Review - Spring Break by Barbara Steiner

Angie Hendrix and her friends, Paula, Kerry, and Chad, and her brother, Justin, are spending their spring break at a rented three-story house on the beach after they find that every motel is filled with spring breakers. Angie starts hearing strange footsteps and a mysterious voice. The voice sounds like a little girl crying out for help. Nobody believes her, and they think her imagination is running wild because they are staying in the old house.

Angie soon meets a young man named Val. They are both instantly attracted to each other. Val is very odd, and always has an excuse not to hang out with them, or go into the house. Chad’s dog, Brandy, disappears. Then, one by one, Paula, Kerry, and Chad disappear, too. And did I forget to mention that Angie starts hearing noises coming from the locked attic.

Spring Break is part of the ‘Point Horror’ era, and sadly I must have missed this book as it was published in 1996 when I was reading Stephen King and John Saul novels. I found Spring Break at a thrift store a few years ago. It got placed in a closet and I forgot about even having it until I was searching for another book and stumbled upon it. Since this is late March, I thought it would be a great time to read it and write a review. The book is short and is a fast read. The book has aged some, for instance, there are no cell phones, mp3 players, or iPods. Today it is hard for an author to write a young adult thriller without the reader wondering why the characters don’t call or text for help.

I enjoyed reading about the group of teens and the strange occurrences at the beach house. If you can get a hold of a copy, I recommend reading it late at night.