You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A horrifying read! This book picks up quickly around the halfway point and the action doesn’t stop until the end. Scary stuff!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
[Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that emphasizes preserving traditional institutions, values, and practices]
Behind all the slasher horror Behind the thrill Of children running wild behind all the party Clown in a Cornfield Is in essence About Conservatism Which Made it an interesting read I just did not think that it was that interesting plot wise but when you think about it from a ideological standpoint and what it is trying to say about America as a microcosm and Global Society as a whole you realise that it has an interesting lens The adults in this book I think similar to it represents stagnancy represent a need to keep things The way they wear the Statue quo Which is surprisingly an ideology that is commonly held Not just with older adults but also Sleeping into this generation ever so quickly While on the other hand The children represents Not even innocence by think they will be an allegory for Progressivism And I use that specifically instead of saying liberalism Because I don't think Book talks so much about liberalism when you read up when you read it and understand what liberalism is versus Progressivism And nothing is more powerful in this distinction And in this story Like their phone and the internet and it is quite a funny thing but like when Um Quinn and her dad come to kettle spring They did not have Wi-Fi access almost everybody that died Did not have access to call needed Authority or help which I know is a staple in a lot of horror genre especially isolated horror But it becomes like a theme a symbolical theme for how we need to remain stagnant in the olden days and holding ways Is actually quite dangerous for people because everybody who died did not have access to Contacted needed authority or help And even the way that they were eventually caught Was through the access to said internet Which I just think is brilliant Also The book doesn't really talk about liberalism But Progressivism on the contrary because there is a lot of talk about like Janet wears And what is acceptable Like being a teenager and you know teenagers are more at the Forefront of Trends and social life And This may be my personal read on the story but it was also telling that it was also teenagers who betrayed other teenagers to then Spare themselves it is a not too in my opinion things like white liberalism And how In almost every Ideological Progressive Circle the biggest threat to that movement would always be someone from within And I also want to add That the ending and discovery of cole and rust Being in a queer relationship although felt at the moment like Quirky addition It did End up making sense for me towards about the last chapter where I realised that Yes this story don't talk about progressivism but it also touches on Liberalism Which is Sometimes hand in hand with Progressivism And also how that square identity is meant to be like a kind of linch pen for How people Especially in small rural area which was a good thing that he used a small rural area for this story But specifically how those rural areas are very hostile to Progressivism and would love to stay stagnant All in all like I feel like if I was to talk or judge the book Based on plot and the three of I got from it It is a little bit thrilling it's a little bit nice I won't really consider it a horror I will muscle consider it a philosophical slasher Thriller You know I was a judgy based on It's plot what I just read I wouldn't say it is the best but also is the worst it knows what it wants to do and it sticks to that And I love how it kept things simple to the normal stereotypical slasher format it didn't try to derail it knew what it was and it told what it was At the same time it gets extra point for being ideological And still well thought about even though it wasn't The most original thing Plot wise And yeah that's it was also a quick read Which is a plus
Behind all the slasher horror Behind the thrill Of children running wild behind all the party Clown in a Cornfield Is in essence About Conservatism Which Made it an interesting read I just did not think that it was that interesting plot wise but when you think about it from a ideological standpoint and what it is trying to say about America as a microcosm and Global Society as a whole you realise that it has an interesting lens The adults in this book I think similar to it represents stagnancy represent a need to keep things The way they wear the Statue quo Which is surprisingly an ideology that is commonly held Not just with older adults but also Sleeping into this generation ever so quickly While on the other hand The children represents Not even innocence by think they will be an allegory for Progressivism And I use that specifically instead of saying liberalism Because I don't think Book talks so much about liberalism when you read up when you read it and understand what liberalism is versus Progressivism And nothing is more powerful in this distinction And in this story Like their phone and the internet and it is quite a funny thing but like when Um Quinn and her dad come to kettle spring They did not have Wi-Fi access almost everybody that died Did not have access to call needed Authority or help which I know is a staple in a lot of horror genre especially isolated horror But it becomes like a theme a symbolical theme for how we need to remain stagnant in the olden days and holding ways Is actually quite dangerous for people because everybody who died did not have access to Contacted needed authority or help And even the way that they were eventually caught Was through the access to said internet Which I just think is brilliant Also The book doesn't really talk about liberalism But Progressivism on the contrary because there is a lot of talk about like Janet wears And what is acceptable Like being a teenager and you know teenagers are more at the Forefront of Trends and social life And This may be my personal read on the story but it was also telling that it was also teenagers who betrayed other teenagers to then Spare themselves it is a not too in my opinion things like white liberalism And how In almost every Ideological Progressive Circle the biggest threat to that movement would always be someone from within And I also want to add That the ending and discovery of cole and rust Being in a queer relationship although felt at the moment like Quirky addition It did End up making sense for me towards about the last chapter where I realised that Yes this story don't talk about progressivism but it also touches on Liberalism Which is Sometimes hand in hand with Progressivism And also how that square identity is meant to be like a kind of linch pen for How people Especially in small rural area which was a good thing that he used a small rural area for this story But specifically how those rural areas are very hostile to Progressivism and would love to stay stagnant All in all like I feel like if I was to talk or judge the book Based on plot and the three of I got from it It is a little bit thrilling it's a little bit nice I won't really consider it a horror I will muscle consider it a philosophical slasher Thriller You know I was a judgy based on It's plot what I just read I wouldn't say it is the best but also is the worst it knows what it wants to do and it sticks to that And I love how it kept things simple to the normal stereotypical slasher format it didn't try to derail it knew what it was and it told what it was At the same time it gets extra point for being ideological And still well thought about even though it wasn't The most original thing Plot wise And yeah that's it was also a quick read Which is a plus
Rating: 4
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Horror
A surprisingly gory YA slasher with excellent, immersive writing and a KILLER (no pun intended) audiobook performance from Jesse Vilinsky. The social commentary wasn’t exactly subtle but would have been really impactful for me if I had read this as a teenager.
There were some really nasty deaths and visuals that made me cringe, but it was in the most perfect way. I enjoyed the different perspectives that we followed to construct the whole story of the town and really rooted for our protagonist. She and her friends were very realistic as teenagers - sometimes they did stupid shit but were generally pretty clever.
Also, I’m obsessed with this cover.
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Horror
A surprisingly gory YA slasher with excellent, immersive writing and a KILLER (no pun intended) audiobook performance from Jesse Vilinsky. The social commentary wasn’t exactly subtle but would have been really impactful for me if I had read this as a teenager.
There were some really nasty deaths and visuals that made me cringe, but it was in the most perfect way. I enjoyed the different perspectives that we followed to construct the whole story of the town and really rooted for our protagonist. She and her friends were very realistic as teenagers - sometimes they did stupid shit but were generally pretty clever.
Also, I’m obsessed with this cover.
fast-paced
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
dark
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
Wow. I hated this!
I went into this book knowing very little. I knew it was somewhat popular, and had been successful enough to get a movie adaptation. (That said though I've no memory of if it got a theatrical release over here, I would have thought maybe it was a straight to streamer thing if I hadn't checked wikipedia before writing this review.) So my only real expectations going into this was that based on it coming out in 2020, it was probably somewhat inspired by that 2016 evil clown trend, or maybe the It movie adaptations.
Instead, this is an incredibly disjointed, disappointingly shallow slasher.
The Teens.
A good slasher has either characters you can't wait to see die, or characters you love and fear for their safety. The genre is full of stock characters because sometimes you just really need that shorthand for your early kills, and that's fine. Clown in a Cornfield has a bunch of interchangeable 2D cutouts of a Millennial's impression of Gen-Z. Some characters feel like they're going to be a big deal, only to vanish until the page they're killed on. There is no subversion, there is no archetype. You could just call them Teen 1, Teen 2 etc and it would be the same experience.
The Villain.
I love a good creepy clown. Frendo is not it. In part he's not what I wanted, but he isn't even a face. There is no terror to him. He doesn't have to be a clown. He doesn't have to be anything. He's a costume of a villain, picked to be a clown because maybe that's scarier?
Those under the mask have the most awful villain motivation I've ever had. No evil incarnate, no puppet master, no righteous cause. Suspending disbelief doesn't cover it, it's just dumb and groan worthy.
The Twists.
Make no god damn sense. But whatever, these characters have no identity why would they have an arc. Expecting the reveals to be in character is expecting far too much of them.
The Identity Crisis.
There are parts of this that read like sloppy YA, which I won't lie, soured me majorly for the first third of the book - I was expecting horror, not YA Horror. It then flips into surprisingly graphic violence considering that YA tone of most of the book. But it is all so sudden and inconsequential. There is no tension, there is no impact. There are just out of the blue sentences where a character is graphically killed, and we swiftly move on from that. No fear from the character as they experience it, no consequence it has on those left behind. We are just an observer of a quick shock before the ghost train turns another corner on its track.
Man, screw this book.
I went into this book knowing very little. I knew it was somewhat popular, and had been successful enough to get a movie adaptation. (That said though I've no memory of if it got a theatrical release over here, I would have thought maybe it was a straight to streamer thing if I hadn't checked wikipedia before writing this review.) So my only real expectations going into this was that based on it coming out in 2020, it was probably somewhat inspired by that 2016 evil clown trend, or maybe the It movie adaptations.
Instead, this is an incredibly disjointed, disappointingly shallow slasher.
The Teens.
A good slasher has either characters you can't wait to see die, or characters you love and fear for their safety. The genre is full of stock characters because sometimes you just really need that shorthand for your early kills, and that's fine. Clown in a Cornfield has a bunch of interchangeable 2D cutouts of a Millennial's impression of Gen-Z. Some characters feel like they're going to be a big deal, only to vanish until the page they're killed on. There is no subversion, there is no archetype. You could just call them Teen 1, Teen 2 etc and it would be the same experience.
The Villain.
I love a good creepy clown. Frendo is not it. In part he's not what I wanted, but he isn't even a face. There is no terror to him. He doesn't have to be a clown. He doesn't have to be anything. He's a costume of a villain, picked to be a clown because maybe that's scarier?
Those under the mask have the most awful villain motivation I've ever had. No evil incarnate, no puppet master, no righteous cause. Suspending disbelief doesn't cover it, it's just dumb and groan worthy.
The Twists.
Make no god damn sense. But whatever, these characters have no identity why would they have an arc. Expecting the reveals to be in character is expecting far too much of them.
The Identity Crisis.
There are parts of this that read like sloppy YA, which I won't lie, soured me majorly for the first third of the book - I was expecting horror, not YA Horror. It then flips into surprisingly graphic violence considering that YA tone of most of the book. But it is all so sudden and inconsequential. There is no tension, there is no impact. There are just out of the blue sentences where a character is graphically killed, and we swiftly move on from that. No fear from the character as they experience it, no consequence it has on those left behind. We are just an observer of a quick shock before the ghost train turns another corner on its track.
Man, screw this book.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No