Book Review: Dormitory of the Dead

Dormitory of the Dead

By:  Kelly Lougheed

Publisher:  Mundania Press

Publish Date:  February 2012

Format:  Paperback 183pgs, Trade size 5" x 8"

Genre:  YA Urban Fantasy

Series:  2nd book in Hawthorn Dormitory series, 1st Book ~ The Graveyard Gymnasium

Recommendation:  Oh yes!  A fun, light, YA read that is enjoyable to get lost in.  And wonderful UF read for YA readers.

Synopsis:
Blood coming out of the bathroom faucets of Charity Hooper's Hawthorn School dormitory doesn't just mean Charity can't wash her face to maintain her porcelain (well, kind of) complexion--it means there's a dead body from 1923 buried in the plumbing, astonishingly well-preserved by the wet sewage conditions.

Well-preserved enough, in fact, for the dead girl's vampire boyfriend to reanimate her as a zombie so they can live happily ever after, massacring innocent Hawthorn students side-by-side.

Faced with such homicidal creatures, Charity would ordinarily consult her English teacher, Ms. Van Tessel, whose knowledge of zombie extermination rivals only her knowledge of British literature.  But Ms. Van Tessel has gone mysteriously missing.  Can Charity track down her teacher before the annual midnight Capture the Flag tournament, which will be nothing more than an all-you-can-eat buffet for the vampire-zombie tag team?

First Sentence:
Charity put the candles to her nose and inhaled the fresh vanilla scent.

My Thoughts and Summary:
Next semester after the messy ordeal with the Romanians and vampires.  Charity is starting off, convinced her and Louise's dorm room is haunted, by doing a seance (a process from which she got off the Internet).  Knowing what happened in the gymnasium in 1923, they think the ghost is from then.  After the seance, Esther, a girl in next room finds writing on her wall, in scarlet red... I AM BURIED BENEATH.  While everyone is flailing and worried about the ghost Charity "summoned," Charity was proud to be a true medium.  Now, books are flying at Louise, blood is flowing from the faucets, and more blood red writing on the walls, which only means the corpse from 1923 is extremely well preserved and buried in the plumbing of the girls dorm.  Not only is the ghost haunting, but her boyfriend is still alive and looking to bring her back from the dead.  The one teacher who could help Charity and Louise solve all this has disappeared, during what looks like a spirit exorcism, which could mean she exorcised herself.  And the champion Capture the Flag tournament is tonight, with a vampire and brains-starved zombie on the loose.

I adored this book!  I liked the first book, but I enjoyed this one more.  I loved reading Charity and Louise again.  These two are quite a matched set, completely opposite, but so great together.  Louise is the book smart one, and so down to earth.  Charity is just plan fun.  She references tv shows, explaining why she is a pro and knows what to do at investigating... CSI. lol!

Oh I do enjoy Charity's extreme thinking process and funny things she comes up with.  They are so off the wall, yet very much teenage focus.  BUT!  I will say, Charity gets results with her act.  And in this book you really see she is not as 'dumb' as people might think, or that she leads on about.  She comes to the right thinking process, and uses her ditsy moment to help get others back on track.  And still, the large words she uses, nope, she may not be the genius of others at school, but she is no where near dumb.  I do think Charity is coming into her own, growing, and finding her knack in the world, in the world of paranormal.

I loved that every other page had something new to throw at Charity.  There was always a new obstacle in her way to get what she wants.  Each chapter the plot of the ghost, then Ms. Van Tessel missing, the dead body, a vampire, leading to a zombie, and several zombies, all grew and was fun to read!

I would whole-heartedly suggest this series to a Young Adult reader.  It's light, fun, and full of things that we enjoy in our adult books, with out the sexual content.  Wonderful.  I enjoyed the vampire and zombie take.  And zombies in this style, I can totally handle.  But there are bigger well defined words used here, as Charity tries to show her superior intelligence, and the words are used properly, which is nice to see in writing.  A bonus in learning something. ;)

I found myself not wanting to stop this read.  I wanted to know what else would happen with Charity, and the campus.  What was going to appear, happen, and what was she going to do about it or say to make me smile.  I look forward to more Charity and Louise adventures.  Charity has proved herself to me to be a worth vampire and zombie slayer, with a smile.


I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review, which I was thrilled at the chance after the first book.
This review is of my personal thoughts and opinions.