The Dead girls of Hysteria Hall / Katie Alender.

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Title:

The Dead girls of Hysteria Hall / Katie Alender.

Author:

Alender, Katie

ISBN:

9780545639996

Edition:

First edition

Physical Description:

329 pages ; 22 cm

Abstract:

Murdered by a spirit in her house, which was previously an insane asylum, sixteen-year-old Cordelia wanders the house, meeting other trapped ghosts and learning the houses dark secrets, searching for a way to save her family, and perhaps herself.

Subject Term:

Asylums -- Juvenile fiction.

Haunted houses -- Juvenile fiction.

Secrecy -- Juvenile fiction.

Sisters -- Juvenile fiction.

Families -- Pennsylvania -- Juvenile fiction.

Horror tales.

Ghost stories.

Psychiatric hospitals -- Juvenile fiction.

Ghosts -- Juvenile fiction.

Secrets -- Juvenile fiction.

Family life -- Juvenile fiction.

Horror stories.

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... Avon-Washington Township Public Library	Teen Fiction Book Hardback	120791002519027	T ALE	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

In this asylum, your mind plays tricks on you all the time...Delia's new house isn't just a house. Long ago, it was the Piven Institute for the Care and Correction of Troubled Females -- an insane asylum nicknamed "Hysteria Hall." However, many of the inmates were not insane, just defiant and strong willed. Kind of like Delia herself.But the house still wants to keep "troubled" girls locked away. So, in the most horrifying way, Delia becomes trapped. And that's when she learns that the house is also haunted.Ghost girls wander the hallways in their old-fashioned nightgowns. A handsome ghost boy named Theo roams the grounds. Delia learns that all the spirits are unsettled and full of dark secrets. The house, too, harbors shocking truths within its walls -- truths that only Delia can uncover, and that may set her free. And she'll need to act quickly -- before the house's power overtakes everything she loves.Katie Alender brings heart-pounding suspense, gorgeous writing, and a feminist twist to this tale of memories and madness.

Reviews (4)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 7 Up-When her Great Aunt Cordelia Pevin dies, "little namesake" Delia inherits her home, which was once the Piven Institute for the Care and Correction of Troubled Females. The family heads there once school is out to get the place ready to sell, but Hysteria Hall (as it was nicknamed) has other ideas. And, Delia can't help but think that her parents might actually want her there because of her failed attempt to run off during Spring Break. Very quickly, the teen senses something is dreadfully wrong with the house, but can she escape in time to save her family? The protagonist's path is fraught with challenges and her eventual understanding and acceptance is hard-won. Alender has created a chilling tale of forgotten tragedies and family secrets. Strong female characters anchor the story and its suspenseful tone is carried throughout. The author adeptly imbues the atmosphere with hints that something sinister is lurking just beneath the surface. VERDICT A great choice for fans of horror or suspense novels.-Elaine Baran Black, Georgia Public Library Service, Atlanta © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Horn Book Review

Delia and her family are staying inside an old correctional institute Delia's family inherited from her father's reclusive great-aunt; their visit turns tragic when mysterious forces throw Delia out a window. Transformed into a ghost, Delia investigates the house's dark past and uncovers its secrets. This original tale offers a vivid, spooky setting and a memorable cast of turn-of-the-century spirit inmates. (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Review

A rebellious 16-year-old becomes trapped in a definitely haunted old insane asylum, possibly forever. This superior ghost story keeps the creep factor high, presenting readers with what appears to be a just-normal-ghost-folks mystery storyline before turning into a suspensefest. When Delia inherits a housea notorious former insane asylumfrom a namesake aunt, her whole family goes to stay there. It doesn't take long for Delia to realize the place is seriously haunted, but although the house will release her family, it kills her rather than let her go. Stuck there, she meets a variety of ghosts, most of whom seem quite pleasant but none of whom can leave the premises. Delia seems to be making progress in uncovering the secret evil of the house, but her investigations threaten both her and her family. Plus, the initially friendly ghosts might not all be as they first seem. Alender creates a fascinating, eerie world that turns on a nicely original use of time and features constantly interesting characters. Delia is likable and sympathetic even as she strikes out, and the house itself becomes a character, as readers wonder who or what is at the root of the evil that lurks there. The final confrontation will have readers curling their toes. A really scary and original ghost story, well told. Read it with the lights on. (Paranormal suspense. 12-18) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

After a great-great-aunt dies and leaves her everything, Delia's family vacations at her aunt's old house, once an asylum for hysterical girls. Very much a girl of the present, Delia frets about missing her cell phone and her connection to the outside world, not about being haunted and trapped by the spirits of hundreds of dead girls. Chilling things start happening right away, such as messages from her deceased aunt, and typical haunted-house scares are made all the more terrifying by the history of the house. In between chapters are page-long Observations after the Fact, witty little bits of Delia's humor and intellect, which give the reader hope that our heroine will survive the terrors she's sure to face. On the outside, The Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall looks like any quick-read horror novel, but in the capable hands of Alender, the frights come fast and furious, and the least-expected scares are the best and bloodiest. Fans of the author's Bad Girls Don't Die (2009) will clamor for this crowd-pleaser.--Comfort, Stacey Copyright 2015 Booklist

Excerpts

From THE DEAD GIRLS OF HSYTERIA HALLI got up off the bed, knocking over the little wood stool. It rolled away. As I grabbed it and set it upright, I got a glimpse of the underside of the seat. There was a pair of sentences scratched into it. Or, more accurately, one and a half sentences. ONCE I WAS HUMAN BUT THEY HAVE TAKEN MY HUMANITY. ONCE I WAS ALIVE BUT THEY It ended there. That was all it said. My heart pounding, I gently set the stool upright. But as soon as my fingers had let go of the smooth, round edge, it knocked itself over...and started rolling toward me again. At first, I watched in silence, not really able to believe what my eyes were seeing. Then it bumped up against my foot. I scrambled backward, running into the bed. Something came loose behind me. When I turned, I saw what I had dislodged -- a leather strap, complete with buckles, bolted to the bed frame. When I lifted the bedspread, I found two more -- one for ankles, and a big one that would fit perfectly across a torso. Don't freak out, I told myself. Just go. Get your things and go. I grabbed my bookbag, double-checked to make sure I had my phone and charger, and started into the hall. The bathroom door gaped open, and I caught a flash of lightning through the window. I paused, wishing I'd thought to bring a raincoat, when a high-pitched scream filled the air. It was the kind of sound that stops your heart and overloads your brain, leaving you blank except for the sudden, all-consuming awareness of a person in horrible distress. Janie! My parents' footsteps thundered down the hall, but I reached Janie first. I gasped at the sight that greeted me -- She was strapped to the bed. Excerpted from The Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall by Katie Alender All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.