Asylum by Madeleine Roux (Asylum #1)

Dan is eager to be at prep school, hoping he'll get the chance to learn something before he goes off to college. and who knows? Maybe he'll meet some nice kids and make a few friends before he has to return home. however, he has overlooked the fact that the school is in a building that used to be, of all things, an insane asylum. at first, all that means is that the school has an interesting, if slightly creepy, past. As time goes on, however, strange things begin to happen to the students, and as Dan tries to uncover the asylum's past, he stumbles upon a frightening truth about himself.

So, if you're not familiar with the book, it has several similarities to Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by ransom Riggs. (Great book.) Much like Riggs's novel, Asylum uses creepy photographs in the book. This was only one of the several reasons I thought that this might be a nice book to read. The idea was intriguing enough, and it was recommended to me by several friends who praised it for being scary and exciting. Honestly, though? I didn't see what all the fuss was about.

The characters need some work. On the surface, Dan, the main character, is insecure and shy, but I didn't see much more than that. His friends Abby is bright and cheerful, and Jordan, another companion of his, is sarcastic and maybe a little brooding. The traits are familiar to teens and relatable, but the characters lack the depth that would make them feel real.

The school wasn't well described, and come to think of it, that was also an issue with other settings in the book. There wasn't much of a real school life with classes and such, and I didn't feel like I was reading about a prep school at all. The plot was slightly choppy and not super well paced, and the book itself was rather boring. Asylum almost felt like a bad copy of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. While the pictures were real, they weren't woven into the story as seamlessly as I had hoped, and at best I was indifferent for them, as I didn't feel like the communicated much or enhanced the story. Like the Ransom Riggs masterpiece, Asylum deals with the past in a similar way, but I found the story much less enjoyable.

While I liked the idea of the book, I wasn't too impressed with the book itself. I've heard so many good things about this novel, but I couldn't see what had people so hyped. Murder? A abandoned asylum? What could go wrong? In the end, the characters and plot need work. I just wasn't pulled into this YA piece. 3/5 stars.

#crimeandmystery