mandyist's review
4.0
This review first appeared on Addicted to Media.
In a world of ambition, where would you stop to get what you want? It all starts with a Ouija board and what Maria Lyon thinks she is asking for is to win the coveted Kingsley Prize, an all-expenses paid pass to the best school in the country. But what she is actually asking for is something much darker and more sinister. Who was it who said, “be careful what you wish for”?
Maria, Brandon and Lily are seniors at Acheron Academy, a campus located on an old plantation, built by slaves and the home of unbearable tragedy over the centuries. What they begin on that dark night with the Ouija board soon descends into a fiery web of horror and devastation that will continue to burn out of control until it has destroyed everyone in its wake.
What is really happening on the campus? A series of unfortunate accidents or a force that will bring each character in the story to their knees? When does ambition end and true horror begin?
As I Descended is the powerful new young adult release from Robin Talley, author of the critically acclaimed Lies We Tell Ourselves which won the inaugural Amnesty CILIP Honour in 2016. Set in a privileged boarding school, on the surface it is a story of high ambition and competitiveness but it is also a book that tackles racism, depression, mental illness, suicide and physical impairment.
One of the greatest calls in 2016 is for more diversity in books and Robin Talley is known for writing diverse characters into her stories. Rather than writing token or stereotypical supporting characters, As I Descended features diverse characters who are central to the story – Maria is Spanish and gay, Lily and Brandon are gay too and Lily is physically impaired following a car accident.
None of the characters is static either, cardboard cut-outs waiting to come to life when the protagonist is in the room. We learn about the thoughts, fears and histories of Maria, Lily and Brandon, but also of the people around them including Brandon’s boyfriend Mateo, Maria’s rival Delilah and to some extent, siblings Austin and Felicia.
As I Descended is a book that will keep you guessing until the final pages. Is there really a supernatural element to the story or is this a case of serious mental illness? Does it have to be one or the other? Without divulging any spoilers, Robin Talley gives the rarest of gifts and lets the reader choose for themselves.
One thing I can say is that As I Descended is as scary as heck and reading it alone, in the dark, is not one of the finest ideas I’ve ever had. There are bumps and scratches, apparitions and fatalities and this is not a book for the faint-hearted.
Ultimately, this is a story about redemption and the power to make the right decision, no matter how long that choice is in the making.
I give As I Descended an excellent four out of five stars and would recommend to fans of both paranormal young adult fiction. This is the first of Robin Talley's books that I have read but I already have [b:Lies We Tell Ourselves|20579291|Lies We Tell Ourselves|Robin Talley|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1396886699s/20579291.jpg|21561215] on my Kindle waiting to be read.
In a world of ambition, where would you stop to get what you want? It all starts with a Ouija board and what Maria Lyon thinks she is asking for is to win the coveted Kingsley Prize, an all-expenses paid pass to the best school in the country. But what she is actually asking for is something much darker and more sinister. Who was it who said, “be careful what you wish for”?
Maria, Brandon and Lily are seniors at Acheron Academy, a campus located on an old plantation, built by slaves and the home of unbearable tragedy over the centuries. What they begin on that dark night with the Ouija board soon descends into a fiery web of horror and devastation that will continue to burn out of control until it has destroyed everyone in its wake.
What is really happening on the campus? A series of unfortunate accidents or a force that will bring each character in the story to their knees? When does ambition end and true horror begin?
As I Descended is the powerful new young adult release from Robin Talley, author of the critically acclaimed Lies We Tell Ourselves which won the inaugural Amnesty CILIP Honour in 2016. Set in a privileged boarding school, on the surface it is a story of high ambition and competitiveness but it is also a book that tackles racism, depression, mental illness, suicide and physical impairment.
One of the greatest calls in 2016 is for more diversity in books and Robin Talley is known for writing diverse characters into her stories. Rather than writing token or stereotypical supporting characters, As I Descended features diverse characters who are central to the story – Maria is Spanish and gay, Lily and Brandon are gay too and Lily is physically impaired following a car accident.
None of the characters is static either, cardboard cut-outs waiting to come to life when the protagonist is in the room. We learn about the thoughts, fears and histories of Maria, Lily and Brandon, but also of the people around them including Brandon’s boyfriend Mateo, Maria’s rival Delilah and to some extent, siblings Austin and Felicia.
As I Descended is a book that will keep you guessing until the final pages. Is there really a supernatural element to the story or is this a case of serious mental illness? Does it have to be one or the other? Without divulging any spoilers, Robin Talley gives the rarest of gifts and lets the reader choose for themselves.
One thing I can say is that As I Descended is as scary as heck and reading it alone, in the dark, is not one of the finest ideas I’ve ever had. There are bumps and scratches, apparitions and fatalities and this is not a book for the faint-hearted.
Ultimately, this is a story about redemption and the power to make the right decision, no matter how long that choice is in the making.
I give As I Descended an excellent four out of five stars and would recommend to fans of both paranormal young adult fiction. This is the first of Robin Talley's books that I have read but I already have [b:Lies We Tell Ourselves|20579291|Lies We Tell Ourselves|Robin Talley|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1396886699s/20579291.jpg|21561215] on my Kindle waiting to be read.
scrollsofdragons's review against another edition
3.0
This was a crazy ride I loved it. The only problem with it was that the characters motivations are very very shallow rich kid problems,and it's like you're prepared to go that far for that? I just wanted a better reason to kick this all off because I didn't get it. Like, the orignal Macbeth is about the ultimate power of being a king but an scholarship to an college when you could probably get into that college on your own merit and you're still well done for even if you don't get it, like, that is not the ultimate power, just no. Everything else though was done well, it was just that one thing because really? Really?
4 to 3.5 on re-read
4 to 3.5 on re-read
megrkbrown's review against another edition
3.0
A book that got better with time. As I Descended by Robin Talley started slow and got so much better at the end, mirroring--as much as a YA adaptation can--the pure madness of its source material. The story is fine. It's just fine, and the characters are sort of a catch all for diversity: various walks of sexuality, ethnicities, and one character with a physical disability. That's not bad, but it does feel concentrated to my personal experience (which I'm aware is not the only experience.)
I'm not entirely disappointed having spent my time reading this novel, but that should not be shining standard to recommend it. As a librarian with an undergraduate degree in English Literature, I would suggest picking up Shakespeare first, and if you enjoy that and contemporary YA fiction as well then picking this up.
I'm not entirely disappointed having spent my time reading this novel, but that should not be shining standard to recommend it. As a librarian with an undergraduate degree in English Literature, I would suggest picking up Shakespeare first, and if you enjoy that and contemporary YA fiction as well then picking this up.
freesien's review
3.0
2,5 Sterne
Ich hätte dieses Buch wahrscheinlich mehr verstanden, wenn ich Macbeth schon gelesen hätte, aber so war das für mich sehr verwirrend. Aber Pluspunkt für diverse und LGBTQIA-Charaktere.
Ich hätte dieses Buch wahrscheinlich mehr verstanden, wenn ich Macbeth schon gelesen hätte, aber so war das für mich sehr verwirrend. Aber Pluspunkt für diverse und LGBTQIA-Charaktere.
mehsi's review against another edition
5.0
Re-read 2020. I was in a big mood to read something spooky during my camping vacation and so here we are! OMG, this was just so spooky and so awesome and I am glad that I forgot most of the details and could enjoy this book fully again. 5 stars again! I wasn't a fan of the characters, but I believe that is how they were written. The ghosts were terrific and spooky and OMG no thank you with your black eyes and I wonder why anyone still stays at the school with everything that happens. I would definitely have picked my bags and said BYE. :P I loved how everything spiraled down and how it went from jealousy to much more.
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Even though I absolutely detested all the characters, I also loved this book. :P
The book was creepy, scary, wtf-ish, and so much more. I even had a bad night sleeping thanks to this book. That says to me that a book is good. If it causes me to not want to go to sleep, and then later on not being able to sleep because I am creeped out, perfection. :P
And yes, I hated all the characters. At first I did like most of them, but in the end I just wanted to throw them all for the ghosts in Acheron and have those ghosts have some fun.
We have a whole cast. Maria, Lily, Mateo, Brandon, Delilah (well for a bit at least as she wasn't around much in the book for reasons I won't specify).
Maria, Lily, Mateo, I quite liked them in the beginning. Brandon and Delilah? I didn't particularly like them.
But then poop hit the fan, and I saw the true side to Maria. Lily also turned out to be a meh character. Mateo? Well I can slightly imagine why he was acting the way he was acting, but at times I found him unreasonable.
I think the character I disliked the most was Lily. Lily who kept playing the sad OMG-my-legs card, but in fact didn't want people to use that on her. Lily who was actually just a vile girl with vile ideas. It was her who planned the whole drugs in drink thing (though yes, Maria went along with it, but considering that Lily is quite manipulative....), she is the one who makes a mess out of everything. She is the one who tells her girlfriend not to say anything, she is the one who, instead of comforting, is trying to rein in her girlfriend so she won't do anything weird, strange.
Maria? Well she was quite a nice girl at the beginning, though I was a bit worried about her jealousy problem. But then stuff really happened and she really started going crazy. Certainly, I can vaguely understand why with all that happened, but really, isn't the first thing you learn that wishing can be dangerous, especially if you don't know who is doing the wish-granting? (Or well, she thought she knew, but come on, she must have felt it wasn't right from the start.)
It was quite interesting to see her tumble down the rabbit hole. From quite sane, to something so much worse that words can't describe it.
Delilah? Well, lets just say we see a different side to her and I really warmed up to her.
I was a bit sad that we didn't seem much romance from Lily and Maria. I was looking forward to that, but not including some kissing scenes, it was pretty bare and empty. It felt more like they were roommates with benefits. :|
I loved how the story went from high school problems, stress about exams, to ghosts, revenge, death, and much much more.
I am however a bit sad that we don't find out more about the school (we do find out a lot, but I still have quite a few questions), or see how stuff ended. I mean, there are vengeful ghosts in there, and you just let them be there? Continue with their things? Isn't anyone going to try and fix stuff? It felt a bit incomplete.
The ghosts were suppppppppppppeerrrrr creepy. Really, I am not one for ghosts already (they are already creepy), but black-eyed ghosts? Calling you, humming a song, luring you? Yeah, nope, I am out. :P
Even though it felt a bit incomplete, I still loved the ending. That we could see how it ended for those characters. That we could get a peek at the months after the whole thing happened.
All in all, this was a fantastic read, and I loved it to bits! It is the perfect read for this Halloween month, and I am glad I saved this book for this month (even if it was a struggle to wait).
I would highly recommend this book.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
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Even though I absolutely detested all the characters, I also loved this book. :P
The book was creepy, scary, wtf-ish, and so much more. I even had a bad night sleeping thanks to this book. That says to me that a book is good. If it causes me to not want to go to sleep, and then later on not being able to sleep because I am creeped out, perfection. :P
And yes, I hated all the characters. At first I did like most of them, but in the end I just wanted to throw them all for the ghosts in Acheron and have those ghosts have some fun.
We have a whole cast. Maria, Lily, Mateo, Brandon, Delilah (well for a bit at least as she wasn't around much in the book for reasons I won't specify).
Maria, Lily, Mateo, I quite liked them in the beginning. Brandon and Delilah? I didn't particularly like them.
But then poop hit the fan, and I saw the true side to Maria. Lily also turned out to be a meh character. Mateo? Well I can slightly imagine why he was acting the way he was acting, but at times I found him unreasonable.
I think the character I disliked the most was Lily. Lily who kept playing the sad OMG-my-legs card, but in fact didn't want people to use that on her. Lily who was actually just a vile girl with vile ideas. It was her who planned the whole drugs in drink thing (though yes, Maria went along with it, but considering that Lily is quite manipulative....), she is the one who makes a mess out of everything. She is the one who tells her girlfriend not to say anything, she is the one who, instead of comforting, is trying to rein in her girlfriend so she won't do anything weird, strange.
Maria? Well she was quite a nice girl at the beginning, though I was a bit worried about her jealousy problem. But then stuff really happened and she really started going crazy. Certainly, I can vaguely understand why with all that happened, but really, isn't the first thing you learn that wishing can be dangerous, especially if you don't know who is doing the wish-granting? (Or well, she thought she knew, but come on, she must have felt it wasn't right from the start.)
It was quite interesting to see her tumble down the rabbit hole. From quite sane, to something so much worse that words can't describe it.
Delilah? Well, lets just say we see a different side to her and I really warmed up to her.
I was a bit sad that we didn't seem much romance from Lily and Maria. I was looking forward to that, but not including some kissing scenes, it was pretty bare and empty. It felt more like they were roommates with benefits. :|
I loved how the story went from high school problems, stress about exams, to ghosts, revenge, death, and much much more.
I am however a bit sad that we don't find out more about the school (we do find out a lot, but I still have quite a few questions), or see how stuff ended. I mean, there are vengeful ghosts in there, and you just let them be there? Continue with their things? Isn't anyone going to try and fix stuff? It felt a bit incomplete.
The ghosts were suppppppppppppeerrrrr creepy. Really, I am not one for ghosts already (they are already creepy), but black-eyed ghosts? Calling you, humming a song, luring you? Yeah, nope, I am out. :P
Even though it felt a bit incomplete, I still loved the ending. That we could see how it ended for those characters. That we could get a peek at the months after the whole thing happened.
All in all, this was a fantastic read, and I loved it to bits! It is the perfect read for this Halloween month, and I am glad I saved this book for this month (even if it was a struggle to wait).
I would highly recommend this book.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
solarpqwer's review
I never DNF books but I have to for this one (at 40%). The reviews were really great and I was excited for another Macbeth retelling but this one just fell flat in a few ways for me. The characters weren't compelling to me and for me they didn't have enough depth to keep the story moving in a way that was beneficial for the plot and the summary. The motivation for Maria and Lily to get rid of Delilah and sabotage her chances at winning the award just wasn't there and it made their interactions and reactions to certain events feel weird. I also didn't completely vibe with the writing in general, which I can sometimes look past if the plot or characters are compelling enough but the narration with frequent abrupt jumps between characters was not working well in this case.
jcarvajal23's review
3.0
I had a hard time getting into this one at the beginning. I didn't connect or relate to any of the characters who I found slightly annoying. Once the creep factor and action picked up, I was compelled to finish the story. The story is entertaining overall and a very fast read, but it didn't leave a lasting impression.