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The Unwanted
The Unwanted
Author: John Saul
Set in New England, this horror story tells about a girl who goes to live with the father she barely knows, after she loses her mother in an accident. Strange and unsettling dreams mark the start of her new life and it soon becomes clear that nothing can ever be the same for those who live with her.
ISBN-13: 9780712623179
ISBN-10: 0712623175
Publication Date: 11/3/1988
Pages: 339
Rating:
  • Currently 3.6/5 Stars.
 5

3.6 stars, based on 5 ratings
Publisher: Arrow (A Division of Random House Group)
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback, Audio Cassette, Audio CD
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed The Unwanted on + 19 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
a better than average suspense tale
reviewed The Unwanted on + 68 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Truely a good writer. Not what you would expect from a writer that usually doesn't do this type of story.
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BrucesMan avatar reviewed The Unwanted on + 6 more book reviews
As I am re-reading all of his books in publication order, one after the other, I must say, this is NOT the way to read his books as though there are so many tropes that he uses quite often BUT that does not mean stay away from his books! This book is a strong 4 if not a 5 star read for me, so saying this let's get into my thoughts and review of one of what I call; Saul's horror classics, 'One Not to be Missed!'

16 year old Cassie Winslow has grown up with her alcoholic, and messed up mother in West Hollywood, after her mother takes her away from her father as an almost 2 year old child. Cassie moves to False Harbor Massachusetts after her mother is killed in an accident....(see, one of the usual scenes in all of his books, but they work!) and not really knowing her father, she is not excited about meeting her 8 year old half sister Jennifer or her Step mother; Rosemary. When she gets to False Harbor she meets Eric Cavanaugh the next door neighbor boy who seems the same age. As things start to unfold in this book you are so drawn into the strange people and possessed animals in this fishing town that you can not put this book down. That is one of the reasons that I have always loved Sauls way or writing, he does not waste hundreds of pages building a characters background then take you on a down spiraling story that just ends up being stupid, Saul takes that dare and scares the hell out of you with always making you care for or HATE the protagonists, which are usually always a child or teenager.

There is a very important character, Miranda Sikes in this book that you cannot help but feel sorry for, she makes you think of the 'scary bag lady' that is so often in horror fiction, that you are devastated when you find out what her role in this story is it just made me sad. And of course do not go into this expecting a happy ending. So, i am getting ready to make a video review on this 'vintage horror favorite' of mine for my YouTube Channel; AreYouIntoHorror so i will be posting a link soon here. This is a definite recommended read for me to anyone who likes their horror and suspense fast moving, tense, and disturbingly bloody and graphic.
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Hellraiser avatar reviewed The Unwanted on + 110 more book reviews
Enjoyable. I was taken by surprise at the ending. I truly didn't see it coming.
reviewed The Unwanted on + 18 more book reviews
This is a nice book for some light reading, assuming you like books that are in this genre. The story was entertaining and made for a quick read.
reviewed The Unwanted on + 12 more book reviews
Not too bad. If you are a witchcraft fan, you might like this one, and the plot was enough to keep me listening.
reviewed The Unwanted on + 68 more book reviews
This book was good read - if you like a horror story about witches.
Char avatar reviewed The Unwanted on + 135 more book reviews
For generations, the word Witch has clung to the Sikes women like an ancient curse. Now Miranda keeps a lonely vigil, a hawk and cat her only companions. Teen Cassie Winslow comes to live with her father and his family and Miranda's waitng comes to an end. Cassie has seen visions of a kind woman, someone totally unlike her abusive mother. That woman is Miranda, who passes on the strange secret she has been guarding to Cassie, in a legacy of supernatural power.


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