It starts innocently enough. Four kids - three girls, one boy - are at one of their houses, playing games. One of them has read about "Bloody Mary" and the idea that if you look into a mirror and say her name thirteen times, she will show you the future. Some legends say she'll show you your one true love or a skull to mark your death within five years. Others say that conjuring Bloody Mary will bring her into your world.
Both sets of legends are true. The kids go through with the act, saying her name thirteen times. One girl looks in the mirror and sees her longtime crush. One girl looks in the mirror and sees the boy in the group. But she pretends to see something else. One girl looks in the mirror and sees a girl she's never seen before but can't get out of her mind. And the boy . . . he sees a skull. But he pretends to see something else. They try to laugh it off. And mostly they forget about it. Or at least they don't talk about it. Yes, over the next few years, whenever they look into a mirror, it's like there's always another figure standing in the background, getting closer.
Just short of five years later, the four of them are no longer friends, having gone on separate paths. The girl whose house it was has always tried to avoid the mirror they used - because she always sensed someone in the background. One morning as she's passing by, she sees much more than her own reflection - it's a scary figure taunting her. She startles and breaks the mirror. When the pieces are put back together (barely), the figure is gone.
That day in school, a new girl arrives. Her name is Mary...
My Review:
Elena, Steph, Calvin, and Grace used to all ride to school together when they were younger. One afternoon as a tornado is coming in Elena, who really doesn't like any of the others, takes them upstairs into her deceased grandmother's room and shows them the mirror. It starts out as a game to kill boredom. Stand in front of the mirror and say her name 13 times and Bloody Mary will show you an image of your true love or will show that you're going to die within five years. One girl sees the boy she's crushing on, one girl sees a girl she's never seen before, the third girl sees the boy, and the boy sees Bloody Mary.
Five years later they four are no longer friends and the game is a distant memory. Elena is the most popular girl in school, Steph is tall and awkward but a star on the volleyball court, Calvin is a loner who draws in his sketchbook all the time, and Grace is a horror movie obsessed outcast. But as strange, horrifying things begin happening the four will have to reunite to vanquish an ancient evil.
I found it difficult at times to like Grace and Steph and I absolutely hated Elena, even at the end of the book. I did read this book pretty quickly, despite not loving it. It was a fast read and I'm always up for anything to do with the Bloody Mary urban legend but it was just an okay read for me. Maybe it's because I'm past YA age, but I feel the book could have been scarier. The ending came together really quickly and was a little underwhelming.
Overall, this book will probably be great for younger teens and is a nice read for the spooky season but it was a bit of a letdown for me.
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