The Devouring by Simon Holt

When dark creeps in and eats the light,

Bury your fears on Sorry Night.

For in the winter's blackest hours,

Comes the feasting of the Vours, 

No one can see it, the life they stole,

Your body's here but not your soul . . .

THE VOURS: Evil, demonic beings that inhabit human bodies on Sorry Night, the darkest hours of the winter solstice.

When Reggie reads about the Vours in a mysterious old journal, she assumes they are just the musings of an anonymous lunatic. But when her little brother, Henry, begins to act strangely, it's clear that these creatures exist beyond a madwoman's imagination, and Reggie finds out what happens when fears come to life.

To save the people she loves, Reggie must learn to survive in a world of nightmares. Can she devour her own fears before they devour her?

The Devouring is an engrossing tale of terror that will have you wondering: what if your worst fears became your living nightmare?

Stars: 5/5

Cover: A+

Plot:

Reggie loves all things Horror. She came across an old journal, where she reads about these demonic being called "vours." On Sorry Night, Reggie reads a couple of entries to her younger (and very gullible) brother, thinking that the Vours aren't real. But after that night, Henry isn't acting like he usually does.

As Reggie tries to figure out what's wrong with her brother, she discovers that there's a Vour taking over him. Reggie and her friend Aaron, try to team up to get the sinister Vour out of Henry, and bring Henry back.

But it's not as easy as it seems . . . because the Vours can get inside their heads, and figure out what scares them the most. 

And use their worst fears against them.

This book was one of my favorite books of 2010 (I've read it twice this year). It was creepy, dark, and an even better read the second time around.

This book was perfect for when it was pouring rain outside --- I'd just curl up, turn on off all the lights (except for a flashlight for reading) and immerse myself in the scary world of the Vours.

The Devouring was creepy, suspenseful, and everything that I could ever want in a horror book. It was fast-paced and exciting the entire way through, literally starting on page one.

There were a lot of twists and turns that had be gasping in shock.

Not to mention, the whole concept behind the story was original and unique. 

Characters:

I really liked (loved) the characters in The Devouring. In some horror books, authors skip right over the description of the character and go straight into the action; and in others, the author completely takes you out of their story with their description of the characters. But in The Devouring, Simon Holt is able to incorporate what the characters look like quite smoothly into the story, which I really liked.

The characters were easy to relate to, even if I'm not going through what they went through. 

Writing:

Simon Holt writes wonderfully! He really knows how to capture an audience. His book could very well be a movie, because there is so much imagery (I felt like I was standing next to the characters, watching black smoke seep out of someone's eyes, or had furry spiders crawling over me and biting me), and also because The Devouring would make a great horror movie. I'd love to see what the Vours look like on screen and out of my imagination!

Ending:

The ending was great! The climax was in the last part of the book, so it stayed exciting up until the very end.

Not to mention, there was a little cliffhanger to make you want to read the next book, but not so much of a cliffhanger that you feel let down and you're yelling at the book. (Yes. I do that.)

Cover:

I LOVE THIS COVER!

It totally captures the essence book perfectly!

Reasons why I love the cover:

• The girl looks like how Reggie was described (I hate it when the model on the cover doesn't match the description of the character)
• There is purple smoke. PURPLE!!!!
• The "V" in Devouring
• The smeared makeup under her eyes
• On the back cover all it has is the Vour poem

This is kind of irrelevant, but I loved how the demonic things are called "Vours" and the title of this book is called "The Devouring."

I also love how all of the covers in the series tie in together with the smoke.

Lovely Line:

The vour grinned.

"We can always count of people to hate and to fear. To harm one another and to be harmed. To kill and be killed. It is what opens the gate."

(Page 132)

The Final Verdict:

Honestly, go read this book right now.

If it's in your TBR stack, move it to the top. If it's at your library, check it out. If your friend has it, borrow it.

If you have money, buy it. (In hardcover!)

Whatever you can do to get your hands on this book, do it!

You won't regret it.

FTC: I bought this book.