Review: The Cellar

The Cellar by A. J. Whitten

Synopsis (From Goodreads): Meredith Willis is suspicious of Adrien, the new guy next door. When she dares to sneak a look into the windows of his house, she sees something in the cellar that makes her believe that Adrien might be more than just a creep—he may be an actual monster.

But her sister, Heather, doesn’t share Meredith’s repulsion. Heather believes Adrien is the only guy who really understands her. In fact, she may be falling in love with him. When Adrien and Heather are cast as the leads in the school production of Romeo and Juliet, to Heather, it feels like fate. To Meredith, it feels like a bad omen. But if she tries to tear the couple apart, she could end up in the last place she’d ever want to be: the cellar. Can Meredith convince her sister that she’s dating the living dead before it’s too late for both of them?

A. J. Whitten has created a Romeo and Juliet story with zombies. Meredith and Heather are sisters constantly haunted by the tragic loss of their father from a car accident which has left Heather with scars. Meredith is scared for her sister because she is withdrawing into herself and they aren't talking like they used to.

Meredith has more to worry about when the new guy next door takes an interest in Heather. When Meredith dares to investigate him she sees something in the cellar that makes Meredith believe he's a monster, but no one will believe her. In fact, every one who comes into contact with Adrien absolutely loves him. How can she make Heather and everyone else in town that he's a monster before they all become dinner?

I didn't know what kind of story I'd find when I first started reading The Cellar. The Cellar is a horror with a central love story. The writing was pretty good and graphic, but that's how I like my horror stories. The one thing about this story is that nothing came as a surprise due to the story being divided into three POVs (Meredith, Heather and Adrien), and because of Adrien's perspective, it didn't keep the reader trying to guess what's going to happen. Because I love mysteries in my horror about what/who the monster is, this is the one main part that let it down for me.

This divided POV also hindered me from really feeling any connection to the characters. Each of the POVs were individual and unique, and from viewing every side of the story it was hard to decided who to root for, or feel sorry for, more.

That being said, The Cellar was an interesting story full of action, romance and horror, the perfect companion to sitting at home during a stormy night and reading.

Source: NetGalley

2011 YA Reading Challenge: #21 of 50