Horror Book Reviews

Title: FUNHOUSE (POINT HORROR S.)
Score:
Author: DIANE HOH
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Review of FUNHOUSE (POINT HORROR S.)

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Comments for FUNHOUSE (POINT HORROR S.)

• Posted on 2007-11-14
  Not her best....
  
  I've really enjoyed reading many of her other books for YA's, and I often reccommend them to kids I work with. However, I would never reccommend this one. The story is so far fetched, but it might have been more believable if it was written from a single point of view, instead of the constant jumping from killer to victim. I also thought the killer's reactions to the main girl in this story was harsh and far fetched. Sure, he was nuts, but I still didn't buy his actions. This was the worst of the books that I've read of hers, unless you are a die-hard fan, stay away from this one. It's not only a waste of money but also of your time.
  
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• Posted on 2007-09-12
  A Fun Teen Horror
  
  Tess, the main character, is getting threatening notes written with a fat purple marker. She also gets other scary threats. Someone is after her. She doesn't know who or why. Other teens are also targeted. She doesn't know why all this horror is happening.
  
  This was a good teen horror book. It was almost 5 stars, but I couldn't give it quite 5 stars because it was a little lacking. I felt it needed more twists or a cozier atmosphere in places, or both. But I would definitely recommend this book if you like teen horror novels. It was good.
  
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• Posted on 2005-01-25
  YOU CAN DIE LAUGHING...
  
  YOU CAN DIE LAUGHING...that was the pun statement on the frontcover of this thriller!!! Tess, the heroine, must find out who the killer is before he/she kills off all of her friends. I remember this book as my very first Young Adult horror story and its ironic because most kids' firsts were R.L.Stine or Caroline B. Cooney. It's skillfully written and sort of similar to A Nightmare On Elm Street because the kids are being punished for what their lousy parents did in the past. Also, I came to realize that ALL of Diane Hoh's YA thrillers come with a warning: SUBJECT MATTER MAY BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR PEACE OF MIND. And they did! I recommend this classic to the mature in mind because Hoh's stories are dangerously psychotic. However, if you wanna take a killjoyin' ride, then enter FUNHOUSE at your risk!!! Remember, YOU CAN DIE LAUGHING!!! Seriously!!!!
  
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• Posted on 2003-07-23
  A Good Book!....
  
  Tess and her friends are having a great time at the Santa Luisa Boardwalk -- an amusement park set upon the beach. They go there very often, seeing as how it's basically the only thing to do in town. Everything seems normal until the park's roller coaster is seen hurling through the air! The crash kills one and injures a dozen. Everyone dismisses it as an accident, but Tess saw a shadow running away from the scene right after. Finding that odd, things get worse when she receives threats, etc. The culprit knows that Tess knows something she shouldn't, and plans to eliminate her.

  "Funhouse" was another nice book from Diane Hoh. I personally recommend "The Invitation" from her over this, but it was still pretty good. Like most of Hoh's books, it takes a little while to get into the story. Other than that, it's great. Read it...

  Also recommended:
  a.) "Someone at the Door" by Richie Tankersley Cusick
  b.) "The Lifeguard" by Richie Tankersley Cusick
  c.) "Starstruck" by Richie Tankersley Cusick
  d.) "The Invitation" by Diane Hoh
  e.) "The Train" by Diane Hoh
  f.) "Silent Witness" by Carol Ellis
  g.) "The Stepdaughter" by Carol Ellis
  h.) "Secret Santa" by D. E. Athkins
  i.) R. L. Stine young-adult thrillers
  j.) All books by Joan Lowery Nixon
  

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• Posted on 2002-04-11
  The Secret Past of The Boardwalk
  
  "Funhouse" begins with a fatal roller coaster crash, which kills at least one teen and injures dozens of other riders and bystanders. The police consider it an accident, but Tess Landers believes differently. She was there at the Boardwalk just before The Devil's Elbow roller coaster detached from its rail and fell dozens of feet below, and she distinctly remembers seeing someone suspicious running away from the ride as it crashed. But nobody else believes her--not her friends, not the police--only the person responsible for causing the accident. And now that person is stalking Tess, leaving unsubtle hints of what will eventually happen to her because of what she knows, or at least suspects.

  The book alternates between the first-person viewpoint of the unknown killer and the third-person account of Tess. The stranger is clearly obsessed with an old diary s/he finds in his/her family's attic. In it, a past secret is revealed involving several of Santa Luisa's most influential board members of the Boardwalk. This secret (which is predictable and not very shocking) is the main reason why the stranger has decided to kill at least eight of his/her peers.

  I thought "Funhouse" was, for the most part, a pretty exciting Point Thriller, but it wasn't exactly what I was expecting. First of all, I was able to guess the killer within the first couple of chapters because of the character's descriptions and their living situations. (Keep those two clues in mind if you want to deduce the killer.) Also, I thought the motive of the killer was a little weak. In my opinion, s/he needed a better reason to go mental than by discovering his/her parents were liars. Honestly, I didn't think they did anything very wrong.

  If you're a Diane Hoh fan, then you might enjoy "Funhouse", but you're not really missing much if you decide not to read it. Recommended for teens who enjoy horror.
  

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