El príncipe de la niebla by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

“He lost himself in the words and images conjured in his mind and for a while forgot ... He found himself flying among stars and planets ...”

 I first discovered this book back when I was... twelve? This was when I had first encountered the joys of reading (not compulsively like now, but in a healthy curious way) and back then I absolutetly loved it, don't take me wrong, I still like it, it's surrounded by this nostalgic aura and really nice memories. And it had been so long that I decided to re-read it for this year's Halloween Read-A-Thon, so here are my thoughts on it, as an adult now (or sort of).

“Max had once read in one of his father's books that some childhood images become engraved in the mind like photographs, like scenes you can return to again and again and will always remember, no matter how much time goes by.”

 The story revolves mostly around the old beach house Max and his family move in to escape the war, which had previously been owned by a couple whose only son had drowned on the beach just across the street. Once they arrive strange things start happening, the house seems haunted, there's a strange hidden statue garden in the woods behind the house and a sinked ship on the beach with an eerie aura around it. The premise sounds good doesn't it? I liked it as a kid, and I still like it now.

 The finished product is a bit underwhelming. The idea for the story is very interesting I think, but a bit underdeveloped, if it had just been a little more explored... Well it could be a different thing altogether. This is the first book Carlos Ruiz Zafón wrote, which explains why sometimes it's brilliant but lacks a little building. Still for a debut novel I think it's really, really good, and considering his posterior work I'd say he already made it to my favourite authors.

 I'd say the major problem this book has is that it lacks major world building, and though the characters are a bit two dimensional for my taste, I must admit I cared for them a great deal more than I did for others in many hyped YA books. What I really liked was the atmosphere, it very good for such a short book and frames the story perfectly. Overall, I think it works really well as a Middle Grade mystery book, maybe a ghost story for kids. It was nice re-reading it.

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