Student Review: Ashley Bell

Review by: Carrie L.

Author: Dean Koonz

Number of pages: 560 pages

10-word summary: Bibi Blair, who survived cancer, becomes obsessed with a girl.

Rating: 5 stars

Review: "Ashley Bell" is a great book with an interesting plot, the author Dean Koonz, writes many paranormal books, this was no exception. The first half is great, but as the book flows into the second half, more characters are woven in and hidden intentions and new information comes to light. The book seamlessly transfers from a lighthearted, happily ever after story, into a mystery, where the main character, Bibi Blair, who survived a rare and deadly brain cancer, becomes obsessed with saving an unknown girl, Ashley Bell, after a "Scrabblemancy" session with a woman named Calida Butterfly. They are hunted by and threatened by the "wrong people". The novel seamlessly transitions into a paranormal story and the lines between fiction and reality blur. I loved the book’s unpredictability, the journey to a fairly happy ending not an easy one, unlike many other books I’ve read.

Favorite quotation: "The writer that you are, I guess you're used to bring a kind of dictator, telling the characters in your stories what to do."