The Dollhouse Asylum (Book Review)

Author: Mary Gray
Year: 2013
Genre: Dystopian
Reading Level: Young Adult

Plot Summary: Cheyenne wakes up in a perfect neighborhood, rescued from a zombie resurgence by her supposedly perfect man, Teo.  She's not the only one he's saved, but he doesn't let just anyone live in his little paradise.  If they want to live they're going to have to impress Teo--who's not as perfect as Cheyenne thought.

Red Flags: Some mild language, gruesome deaths (mostly off screen), making out
 
My Rating: B
(When I heard that one of my friends from the way back days had her first book coming out, of course I had to pick up a copy.  How often do you get to buy a book written by someone you know, right?  Anyway, it was worth it and fun to read for that reason alone.)

I enjoyed this book overall.  It was fast paced and held my interest.  I was a little impatient at the start for things to get going, but I think that was because I knew the synopsis so well already.  The premise is different, and I appreciated the absence of vampires, fallen angels, werewolves, etc. etc.  Also I appreciated that all the zombies were off screen (hurray!).  One of my favorite things was the name of the zombie disease--the Living Rot.  Good name.

I didn't care for the love triangle aspect as much.  I didn't LOVE Cheyenne--I mean, I get her character's journey and I was glad that she changed and saw Teo for what he was--but I didn't always enjoy being in her head.  She had a minor case of Bella Swan-itis, in her fascination with people's hotness and a readiness to sacrifice herself.  As for Teo, I wish there had been a little more explanation for his crazy (I can totally dig his kind of crazy--I just wonder where it came from).  Sometimes it's fun to pick out a writer's favorite word (mine is "just"), and based on this book, Mary's is "pluck."  Hah. 

Overall, it was an entertaining read.  There were some fun side characters (though with some curious characterizations) and the story was unusual.  The story didn't surprise me or horrify me as much as I know it wanted to, but perhaps that says more about me than the book...