Death Screams

by Tamara Rose Blodgett

[Angie]

The rest of Caleb and Company’s freshman year must have been uneventful, since Death Screams picks up nearly a year later. The beginning of Sophomore year contains enough trouble for an entire lifetime though. The focus has once again shifted, as the story follows Caleb and Jade more closely. Not as couple, although there is some, but as individuals. Both of them are maturing and they each have issues to work through, both personally and with the police.

While I did like getting more of Jade, I was annoyed at the alternating between 3rd and 1st person in Death Screams. My annoyance was furthered by the fact that there were also random chapters from Sophie and Mac which didn’t add much to the overall story. Luckily these chapters are pretty sparse, but when they did appear, they took me out of the story. This originally caused me to want to rate Death Screams lower, but the fantastic ending made up for it. Jade’s chapters aren’t many either, but they did advance the plot and help develop her character, so I was less annoyed by them. I also really enjoyed learning more about her Empath abilities, especially now that she’s exhibiting strength in clairvoyance, something the police would like to use her for.

Much like in Death Speaks, the paranormal plot was mostly in the background of Death Screams. This time there’s a rapist and potential murderer on the loose using Astral Projection as his mode of operation. It seems that he’s targeting girls who also have AP abilities and attacking them in Realm (the place where the spirit first goes when leaving the body). This is especially scary because what happens to the spirit actually happens to the body, so if you’re attacked in Realm, only another strong AP could come in to save you. Sophie’s ability is AP, so she is understandably shaken up by this threat. Like I said before, this plot is mostly on the back burner, but I figured out the attacker almost immediately. I couldn’t figure out why he was doing this, and even at the end I didn’t really understand it. I’m going to assume that he’s just a sick person.

Caleb is still the star of this series, and it was interesting watching him grow into a young man. He celebrates his 16th birthday in Death Screams, and in this world that makes him an adult. His alpha male tendencies are also increasing and he feels this overwhelming need to protect Jade at all times. This does put a bit of a strain on their relationship, because she sees how violent Caleb is becoming, and she’s worked so hard to get away from her abusive father. Caleb also gets into much more trouble with the police as he can’t seem to control his zombies who are also increasingly violent toward his enemies. There’s no precedence on using the undead as a weapon which has kept him out of trouble, but with so many incidents under his belt, that’s changing. And with the Greysheets taking more interest in him, it’s only a matter time before Caleb ends up being recruited by them, or in jail.

Aside from the alternating POV, my only other major complaint about Death Screams that almost made this a 3 star was the repetitive nature of the conflict between Caleb and Carson and Brett. There are a few fights that crop up between them, which I was expecting, but it’s the same thing over and over again with them. Frankly, I’m kind of bored of it. I was also irritated by the fact that Carson and his gang violently attack Caleb and his friends in front of all of their parents at Mac’s house! I know they’re idiots, but I honestly couldn’t believe that they would go that far. And the parents just sat around, wide eyed! Thank goodness for zombie protectors.

The ending definitely saved Death Screams from being just good. I still had some lingering questions, but overall it was an amazing ending. Everything is starting to fall apart for Caleb, and other things are coming together. There are some interesting surprises along the way, and it ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. You’ll definitely want to have the next book handy. I just hope there isn’t another major time jump!

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.