Review: Four stars: A gripping prequel that will leave you screaming for more!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 8, 2012
Kaylee and her best friend, Emma, chatter excitedly as they peruse the packed mall. Happily, they shop, making plans for the big homecoming dance. Without warning Kaylee begins to tremble and sweat as panic and fear assault her senses. Deep inside she can feel the scream beginning to swell, building and pushing to break free to pierce the air. Desperate, Kaylee gasps for Emma to help her. Quickly, the two girls dash down the corridor and take refuge among the brightly colored, towering stacks of bath towels in a department store. Scared and shaking Kaylee slowly gains control, until the frail, boy in the wheel chair turns the corner. This time she cannot stop the impulse and her shockingly, loud scream reverberates through the air. A wave of tremendous sadness washes over her and tears stream down her cheeks. She falls to her knees unable to cease the deafening wail emanating from her lungs. Clawing at her throat and gasping for air until the fog appears and she falls into blackness. Frightening images flee through her mind and then she wakes to a nightmarish reality. Kaylee is restrained to a bed in a cold, windowless room. Her limbs ache and her voice is raw. Where is she? Kaylee discovers that fifteen hours flew by while she lay shackled and unconscious in the mental institution. Is she crazy? Kaylee navigates around the dire, confines of her new surroundings. Her typical, teenage wardrobe is now sparkly, sweat suits minus the drawstrings ( to prevent hangings) and soft, fuzzy socks. Time is spent, avoiding group therapy sessions and completing crossword and jigsaw puzzles, while her mind plots a way out. A strange girl with mesmerizing green eyes watches her every move. At last Kaylee is on the brink of gaining her freedom when terror rips through her. Again the howling festers and swirls in her throat, threatening to explode out of her, no matter how hard she clamps her jaw. Lydia, the green eyed girl grabs her hand and tugs her down the hall. Inexplicably, Lydia manages to halt the ear splitting howl but at what price? Why is Kaylee unable to control the intense and powerful screams?Rachel Vincent manages to yank you into Kaylee's world with her powerful, short prequel. I was riveted to the story. It is intense to say the least. I swear my jaw ached in sympathy as Kaylee tries to clench back her painful, ear splitting screams (I wonder how her screams compare to those of my three year old daughter on a bad day). Then the horror of waking up in the psych ward. All I can say is Wow! My only complaint, I desperately wanted more (or should I say I screamed for more), I will be grabbing a copy of My Soul To Take (Soul Screamers #1) immediately!Favorite Quotations:"I couldn't see who swam in the darkness, who wore shadows like a second skin.""She watched me with a creepy sort of detached curiosity, as if I were a bug crawling across the sidewalk in front of her. I wondered briefly if she was the ant stomper type.""Great. I'm psychotic and sparkly.""Relief washed over me like that first air-conditioned breeze on a hot summer day.""Kaylee do you know why you are here?""Yeah. Because the doors are locked."