This particular novel utilized pseudo-flashback pieces that involved a diary and insinuated at maybe a haunting. The thing about a lot of these old school cheesy YA horror books is that there really isn't any supernatural involved they're mostly thriller but the way they're written it could go either way. Are the looking at the same cover I am? So going in it had the proper ambiance for me to be nice and cozily happy. There just always seems to be something sinister underlying a carnival-like atmosphere. Most of it would probably be pretty innocuous to the younger readers now simply because the descriptions aren't too detailed but every once in a while you'll get the little nugget of nostalgia that'll have you going 'yup.' Love it.įUNHOUSE combines two of my favorite things: horror and boardwalks. Boys in cutoff jeans? Ha! But I remember it. Not only that but I love reading un-updated works if for nothing more than the outdated styles of dress. There are few things more awesome than cheese and FUNHOUSE certainly fit that mould nicely. This was a fun and entertaining young-adult suspense story from the 90's. I liked Tess and I liked the settings-The Boardwalk, the amusement park, etc. Why is someone targeting her friends? And why The Boardwalk? She tells the police but they don’t take her seriously. Tess is also receiving more threats, menacing phone calls, notes. That night, someone slips a threatening note under her door.Īfter this, more accidents keep happening-all to her friends, and all at The Boardwalk. But Shelley just took a trip to Europe so Tess is now all alone in the apartment.

She lives at an exclusive condominium complex with her stepmother, Shelley, who is now divorcing Tess's father. Tess is pretty shook up, but she eventually goes home. She tells the friends she’s with that she noticed someone that looked suspicious underneath the rollercoaster, dressed in black, quickly slip away after the crash, not coming to help, but going in the other direction. To her horror she sees it fly off the track and crash before her eyes, killing and maiming many on board, including three of her friends. After she stops in the ladies restroom she comes back out and watches the rollercoaster go up the track (with three of her friends on board).

Seventeen-year-old Tess Landers is hanging out with many school friends at the amusement park on The Boardwalk, in Santa Luisa, California.

Funhouse by Diane Hoh