Reviews with content warning for Body horror - Katzenjammer

Wow, that was tough. I knew what I was getting into (the copyright page spoils it, but I’d actually guessed it already just from the jacket description), but that doesn’t necessarily make it easier! I thought this was such a smart way to approach this topic. A very weird novel with more depth than you expect. This one will stick with me.

Content Warnings

sarah_shelf's review

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-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? No

1.5

*1.5-2

I usually reserve 1 stars for books I actively despised reading. While I would not say I despise this book, I had absolutely no investment in the characters or plot for the majority of this novel. I wanted the reasons/explanation for the creepy world of the present timeline, which we got in the last 20 pages, but I didn’t particularly care about anything else. This sounds bad, again, given the last 20 pages, which is why I’m splitting my review into my thoughts pre- and post- reveal (plot twist? ending?)

I bought this book on a whim one day, intrigued by the cover and the premise as well as a passing interest in one of Francesca Zappia’s other novels. Mostly I bought this book because it reminded me of the horror games my friends and I were obsessed with watching when we were in middle school. For the majority of the book, those vibes were all I really got out of it, plus a frustrating reminder of how YA can be such a vague genre when it caters to so many age groups. Pre-reveal I did not think I was at all part of the target audience for this novel. Honestly, I still think this novel would’ve gone over better with at least high school self (some of the more serious topics that come up later plus the gore may have been too much for middle school me.) Though the reveal does make the novel a lot more present and relevant to our society as a whole.

What I mean by the target audience is the characters, storyline, and writing were all simplistic. The past timeline, what happened before in the normal world, follows our main character Cat as she grows up and goes through high school. Cat is an outcast and a bit of a loner. She’s that weird girl with one friend and a talent at making creepy and disturbing art. Her best friend Jeffrey is a plain, chill dude who sticks by Cat through all the bullying, especially at the hands of his older brother, the attractive and ever popular Jake the jock. All of these characters feel like archetypes I’ve seen in high school media countless times and the bullying Cat suffers from, while horrendous, is still a story I’ve heard before. There was nothing interesting or different about this past timeline, no new commentary besides the dangers of bullying.

The present timeline, in the horror reflection of Cat’s high school and student body held my attention the most, but it still left a lot too be desired. If Cat’s past was just an exhibition of all the ways her life went wrong (with the exception of her relationship with Jeffrey) then Cat’s present just tries to one-up itself with the creepy student transformations and increasingly bloodier and gory-er murders. The crux in this storyline is finding out who or what is killing the changes students (the outcasts) with a minor desire to escape the prison the school has become, but that mostly falls to the wayside. It’s framed like a mystery, but it’s really not. Everyone points fingers at School’s so-called boogeyman, Laserbeams who lives in a cave of knives in the basement. So of course, it’s Laserbeams. Why? Well after a bloodbath,

involving Laserbeams killing people to take over their bodies as well as executions from the mob of Admin (read: popular/preppy) kids as a sacrifice to escape,

we reach the reveal.

As the climax of the violence occurs, Cat finally remembers what happened at the end of the past timeline:

Laserbeams, formerly known as Ryan Lancaster, brought a gun to school and, at the very least, killed her and Jeffrey. The present horror timeline was all a nightmare because Cat died in a school shooting. On it’s own the “it was all a dream/vision/in your head” plot twist is one I hate the most because it’s really hard to pull off without invalidating the entire story and/or ending (I’m looking at you Breaking Dawn). In this instance I wouldn’t say it angered me but just left me very confused (fitting given that’s what the title means.) I can understand how Cat would be the creator of this world, but given the reveal, it doesn’t make any sense to me.

Why have this present timeline at all? What purpose does it actually serve? There are numerous times where Cat comments on how the brutal murders show her the depths of violence that human beings can commit against each other. In the end Cat is afraid that this world is in some way a punishment for her.

However, a little girl shows up, a younger Cat, and tells her this is a lesson, the world isn’t fair, Cat needs to accept that she will never get her life back or answers to the violence that occurred in the real world, and she needs to move forward. So Cat walks into the light.

And that’s it! What???

Why was any of the horror timeline necessary?

Again the reveal and Cat’s moving on to whatever comes next all occurs in the last 20 pages. I guess it could be her brain’s way of processing what happened (but then why the personification of school? The transformation of the other students? A physical marker of their outcast status like they were in life? Why the brutal fight between the outcasts and the Admin kids? Yeah they were bullies but they were killed by Ryan/Laserbeams)

Maybe it’s her guilt? But then why only introduce these themes at the very end of the book? The whole balance between the depravity/violence of humans and accepting/moving on is completely off. It feels like there’s no resolution at all.

Which I could kind of understand if Zappia is trying to illustrate the experience of people connected to school shootings because it is abrupt and there aren’t reasons and it must be difficult to find any sort of closure or resolution after such violence. But we have a few (very small chapters) rushing through Cat’s acceptance and her moving on in death.

If you’re going to include that, why not give her and the readers time to experience that process. We hardly see any awareness or understanding seep from the memories into present Cat. They just collide at the very end and Cat says she remembers and does as the little girl asks. It’s jarring and confusing and does not fit with the direction the narrative takes nor does it fit with the split timelines we have been experiencing through the rest of the book.

Content Warnings

frogggirl2's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

What a fast, unique, thrilling read! In terms of a horror/school overlap, this is a lot like a two-part episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (high praise). This is ugly and beautiful, haunting and relateable. A propulsive read, consistently fascinating, that I could not put down and will not soon forget.

Content Warnings

smortnerd's review

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challenging dark emotional sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

Content Warnings

sammba's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.25

It is a well written book that's content will stay in my mind for a long time. I caught on to the mystery about 1/3 of the way through and continued reading hoping that I was wrong. The whole story is heartbreaking.

I would NOT recommend his book for teens or label it as YA (see content/trigger warnings). It is NOT for the faint of heart.

Content Warnings

supersol375's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

Content Warnings

sarah984's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

This was a very dark and strange little novel and I'm still not really sure how I felt about it. The writing is so atmospheric and some of the imagery will probably stick with me forever, but a lot of it didn't really feel like it meant anything. Considering the heavy nature of the real life topic involved I wish the book had had more to say than like "bad things are bad".

Content Warnings

stonams's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Content Warnings

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