Review: Sheltered by Debora Chapoton

Title: Sheltered Author: Debra Chapoton Publication Date: October 1, 2012
Synopsis:
Living together unsupervised, five troubled teens confront demonic forces and are compelled to deal with their problems in distinctly different ways. Paranormal meets psycho meets Goth in this story of a supernatural haunting and budding love.

High school junior, Ben, hacks into his step-father's real estate holdings and provides rooms in an old two-story house to various outcasts: the schizophrenic kid, the angry Goth girl, and the homeless girl who worships him. When Megan needs a place to live she comes to the rooming house with a different set of problems and the ability to confuse and attract Ben.

One by one strange and mysterious occurrences stretch the teens’ beliefs in the supernatural. How they deal with demons, real and imagined, has tragic as well as redeeming consequences.
~My Thoughts~
!WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SLIGHT SPOILERS. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!
High school student Ben has come up with a plan, it isn't exactly a perfect one, but one he thinks will help others and himself. He has rented a house under a false name from his step-father's real estate company and has even found a way to pay the rent through the company. Ben is using the house as somewhat of a boarding house, renting rooms to troubled teens who have nowhere else to go. 
Megan is the newest teen to move into the house. After leaving home and needing to prove herself, she has come to live at the home with the other teens. There's Cori, a goth girl with a very bad attitude, Emily, a very shy homeless girl with a massive crush on Ben, and Chuck and Adam, twin brothers who are complete opposites.
After only being at the house for days, Megan notices that some things just aren't right. The kids are weird and there are very strange things happening in the house. She and Ben must try to figure out just exactly what is going on and try to stop it before something devastating happens. 
The Characters: Each character in this story was fascinating in their own way. Ben was smart, caring and honestly just wanted to help out the other teens. He drove them to school, to work and anywhere else they needed to go. He seemed very genuine and true. Megan was the same, wanting only to finish school with good grades and get her life back together. Chuck and Adam were opposite in every way. Adam was charming and sweet while Chuck was shy and a little withdrawn. 
I'm not sure how I felt about Cori. She was very mean and went out of her way to hurt anyone who came in contact with her. Honestly, I didn't like her at all for quite some time. But as the story went on, I started to understand her and why she acted out the way she did. 
The Setting: Most of this story takes place in an old house that Ben has rented. I had absolutely no trouble navigating my way around the house in my mind and could definitely find my way around easily if I was dropped into the middle of it. There are a lot of creepy things going on in this book and the house was the perfect setting for it. There's an old attic and a creepy basement, two things that always add a little suspense to a creepy story!

The Writing: This is my first book by Debra Chapoton and I really enjoyed her writing style. Each character had their own way of speaking or thinking and they all came across as unique. A lot of times with multiple points of view, the characters will all talk and sound the same and it is easy to get confused as to who is speaking. But that is not the case here. Her writing is also direct without any unnecessary filler, which is always appreciated.
The Storyline: This is where things start to get tricky for me. While I enjoyed the story, some parts left me confused and wanting more. I'll start with what I liked. Each of the characters has their own subplot and I really enjoyed these. They gave us a glimpse into their lives and how they ended up at the boarding house to begin with. In some cases, there was abuse and neglect, while others were cases of bullying and homelessness. Each story was different and I enjoyed each of them. 
While I did like the idea of the demons possessing the teens and other strange things going on in the home, I felt like a lot of this went unanswered. While it is hinted at to who or what the demons where, we weren't told why. Why are they there and what did they want? It also confused me as to why some of the teens became possessed while others had no trouble at all. I'm assuming this was based on their happiness or background, but I couldn't be sure. There was also the aspect of Ben's "plan", why he rented the house in the first place and what he was really up to. I was a little disappointed when this was revealed, I was hoping for something more. 
My only other concern was the religious aspect of the story. While it isn't obvious and in your face, it's still there. Had I known this, I may not have agreed to a review. I don't subscribe to a religion and I tend to stay away from any religious fiction, no matter what the faith. But like I said, this wasn't overdone and I was able to look past it.
Overall, Sheltered was an interesting and creepy read. In fact, I had a hard time putting it down because I was so invested in what was going on with the teens. I recommend this to fans of the paranormal or anyone who is looking for a deeper and darker read. 

~About Debra Chapoton~

Debra Chapoton has taught kids of all ages in her main career as a teacher. She has a BA in Spanish and a Master of Arts degree in Teaching English. She started writing in 2002 and was surprised to find out that the characters quickly take over the action and dialogue in the stories. 
Her first YA novel, Edge of Escape, was self-published and then discovered by Piper Verlag Publishing and translated into German. Stalking and obsession get a sympathetic twist in this story of physical and psychological survival.
Her second YA novel, Sheltered, detours into a different genre as she writes about five teens who confront supernatural forces. Two boys and three girls all harbor secrets which make some of them susceptible to demon possession. Embracing all things supernatural might protect them, but are they ready for the consequences?
Chapoton has also written eleven chapter books for middle grade kids and a non-fiction work for adults, Crossing the Scriptures.
When she’s not writing Chapoton enjoys the quiet of the full log home she designed and built with her husband. They live in the middle of 62 acres of beautiful woods in northern Michigan.

For more about Debra Chapoton, visit her websites here and here. 
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*I received this book for free in exchange of my honest review. This did not influence my opinion in any way and all views and opinions expressed are 100% my own.