Trick or Treat

Here's the honest truth. My teenage self would have ravenously read this book, only to pick it up again a few weeks later and read it again. Why? Trick or Treat utilizes all of the classic (and slightly cliche) horror aspects that keep you turning pages at a manic pace. Creepy house? Check. Hot guy who takes the girl's attention? Yup! Add in a haunting back story to the house, a well situated honeymoon, and you've got yourself quite the set up for a good horror story. I ate up books like this back then, and I still do now even if it's at a slower pace.

I liked Martha for the most part. She fits the bill of a horror story protagonist perfectly. A little whiny, a little uncomfortable in her own skin, and afraid to share how she feels with show more others. However what impressed me most about her character was how much I really felt like I knew her. Without even realizing it, I had been introduced to Martha's character so deeply that I knew what she would do next. Cuisck pulls you in close. She lets you see everything that's happening and, if you're like me, you'll find yourself screaming "WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?" at the book pages.

The setting too, is perfectly done. As I mentioned, you've got the haunted house! Martha's new hometown has that small town vibe. Everyone knows everything about everyone else. It's hard to hide a secret. Or is it? It's this setting that really helps make the story come alive. As I read I actually felt immersed in the book. It sucks you in and even if you know what's coming next, you'll keep reading. It's like waiting for something to spring from the shadows. You know it's coming, but you have to see it for yourself.

Sure I figured out the plot twist about 40 pages in. Yes, I realized that this was following the road of most teen centered horror movies. Keep in mind that this book was originally written when all of that was new, fresh, and expected. Plus there's something to be said for that classic plot line. We know it, we love it. Especially when it's done well. By the time I got to the end I was reading like a mad man. Cusick knows how to take what's been done hundreds of times, and do it well enough to give you the shivers. Don't read this before bed. show less

Martha is not amused. She is forced to move into a creepy old house, with a creepy step-brother in a boring old town. The very first night in the new house, strange things start happening. When she finds out that a girl was murdered in a year ago in her own room, she totally freaks out. Everyone thinks its her imagination, but she is sure someone is watching her.

I love these short teen horror books. This one has a decent mystery. However, Martha was a big whiner. Can you say self-absorbed? Anyway, despite her constant whining, I did enjoy the story and even had the occasional chill from the book. Fun for the halloween season.

This book was an awesome horror/mystery/thriller. I know it was first published way back in 1989, when the teen horror genre was first getting serious interest on the market, but I just found it out in January of this year when Netgalley put it on their list. I was instantly drawn to it, so naturally I requested it.
I'm happy I did it, because "Trick or Treat" was an adrenaline-rush ride that really got me sweating. Not that I'm much of a horror reader - in fact, after I read the first chapter, I found myself turning off my kindle and just leaving the book as if it was cursed. But it made such a strong impact on me, that even through the biting of my nails I still stuck to it and read on.
The story wasn't all that original - haunted show more house, murder story, creepy new town with creepy people who look at you like you just returned from the dead - but the familiar was good for my psyche because otherwise I would've freaked out on a much greater scale. The abundance of twists and turns made me wonder who was making the phone calls, who was creeping in the house, who was watching Martha from so close yet so far. It wasn't until I was 75% through that a sudden idea took over me! And I couldn't believe that I'd solved the mystery on my own!!! I'd figured out the murderer with no help. I was so proud of myself when the ending confirmed it, I almost danced a happy dance!

The characters:
*Martha - well, she was a bit whiny, but I think that I'd be at least as much whiny as her if I ever found myself in a haunted house that neighbored a cemetery. I didn't like how she always accused Conor of everything, when all he did was try to protect her. But she did gain my respect towards the end.

*Conor - he's mysterious, smart and highly perceptive to things that aren't quite normal. He mostly kept to himself, but I have the feeling that if Martha had opened up to him, he'd really show all his potential.

*Blake - oh, Blake! Swoon worthy, always winner Blake!! He was on my list of murder suspects right away. He looked too good to be true, too surreal, and yet he was all he said he was. His Halloween costume kind of freaked me out, but it was good for building up the tension.

*Wynn - that girl played her role so well, I can't even describe it. When they say total makeover... well she's the queen of it.

*The parents - UGHH!!! I hate it when parents never consider their kids' feelings and opinions. It's just wrong. And who leaves their teenage kids all alone in a new town, at a new spooky house for weeks without even calling to check on them??

Anyway, the book was worth my time and I recommend it to anyone who loves some thrill and isn't scared of ghostly houses and the like. show less

I thought I had the killer all figured out, but boy was I wrong! With the exception of a racist Halloween costume, this books still stands up to a modern day reading. It was a fast, fun read. Nice autumnal ambiance throughout.

"A young girl is forced to move into a broken-down house in the country—and she and her new stepbrother discover its hidden horrors . . ."

Martha, her father, stepmother and stepbrother move into a rundown house in the country which looks and feels like a haunted house, and when she finds out that the house was on the market because a murder had taken place there, she is understandably upset. So you can imagine how she feels when she learns that the murder victim was a girl her own age, who even looks like her. When she starts school at the local high school, along with Conor, her stepbrother, she makes friends pretty quickly, but they figure into the murder mystery, too.

This was a very well written book. In fact, the setting was show more described so well, you might find yourself looking over your shoulder while reading it! The story itself led you along at a good pace, and you're given just enough clues to start making your own guesses as to who the culprit is.

This was a quick read because it's not a super long book, and it was well written. I liked the characters and liked the story, and am therefore giving it 5/5 stars.

I received a copy of this book free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion. show less

Wow. Not too much to say except for the most part this was enjoyable. The book drags at times and the character development beyond a few people wasn't really there, but this was a good representation of young adult horror books from the late 80s/90s.

So "Trick or Treat" follows 16 year old Martha. Martha's father has recently got married and is now moving him and Martha to move in with his new wife and his stepson in the town of Bedford. Martha hates the scary old house that they move into, and when she finds out that almost a year ago (Halloween day to be exact) a young girl was murdered in her bedroom, she's ready to move back to Chicago. A voice keeps calling Martha and saying "Trick or Treat' and telling her she's going to die.

So show more Martha at times I thought was bratty. I get it though. Her father got married without even telling her and moved her and him from Chicago to a small town in the middle of nowhere. The house is a mess, her stepmother can't cook, and her father then rushes off to Hawaii for an assignment and dumps the kids alone. I did laugh a few times how often it's mentioned the parents haven't called. I know this book was written in 1989, but seriously though, I can't imagine my parents taking a weeks long trip and not calling the house once. Martha is kind of hysterical though and tries to do some amateur sleuthing with her new stepbrother Conor when things keep happening in their home.

Conor is kind of annoying I thought, and at times it seems as if Cusick was implying that Martha had a crush on him and vice versa. Probably because Martha keeps calling Conor her stepbrother and correcting anyone that called him her brother.

Martha makes friends with the Chambers family which consists of Blake, Wynn, and Greg. Greg is a teacher at Bedford and hangs out way too much with his teen cousins, Blake and Wynn. So outside of these three people, Martha and Conor don't interact with anyone else in the town.

I got a creepy vibe from Blake and from Greg too. Who hangs out with teens and tells one of them how pretty they are?

The parents are barely developed beyond being selfish and we hear third hand accounts about the girl who was murdered and her ex-boyfriend who stands accused of killing her who disappeared.

I thought the writing was a bit disjointed in parts and the flow needed to be a bit cleaned up. That said, this is a different type of book and I rated it based on that. Young me who read this at the age of 9 (the age this was published) would probably have been scared to death the whole time and had nightmares for weeks.

The setting of Bedford was definitely creepy and hearing about the backstory of the Bedford family and the young girl who was murdered really set the mood for the book. I wish that Cusick had given us more details on Bedford. I am still puzzled if this is in the mid-west or not. I also wanted to know more about other people in the town adults, kids, etc. There was bare bones with regards to developing this past enough to keep readers engaged with Martha's story.

The ending was a surprise to me though and kind of gruesome. I think it definitely echoes the types of YA horror that was coming out that time though. show less

Martha's Dad has just remarried, and his new wife, Sally, has found a perfect house for them to move into. When Martha and her Dad arrive at the house, which is isolated in the woods, Martha really hates the house. It's dark and creepy with shadows in the corners, her bedroom is abnormally cold, and she feels as if she's being watched. Also living in the house is Sally's son, (Martha's stepbrother) Conor, who is a year older than sixteen-year-old Martha. After Martha makes some friends at school she finds out that her new home (the old Bedford house) is supposedly haunted. A young girl was murdered there a year ago on Halloween---in her bedroom! The worst part is Martha bears a resemblance to the dead girl. And she's starting to receive show more threatening phone calls. One night, a scarecrow is found hanging outside her bedroom window with a knife in its head. Then her Dad gets a phone call and he has to go work on an assignment in Hawaii, and goes with wife Sally, leaving Martha alone with Conor in the creepy house.

This was an enjoyable read, it started and ended well, even though the middle was a bit slow. It had a dark, spooky house, a cemetery/mausoleum out back (in the woods), whispers and cries in the night, and surprisingly, a little/slight romance. There wasn't much Halloween in the book, except for the last couple chapters. This was an okay young-adult suspense story. show less