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lyfrassirwalen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Stalking, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Drug use, and Death
Moderate: Sexual harassment
Minor: Vomit
imstephtacular's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content
Minor: Drug use, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Murder, and Violence
cyan_altaria's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Moderate: Blood, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, and Grief
sunshinestark's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual assault, and Violence
justagirlwithabook's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This one got off to a sort of slow start, but by maybe a fourth of the way in, things started picking up and the storyline turned a bit more macabre, which I ate up, in one 4 and a half hour sitting! I really appreciated all the references to the cult classics of the horror genre, both film and text (as a former English teacher and current librarian, all the asides related to horror literature were a hit for me!). The storyline really focuses most on this traumatic incident that occurs at the very beginning, and then everything builds from there. We don't ever find out much about Rachel and her mom's story really; we only know them through the lens of this bad moment a year ago. While this might not work for some, I think it worked fine here, especially as a Young Adult novel that really carries itself well as a "slasher" type of story (it'd make a great older teen horror movie!). I didn't fully see the twist at the end when all was revealed, so it wasn't super predictable, which was great as well.
What I loved: the (mostly) fast pace, all the references to classic horror novels, authors, and films, the build up to the somewhat surprising ending, the 'slasher film' feeling of the story overall (5-stars for entertainment value!)
What I didn't love: the end-end of the ending (it felt like it ended quite abruptly rather than smoothly tapering off and letting us go - there were some loose ends that would've been nice to have wrapped up), not a lot of love for the main character (she was a bit abrasive, but then if this had been a horror film, we wouldn't need to have lovable characters to still get caught up in the scary of it all), the more mature content (in regards to language, casual underage drinking, drug use, and sexual commentary ... as a junior high librarian I was hoping this would be a great addition to my library shelves but it's much to 'new' young adult rather than just middle grade-YA).
I would definitely recommend this to older young adults who enjoy a good horror/thriller with a plot twist (as well as adults who can appreciate a pretty decent YA slasher novel when they see one). As a librarian, I would recommend this to general public libraries where young adult horror has a readership.
Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group (Henry Holt and Co.) for the Early Review copy in exchanged for honest feedback.
Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, and Violence
Minor: Alcoholism and Drug use