"If you enjoy a fast paced book with twists, then this one’s for you."

Dead Spell

by Belinda Frisch

Genre: Young Adult Horror

Book Synopsis

Harmony Wolcott's darkest secret has clawed its way back from the grave. Afraid to ask for help or admit the strange occurrences happening to and around her, Harmony searches for answers in the wreckage of her childhood home where the truth is buried under the rubble of a family plagued by mental illness.

Some secrets you keep even from yourself until something from beyond the grave forces you to remember. Dead Spell is about a ghost with a past and a girl who would die to forget it.

Bec's Rating

Bec's Review

Dead Spell is a bit of a strange book, for while the synopsis talks of Harmony, only half of the story is really hers. The other half is narrated by her best friend Brea who does not rate a mention on the synopsis for some reason. Dead Spell is a novel that is supposed shock you with its twists and turns, and yet I felt at times that the past and truth waiting to be dug up did not justify the events in the first half of the book. This is particularly true for Tom, one of the characters whose past you find out and who I feel, given that past, would not have acted in the way he did. I was left with a funny feeling after finishing this book as if the twist did not quite fit the start of the book, like the two halves were mismatched puzzle pieces being forced to connect.

I wasn’t totally sold on the characterisation either. Harmony seems like a stereotypical bad girl and while some of that may have been deliberate it was hard to see if there was another side to her beyond the stereotype. Another character, Adam, also seemed to be lacking that something that would make him seem realistic and there were times I felt his actions were completely against his character. Even Brea did not seem fully formed as a character and I struggled to gain a sense of who she really was beyond Harmony’s friend and her mother’s daughter.

However despite these problems Dead Spell had me along for the ride. The book moved along at a rapid pace and while I did not feel the twist fit the situation or the characters there may be others that enjoy it. Overall the book is different from many of the young adult books that are flooding the market at the moment which is always refreshing to find. If you enjoy a fast paced book with twists, then this one’s for you.

Disclaimer: Not recommended for children due to violence, sex, drugs and alcohol. The book also makes reference to self harm.