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allisonschoneschmetterling's review against another edition
4.0
The beginning of the book is like every classic horror flick- we watch Quinn and her dad move into their new house. We watch Quinn meet her new clique of friends. Then, slowly, things start to get weird. A clown sighting here, an ominous adults-only town hall meeting there, and suddenly WHAM!: a murder. The pacing was on par with a film experience (in my unprofessional opinion) and, I think, that’s what I appreciated the most. A lot of horror books I’ve read lately really relish in the slow, slow, SLOW build up. A lot of atmosphere, a lot of suspense. Clown in a Cornfield has a different kind of suspense. A special, fast-paced suspense that comes from characters being hunted (like, literally) by a homicidal maniac clown.
And it was scary, sure, but in a really enjoyable way. The gore was… actually kind of surprising. You can get away with some crazy stuff in YA, apparently! But it fit the narrative and really drove home the fear- for Quinn et. al and for the reader.
It wasn’t all just fun and scares, though. There’s an undercurrent of politics between the blossoming friendships and killer clowns. That hostility between teens and adults isn’t just manufactured for good dialogue and tension. It’s a mirror image of what’s going on in the world today. Tradition vs modernity. Town hall meetings vs livestreams. Boomers vs Gen Z. And, most importantly, a homicidal clown vs gun-wielding teens.
And it was scary, sure, but in a really enjoyable way. The gore was… actually kind of surprising. You can get away with some crazy stuff in YA, apparently! But it fit the narrative and really drove home the fear- for Quinn et. al and for the reader.
It wasn’t all just fun and scares, though. There’s an undercurrent of politics between the blossoming friendships and killer clowns. That hostility between teens and adults isn’t just manufactured for good dialogue and tension. It’s a mirror image of what’s going on in the world today. Tradition vs modernity. Town hall meetings vs livestreams. Boomers vs Gen Z. And, most importantly, a homicidal clown vs gun-wielding teens.
readingwithkelsey's review
4.0
Despite it having a weirdly slow start, I ended up really enjoying this one. The plot had everything I have come to expect for a good slasher: small town with some seedy residents, idiotic and oblivious teenagers, a killer with an interesting motivation and a new girl who ends up dealing with the consequences of the town and becoming a final girl. It was fun and campy and exactly what I wanted to read - plus having a clown killer added an additional spooky factor for someone afraid of the red-nose joker (me). But what really surprised me was the amount of gore! Cesare was not afraid to have the stabbiest killer with a really interesting motive. It was a fun twist on classic slasher motivations which I enjoyed. I didn't think I would need to read a sequel when I had first jumped into the book, but now that I'm done, I'm definitely interested to see how this goes.
seesincolour's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
t00f_f41rie's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
ashleysnerdyworld's review against another edition
4.0
This book starts out slow but then it picks up very gory
rkragsdale's review against another edition
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
0.5
good in theory (sort of). annoying in practice (entirely). <3 maybe its because of my generation though !!!!!! genuinely not worth my time, or yours.
misswitch86's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
0.25
kristensreading's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Violence, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail
kingjustiniii's review against another edition
2.0
I know we're not supposed to judge books by their covers...but are the titles off limits now too? For a book called Clown in a Cornfield both the clowns and the cornfield offer little to the narrative of this story. Replace the clown masks with ski masks and the cornfield with a forest and the story wouldnt change one bit.
The misleading title isn't the worst Clown in a Cornfield's issues though. The pacing and character motivations in this book are a total mess. I get that Cesare is trying to do a new take on Children of the Corn, but there's a reason Stephen King wrote that as a short story, there just isn't enough here for a full length novel.
Overall a total letdown and frustrating read.
The misleading title isn't the worst Clown in a Cornfield's issues though. The pacing and character motivations in this book are a total mess. I get that Cesare is trying to do a new take on Children of the Corn, but there's a reason Stephen King wrote that as a short story, there just isn't enough here for a full length novel.
Overall a total letdown and frustrating read.