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albernikolauras's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
In this book, you follow a group of high schoolers who have decided to play a prank on their friend, starring a mannequin they loved for a whole summer. And then they start to die.
I was not ready for this book. You follow one of the teenagers as the plot progresses, and while it sounds like a cliche slasher, it was so much more. Definitely one to read if you aren't too squeamish.
I was not ready for this book. You follow one of the teenagers as the plot progresses, and while it sounds like a cliche slasher, it was so much more. Definitely one to read if you aren't too squeamish.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Violence, and Car accident
Moderate: Suicide and Body horror
chloseencounter's review against another edition
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? Yes
1.0
Night of the Mannequins was one of the shortest stories on my TBR so I decided to throw it in to my Halloween reads and this was probably the worst book I’ve read in awhile. I actually really wanted to DNF it but I hate to do that especially to a novel that’s only roughly 140 pages, so I stuck it out and it was all pretty lackluster.
The description of the book sounds so fun and interesting, I think this could have been a fun teen romp slasher style but truthfully it was only a psychotic boy’s ramblings. I disliked the main character so much that just having him narrate the book was sort of irritating. Also for a book seemingly advertised as a slasher, every kill was the exact same which isn’t very interesting or fun. I feel like if you’re gonna do it, take it all the way and make it way more gory and ridiculous. If the author did that, I think this could’ve been more enjoyable but mostly it was just boring and for such a short novel, felt repetitive.
I wouldn’t recommend this one unless you’re super desperate for a short story, it was mostly unexciting and unremarkable.
The description of the book sounds so fun and interesting, I think this could have been a fun teen romp slasher style
I wouldn’t recommend this one unless you’re super desperate for a short story, it was mostly unexciting and unremarkable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Violence, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Cursing and Stalking
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
becca_w_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Mental illness, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Body horror, Blood, Child death, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, and Violence
Minor: Alcohol, Bullying, Cursing, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic relationship, and Vomit
magellen's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Super quick read that's loads of fun - a pure slasher from SGJ that dips into the supernatural only briefly before twisting your head around backwards with the truth. Reading this after Chainsaw, it's a clear sibling in the best way. SGJ talks about how he is forever pulled to the slasher genre and you can see in the writing he is certainly deeper in conversation with it than other attempts.
Good heartbreaking slasher. 👍👍
Good heartbreaking slasher. 👍👍
Content Warnings
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis and Murder
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Stalking, and Grief
cheye13's review against another edition
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I think I took too long to read this one, and the tension slipped right through my fingers. I'm not typically a horror fan, but I didn't find this all that scary. I'd call it more of a psychological thriller.
I did go in without having read the full synopsis, which I think really helped. I quite enjoyed the front half, not seeing a lot of the reveals coming. I really appreciated the nuances within the content: Sawyer is very much an Indigenous teen boy with a very specific experience, but he also has a very Everyman vibe to him. He has parents, friends, hopes, dreams – just like everyone else. It feels like any of his friends could step into his role and the story would be the same, which brings the mannequin concept full circle, imo.
The writing style and voice is very unique; it fits the story so well and is very fun to read. It's very evocative of a film and also a campfire/sleepover story, but still takes moments to use written word to full effect. There are a few sentences that stopped me short to either send a chill down my spine or an ache through my heart.
I think the writing style was spectacular, but the brevity and predictability of the storyline crossed with the universailty of the main perspective didn't really let me sink my claws in.
I did go in without having read the full synopsis, which I think really helped. I quite enjoyed the front half, not seeing a lot of the reveals coming. I really appreciated the nuances within the content: Sawyer is very much an Indigenous teen boy with a very specific experience, but he also has a very Everyman vibe to him. He has parents, friends, hopes, dreams – just like everyone else. It feels like any of his friends could step into his role and the story would be the same, which brings the mannequin concept full circle, imo.
The writing style and voice is very unique; it fits the story so well and is very fun to read. It's very evocative of a film and also a campfire/sleepover story, but still takes moments to use written word to full effect. There are a few sentences that stopped me short to either send a chill down my spine or an ache through my heart.
I think the writing style was spectacular, but the brevity and predictability of the storyline crossed with the universailty of the main perspective didn't really let me sink my claws in.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Gore, Animal death, Blood, Car accident, and Grief
Minor: Abandonment, Body horror, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Drug use, and Suicidal thoughts
There is an early line in which Sawyer mentions he "stopped taking his meds" but it is never revisited or explained. Treads a very thin line toward an ableist trope.dalmavatai's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book was super strange but I definitely think it has an audience, it's just probably not me. I did appreciate the writing style and I think this was a well-crafted story with multiple interesting elements from a literary perspective, but this kind of weird supernatural story with an ambiguous ending is not really for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Gore
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