Review - Resurrection Bay

Resurrection Bay
by Neal Shusterman
Date: 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen
Reading level: YA
Book type: short story
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: library

Bones. They know the call of the ice.

Anika knows the call of the ice, too. Living in an isolated port town in Alaska with her father and younger brother, Anika is practically steps away from the Harding Icefield, and Exit Glacier has always been her favorite place.But after a couple tragically dies there, Exit Glacier seems to come alive and begins moving toward the town with unnatural speed. Anika feels deep in her bones that the ice wants something...

After the glacier finally stops in the town's cemetery, Anika and her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Rav, face a sinister truth: The soul of the glacier is looking for bodies to inhabit... and where better to find them than the graveyard?

This fast-paced, eerie short story is a deft blend of suspense and horror that will leave readers breathless... and chilled to the bone.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

Well, that was creepy.

This was actually quite an entertaining story.  It didn't really need to be any longer than it was; the short story format worked well here.  While there wasn't quite enough time to properly develop all the characters, it didn't really matter; the real core of this story was its premise.

I haven't read anything else by Neal Shusterman yet, but if this short story is indicative of his writing style, I might like to try one of his full-length novels in the future.

Quotable moment:

"Wakeful," she said.

"What?"

"Awake. Can't sleep. Wakeful." She tilted her head oddly, and her neck let out a sound like crackers crunching in your hand. "Don't I know you?" she asked.

I shook my head, even though I knew I had seen her somewhere before. I was sure of it.

"Yes," she said. "Yes, I do know you!"

Recommended to: readers who enjoy well-written horror and suspense

Plot: 4/5
Characters: 3/5
Pace: 5/5
Writing & Editing: 4/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 ladybugs