The Requiem RedAuthor: Brynn Chapman
Genre: YA Fantasy
Release Date: April 5, 2016
Publisher: Month9Books
Rating: 3.5 Stars!
Synopsis:
Patient Twenty-nine.
A monster roams the halls of Soothing Hills Asylum. Three girls dead. 29 is endowed with the curse…or gift of perception. She hears messages in music, sees lyrics in paintings. And the corn. A lifetime asylum resident, the orchestral corn music is the only constant in her life.
Mason, a new, kind orderly, sees 29 as a woman, not a lunatic. And as his belief in her grows, so does her self- confidence. That perhaps she might escape, might see the outside world.
But the monster has other plans. The missing girls share one common thread...each was twenty-nine's cell mate.
Will she be next?
The Requiem Red is a fascinating young adult historical mystery that will have readers guessing until the very end. It follows the story of Patient 29 - also known as Jane - as she lives her life in Soothing Hills Asylum, just as she has done for as long as she can remember. She doesn't remember having any kind of home or life before Soothing Hills, so she believes that she has resided there her entire life. She knows she's not insane - even though she hears voices in music and can see the sounds in color. Life at Soothing Hills is terrible, even for a low risk patient such as herself. One of the doctors seems to make it his purpose to torture 29 with "treatments" and be sure she has nothing of happiness or comfort in her life. She doesn't understand why the doctor treats her this way, but has come to accept it as another aspect of her life at the asylum. Jane's life begins to turn around after a handsome young orderly named Mason shows her kindness and treats her as a person - not a madwoman. His belief and confidence in her allows Jane to gain some self confidence and even dream of what it would be like out in the real world. But things take a sinister turn at the asylum, and strange occurances become increasingly more frequent. Jane knows deep down that it has something to do with her - but she has no idea what. Will she and Mason be able to solve the mysteries lurking at the asylum before it's too late?
I enjoyed reading this novel quite a bit. The mixture of the time period, the asylum, and the mysteries surrounding Patient 29 blended together effortlessly to create an enthralling novel that kept me guessing until the very end. Everything about the book was well done - the setting was perfect, the characters were developed, lots of twists and turns you don't see coming, and the novel itself was well written. The only thing that bothered me a bit was the pace - it seemed like it took forever for anything really interesting to happen. I guess it all felt somewhat drawn out, which dampened the entire feel of the mystery for me. I didn't get the feeling of adrenaline that normally happens when I read a good thriller or mystery. If the pace had been quicker - more urgent - this book would have been a fantastic read for me. The issue with the pacing is purely my opinion - I'm not saying anything bad about the writing itself. Other readers will more than likely enjoy the slower buildup that was used. Aside from that aspect of the writing, I really liked the story. The author's writing style was original and made the book all the more fascinating, in my opinion. There are more than one narrators in the book - and each tells their part of the story in the first person point of view. I'm a huge advocate for the first person POV because of the deep personal connection that can be created between the reader and the narrator - one that can't be done using any other writing style. By having multiple narrators all sharing their own perspectives and pieces of the story, the author created an intricate and multi-layered novel. There were parts in the book that I found a little confusing, and I had to go back to see who was narrating - but overall, I loved this approach and writing style. It allows a lot more twists and turns to happen throughout the story, and we get multiple viewpoints of the plot at various times - which also adds to the intrigue and mystery. It's really hard to try to explain the writing style and how it effects the book to anyone who hasn't read it as well. It can get confusing really quickly, and I don't want to lose anyone by making it sound more complicated than it was. This was a well written YA historical mystery that kept me on my toes and eagerly reading to see what was going to happen next. Definitely recommended for fans of the genre as well as anyone who enjoys suspense, thrillers, or fantasies.
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Born and raised in western Pennsylvania, Brynn Chapman is the daughter of two teachers. Her writing reflects her passions: science, history and love—not necessarily in that order. In real life, the geek gene runs strong in her family, as does the Asperger’s syndrome. Her writing reflects her experience as a pediatric therapist and her interactions with society’s downtrodden. In fiction, she’s a strong believer in underdogs and happily-ever-afters. She also writes non-fiction and lectures on the subjects of autism and sensory integration and is a medical contributor to online journal The Age of Autism.
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