#Review - 8 Souls by Rachel Rust #YALIT #Paranormal

Series: Standalone
Format: E-Book, 253 pages
Release Date: May 6, 2019
Publisher: Entangled: Teen
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult, Horror

All her life, seventeen-year-old Chessie has had recurring dreams about a little white farmhouse. Quaint? Not quite. The house is the site of the unsolved murders of Villisca, Iowa, where eight people were slaughtered in 1912. With her parents on the verge of divorce, Chessie is stuck spending the summer with her grandparents in Villisca—right across the street from the axe murder house. 

She’s soon hearing voices calling out for help and begins unraveling a link between herself and the town’s bloody history. And when she falls for a cute boy harboring a big secret, the pieces fall into place as she at last discovers the truth of Villisca's gruesome past…

 

8 Souls, by author Rachel Rust, tells the story of 17-year old Francesca (Chessie) Carpenter. Chessie has had recurring dreams about a little white farmhouse. Quaint? Not quite. The house is the site of the unsolved murders of Villisca, Iowa, where eight people were slaughtered in 1912. 6 of those who were murdered belonged to the Moore family, while 2 other were the Stillinger sisters who unfortunately, picked the wrong night to have a sleep over. 

For the record, this is an actual picture of said house.

With her parents on the verge of divorce, Chessie is stuck spending the summer with her grandparents in Villisca—right across the street from the axe murder house. She’s soon hearing voices calling out for help and begins unraveling a link between herself and the town’s bloody history. Things quickly happen that sends Chessie seeking the help of some boys in the town, Mateo and David. And when she falls for David, she learns he is harboring a big secret. Could David hold the answers to the truth of Villisca's gruesome past?

Let it be known that I liked this book more than I expected. I also did some research of my own, and apparently this really did happen in 1912 when a family was murdered along with 2 young girls who just happened to be visiting. In 2016, there was a movie released called The Axe Murders of Villisca that featured three ghost hunters who found more than they expected. For the sake of this book, the author doesn't really dive that deeply into the horror realm as the movie did.

The murders are still considered to be unsolved cold cases. The house holds answers as to who is responsible for the murderers, but this story dives deeper into the connection between Cassie's family, an apparent witness to the crime who ends up being reincarnated over and over again until he can redeem himself by saving 8 people, and perhaps answers to who was really behind the killings. I am satisfied with the way this book ends. I was happy to see Chessie stand on her own without relying on her apparently unhappy family, her grandparents, or even David.

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