Book Review and GIVEAWAY: The Haunting of Sunshine Girl, by Paige McKenzie, ends 4/10 {2 winners!}

Nolan was the one to read the book, to find the word and say it out loud first. It is, I suppose, appropriate - considering what he will be to her - that he be the one who puts the pieces together. But this is not about him. It is about her.

It is good to see just now much fight she has in her. Her will is strong, her essence forceful. I wonder how long she will go on fighting before she realizes she must put that fight to better use.

I believe this is the first book I've ever read that is based on a YouTube series, which made it interesting. I read a few chapters and then Googled to find the series (which you can find here), and each video is about one to two minute long. The book is written by Paige McKenzie, the actress in the videos, along with Alyssa Sheinmel, a NYC native who has written a few young adult novels. The book seems to follow the beginning of the videos, for the most part, and I will probably watch a few more of them at some point.

Official synopsis:

Shortly after her sixteenth birthday, Sunshine Griffith and her mother Kat move from sunny Austin, Texas, to the rain-drenched town of Ridgemont, Washington. Though Sunshine is adopted, she and her mother have always been close, sharing a special bond filled with laughter and inside jokes. But from the moment they arrive, Sunshine feels her world darken with an eeriness she cannot place. And even if Kat doesn’t recognize it, Sunshine knows that something about their new house is just ... creepy.

In the days that follow, things only get stranger. Sunshine is followed around the house by an icy breeze, phantom wind slams her bedroom door shut, and eventually, the laughter Sunshine hears on her first night evolves into sobs. She can hardly believe it, but as the spirits haunting her house become more frightening—and it becomes clear that Kat is in danger—Sunshine must accept what she is, pass the test before her, and save her mother from a fate worse than death.

(Note from Liz: this video makes it seem much scarier than the book actually is!)



I found this to be an interesting read, and the second book in the series, The Sacrifice of Sunshine Girl, will be out in spring 2016. Sunshine and her mother, Kat, move to Washington from Texas when Kat is offered a new job at a hospital there. Sunshine soon starts to notice strange things going on in her house, and she figures out that a ghost may be living there.

Soon her mother starts acting weird as well, and with the help of a new friend, Nolan, they get to work figuring out what is going on with both her mother and the house.

The YouTube videos, in my opinion, are geared more towards teens, but I enjoyed the book a lot. It was a little scary in some places, but I often read paranormal and I would classify this as paranormal, not horror (despite the seriously scary book trailer above!). I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series when it comes out next spring.

4 stars out of 5.
{Click here to purchase this book}

*Disclosure: I received a copy of this book for reviewing purposes. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own.

GIVEAWAY:

Two of my lucky readers will win a hardcover copy of The Haunting of Sunshine Girl!

Enter via the widget below. Giveaway will end on Friday, April 10th, at 11:59pm EST, and winners will be notified via email the next day and have 24 hours to respond, or an alternate winner will be chosen.

U.S. and Canadian residents only, please.

Good luck!

The Haunting of Sunshine Girl