Book Review: The Long Weekend by Savita Kalhan.

Product details:
Publisher: Andersen Press Ltd.
Paperback, 180 pages.
Release date: October 2nd 2008.
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Ages: 12+
Source: Received from author for review.

Sam knows that he and his friend Lloyd made a colossal mistake when they accepted the ride home. They have ended up in a dark mansion in the middle of nowhere with man who means to harm them. But Sam doesn't know how to get them out. They were trapped, then separated. Now they are alone. Will either of them get out alive? This gripping and hypnotic thriller will have you reading late into the night.

A gripping thriller from the pen of Savita Kalhan, The Long Weekend is a cautionary tale of two young boys, one big mistake and the weekend from hell that will haunt their lives forever.

Frighteningly realistic, The Long Weekend follows two pre-teens, Sam and Lloyd as they prepare to spend an afternoon hanging out together after school. With their parents running late, the boys are overjoyed when a flashy car turns up to collect them, an apparent treat that has been arranged by Lloyd’s wealthy father. Blinded by the sweets and treats on offer, the boys ask no questions as their journey begins. However, it soon emerges that the man driving the car is not the friend he claims to be. What follows is a truly chilling series of events where Sam and Lloyd find themselves in a do or die situation from which there may be no escape.

While The Long Weekend may be short in length it is a truly griping page turner which certainly packs a punch as details of Sam and Lloyd’s weekend from hell begin to unfold.  There is a sense of foreboding throughout the book and I got shivers down my spine as I learnt of the horrors suffered by the boys as they struggle to survive at the hands of their captor. Kahlan captures the voice of eleven year old Sam perfectly, and in him readers will find a brave, resourceful and loyal character they can really root for. When the unthinkable happens to Lloyd, Sam is unflinching in his support for his friend.  Not for the faint of heart, The Long Weekend is a book which tackles tough and often unsavoury issues, but does so in a sensitive and age-appropriate manner.

When I first picked up The Long Weekend I imagined it to be a haunted house story, but what lies inside these pages is much more realistic and much scarier than any ghost could be.  Savita Kahlan has written a timely an important book highlighting the scary truths of the world we live in today.  Recommended.