Say Her Name by James Dawson

Series: N/A

Author: James Dawson
Page Count: 287
Published: June 5th, 2014

Publisher: Hot Key Books

  4 Stars ★★★★

It's Halloween night, and Bobbie, along with her friend Naya and hot boy Caine, decide to try the 'Bloody Mary' ritual. They laugh it all off when nothing happens....until they start experiencing strange and disturbing happenings.

Bobbie finds the words 'five days' written in the steam on the bathroom mirror the next day, and she comes to realize that 'Bloody Mary' isn't just some lame urban legend after all; it is very real and very dangerous, and if she, Naya, and Caine don't solve the mystery surrounding this legend, they may not make it through the next five days alive.

This was a YA thriller-horror novel, sprinkled with the slightest bit of romance and a whole lot of mystery. I found it played with my mind a lot and had me wondering if the characters might be hallucinating, or if they really were experiencing what the narrator said they were experiencing. At some points, I wondered if the culprit was a living person instead of a supernatural force. I was constantly guessing what the outcome would be, and I love books that do that to me!

Bobbie was a very likeable protagonist. I found her very down-to-earth, and I admired her determination. Whenever something unfortunate happened to her, I worried over what would come of the situation. I rooted for her from the start and throughout the entire book; I never really got tired of her or thought she was being stupid or over dramatic, as I feel about many other characters in YA novels.

This paragraph may contain what some consider to be spoilers, however I find mentioning these things necessary for potential readers. A few warnings; there is a student-teacher relationship, teen pregnancy, and violence against a pregnant teen. There is also a scene in a psychiatric hospital, and one character finds herself covered in cuts, which while not from self harm, are described very similarly to the way self harm cuts appear.

This book was a nice change from the usual paranormal romances that I read. It was refreshing, unique, and very creepy. The ending took me by surprise and I recommend it to YA readers who enjoy the thriller and horror genres, and who may be interested in reading a unique spin on the Bloody Mary legend.

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