"It's a great short read that is addictive and satisfying without being a huge time commitment." — Miss Remmers
Release Date: August 1993 | Reprint March 27th, 2012
Publisher: Open Road Media
Challenges: 75+ Challenge, NetGalley, eBook
"Five not-so-popular teens are invited to an annual party given by snooty Cass. Ushered into the mansion, they are soon part of a human scavenger hunt in which they are tied, bound, and hidden. Further victimization includes being heated in a sauna, cooled in a freezer, and nearly asphyxiated by a car's running motor."Diane Hoh was the first author who wrote a book I stayed up all night to read. It was in the early 1990's and the book was... well, we'll get to that later.
This book was the third book I've read from Diane and my second favorite (because let's be honest, nothing will surpass that first book). Written for Middle School or remedial High School, "The Invitation" was a fast read at just over 200 pages. The characters were likable and the plot was full of twists. I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It kept my interest and is definitely a book I will recommend to my students who struggle or a change up in genre. "The Invitation" would be considered "horror" comparable to Goosebumps. It's a great short read that is addictive and satisfying without being a huge time commitment.
I saw similarities in the writing style and the characters that I fell in love with the first time around, but as an adult I also see how one dimensional the characters and plot can be perceived. I'm hoping that as I reread her first novel (that I read) I won't pick up on those shortcomings and that the book will be just as amazing the eighth time through as the first seven.:)
I will say, for anyone ready to pick this book up, that it took me a while to realize the name Shane was for a girl. Then, after referring to a football player named Lynn, I assumed Lynn was a boy — but Lynn is a girl. Just so you know.
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To the FTC, with love: Galley from NetGalley