Reviews with content warning for Domestic abuse - You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight

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You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron

3 reviews

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

4.0

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readthesparrow's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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? No

4.0

SUMMARY

Charity plays the Final Girl at a full-contact horror experience, where guests pay for a night of faux-slasher experience. When her co-workers disappear, Charity assumes they're just unreliable and calls her girlfriend, Bezi, and friend, Paige, up to help with the final performance. When someone turns up half-dead, it will take all of her Final Girl experience to survive.

REVIEW

After a run of slasher-inspired novels that flopped at the box office, You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight was a breath of fresh, bloody air. It was a fun, fast-paced read; the pacing is snappy, the action scenes feel weighty, the final twists were well-executed, and there are no holds barred on gore. This is a slasher. Characters get stabbed left and right without mercy.

That, however, leads me into what kept You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight from a full five stars. The characters don’t have the depth of character and complexity necessary for five stars. That’s not to say the characters are flat or bad; they’re likable and are distinct, personality-wise. However, it’s also quite easy to summarize the side characters in one or two traits, meaning that when they inevitably bite it (that’s not a spoiler, it’s a slasher!) it was not all that upsetting. Likability is one thing; being invested is another thing entirely.

QUEER REP

Before finishing the review, I have some thoughts on queer rep in You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight as reflecting a larger issue in queer rep.

Charity, our main character, has a girlfriend, Bezi. Charity identifies as gay, and explicitly states that she is not interested in men. However, the way this is introduced is that Charity is “a vegetarian;” “she don’t like meat… strictly strawberries” (Chapter 2). “Me and Porter are both part of the alphabet mafia,” Charity notes, “so we get it, but Javier is clueless” (Chapter 2).

It’s a small thing, but something like this–identifying attraction by sex, not gender–is gender essentialist, and something the queer community, particularly the trans and nonbinary communities, have been pushing against for ages. It’s disappointing to see this idea persisting in diverse queer books, especially in YA.

It’s also disappointing to see the word lesbian avoided. While there are plenty of women who pursue relationships with other women and identify as gay, the trend in publishing of avoiding the word lesbian (especially in YA) in contemporary fiction is frustrating and disappointing. Lesbian is a beautiful word; I wish that characters could be identified on page as such, instead of avoiding the word as though it's dirty or wrong.

Neither of these issues are unique to You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight, of course, and the book still has good rep regarding characters of color and gay characters. However, if you’re looking for fully inclusive queer or sapphic rep, you may be disappointed.

FINAL THOUGHTS

You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight is a fun YA slasher with a quick pace and a twisty ending you won’t predict. It’s perfect for a weekend read, especially if it’s dark outside.

For folks looking for a good YA slasher or a sapphic horror, I’d suggest checking this one out.

Thank you to Bloomsbury for providing a digital ARC via Netgalley. If you are interested in You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight, it releases 20 June 2023. If possible, support indie bookshops by purchasing the novel from your local brick and mortar or from Bookshop.org!

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lilacs_book_bower's review against another edition

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mysterious 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? No

3.0

I loved YA horror as a teen, and I have been searching for that high ever since. I think aging and becoming a more analytical reader has made it more difficult (damn you, English degree!). Because this book wasn't it, sadly. I had high hopes for this one, and I enjoyed it while I was reading. I read it in almost one sitting, and it has some tense and atmospheric moments. The two last plot points/twists at the very end surprised me, and seemed fitting, so I appreciated that. I am always in favor of more books featuring BIPOC and LGBTQ characters, especially teens, and I welcome discussions of the issues that they face (not all books need to be about trauma though; let's read about joy, I say in a review for a horror book.) However, as soon as the book was over, all I could think about were issues. The characterization is non-existent, even for our heroine. The events are ridiculous, and people make stupid choices, even for a horror book. Why is this happening now, when it could have happened years ago? Or even earlier this summer? It's suddenly supernatural, in a way that is both ridiculous and incredulous. The villains are super predictable. The book should have been longer, which would have allowed more time for character and plot development.

I know they have just murdered your friends, but a middle-aged man in an owl costume isn't exactly terrifying. And anyone who believes Kyle is an idiot. The sheriff came, saw a girl with her belly sliced open, and just decided to dismiss what was going on? Ok, sure, Kyle. And people have been dying at the camp for years, including six teens in one summer, and you have never even told there was a camp there in the first place. You don't think someone might have mentioned that?

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