Project 17

December 17, 2007
An abandoned mental institution serves as the setting for this mildly scary novel, sort of a Breakfast Club
meets Blair Witch Project
. Senior year of high school finds Derik (La Playa) LaPointe (from Stolarz's Bleed
) making a film in hopes of winning an internship at a reality-TV network. Derik assembles a cast of students from different cliques, then, with help from a classmate similarly obsessed with the Danvers State Hospital, sneaks everyone inside the condemned building and plans to film there overnight. Most of the characters are barely acquainted, and each has a different motive for participating in the project (the straight-A student needs to round out her resume to improve her chances at Harvard; the drama geek wants stardom; the outcast hopes to find traces of her grandmother, who died at Danvers). Exploring how these figures interact is the meat of the novel: they mature over the six or so hours encompassed in the book, pairing off and eventually becoming a team, looking out for one another and united in purpose. Although the action reads like a laundry list for a PG-13 horror movie—the timely discovery of a journal, rats, floors giving way when people step on them, etc.—a soupçon of mystery combines with supernatural overtones to move the plot along rapidly. The familiar story arc and devices comfortably contain the chills, entertaining the target audience without hitting any nerves. Ages 12-up.

December 1, 2007
Gr 8-10-In this eerie, evocative ghost story, Stolarz sends five teens into that most beloved of horror-genre locations, the haunted house; here, however, it has been updated into a mental hospital, a change that enlivens the tale and contributes to its truly spooky tone. Each teen begins the overnight expedition with his or her own motivation. Derik hopes to make a film that will win a documentary competition, which might mean a ticket out of a life spent toiling in his parents' diner, and he enlists several classmates to participate in it. Class-clown Chet thinks exploring the hospital might be good for a few laughsplus, it provides an escape from another night spent with his abusive, alcoholic father. Greta and Tony think only of being cast in Derik's film, which they hope will propel them to stardom. Bookish Liza needs to diversify the extracurricular activities on her college applications, and hopes the film project will fit the bill. And Goth-girl Mimi wants to uncover some evidence relating to her grandmother, who was committed to the institution years before. These motivations fade into the background, however, when the group begins to suspect that somethingor someoneis trying to communicate with them, and that the hospital won't let them leave until they listen. Although the characters veer close to stereotypes at the outset, Stolarz infuses them with depth and complexity, revealed as each teen narrates in alternating chapters. Page-turning action, genuine scares, and a satisfying conclusion should make this a hit with teens, particularly those who enjoyed the suspense of Stolarz's "Blue Is for Nightmares" series (Flux)."Meredith Robbins, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis High School, New York City"

Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2007
The Breakfast Club meets Session 9 in this genre-blended horror novel, in whichsix wildly different kids film themselves spending the night in Danvers State Insane Asylum before it is demolished. Derik, the filmmaker, is intent on winning a reality TV show contest, thereby avoiding a career at his parents diner; while five othersgoth girl Mimi; beautiful, studious Liza; nerdy class clown Chet; and drama students Greta and Tonygo along with Deriks plan for various reasons. While exploring the abandoned hospital, the group finds a diary belonging to a teen patient and quickly become obsessed with discovering what happened to her. Stolarz uses the real hospitals history as a backdrop, invoking the sad, fearful memories and spirits that might remain in such places. While the atmosphere is appropriately creepy, the ghost story doesnt develop enough to be effective. Still, the sad tale of the diary is compelling on its own, and the six characters, though superficially created, are ones teens will instantly recognize. Recommend this eerie story tokids who like to be spooked but arent quite up for harder-edged horror fare.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)