A teenagers game show putting sixteen teens on a deserted Island that once was the St. Clara Asylum. The teens arrive in teams made up of brothers, sisters, cousins, best friends and dating or engaged couples. The building had even more history than just as an asylum, it was reported to be haunted... more

A teenagers game show putting sixteen teens on a deserted Island that once was the St. Clara Asylum. The teens arrive in teams made up of brothers, sisters, cousins, best friends and dating or engaged couples. The building had even more history than just as an asylum, it was reported to be haunted long before the massacre that caused the hospital to be closed down. The search for a suitcase full of money and the clues to find it while the sixteen contestants are locked into this castle with video cameras on them 24/7 “Big Brother” style. The twists start right away with the disappearance of one of the contestants, then another. While the rest are left wondering if this is a “Survivor” style elimination or if the history of the manor has ghosts that are truly taking control of the game. *** This is a unique writing style, it is all in the first person, but the first person changes often. Seeing the events unfold and knowing not only what is said, but how it is heard and what is thought about it is different. So many points of view, it did get confusing occasionally. I liked the big brother, survivor, mole game concepts but together with the ghosts, horror stories of the past and the supernatural abilities of a few of the contenders. Not so sure if I enjoyed the first person rotation type of narration. Some of the wording was awkward for me to follow though, the whole chant as each of the “trespassers” were taken was one, and there were several grammatical errors that after a while distracted from the story line. I don’t think this is really a good young adult book, it may be supposedly about teens, but with the pregnancy, the hooking up and the partner switches that went on in the thirteen days they were together (not that any of it was graphically described, more like implied), it seems more about and for the twenty somethings. There was also several things that were not explained very good, I read paranormal / supernatural stories a lot, so I think I get it, but the changes in some of the characters personality, names and overall disposition were not well explained. I would have like more of the who, why and what happened next of the two main couples after the games ended.

Sixteen teens are selected to be apart of the Reality TV show on YTV called 13 Days. They are grouped into pairs of siblings, cousins, friends, and lovers. They are staying at the St. Clara Asylum on the haunted island. The main character Selene, and her brother Seth, are hoping to win the million ... more

Sixteen teens are selected to be apart of the Reality TV show on YTV called 13 Days. They are grouped into pairs of siblings, cousins, friends, and lovers. They are staying at the St. Clara Asylum on the haunted island. The main character Selene, and her brother Seth, are hoping to win the million dollar grand prize so they can save their family ranch. At the end of each day, a contestant will be eliminated. As they explore the asylum, they start to hear strange footsteps and voices. Is the asylum haunted? Who will be voted off next? 13 Days has an interesting concept of using the reality theme. It is a combination of Survivor and Ghost Hunters. Most of the characters are flawed and cliché, mimicking teenagers from television instead of actual life, but you have to remember that most reality shows are scripted. The book flips back and fourth from one character’s view point to another, and it annoyed me. If the author had written the book in third person, the pacing would have been better. There were too many characters. Obviously, the plot was meant to be scary, but I found it to be not scary and very confusing. If you like reality TV, then you may like this novel