Title: The Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall

Author: Katie Alender

Publisher: Point 2015

Genre: YA Fantasy

Pages: 336

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Monthly Theme - August

Delia's new house isn't just a house. Long ago, it was the Piven Institute for the Care and Correction of Troubled Females -- an insane asylum nicknamed "Hysteria Hall." However, many of the inmates were not insane, just defiant and strong willed. Kind of like Delia herself.

But the house still wants to keep "troubled" girls locked away. So, in the most horrifying way, Delia becomes trapped. And that's when she learns that the house is also haunted.

Ghost girls wander the hallways in their old-fashioned nightgowns. A handsome ghost boy named Theo roams the grounds. Delia learns that all the spirits are unsettled and full of dark secrets. The house, too, harbors shocking truths within its walls -- truths that only Delia can uncover, and that may set her free.

And she'll need to act quickly -- before the house's power overtakes everything she loves.

This was a surprisingly fun ghost adventure story. I’m not sure why I ended up picking this up, but I sped read through this one in only a few days. I was immediately drawn in by the setting. I’m a sucker fo ra haunted former asylum or school. I liked Delia, but the other characters were the ones that kept me reading. I loved Theo and Eliza and Florence and even Maria. I couldn’t wait to uncover the mystery of who was controlling the ghosts. The last 30 pages were a rollicking good time. This was very fun and a good weekend’s read.

Next up on the TBR pile: