Stolarz, Laurie Faria. Project 17. Hyperion Books. New York, 2007. 256 Pages. 3Q4P
Derik “La Playa” La Pointe’s last chance to do something with his life besides working at his parent’s diner has come. He is entering a film-making contest to win an internship with a popular reality tv channel, and the chance to show his film to the nation. His million dollar idea is to film a documentary at the infamous Danvers State Hospital, the rumored originator of the frontal labotomy, which is about to be torn down.
The team he gathers all have their different reasons for coming. Greta and Tony, the theatre rats, want film exposure. Chet, the class clown, wanted a night out of the house, away from his alcoholic father. Liza, the perfect student, needed extra-curriculars for college admission, and Mimi, the outcast, wanted to find out information about her grandmother who was housed there years before.
The plan is to spend the night in the hospital while filming the documentary. While touring the hospital, its contents strewn about everywhere as if it had just been abandoned yesterday, the group happens upon a girl’s diary. The rest of the night becomes a spooky scavenger hunt of sorts, searching for this girl’s doll so she can rest in peace.
Project 17 definately managed to give me chills from time to time. I don’t know if it’s because of my overactive imagination, or if the writing was just that good, but I wouldn’t even read this book at night. I’m sure I’ve established by now that I love when writers tell the story from multiple points of view, like they did in this story, but I just can’t say it enough. I love getting to read the story from every character’s perspective and seeing in them what I may not have seen from only the narrator’s POV.
For the most part, the story was good. Just looking at the cover art gives me chills, so any horror lover will be attracted to it. It would be appropriate for ages 12 and up as there is no blood or gore, considering they can handle spooky situations.
The one gripe I have is something that teens may or may not even pick up on. It just seemed like the same old “Breakfast Club” story that’s told over and over again. Six people from different cliques get together for some reason or another, fight a lot at first, then realize they are more alike than they thought and become friends or a couple. Only this novel wraps up the old idea in a new scary package, and sells it as a new thing. Other than that annoying little tidbit, the book is an all around good read that should have most sleeping with a nightlite for a few days.
