The Haunting of Sunshine Girl by Paige McKenzieMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I have had this book on my TBR list for a while, so when I saw it at our local library book sale recently, I picked it up. I found it to be a light, easy, quick read. But I have read better suspense/thriller books, better spooky/creepy books, and better YA books. If you are looking for a scary, tense, intriguing book with a gripping story that will make you afraid to turn off the lights, I'd look elsewhere. If you want an entertaining book with a supernatural element that you can finish quickly, then this is the book for you.
Sunshine is a 16-year-old who has just moved with her mother from Austin to a dreary, rainy city in the Pacific Northwest. As soon as they arrive Sunshine finds herself in a "creepy" house with a damp smell and bad lighting. She finds herself to be cold all the time, she has no friends, and after several strange occurrences in her room, she realizes her house is haunted. Sunshine's mother becomes increasingly distant, and Sunshine must figure out what is going on and what she can do about it.
The author attempts to create an atmosphere of pervasive gloom, tension, and eeriness. But to me, it just came across as an incredibly unpleasant, if not miserable environment for Sunshine. She is always cold, almost everything around her is either wet or damp, her mom is rarely home, and the one friend she does have makes Sunshine nauseated when she gets too close to him. Sunshine seems to take it all in stride, though. (I would not have handled it so well were I in her place!) I had to suspend a lot of belief as far as the mood of the book was concerned. The deeper Sunshine got into the bizarre things happening around her, the less I felt a sense of menace. The book should have felt more sinister, but it did not. I was, however, invested in the story and I did find myself wanting to know what would happen next.
I did enjoy the book, and will read the next in the series.
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