Review: Dark Ride - Caroline Green

A shiver crawled up my spine.  It felt like the loneliest place in the world.  For a second I thought I caught a snatch of music in the air, but it was just the wind whistling through cracks in the fairground hoardings.

My instincts screamed, 'Run away, Bel!  Run away and never return!'

But instead my fingers closed around the ticket in my pocket.

ADMIT ONE.

Bel has never met anyone like Luka.  And the day she follows him into the abandoned fairground, she is totally unprepared for the turn her life is about to take.

Visit Caroline Green's page on the Piccadilly website for more information

Review:
When Bel moves to the seaside town of Slumpton with her mother she isn't happy.  She didn't want to leave her friends behind but worse of all her father hasn't come with them.  Bel doesn't like her new home, she finds the cold, grey and run down town depressing and she is incredibly lonely.  That is until she meets Luka and follows him to the old fairground.  But is Luka really all he seems and what caused the mysterious disappearance of his mother?  As they begin to investigate they are drawn into a dark and dangerous world.

If you have ever been to a run down British seaside resort you will know exactly what Slumpton looks like.  Caroline Green has perfectly captured the atmosphere - the run down B&Bs, the old fairground, the steamy cafes and the cold grey British weather.  As I was reading I felt like I was there in Slumpton right alongside Bel and it was easy to put yourself into her situation.  Bel is a realistic teenager, she can be moody and mouthy but you are drawn to her and feel her loneliness like it was your own.  She is the kind of character you can't help but like and I enjoyed spending time in her head.  I don't want to say much about Luka for fear of giving spoilers so I'll just tell you I loved him and let you read the book for yourself to find out why.

The story certainly lives up to it's name and takes you on a Dark Ride covering difficult issues including family breakups and modern day slavery.  At less than 200 pages this is an easy book to devour in one sitting and in fact once you get started it is almost impossible to put down.  This is an impressive debut and I can't wait to see what Caroline Green comes up with next.  She has definitely been added to my list of auto-buy authors.

Source: Received from the author in exchange for an honest review

Other reviews of this book:
Chicklish
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