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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
St. Lucifer's School for Girls by indie-author AM Caplan, is a must read for anyone who feels like an outsider even in their own family... or if your vibe is Halloween witches, devil worship, and/or you're looking for LGBTQ positive horror mysteries.
Comparable movies/shows: Riverdale meets Chilling Adventures of Sabrina meets Seven.
It's Mettie's senior year of high school and being the last female descendant of the town's founder - who escaped the Salem Witch Trials and for whom Satan literally created the land the Halloween-themed town rests on - popularity and privilege are a given because of her heritage. Only she (and everyone else in town) just found out she was secretly adopted as a baby. It seems everything changed overnight, and now it feels like her life has been a lie and she no longer fits in, especially with her beloved grandmother who is obsessed with the bloodline.
Enter Shelby, who just transferred to St. Lucifer's due to death threats and being disowned by her family for being transgender. The two girls hit it off, especially after bullies from Shelby's old school track her down and the two girls are assaulted, but Mettie manages to scare them off by pretending to cast a curse.
Thus starts a series of ritualistic murders to bring forth an ancient prophesy... starting with the bullies who were killed that same night in the same park. And as the killings continue, everything leads back to Mettie and Shelby and a school project that is far too close to the truth than they realize.
I really enjoyed this book for it clever dialogue, creepy atmosphere, and plot that kept twisting and evolving. And I'm pleased to say that I was dead wrong about who the killer was and deeply appreciated the ironic twist at the end.
Comparable movies/shows: Riverdale meets Chilling Adventures of Sabrina meets Seven.
It's Mettie's senior year of high school and being the last female descendant of the town's founder - who escaped the Salem Witch Trials and for whom Satan literally created the land the Halloween-themed town rests on - popularity and privilege are a given because of her heritage. Only she (and everyone else in town) just found out she was secretly adopted as a baby. It seems everything changed overnight, and now it feels like her life has been a lie and she no longer fits in, especially with her beloved grandmother who is obsessed with the bloodline.
Enter Shelby, who just transferred to St. Lucifer's due to death threats and being disowned by her family for being transgender. The two girls hit it off, especially after bullies from Shelby's old school track her down and the two girls are assaulted, but Mettie manages to scare them off by pretending to cast a curse.
Thus starts a series of ritualistic murders to bring forth an ancient prophesy... starting with the bullies who were killed that same night in the same park. And as the killings continue, everything leads back to Mettie and Shelby and a school project that is far too close to the truth than they realize.
I really enjoyed this book for it clever dialogue, creepy atmosphere, and plot that kept twisting and evolving. And I'm pleased to say that I was dead wrong about who the killer was and deeply appreciated the ironic twist at the end.
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
An interesting take on reverse "catholic school" life with some family drama. Though I liked the characters, there was never really any growth or change for them. They were a bit flat, even after telling their past or hardships they just kind of remained the same. The plot was pretty obvious who the villian would be. Near the end I was almost hoping to be wrong, so it wasn't so obvious, but oh well.
There were moments where there seemed to be more to it, like the parents knew more then they let on about Mettie's lineage but nothing was ever explained then they just left it at 'the parents knew nothing'. A bit boring but it is what it is.
Would I read it again? No, but it was an OK read overall.
Would I read it again? No, but it was an OK read overall.
dark
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Traditional storyline that uses innovative way of developing feminist concepts and love.
slow-paced
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Gore, Infertility, Physical abuse, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail