One by One by
Review by Tav @readswithdogs
I started reading One by One expecting a run-of-the-mill haunted house/creepy kid story and though it definitely features a creepy kid, the haunting is not your typical ghost story.
The suspense built up slowly and the atmosphere got wicked tense the further you read into the story. I stayed up later than I intended because I honestly couldn't stop reading! I had to know what would happen to Alice before I could sleep!
Alice is the main character of the book, a ten-year girl who loves reading and references Pet Sematary in the story--which I loved. I love when characters in books read and talk about books they read because it makes them seem more real. Alice definitely felt real to me and her relationship with her brother also seemed real. They’ve moved into a big old house that their parents are excited about fixing up and making it their own. The only problem is the house seems to have a mind of its own…a weird drawing of the family appears on the wall and as members slowly disappear they are marked off one by one on the wall with a big X.
I don't want to give anything away, but there's a CreepyPasta twist to this story that creeped me the heck out and surprised me! And a certain "dinner" scene near the end had me repulsed and shuddering. Takes a lot to get a physical reaction from me and this book did it. The last book to give me such a “yuck” factor was Kealan Patrick Burke’s Kin, which is in a similar vein to One by One.
4.5 spooky stars.
