“Mary: The Summoning” follows the story of four teenage girls who manage to summon the infamous Bloody Mary in one of the girls’ bathroom mirror. The problem is that something went entirely wrong during the summoning. Now Mary is out for blood and has gained control over every single reflective surface that these girls come into contact with. While “Mary: The Summoning” is under the genre of young adult horror, there are some extremely heavy horror elements (not to mention a very intense death scene) that set Hilary Monahan’s debut novel apart from the rest of the genre.
A good way to describe this book would be “quick and dirty”. Even the most seasoned horror lover will manage to find Monahan’s horror elements to be very graphic and almost overwhelming. The book itself is a very easy read, taking roughly a weekend to finish it. The story started out kind of dry and very slow for the first couple of chapters, with simple and somewhat boring dialogue getting in the way of what is actually happening in an attempt at setting up the story. However, once the story takes off, it takes off at full speed and picks up momentum all the way through to the end.
While there are some cliché elements within the story such as high school drama and an unusual lack of parental figures when you think they would be there the most, Monahan does a very decent job at sidestepping them when they pop up with action and suspense. The result is a seriously scary haunting story that will keep readers up all night long and avoiding mirrors whenever they can. Monahan’s writing, with its cold tone and picturesque style, reads very deliberate and does not leave any room for guesswork on the reader’s part; through the entire book, the reader knows exactly what is happening and what is at stake.
Prepare to be thrown into a fast-paced rollercoaster ride along with Anna, Jess, Kitty, and Shauna as they endure betrayal, paranoia, and even death. “Mary: The Summoning” is definitely a great story for horror lovers looking for an easy read that is not for the faint of heart.
