Hundred Stories seem to be coming true.
I really enjoyed this book. I may have even liked it more than Past Midnight. It was definitely a little spookier. I actually got chills when some of the One Hundred Stories were being told. I loved that Charlotte was branching out in this book, and not just hanging around waiting for Noah to “make a move.” Of course, I still loved Noah, though. He’s a fantastic friend to Charlotte and just a really sweet guy! I just thought he needed to wake up and smell the Charlotte-scented roses…haha! Once again I loved the fact that Charlotte actually had a family in her life that had dimension. Her parents weren’t just background decoration, they actually had an important role in the story. I love that about these books! That doesn’t mean all is happy bliss in their family. They had to deal with some pretty difficult issues this time around, and Charlotte had to wonder if her family might be falling apart. Mara did a really good job writing about this, and showing how hard it is for a teen whose parents can’t seem to get along.
Overall, I just really enjoyed this book! Even though this book has some creepiness to it, it wasn’t really terrifying or anything. I think it’s a great book for younger teens and those who scare easily as well as those who are happy to dive into the spooktacular.