Remember in my Asylum book review about how I was a fan of fiction that dealt with the paranormal and fantasy and stuff? Well, here I have another book like that. It's called Closed For The Season.
Written by award-winning author Mary Downing Hahn, Closed For The Season was a page-turner, as well as a legit mystery story, because it never once lost its edge in the storytelling. This book even won the Edgar Award for "Best Juvenile Mystery."
The premise is easy to understand: a boy named Logan moves into an old house next door to a kid named Arthur, who befriends him almost immediately. As time flies by, Arthur tells Logan about an old amusement park called Magic Forest that closed down years back, and they decide to check it out. At first, Logan isn't sure about going into the creepy place, but with Arthur on his side, they manage to unearth many clues as to how Myrtle Donaldson, a former resident, was murdered. They learn that she was once head bookkeeper of the amusement park, and that she had left money somewhere before her death. The boys will investigate this mystery, even if people either aid or despise their being friends. And sooner or later, they would unmask the killer.
NOTE: Since this is a mystery-horror type of book, I will not spill out any more details.
So, what do I think about this book?
Well, I'll admit that this story wasn't as horror-filled and thrilling as Asylum; however, it was still decent enough to have me still sitting down and reading it. As far as the mystery goes, it kept me guessing-which is what a real mystery is supposed to do- without emphasizing too many cliches that would always be in a mystery.
What I liked most about this book was the friendship between Logan and Arthur. They were a good match. The two characters had really good personalities: you had Logan as the partially-reserved yet wanting-to-know-things protagonists, and you had Arthur as the streetwise kid that possesses a good heart. These characters, in my opinion, seemed credible enough to be real that it would be so exciting to meet them in real life.
Most of the side characters though, were a little dull, either because they're against our main heroes, or they don't seem to be interested in getting involved with the situation. In other ways, if they pretended that nothing was wrong, then their "happy world" wouldn't crash and burn.
-Was Hahn trying to tell us that being a puposely-naiive-to-any-situation perfectionist isn't always okay?
Well, that's okay, because Hahn has both Logan and Arthur's personalities and friendship to make up for all of that.
If you're looking for blood in a book, then you'll be a little disappointed with this one, because the characters would mention murder and who did what- no actual killings or murdering off people during the actual story (excluding the backstories). However, if you're looking for something easy and toned-down mystery material for the sake of the faint-at-heart, then go ahead and enjoy it.
If you're looking for blood in a book, then you'll be a little disappointed with this one, because the characters would mention murder and who did what- no actual killings or murdering off people during the actual story (excluding the backstories). However, if you're looking for something easy and toned-down mystery material for the sake of the faint-at-heart, then go ahead and enjoy it.
Overall, this book was decent as a thriller, but excellent as a page-turner.
Whatsoever Critic
Source: Closed For The Season
Courtesy: Mary Downing Hahn- Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
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