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3.42 AVERAGE
3.42 AVERAGE
I read this book in one day, and 260 pages of it was in one straight shot. No breaks. None. I can't even tell you the last time I did that. And I had stuff to get done, too. I just started reading it because my son wanted to cuddle, so as he watched a show I picked up the book. Then my productive night plans went out the window because I just couldn't stop reading!
I've never really been a murder mystery book person. This book may have changed that. It was amazing! Gretchen McNeil did a wonderful job with the story. There was the perfect amount of suspense. It kept me guessing the entire time. I had so many theories and I didn't catch on to the truth until the very end. The main character was well-developed and I grew to really like her. It was the perfect point of view character for the story. My palms were seriously sweating the whole time. And I jumped at any noise making my husband laugh at me.
As far as cleanliness goes, for a young adult murder mystery, I was impressed. There were a couple mentions of sex, but no sex scenes. Yay! There were teens drinking, but no drugs. Yes, there were murders, but I didn't find it overly gruesome. It does deal with some tough subjects though, hence why I recommend it to kids 16 and up.
I've never really been a murder mystery book person. This book may have changed that. It was amazing! Gretchen McNeil did a wonderful job with the story. There was the perfect amount of suspense. It kept me guessing the entire time. I had so many theories and I didn't catch on to the truth until the very end. The main character was well-developed and I grew to really like her. It was the perfect point of view character for the story. My palms were seriously sweating the whole time. And I jumped at any noise making my husband laugh at me.
As far as cleanliness goes, for a young adult murder mystery, I was impressed. There were a couple mentions of sex, but no sex scenes. Yay! There were teens drinking, but no drugs. Yes, there were murders, but I didn't find it overly gruesome. It does deal with some tough subjects though, hence why I recommend it to kids 16 and up.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was a solidly okay thriller. It’s short and fast paced which I appreciate, but there really wasn’t anything that wowed me. It’s a locked room type mystery and those tend to be hit or miss for me. This one I’m just neutral. It was decent. Definitely readable.
The writing was pretty middle-schoolish at quite a few places but the story line was good. I loved the ending and the characters' personalities were all balanced.I enjoyed the twists and turns of this
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Agatha Christie is one of my favorite authors and when I first saw the cover of this book and read the title I couldn’t help but think of “And Then There Were None” previously known as “Ten little Indians” so I was totally stoked to realize as I was reading that yes, this was indeed a modern retelling of one of my favorite mysteries. And what a well crafted mystery it was because even with knowledge of the original and knowing how everything had to be executed, I still didn’t figure out the who in time. But then again I wasn’t really actively trying to figure it out and was just enjoying the story as I plowed through this book in one sitting. I mean the clues were definitely there;
My only gripe with this book was the killing off of Minnie as I absolutely loved her character and how complex she was. I loved her relationship with Meg as flawed and unhealthy as it seemed at times. It was totally wrong of Minnie’s parents to basically make Meg her sole caregiver, though I got the feeling that Meg donned that responsibility more than she should have out of gratitude for Minnie choosing her over her old friends. But they seemed to truly care for each other especially in the end and I wish the book had them surviving together. To have her die at the hands of Tom, the guy who took her meds and prodded her further into madness made me so angry and sick. It is such a violation that in my eyes it makes her death more tragic than the others especially when you take into account the strain it put on her relationship with her best friend.
Overall, this book had me on the edge of my seat the whole way and I was so reluctant to put it down that I finished it in practically one sitting. The original will always be one of my favorites but as a retelling featuring teenagers I thought it did more than a decent job.
Spoiler
[one of the dead bodies is fake]Spoiler
[the fake dead body was]Spoiler
the burnt body, Diary Ben not quite matching up with Island Ben personality-wise, Ben’s dyed hair, that he was “poisoned” and not physically harmed, oh and how weirdly clingy and close he was acting with Minnie when they’d only just met.My only gripe with this book was the killing off of Minnie as I absolutely loved her character and how complex she was. I loved her relationship with Meg as flawed and unhealthy as it seemed at times. It was totally wrong of Minnie’s parents to basically make Meg her sole caregiver, though I got the feeling that Meg donned that responsibility more than she should have out of gratitude for Minnie choosing her over her old friends. But they seemed to truly care for each other especially in the end and I wish the book had them surviving together. To have her die at the hands of Tom, the guy who took her meds and prodded her further into madness made me so angry and sick. It is such a violation that in my eyes it makes her death more tragic than the others especially when you take into account the strain it put on her relationship with her best friend.
Overall, this book had me on the edge of my seat the whole way and I was so reluctant to put it down that I finished it in practically one sitting. The original will always be one of my favorites but as a retelling featuring teenagers I thought it did more than a decent job.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book only gets two stars for two reasons, one for Minnie and one for Kumiko. Do NOT read, not worth the predictable, boring outcome.
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Ten is about a group of ten teenagers that find themselves on a remote island with a killer in their midst. After watching a creepy video on the night of their arrival, teen after teen starts to get killed off in brutal and specific ways. After our protagonist, Meg, finds a journal of a dead girl, she realizes that the murders follow a pattern. After discovering the pattern, it's a race against time to rat out the murderer...before they're all dead and gone with no witnesses to find the killer.
This book was very suspensful. I read it on the way to my volleyball tournament, and it was definitely a way to get me on my toes...and to freak me out. The deaths aren't exactly graphics, but they're described enough to make my stomach churn. It sort of creeped me out how these teenagers (mostly Meg and T.J.) weren't really affected by all the death going on. It seemed as though their philosophy was, "Keep Calm and Carry On." I can't decide if I didn't like this about the book or if it was just something that I noticed.
As far as plot goes, this plot was amazing. I couldn't guess the killer. I really couldn't. Up until the very end, I thought I knew who it was, but I always changed the suspect. The fact that it was so hard for me to determine who the killer was shows that either (a) this was a good book or (b) I'm just stupid when it comes to this stuff. But regardless, there were so many twists and turns that I never suspected who it was by the end of the book. This is honestly the first mystery book that I've read that isn't paranormal that I haven't guessed the ending. Congrats, Ten.
Meg, at first, is super annoying, but as the book goes along I grow to like her more, and I want her to survive. Honestly, everyone else can go die. I was alright with Ben, and T.J. wasn't too terribly annoying, but I didn't like Minnie, and I didn't really have time to get to know the other characters in order to form an attachment to them. Hilariously, at first I thought Nathan was some super nerd, but turned out he was really popular? Goes to show how sucky I am at remembering character discriptions. I've just read so many of them. Anyway, Meg was really just a big pushover. The fact that Minnie basically ruled her life turned me off at first, but Meg grew on me. Minnie didn't.
I have to admit that the romance was a bit dry between Meg and T.J. T.J. was awesome and all and he seemed like a pretty solid dude, but I wasn't shipping them at the end. Honestly, I don't even know what makes a good romance, but I just know when I don't like a particular relationship. One good thing between the two of them though was the fact that T.J. came across as a real dude. Most guys in stories will be like "oh my god I've loved you forever I'm sorry I was such a jerk to you but I've realized the err of my ways now." Like yeah not buying that. I mean, T.J. was a bit sensitive, but it was reasonable. (Except the end when...you know. Yeah. I'm just saying I would've saved my own butt before a guy that rejected me.)
Ten really reminded me of Shark Night 3D except the book was actually scary. (Sorry, but the movie was just laughable. Utterly and positively laughable. I'm sorry if you loved it. The premise was just...kind of hilarious?) The basic plot of both the book and movie: teenagers go to island; teenagers have fun; teenagers die; two teenagers left; teenagers escape but now are in love. (I think they fall in love by the end of the movie. It's been three years.) But yeah. Pretty similar, right? I already heard that Ten was eerily similar to And Then There Were None. Considering I've never read this book (I plan on it), I didn't have a problem with Ten being so similar. I'm sure I'll have qualms once I read And Then There Were None though.
Reading this book has definitely encouraged me to read more thriller/horror books this year. I kind of like being scared, which is hilarious because I hate horror movies. I absolutely cannot stand them.
In conclusion, this was an interesting read. I'll definitely be checking out Gretchen McNeil's other books, because I liked this one a lot. I wouldn't go to say that I loved it because there were still faults, but I liked it enough to give it four stars! I think that this was a good book to read to break me into the YA horror/thriller genre. I'm really glad that I picked this up and decided to read it!
Oh yes and I love the cover. It's so simplistic and dark and just wow I love it.
Ten is about a group of ten teenagers that find themselves on a remote island with a killer in their midst. After watching a creepy video on the night of their arrival, teen after teen starts to get killed off in brutal and specific ways. After our protagonist, Meg, finds a journal of a dead girl, she realizes that the murders follow a pattern. After discovering the pattern, it's a race against time to rat out the murderer...before they're all dead and gone with no witnesses to find the killer.
This book was very suspensful. I read it on the way to my volleyball tournament, and it was definitely a way to get me on my toes...and to freak me out. The deaths aren't exactly graphics, but they're described enough to make my stomach churn. It sort of creeped me out how these teenagers (mostly Meg and T.J.) weren't really affected by all the death going on. It seemed as though their philosophy was, "Keep Calm and Carry On." I can't decide if I didn't like this about the book or if it was just something that I noticed.
As far as plot goes, this plot was amazing. I couldn't guess the killer. I really couldn't. Up until the very end, I thought I knew who it was, but I always changed the suspect. The fact that it was so hard for me to determine who the killer was shows that either (a) this was a good book or (b) I'm just stupid when it comes to this stuff. But regardless, there were so many twists and turns that I never suspected who it was by the end of the book. This is honestly the first mystery book that I've read that isn't paranormal that I haven't guessed the ending. Congrats, Ten.
Meg, at first, is super annoying, but as the book goes along I grow to like her more, and I want her to survive. Honestly, everyone else can go die. I was alright with Ben, and T.J. wasn't too terribly annoying, but I didn't like Minnie, and I didn't really have time to get to know the other characters in order to form an attachment to them. Hilariously, at first I thought Nathan was some super nerd, but turned out he was really popular? Goes to show how sucky I am at remembering character discriptions. I've just read so many of them. Anyway, Meg was really just a big pushover. The fact that Minnie basically ruled her life turned me off at first, but Meg grew on me. Minnie didn't.
I have to admit that the romance was a bit dry between Meg and T.J. T.J. was awesome and all and he seemed like a pretty solid dude, but I wasn't shipping them at the end. Honestly, I don't even know what makes a good romance, but I just know when I don't like a particular relationship. One good thing between the two of them though was the fact that T.J. came across as a real dude. Most guys in stories will be like "oh my god I've loved you forever I'm sorry I was such a jerk to you but I've realized the err of my ways now." Like yeah not buying that. I mean, T.J. was a bit sensitive, but it was reasonable. (Except the end when...you know. Yeah. I'm just saying I would've saved my own butt before a guy that rejected me.)
Ten really reminded me of Shark Night 3D except the book was actually scary. (Sorry, but the movie was just laughable. Utterly and positively laughable. I'm sorry if you loved it. The premise was just...kind of hilarious?) The basic plot of both the book and movie: teenagers go to island; teenagers have fun; teenagers die; two teenagers left; teenagers escape but now are in love. (I think they fall in love by the end of the movie. It's been three years.) But yeah. Pretty similar, right? I already heard that Ten was eerily similar to And Then There Were None. Considering I've never read this book (I plan on it), I didn't have a problem with Ten being so similar. I'm sure I'll have qualms once I read And Then There Were None though.
Reading this book has definitely encouraged me to read more thriller/horror books this year. I kind of like being scared, which is hilarious because I hate horror movies. I absolutely cannot stand them.
In conclusion, this was an interesting read. I'll definitely be checking out Gretchen McNeil's other books, because I liked this one a lot. I wouldn't go to say that I loved it because there were still faults, but I liked it enough to give it four stars! I think that this was a good book to read to break me into the YA horror/thriller genre. I'm really glad that I picked this up and decided to read it!
Oh yes and I love the cover. It's so simplistic and dark and just wow I love it.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes