Scary Mary
by S. A. Hunter
Lulu.com, 2008
144 pages
ISBN: 978-1-84728-924-7
Print
Young Adult Fantasy

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Mary is living in teenager hell. Known to one and all as Scary Mary, she’s a social outcast and the brunt of all kinds of verbal abuse. You see, Mary not only hears ghosts, they become more active in her presence, causing all sorts of trouble. It doesn’t help that Mary is a fierce individual with a scorching tongue and an acid wit.

When Mary is befriended by a new boy at her high school , she can’t believe her good fortune. Which is probably a good thing, since the relationship quickly sours due to competition from the School’s reigning diva and a malevolent spirit.

What happens when Mary fights back is entertaining, and the entire novella races along–being written in the sparse style made famous by James Patterson.

S. A. Hunter wrote Scary Mary as a Young Adult Fantasy, so it doesn’t have the depth to make it satisfying for an adult. For what she intended, however, the story is finely crafted, solid entertainment.

The only suggestion I would make to the author is to remember that teenagers of today are much more knowledgeable and sophisticated than ever before: they demand and deserve a rich, complicated fantasy world. Write up to your audience, S. A. Hunter, not down. They will love you for it.

Copyright © Clayton Clifford Bye 2009