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twistykris's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
This book was a major disappointment for me. I was really hoping for a great, suspenseful read just in time for Halloween and while it was sort of a fun and quick slasher, that was about it. The characters were so underdeveloped that they blended together and I honestly didn't care for anyone, even the "good" guys. Another review said the adults were "borderline cartoonish" and I completely agree. Most of the kids were insufferable. The killer reveal was predictable and reasoning behind the major plot was... absurd.
1. The adults in the town hated a certain group of kids SO much that they decided to go on a killing spree (of which innocent kids were victims to) to "save" the town??? And then they tried to pin it on a kid whose sister died in a tragic accident a year ago (and whose dad hates him for it) and the girl who moved to this town 4 DAYS AGO? Make it make sense.
2. The adults calling new-girl Quinn a "whore" and a "slut" when she's literally done nothing was maddening.
3. I also feel like the timeline is so off. The Founder's Day incident happens and the adults who were in this "Make Kettle Springs Great Again" group now decide "let's go slaughter a bunch of kids." It just feels like everything happens SO fast that it doesn't make sense.
4. Ronnie and Matt are just... in on murdering their friends? Because they want to be on the "right side of history"?? Makes 0 sense to me.
5. Cole and Rust's relationship felt oddly thrown in. Sure, they were childhood friends, but they don't get that much interaction with each other in the book. Quinn's POV suggested maybe everyone had a crush on Cole (as in Janet, Ronnie, and Matt), but even from Cole's POV there didn't seem to be any sort of romantic feelings towards Rust. A desire to reconnect, sure, but they were literally hanging out for the first time in years at the party. This doesn't feel like queer rep.
6. And the ending with Cole's dad going to Cuba to "do the job right" was so confusing? How is him going to Cuba relate to killing his son? I think this was supposed to be a cliffhanger to lead into the sequel, but I was just left dumbfounded and confused.
2. The adults calling new-girl Quinn a "whore" and a "slut" when she's literally done nothing was maddening.
3. I also feel like the timeline is so off. The Founder's Day incident happens and the adults who were in this "Make Kettle Springs Great Again" group now decide "let's go slaughter a bunch of kids." It just feels like everything happens SO fast that it doesn't make sense.
4. Ronnie and Matt are just... in on murdering their friends? Because they want to be on the "right side of history"?? Makes 0 sense to me.
5. Cole and Rust's relationship felt oddly thrown in. Sure, they were childhood friends, but they don't get that much interaction with each other in the book. Quinn's POV suggested maybe everyone had a crush on Cole (as in Janet, Ronnie, and Matt), but even from Cole's POV there didn't seem to be any sort of romantic feelings towards Rust. A desire to reconnect, sure, but they were literally hanging out for the first time in years at the party. This doesn't feel like queer rep.
6. And the ending with Cole's dad going to Cuba to "do the job right" was so confusing? How is him going to Cuba relate to killing his son? I think this was supposed to be a cliffhanger to lead into the sequel, but I was just left dumbfounded and confused.
And one of my biggest issues was the audiobook. I liked Jesse Vilinsky's narration in Seanan McGuire's Lost in the Moment and Found. But in this, the accents and the voice she gave for men and teenage boys was just distracting and at times the narration was so overly dramatic to the point it was hard to understand what she was saying.
I will not be reading the sequel, even after that (bizarre) cliffhanger epilogue.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Blood, Gore, Murder, Child death, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Police brutality, and Medical content
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
emzhay's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
A fun and quick slasher read. The characters weren’t really developed enough for me to truly care about anyone. Most of them blended together. The adults were borderline cartoonish. The build up, tension and kills were all good though, very cinematic. The killer reveal was a bit disappointing.
Actually it wasn’t just disappointing it was absurd. I mean, a group of adults choosing to slaughter a bunch of teenagers who “terrorize” the town? How could they think they would possibly get away with it? And then trying to frame two kids for it that’s didn’t even use guns? Completely ridiculous. After I read the second town meeting scene I was really hoping the adults weren’t the killer, but alas.
I think the audiobook narration was l overacted and distracting. The accents and men’s voices also weren’t the best. I’ll be going with the print versions for the sequels.
Actually it wasn’t just disappointing it was absurd.
I think the audiobook narration was l overacted and distracting. The accents and men’s voices also weren’t the best. I’ll be going with the print versions for the sequels.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Child abuse, Gun violence, and Murder
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Racism
loosejelly's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
It was a slasher movie put to page! I felt like I was watching a movie in the best way. It was campy and tense and I loved the surprise queer rep!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Murder, Mass/school shootings, and Gore
Moderate: Death of parent, Cursing, and Police brutality
corporealmystic's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Listen, if you are afraid of clowns, this definitely isn't for you.
Frendo is Kettle Springs mascot. His face is on the dilapidated factory outside Quinn's new bedroom. It's not creepy at all, right?
Quinn and her father moved to Kettle Springs for a new start after a very publicized death of her mother. Glenn believed that him and his daughter needed the change, but he didn't realize that the townspeople also wanted a change as well.
The characters are amazingly written and will keep you entertained throughout the book. There are a few twists and turns that you won't see coming in the dynamics of the group that we follow throughout the story.
The atmosphere is small town creepy, and it totally works. The writing style sucks you in and makes you think about being in these situations yourself and how you would react.
Overall, it is a great read! I suggest it for anyone who is a fan of horror and wants some entertainment. I will be picking up the second in the series as soon as possible.
"Make Kettle Springs Great Again!"
Frendo is Kettle Springs mascot. His face is on the dilapidated factory outside Quinn's new bedroom. It's not creepy at all, right?
Quinn and her father moved to Kettle Springs for a new start after a very publicized death of her mother. Glenn believed that him and his daughter needed the change, but he didn't realize that the townspeople also wanted a change as well.
The characters are amazingly written and will keep you entertained throughout the book. There are a few twists and turns that you won't see coming in the dynamics of the group that we follow throughout the story.
The atmosphere is small town creepy, and it totally works. The writing style sucks you in and makes you think about being in these situations yourself and how you would react.
Overall, it is a great read! I suggest it for anyone who is a fan of horror and wants some entertainment. I will be picking up the second in the series as soon as possible.
"Make Kettle Springs Great Again!"
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Gore, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Blood, Bullying, Death, Medical content, Body horror, Child death, Medical trauma, and Violence
telliot's review against another edition
dark
tense
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death of parent, Blood, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
whatthegayle's review against another edition
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
“Looking at these houses, Quinn was struck with the feeling that Kettle Springs had left its best days behind. The town had given up.”
This book was a fun and quick read! Loved how the adults were fighting against the kids, and was pleased with how the book never made me lose interest!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Child death, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, Gore, Death, and Violence
atiek's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
The twist is that this book is gay! ;)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Grief, Murder, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Gore, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Violence
clevergirl216's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book got off to a slow start, and I almost quit reading it. But when it got going, it really got going and was hard to put down. Much more gore than I usually read, but all of the tension, twists and turns made it with putting up with.
The author tied up all of the ongoing storylines,, so until the very end, I couldn’t figure out how there could be a logical sequel.
The author tied up all of the ongoing storylines,, so until the very end, I couldn’t figure out how there could be a logical sequel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Gore, Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Death of parent
mollyolloxenfree25's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Murder, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, and Gore
Moderate: Drug abuse
booksarefriends_notfood's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
This book was an enjoyable read and a good introduction to horror for people who don't have a lot of experience in the genre. It reads a lot like an 80s slasher film which I found to be more entertaining than I thought I would. It also has some elements that are a little far-fetched but just crazy enough to be viable for the plot. It was a fast-paced read, would definitely recommend for horror readers dipping their toe in or for someone feeling nostalgic for slasher movies.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Alcohol, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Murder, and Violence