http://booksforkids-reviews.blogspot.com/2014/06/review-mary-summoning.html

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"Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary. BLOODY MARY," Jess shouted.

The candle on the vanity cast eerie shadows, our forms tall and distorted against the walls. Our hands were clenched together so tightly our fingers trembled.

Jess, Shauna, Kitty, and Anna are a tight group. Best friends forever-- which is how Jess coaxes them into a tiny bathroom in her basement to play at calling Bloody Mary. The only problem is Bloody Mary is real and the girls are totally successful in calling the ghoul.
[Jess] understood people. If she wanted the four of us to do something, she'd appeal to us in whatever way would get her results.
and famous last words...

"I won't take any risks. I told you I was being safe."


Hillary Monahan tells this creepy tale in two narratives. The first unfolds through Mary's letters to her sister, Constance. They begin playfully in September of 1864, with Mary teasing her sister, saying that she's an 'abysmal sister' to have married the best man in the area and then run off to the big city.

Unfortunately the letters don't stay cheerful for long. A dark presence seems to have moved into their small town and the correspondence begins to foreshadow terrible events that lead to Mary's becoming an evil, restless spirit.

Shauna tells the present day story. We follow her as she and her friends call the murdering ghoul. And it's horrifying how Mary escapes the mirror and nearly drags Shauna into the world beyond. Worse, Mary gets a taste of Shauna's blood and begins to haunt her wherever there is a shiny surface.

THE SUMMONING is a fun read. The scary-suspenseful parts are well written. Definitely Adult Worthy. Unfortunately for adults the sections of the story that portray the girls at high school or at home are not as well written, and it's likely that adults will end up skimming some of these parts because they seem so immature. Middle-graders and other teens will no doubt find them more tolerable.

There are definitely things to like about THE SUMMONING. The story is intriguing. The suspenseful parts are well done for a middle-grade/YA book. And I liked how the author portrayed Shauna as a rational person. When there was a problem Shauna didn't let it boil but rather said what needed to be said that so issues didn't get worse. I also like the mystery about poor Mary. What exactly did happen to her? (We won't know until book #2)

Some profanity. One sexual reference.

I really enjoyed Mary: The Summoning and I can’t wait to see what happens next. It doesn’t really leave you with a huge cliffhanger but it does leave you wanting to know what is going to happen.

Now if your a hard care horror fan then this book probably won’t scare you, so it might not be for you. If you get creeped out really easy and like getting scared then you will enjoy this book. So I would recommend this book to those who like light horror and urban legends.

I requested this one back in the day as I had every intention of reading it. However, its been years and I still haven't gotten around to it and while I feel guilty at not reviewing a book I think that I need to admit to myself that I won't be reading this one anytime soon....if at all.

I really enjoyed reading these books, they were dark and creepy! And honestly, who hasn't heard of the whole calling Blood Mary thing? But I don't think I've read a book about it before, so yeah, I had to check it out!

Both of these books are around 300 pages, so they make for some really fast reads, they're both really fast paced, and if they were movies, they'd be ones you'd spend a good deal of time peeking out from behind your eyes, because they're pretty terrifying!

Unleashed was really great, we got to dive more into this world, and learned more about Mary, and why Jess did what she did. Really enjoyed figuring out how to stop Mary once and for all. And of course, there's some really creepy happenings because of Mary, but a few others.

Those others, of the family who founded Solomon's Folly, and their monster in the field, yeah, I would love to explore that in another book. Because something that scares even Mary, yeah, that's something I want to read about!

Loved reading these books, they were terrific to read!

Thank you, but I just couldn't read this book. I found the characters too annoying. I work at a public library and sometimes get requests for horror novels from teens. We do carry this book and the next one on hoopla and I will suggest them to those teens. It is just not for me.