Mary

August 1, 2014
Four friends face the dire consequences of summoning the infamous Bloody Mary. Over April vacation spent in Solomon's Folly, Massachusetts, Shauna's best friend, Jess, learned how to properly summon Bloody Mary from her great-aunt Dell. Armed with a letter written by Mary Worth, a 19th-century resident of the little town, Jess convinces Shauna and their two friends to attempt to summon the ghost. To Jess' delight, the ritual works perfectly: Mary's decrepit hand scratches behind the mirror through a thick fog. Underwhelmed with the first sighting, Jess persuades her friends to try again, and this time, Mary is ready: She climbs right through the mirror, raking her nails down Shauna's back. Suddenly the girls are faced with the threat that Mary might appear in any shiny surface, and Shauna discovers that the unrelenting, bloodthirsty ghost follows her every move. Monahan's depiction of the initial summoning is chilling, but each new appearance of Bloody Mary reads as more and more hackneyed, swiftly veering into B-movie territory. A satisfying twist strengthens the ending, but the lack of character development makes it difficult to feel anything for the girls. The highest intrigue lies in the snippets of Bloody Mary's origin story, which is woefully underused. It's unclear where the series may go from here.An urban legend too light on either gore or camp to be any fun. (Horror. 14-18)

COPYRIGHT(2014) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 1, 2014

Gr 7-10-Shauna, Jess, Kitty, and Anna all gather in the bathroom in Anna's house, ready to summon Bloody Mary. Jess, the leader of the group, starts chanting while the other three girls are anxious to be done with the ritual. None of them really expects anything to happen, until a hand appears in the mirror. Elated, Jess cannot wait to try again, but this time, she changes things around. Mary appears in the mirror, but instead of being contained, she starts to come out. She grabs Shauna, cutting her skin and trying to pull her back into the mirror with her. Soon, Mary appears in any shiny surface, and the girls' lives are in danger-Shauna most of all. As Shauna starts to dig into Mary's legacy, she learns there may be ulterior motives for summoning her in the first place. Descriptions are vivid, especially details about Mary and her hauntings. The story has enough creepy elements that will linger with readers, though the amount of violence does not make it suitable for squeamish students. This modern take on the popular urban legend is definitely not for the faint of heart. As the first book in a series, the novel concludes with many loose ends, which hopefully will be tied up in the next installment.-Natalie Struecker, Rock Island Public Library, IL

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.