Project 17 - Laurie Faria Stolarz

High atop Hathorne Hill, near Boston, sits Danvers State Hospital. Built in 1878 and closed in 1992, this abandoned mental institution is rumored to be the birthplace of the lobotomy. On the eve of the hospital's demolition, six teens break in to spend the night and film a movie about their experiences. For Derik, it's an opportunity to win a film making contest and save himself from a future of flipping burgers at his parents' diner. For the others, it's a chance to be on TV, or a night with no parents. But what starts as a dare quickly escalates into a nightmare. Behind the crumbling walls, down every dark passageway, and in each deserted room, they will unravel the mysteries of those who once lived there and the spirits who still might.

I'm not sure what I was expecting when I began this novel, but I have to say, it didn't impress me that much. Maybe it's because I'm a huge horror/psychological thriller person to begin with, but I just didn't find this book to be scary. Every time it was starting to get interesting, it turned out that it was one of the teens just pulling a prank or being stupid.

I think the idea of the novel was really good, and I think the novel would've been better through the patient's eyes, like what they had to go through. Almost like flashbacks? Another thing I didn't like much was the change of POV in almost every chapter. I found it to be confusing and a bit annoying. I think the novel would've been better just in Derrick's POV, since he's the one that had the idea in the first place. It was hard remembering all of their back stories.

Overall, it was an okay novel but definitely not what I thought it'd be considering all the good reviews. I didn't find any of the characters very memorable...they were pretty typical and a bit bland. I almost felt like the author had the idea of the Breakfast Club and tossed them into a haunted hospital. The writing was good, but I much prefer the Touch series over this.

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