YA Book Reviews discussion
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The Asylum Collection
October 2019
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The Asylum Series by Madeline Roux
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YA Book Reviews
Books mentioned in this topic
Escape from Asylum (other topics)Asylum (other topics)
Sanctum (other topics)
Catacomb (other topics)
The Scarlets: An Asylum Novella (other topics)
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To start off with some spooky October reads, I will be reviewing The Asylum Collection by Madeline Roux which is a series of seven. I was hoping to be able to do a more in-depth review for each book but just didn't have enough time to. And if horror isn't your thing, I'll have a review of Opposite of Always up in a week or so. Let's get started!
In general, the books are pretty great. One thing to keep in mind about these books is that they're very dark. Though that is to be expected coming into a series like this, and especially one based off an asylum. Something I've also observed while reading these books, is the representation. The author does do an okay-ish job of having characters that are people of color or ones that are LGBTQ+, all while not making a huge deal about it like you sometimes see in other YA books. But all-in-all, there are some good characters, and personally I don't see them as flat, though that is one of the more frequent criticisms I've seen in other reviews. The only thing I would change is the length. Though there are seven books (including the main three, the three novellas, and the prequel) they are a little short for me personally. The four main books have an average of 340 pages, which is a pretty standard length for a YA book, but I guess I just wanted more. And while I love the "spookiness" of the books, I still wish we saw Dan, Abby, and Jordan doing some more normal things in those 340 pages. But all things aside these books were actually pretty okay. They were the best YA thriller books i've ever read! They certainly were scary/creepy, so that's definitely a plus. Below I have ranked the seven books from best to worst, and the order that most people suggest reading them in, as well as the average age recommendation.
From Best to Worst (personally, they're all pretty great and it was hard to choose; don't @me)
1. Sanctum (Book 2)
2. Escape from Asylum (Book 0)
3. Catacomb (Book 3)
4. Asylum (Book 1)
5. The Scarlets: An Asylum Novella (Book 1.5)
6. The Bone Artists (Book 2.5)
7. The Warden (Book 3.5)
Here's the recommended reading order:
1. The Warden (Book 3.5)
2. Escape from Asylum(Book 0)
3. Asylum (Book 1)
4. The Scarlets: An Asylum Novella (Book 1.5)
5. Sanctum (Book 2)
6. The Bone Artists (Book 2.5)
7. Catacomb (Book 3)
The age recommendation is 16+ for some profanity and "violence" but I’d say it’s okay for 14+.
xoxo, bea