Reviews tagging 'Car accident'

There's No Way I'd Die First by Lisa Springer

7 reviews

haileyhardcover's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

2.0

I clearly didn’t enjoy this book much… BUT before I get into what I didn’t like, I want to mention what WAS good about it and that’s the criticism of the lack of positive Black representation the horror genre. From the setting of most Black horror films, the extra Z’s in titles, Black characters cast as the ”loyal sidekick” only there to sacrifice themself for the white lead, and the lack of a Black ”Final Girl” - racism is everywhere, and it’s blatant in horror. 

Also, a murderous clown who draws the line at misgendering someone he’s about to kill. 🤡 Talk, Valentina! 

No but really… Unfortunately, this was a really good premise and really disappointing execution. The writing isn’t great, none of the characters are likable, the layout of the setting is confusing, the ”twist” was obvious & unoriginal, and the addition of the romance felt forced and was completely unnecessary. 

The first quarter of the book is slow and instead of making me care about these kids who are about to be slaughtered, I just grew increasingly annoyed with them. No one deserves to be murdered, BUT… it’s hard to root for a bunch of rotten, entitled, mega rich kids and a final girl who’s obsessed with everyone at her party being rich and famous and name dropping all of the designer things she owns… If she mentioned the fucking Birkin one more time I was going to scream! Also, was THAT detail really necessary? IYKYK. 

Noelle repeats over and over AND OVER AND OVER that she’s got what it takes to be a Final Girl… but she repeatedly makes dumb choices that someone who has obsessively prepped for this kind of scenario (as she claims to have done) would never do. What kind of “there’s no way I’d die first,” final girl horror fanatic would ever make an entire group of drunk and high teenagers give up their phones to play hide and seek with a killer clown?! That detail ESPECIALLY made no sense considering she picked these specific people to attend her party because they’re all influencers with a large following and she wanted them to share things on their own socials so she could get more followers… 

I could go on, but suffice to say that, unfortunately, I do not recommend this book. If you want a great YA slasher with a Black female MC, I highly suggest You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight instead! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Gore, Racism, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Drug use, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, and Car accident

ninabest's review against another edition

dark tense slow-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? N/A

2.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Alcohol, and Classism

ghostlyprince's review

dark reflective tense fast-paced

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

1.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Drug use, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Grief, and Alcohol

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, and Car accident

vixenreader's review

dark tense medium-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

3.0

It’s a slog to get through for the middle section and there have been better movies that have done this lot. Still, there’s a lot of small perks, such as the leading lady, the horror movie trivia, and some commentary on wealth and shame. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Miscarriage, Racism, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Animal cruelty, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, and Cultural appropriation

Be aware that there is violence with knives and other household items, bribery, financial stress, and homemade bombs.

puddleshoes's review

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Stalking, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

amy_salieri's review

dark 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? Yes

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Infidelity and Car accident

bookstarbri's review

dark mysterious 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

2.75

So that was a wild ride. I'm loving this era of Black girls in thriller books. 80s and 90s horror movies are some of my favorites and it makes me so happy to see Black girls in these kind of iconic scream queen roles!! this book definitely has those classic slasher movies vibes, so if you like that era of horror movies, this might be good for you to read!

There's No Way I'd Die First is a really tense thriller. I think if you're a horror movie fan, you'll like this book! it kinda gives Bodies Bodies Bodies, Scream, and I Know What You Did Last Summer vibes. as a Black reader, I like to know info like this before reading, so I want to also point out that though the MC is Black, her race doesn't have anything to do with the motivations of the killing.

This author is really great at writing action scenes, I think. There's A LOT of action in this book. the killing starts around chapter 5, I believe, and it keeps going really until the end. it is action-packed and there's literally something wild happening every chapter. I will say that some scenes are pretty graphic. There's one scene in particular that really disgusted me and I had to take a moment lol. The main antagonist of this does a lot to these characters and some of them are truly awful. However, there were some moments that genuinely had me laughing because of how ridiculous it was (in a good way). This killer is very reminiscent of Ghostface, so they're pretty funny sometimes and truly despicable other times.

While there was a lot for me to enjoy in this, I ultimately didn't like quite a few things. For one, the romance in this story was interesting. I feel like it's really challenging to attempt romance in the middle of a slasher. it never really feels quite right and it didn't work here for me either. I also wish the twist could've been, well, twistier. I wasn't all that surprised when we found out and, while it did make sense, I just wanted more of that shock, gasp, and awe moment. There were also a lot of moments where I was confused where we were exactly in the mansion (a better grounding of the setting would've been nice). And since 95%ish of this book takes place in the house, sometimes it was confusing getting my bearings on exactly where something was.

Overall, I love horror and thrillers so much, but this one wasn't entirely for me. However, I think this is just a matter of personal taste. I think it's great for spooky season reading, so a lot of people should pick it up especially if you love slashers. 

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Blood, Stalking, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Excrement and Car accident

RE: Excrement content warning-

There is a scene in the book in which the main antagonist defecates a purse and then uses toilet paper, and then throws the toilet paper all around the room. This scene isn't particularly long, and I suppose not super graphic, but it was really gross to me, so if you're sensitive to that kind of thing like I am, be aware!