Review: Scary and realistic!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 15, 2012
The first thing I thought when I started reading The Long Weekend was 'creepy'! And I mean 'creepy' in a positive way. The idea is simple: two kids get kidnapped and end up in a mansion full of games and food. They don't really realize the danger they are in, not until the night arrives and the kids are separated.I really liked Sam; he felt real, believable, exactly like a smart eleven-year-old boy would be. He is resourceful and does not let panic and fear overcome him. Of course he's afraid, but he tries to use logic and reason to find a way out. He's resourceful and loyal: he manages to escape the house but gets back in order to save his friend, who, at first, didn't understand the trouble they were in.Lloyd, Sam's friend, is depicted as the 'cool' guy at school, the one everybody wants to hang out with, and that's why Sam is so eager to get his approval. During the story, though, it's Sam who realizes something is wrong, whereas Llyod is too confident and thinks Sam is overreacting. Then we see that something really bad happens to him and Lloyd is frozen by fear, incapable to think or react in any way. It's up to Sam to drag him out the house and only towards the end Lloyd does something which seems to shake him out of the state of shock he was in.I liked the story; it was a fast, gripping read and you won't put it down until you finished it because you want to know what is going to happen next. I found it very realistic and pretty scary. It also has a message: kids, pay more attention and don't take anything for granted!In my opinion, the only flaw is the lack of psychological analysis of the bad guy; I do understand that, as the book is narrated by Sam, it would have been impossible to know more about him, still I was curious to get to know him a little bit better.Reading this book was like watching a horror movie, one of those where you want to scream at the characters "Don't do it! Don't go in the car!" because you know something bad is going to happen. But, as it always happens in the movies, you cannot do anything but sit and watch (sorry, sit and read) while Sam and Lloyd face the danger.