Reviews with content warning for Suicide attempt - Killer Game

Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

Killer Game by Stephanie Perkins

25 reviews

abbiemreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This book was gruesome and entertaining, it had all the elements of a good slasher but the killer reveal didn’t have a good twist, it fell a bit flat for me. The motivation wasn’t as built up as I would have liked either as it’s just kind of explained with a line at the end and not much more? The main characters past was also set up as a huge plot point but didn’t seem to have high-stakes or really help with the killer plot, which is an interesting twist, but the motivation really just needed more time.
Good characters, written to captivate and overall very fun, but I wanted more explanation around it all.

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julienicole1106's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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racheldkidder's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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charlsbookshelves's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

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tkatt20's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I needed a quick and interesting read and this book delivered. It read exactly like some of my favorite teen slasher films and had me devouring every page as the tension grew. The first 50 or so pages read more like a contemporary romance and was not what I was expecting but I stuck with it and and very quickly realized how necessary it was to lure you into a false sense of security. All of the characters were extremely well written and diverse. Each major character especially had their own trauma and flaws but it wasn't an excuse for the characters to be irrationally rude or unpleasant, which seems to be a trend with YA books I've read in the past. Every character seemed extremely fleshed out (no pun intended) and had their own personality and I was so shocked at how accurately this book portrayed the media and community response to the tragedies that were happening and how screwed up it was.

I highly recommend this book for any horror/slasher movie fans out there. Some other reviews mention that the killer' motive wasn't realistic and ended up being disappointing but I didnt get that at all. I was very realistic to me and terrifying since it shows that you never really know what goes on in someones head. There was a perfect balance of heart-pounding scenes and lighter and funnier moments in between so nothing became to over or underwhelming and the writing style was perfect for me. I loved these characters and if the author ever decided to bring them back for future books I would be first in line for a copy.

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mlinder18's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I don't know why I disliked this book. Maybe it was the writing style, the disconnected various POVs, or the reveal of the killer so early in the book. I watched the Netflix movie prior to reading the book and that probably also skewed my opinion (although I didn't like to movie either!).
I think there was a lot more potential here and it fell a little flat.
Looking forward to giving Perkins other "YA thriller/horror" a read to see if its any better.

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voidboi's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

When this book was announced, I felt some disappointment that one of my favorite YA authors was moving into a genre that I wasn't particularly interested in, and I never got around to reading it. In retrospect, I'm glad that I didn't, because now I was able to read it with a fairly newfound appreciation for horror and slashers. This book is suspenseful and gory, but it still has qualities of Stephanie Perkins' work that I have always loved- Makani is real, relatable, flawed, and self-aware just as the author's heroines always are (which I found particularly refreshing and comforting as a teenager, because I always knew she took her readers seriously), but she's distinctly her own self. The honesty in how the romance is approached, by the characters and in the writing, feels particularly strong for the genre, again in line with Stephanie's track record. I didn't feel quite the same "swept off my feet" emotions as I did with Anna, Lola, and Isla, probably because it was replaced by apprehension and paranoia- I couldn't quite trust anything for the majority of the book. That said, I think the relationship was developed incredibly well, and I was utterly engrossed.

I do have a few complaints. I felt that Darby and Alex were underdeveloped and somewhat cartoon-y, and I wish they'd gotten past that before the end. I also thought that the reveal of Makani's past was a bit anti-climactic. Reading about what she'd been put through was horrific (though a bit weirdly formatted), but in the end what she actually did just paled in comparison to to actual bad things in her past and present, and it seemed unrealistic that the response would have been so world-ending for her.

Honestly, if Jasmine had actually died I think it would have hit home, and created a stronger conflict between victimhood and guilt.

And the end of the book felt very abrupt. It needed either a little less or a little more resolution.

This was a great spooky season read, and I'm so glad Steph Perkins was able to write this. Her voice is perfect for the messy and dark parts of adolescence.

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