Dark Eden

Title: Dark Eden
Author: Patrick Carman
Year Published: 2011

Synopsis:   Fifteen-year-old Will Besting is sent by his doctor to Fort Eden, an institution meant to help patients suffering from crippling phobias. Once there, Will and six other teenagers take turns in mysterious fear chambers and confront their worst nightmares—with the help of the group facilitator, Rainsford, an enigmatic guide. When the patients emerge from the chamber, they feel emboldened by the previous night's experiences. But each person soon discovers strange, unexplained aches and pains. . . . What is really happening to the seven teens trapped in this dark Eden? Patrick Carman's Dark Eden is a provocative exploration of fear, betrayal, memory, and— ultimately—immortality.

Why?: I'm kind of a sucker for these really creepy books. Psychological thrillers, suspense, horror... those are all kind of my books right now. I've been interested in this book for a while, but just haven't gotten a chance to buy it or read it. Then, I won the sequel in a contest on Twitter. So I bought the first book to finally read so I can read the sequel when I get it.

Expectations: I expect this book to be very suspenseful, and have a lot of secrets. I don't expect anything to be what it seems to be. I also expect it to be more suspense/thriller than horror, although I'm sure it will be part horror since it deals with peoples' greatest fears. As long as there aren't clowns or gas tankers...

Judging a book by its cover: From the cover, I would say that a boy and a girl are very important in this book. The boy is probably Will, but I have no idea who the girl is. Maybe she'll end up being the love interest? Or a family member? Maybe he's afraid of girls? Oh, and they're in the woods. Fort Eden is probably in the middle of nowhere in the woods.


--Ashley