Reviews with content warning for Suicide - Night of the Mannequins

In this book, you follow a group of high schoolers who have decided to play a prank on their friend, starring a mannequin they loved for a whole summer. And then they start to die.

I was not ready for this book. You follow one of the teenagers as the plot progresses, and while it sounds like a cliche slasher, it was so much more. Definitely one to read if you aren't too squeamish.

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ahumblebard's review

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dark fast-paced

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

2.0

It's really hard to discuss this book without getting into the spoilers, but the non-spoilery version is...it's absolutely not what I expected. I came into it sort of expecting a fun monster-movie romp. Spoilers below (SERIOUSLY spoilers below, I cannot stress enough not to click if you plan on reading it and want to be surprised.)

It wasn't that. At all. The story is told from a first-person perspective, in a sort of rambling teenage-boy voice (which makes sense, because he's a teenage boy), and while we're able to follow along with his thought processes, I guess, it was still a let-down for me to get to the end of the story and realize that there wasn't going to be a twist where his delusions turn out to be true. It really just was all in his head. It just made it all so much darker and bleaker that way, because it was all for nothing.

No shade if you really liked this one or anything, but it really wasn't for me.

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booksthatburn's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

NIGHT OF THE MANNEQUINS is an absorbing thriller, expertly balanced and engrossing until the last moments.

Sawyer is a careful but unreliable narrator. He faithfully tells what happened, but his idea of what is literally happening versus what he's merely convinced is happening leaves a lot of very unsettling possibilities open. By the end I settled on an answer, but part of me still thinks the second option is viable. It shook me on a fundamental level and I’m still thinking about it days later. The story is told mostly linearly, and those small deviations from linearity start to add up as Sawyer gradually decides to tell backstory when it becomes necessary (but usually well after it’s first relevant).

It’s fantastic, I loved every minute! I can’t recommend it highly enough.

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amandaquotidianbooks's review

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dark mysterious sad fast-paced

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

4.0

I love how SGJ blends psychology into this slasher novella. This was so much better than what the blurb leads me to believe.

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podanotherjessi's review

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dark sad medium-paced

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

4.0

This was really, really not what I expected, and I mean that in a good way. The only real major flaw in this was that the characters were rather shallow, which meant I didn't worry about them as much as I liked. I do think the book gave away one twist a little too early - as in, intentionally revealed, not that I guessed it fast - and there might have been a little more tension if it had gone on longer. Besides that though, a really interesting read.

Character: 7
Plot: 9
Setting: 8
General appeal: 8
Writing style: 9
Originality: 8
Ending: 8

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bookswhitme's review

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dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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bookishcori's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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