Review & Giveaway: The Long Weekend by Savita Kalhan

Today is my stop on the tour for The Long Weekend by Savita Kalhan. She can been kind enough to provide a giveaway copy for one of you - the details for the giveaway can be found after the review!

Book: The Long Weekend by Savita Kalhan
Pages: 192

Genre: Young Adult / Horror
Purchase A Copy: Amazon | Book Depository
Publication Date: October 2nd, 2008

How Did I Get This Book: From Savita Kalhan & Melissa at I Swim For Oceans

Description:  Sam knows that he and his friend Lloyd made a colossal mistake when they accepted the ride home. They have ended up in a dark mansion in the middle of nowhere with man who means to harm them. But Sam doesn't know how to get them out. They were trapped, then separated. Now they are alone. Will either of them get out alive? This gripping and hypnotic thriller will have you reading late into the night.

We are so used to reading books about vampires, werewolves, ghosts and other fictional monsters that we tend to forget that people can be just as monstrous and horrifying. Kalhan conjures up such terrifying tale in The Long Weekend that it is impossible not to find yourself within the pages.

The book is not a lengthy one and the action begins almost immediately. As the reader, you can see the events unfolding before the boys, Sam and Lloyd begin to question anything. Like when watching a scary movie, I spent a great deal of time yelling at the character in the book, desperately hoping they could somehow hear my warnings. Do not get me wrong, the plot line was completely believable, that is why it is so utterly terrifying. I could completely see something like this happening, kids in general are entirely too trusting.

The character of Sam figures out something is wrong early on and begins a game of cat-and-mouse with his captor. He shows remarkable strength and resourcefulness as he tries to outrun and outwit the sick man who has taken them. It is very satisfying to see Sam’s progression to this state; he begins as sort of the sidekick to his friend Lloyd. Unfortunately, calm, cool and collected Lloyd, cracks early on and it is up to Sam to get them to safety.

I must say, this book was extremely difficult to put down. The sheer amount of emotions to pulls from you is staggering; it is tremendously hard to watch these boys go through the traumatic events. The writing style also greatly contributed to and impacted the overall creepy tone of the book. Kalhan uses short, almost choppy sentences to keep readers on the edge of their seats and inside the action.

This book will appeal to a wide range of readers because although the subject matter is extremely frightening, Kahlan never gets too graphic with things. Of course, she eludes to a number of different horrors, but never gets into too much detail. These touchy plot points will most likely go right over the younger readers heads.

If I had to describe The Long Weekend in one word it would be, “disturbing”. It is one of those books that keeps you on the edge of your seat, wanting to read more, but not wanting to at the same time. It pulls on your heartstrings and keeps your heart rate up; you cannot help but be affected by it.

Favorite Quotes

"Sam began to sob. He backed up, right  up to the bathroom doorway and listened to the steady beat of the slam, slam. What would he do when the man came in?"

"Grown-ups weren't afraid of the dark, and neither was Sam, usually. This was different. This was a different kind of darkness."

"Fear made you cold. It made you tremble. Anger made you hot. It made you want to hurt someone."

GIVEAWAY

Savita has been kind enough to provide a giveaway copy to one lucky reader! Please leave a comment below pertaining to the review or about the book The giveaway will end when the tour ends, on April 1st.