Reviews tagging 'Stalking'

You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron

25 reviews

zombiezami's review against another edition

medium-paced

3.0

I feel like the magic being introduced in the last third wasn't executed well

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Body horror, Confinement, Violence, Death, Child death, Abandonment, Gore, Grief, Cursing, Death of parent, Murder, Blood, Animal death, Child abuse, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Torture

Minor: Vomit, Sexual content, and Racism

vixenreader's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

More of a cult folk horror than a slasher, and with a messy narrative structure, a cast of likeable teens with strong friendships, twists that I genuinely did not see coming, and visceral horror and gore made up for the book’s shortcomings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Abandonment, Animal death, Child death, Blood, Body horror, Death, Stalking, Child abuse, Violence, Gore, and Murder

Moderate: Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Medical content, Cursing, Gun violence, and Torture

Minor: Sexual content, Police brutality, and Racism

There is also police negligence, ritualistic sacrifice, weaponry, horror movie spoilers and bodies hidden in lakes.

anxious_librarian's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

 

"Be careful," she says. "You know what happens to Black folks in slasher movies."
"I'm the final girl," I say. "Guaranteed to survive the night."

Charity is working as the Final Girl at a full contact horror summer camp. Her job is to scare the pants off paying customers eager to experience the cult classic slasher flick The Curse of Camp Mirror Lake for themselves. Things get a little too real though when unplanned horrors start playing out at camp, and before she knows it she finds herself fighting to the death to keep her title of "final girl."

This is the first horror-thriller I’ve read in ages and I am so pleased with it! That killer cover pulled me in and the promise of a Final Girl summer camp scenario dragged me the rest of the way down into the dark.

Charity was great. I felt for her so many times over the course of the book. Her summer job, bloody as it is, is her one escape from a world that doesn’t seem to care much about what happens to her. Her friends and girlfriend bring a lot of light to her life, making it clear early on just how hard she’s going to fight to make sure they all get out of there safely.

She’s very self aware and a horror movie stan making her a great final girl with a good chance of surviving the night.

The setup was great, all the little hints something is not going right at camp slowly building into something more sinister. The atmosphere was amazing. I felt the pressure of the pitch black woods, the sense of someone peeking over my shoulder as I read. Bayron did a fantastic job with this book!

It’s worth noting how YOU’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO DIE TONIGHT highlights the characters often victimized in horror films. The first people to die are always those of color or the queer kids. Not this time! This time the story is theirs.

As much as I enjoyed this, I do wish two things would have happened, however. One being that the thriller aspect started a bit earlier. I think I was at about 70% before anything started to actually happen. The book is already so short (I finished it in a day). Some pages dedicated to increasing the scares would have been fun.

And two, that the author had gone a bit harder on the scares and deaths.

Now I’ve been wondering if this specifically relates to the book being published as YA - like maybe there are restrictions I’m unaware of regarding killing off a bunch of teenagers - but still. By the end of the book

nearly every single person is dead. But we get almost no on page kills, which has always felt like a big part of the slasher genre. Most of the deceased are never even seen, making the gruesome discovery aspect kind of moot as well.

That being said, this actually makes YOU’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO DIE TONIGHT a great book for anyone who thinks they’re too squeamish for a slasher. There’s violence, but the gore is so minimal and so quick I think most people can handle it.

That last chapter and epilogue hit me like bam, bam, BAM! I did not see those twists coming! Like four big ones right at the end! Gosh, I just want to talk about it more but nothing is worse for a book like this than spoilers.

This is a thriller you don’t even have to wait for the spooky season to enjoy! What’s more summery than a summer camp? Definitely check out Kalynn Bayron’s YOU’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO DIE TONIGHT. It’s to die for. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Racism, Death, Torture, Murder, Gun violence, Gore, and Stalking

bookasaurusrecs's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

5.0

“I've been playing the part of a girl who escapes a seri@l k!ller every night for months. It's not a game this time. The consequences are real, but we still have to play.”

I made a promise to myself that I would read more books by BIPOC authors in 2024. And boy did I pick a banger to start out with! The synopsis and cover IMMEDIATELY drew me in, especially since I’m a HUGE horror fan. A summer camp that recreates a classic fictional sl@sher film The Curse of Camp Mirror Lake by playing a full-contact terror simulation game that becomes terrifyingly real? SIGN. ME. UP. Charity and her group of friends have to figure out who the k!ller is before it’s too late. I’ve heard that Kalynn never misses. And that is 100000% a fact. You’re Not Supposed To Die Tonight kept me on my toes. The first 40% is on the slower side, but hang on tight because the suspense hits shortly after. Kalynn’s writing is fantastic and super easy to follow. I devoured this in a day. This was just like an 80s horror film. I 10/10 recommend it!

Read if you like:

🌈YA—> LGBTQIA+, fiction, and horror

🔪the classic sl@sher films: Friday the 13th, Scream, and Halloween

📚the YA horror aspect of Goosebumps the book series

🫣full-contact terror games that are actually reality

🏕️ isolated creepy summer camps

😱being scared on purpose

👻scary campfire stories

I WILL NEVER LOOK AT OWLS THE SAME WAY AGAIN!!!🦉👀

If you need me, I’ll be at Camp Mirror Lake. But, you won’t find me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Blood, Murder, and Stalking

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Grief, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Animal cruelty, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Sexual content, Stalking, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Toxic friendship, Blood, Kidnapping, Confinement, Gore, Gun violence, Medical trauma, and Physical abuse

amandaboyer's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Murder, Animal death, Gore, Blood, Death, Racism, Stalking, and Violence

faduma's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Grief, Hate crime, Police brutality, Stalking, Violence, Abandonment, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Torture, Physical abuse, Racism, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Child abuse, Gore, and Gun violence

styxx's review against another edition

adventurous 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? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Blood, Death, Body horror, Animal death, Violence, Child death, Murder, and Stalking

Minor: Child abuse

lizacorn's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

This was a great take on the slasher genre. Really enjoyed the Easter eggs and premise. Could have spent more time at the top of the book but the focus was on the action which tbh made sense

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Abandonment, Confinement, and Stalking

Minor: Lesbophobia and Racism

hailstorm3812's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

This is a very fun halloween slasher. If you are looking for a popcorn book that reads like watching a movie, this is perfect. It does take awhile for setup but the setup and characters were fun for me. Liking the characters does make it a little less fun in the actual slasher part though, since movie tend to have rough sketches and stereotypes so you don't have to feel the pain of losing their best friends. I did have higher hopes for the intelligence of the plot, thinking it would play on the fact that it is aware of the tropes, like Scream or Cabin in the Woods, or use how the leads all being POC and/or Queer. I think that was a missed opportunity but it just wanted to be a fun dumb slasher and it lived up to that.

Also it's literally the Psych episode Tuesday the 17th, which in my mind is a plus.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Death, and Stalking

Minor: Cultural appropriation, Racism, Sexism, and Police brutality