Reviews

Ten by Gretchen McNeil

shhchar's review against another edition

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5.0

This novel was a creepy look into a serial killer's horrid attack on ten teenagers. The whole plot is a sociopath's dream, the details were methodical and kept the reader on edge the whole time. I checked my room like five times while reading this at night (which I don't recommend doing.) The basic plot is that ten teenagers are having a party on a secluded island, for three days, and get hunted down one by one: each death marked with a red slash on the wall of the house.

Basically, if you like horror movies, you will love this book. The author laid all the details out so perfetly, there were no loose ends in the plot anywhere. I like to think that I could have predicted some of the plot twists, but I really didn't. Every twist wasn't what I expected, but it fit into the plot perfectly. Normally there are loose ends, but I can't think of any. Gretchen McNeil is a great author for this genre, and I need to read more of her books!

The action went really fast. There were no moments in this book where the characters were calm, and staying still. But the description was written nicely, so I was never lost. There are books with a ton of action that don't describe what's happening enough; and I can get totally lost. But this book wasn't like that. Gretchen McNeil has a future in writing fast-paced stories.

That's really all for this review, I don't think I have anything bad to say about it. I recommend it 100%!

anxiouslyreading33's review against another edition

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2.0

I am so disappointed in this book I wanted it to be a fun slasher but all the main girl cared about was the guy she was infatuated with.

mollyolloxenfree25'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? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

abbytilf's review against another edition

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3.0

No entirely what I expected. 4 stars because it was a nice story you could fly through, but I didn't realize that it might be for a younger age group then myself. Not bad over all though.

celjla212's review against another edition

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5.0

4.5 STARS

Meg and her best friend Minnie, along with eight other high school kids, have been invited to a rich friend's home on the isolated Henry Island for a wild party weekend. But things definitely don't go as expected when they become stranded because of a raging storm, with no power, no TV, and no phone. It gets even worse when bodies start piling up and their numbers start diminishing.

With everyone a suspect, tensions run high and friend turns on friend. If they can figure out how they are all connected, maybe they can find out who's doing the killing--and how to stop them before everyone winds up dead.

I've seen other reviews saying that TEN is based off an old Agatha Christie book, and then giving a negative review because this book "doesn't live up to the original." That's why I don't put stock in anyone's Goodreads reviews. Well guess what--I've never read an Agatha Christie story in my life, and I still enjoyed this book.

This story is told in third person, which is cool because it gives a non-personal aspect to the narration. There are so many characters that it would be unfair to simply focus on one person's point of view. And the cast of characters is unique, but none of them are too deep. In a way I think it's cool that we didn't get a whole lot of background on each one; it would have made it hard to read if we connected to each individual then had to read about their death.

The atmosphere and world building are what gives this story its' major creep factor. Stranded on an island with absolutely no way of getting off and no connection to the outside world? That's scary enough in itself without the addition of so many deaths!

The writing style really flowed for me--nothing too poetic or complicated. It kept the pages turning swiftly for me, and I found myself lost in the world of Henry Island while lying sick in bed. It was a nice escape.

The only issue I had, and it was a small one, was that I figured out the connection between all of the kids before they did themselves. I would have thought a girl as smart as Meg could have put the clues together a bit faster...but she figured it out eventually.

I definitely didn't see the identity of the killer coming, though. The last few chapters of the book move at a scorching pace and it was hard to keep myself from reading ahead on the page.

I would recommend this book to anyone who needs a nice break from the monotony of paranormal series that are so popular these days. The book is stand alone of course, so that makes it different for me.

Nice job, Ms. McNeil.

pineapple_princess's review against another edition

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

2.5

The characters were so stupid and dumb. I get that they’re teenagers, but they were so dim.

The author points out evrything as if the reader is also dumb. There’s nothing left to interpretations. It’s almost like she was trying to meet a word count.

Also it was super cheesy in terms of the romance. 

mar999's review against another edition

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medium-paced

3.0

4saradouglas's review against another edition

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2.0

This was a quick read, but so predictable. I also wasn't connecting with any of the characters, so as they all started dying left and right I couldn't care less. Actually it wasn't just that I wasn't connecting with the characters, it was more like they all sucked and I was hoping they'd get killed off quickly so I wouldn't have to hear about them anymore. Very very stereotypical characters and cheesy dialogue. I guess overall I pretty well disliked this book!

missjmilton's review against another edition

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4.0

I am such a sucker for a good whodunit. Thankfully I would classify this book as one of those. I was teetering on a 3 star review because I thought it was so predictable what was going on. I then realized I was wrong and that warranted my fourth star. Parts of the story were pretty intense and i could feel myself getting anxious that alone kept me intrigued. I don’t want to write a review with spoilers but I will say while this was a good read, I can’t give it 5 stars because of the ending. Overall I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to someone who wants a quick, whodunit.

chandlersaurus's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0