AUTHOR: Carlos Ruiz Zafón
REVIEWED BY: JPL TeenLink
BRIEF SUMMARY: When Fifteen-year-old Oscar Drai suddenly vanishes from his boarding school in Barcelona, no one knows his whereabouts for seven days and seven nights.
His story begins when he meets the strange Marina while he's exploring an old quarter of the city. She leads Oscar to a cemetery, where they watch a macabre ritual that occurs on the last Sunday of each month. At exactly ten o'clock in the morning, a woman shrouded in a black velvet cloak descends from her carriage to place a single rose on an unmarked grave.
When Oscar and Marina decide to follow her, they begin a journey that transports them to a forgotten postwar Barcelona -- a world of aristocrats and actresses, inventors and tycoons -- an reveals a dark secret that lies waiting in the mysterious labyrinth beneath the city streets.
WHY I PICKED IT UP: I am a big fan of Carlos Ruiz Zafón, and I have been waiting for Marina to be translated into English ever since I first read The Shadow of the Wind almost ten years ago.
WHY I FINISHED IT: After a slow start (it took me a few tries to get past the prologue and into the first chapter), it took hold of me and I just had to finish it. It literally became difficult to find a place to stop so I could put the book down and do other things. Like The Watcher in the Shadows, this book was scary, exciting, and just a bit disturbing -- with a hint of romance.
WHO I'D GIVE IT TO: Anyone who likes scary stories, horror or dark mysteries. This book has you covered on all fronts.
OTHER NOTES: A few minor obscenities and some violence. Also, this book is very dark -- you can tell that Zafón was reaching the end of his YA career and was ready to write for adults. After this, he started his Cemetery of Forgotten Books series. which propelled him to worldwide acclaim.
See you at the library!
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