Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare

70 reviews

twistykris's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.75

This book was a major disappointment for me. I was really hoping for a great, suspenseful read just in time for Halloween and while it was sort of a fun and quick slasher, that was about it. The characters were so underdeveloped that they blended together and I honestly didn't care for anyone, even the "good" guys. Another review said the adults were "borderline cartoonish" and I completely agree. Most of the kids were insufferable. The killer reveal was predictable and reasoning behind the major plot was... absurd.

 

1. The adults in the town hated a certain group of kids SO much that they decided to go on a killing spree (of which innocent kids were victims to) to "save" the town??? And then they tried to pin it on a kid whose sister died in a tragic accident a year ago (and whose dad hates him for it) and the girl who moved to this town 4 DAYS AGO? Make it make sense. 
2. The adults calling new-girl Quinn a "whore" and a "slut" when she's literally done nothing was maddening. 
3. I also feel like the timeline is so off. The Founder's Day incident happens and the adults who were in this "Make Kettle Springs Great Again" group now decide "let's go slaughter a bunch of kids." It just feels like everything happens SO fast that it doesn't make sense. 
4. Ronnie and Matt are just... in on murdering their friends? Because they want to be on the "right side of history"?? Makes 0 sense to me.
5. Cole and Rust's relationship felt oddly thrown in. Sure, they were childhood friends, but they don't get that much interaction with each other in the book. Quinn's POV suggested maybe everyone had a crush on Cole (as in Janet, Ronnie, and Matt), but even from Cole's POV there didn't seem to be any sort of romantic feelings towards Rust. A desire to reconnect, sure, but they were literally hanging out for the first time in years at the party. This doesn't feel like queer rep. 
6. And the ending with Cole's dad going to Cuba to "do the job right" was so confusing? How is him going to Cuba relate to killing his son? I think this was supposed to be a cliffhanger to lead into the sequel, but I was just left dumbfounded and confused.

And one of my biggest issues was the audiobook. I liked Jesse Vilinsky's narration in Seanan McGuire's Lost in the Moment and Found. But in this, the accents and the voice she gave for men and teenage boys was just distracting and at times the narration was so overly dramatic to the point it was hard to understand what she was saying.

I will not be reading the sequel, even after that (bizarre) cliffhanger epilogue.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Blood, Gore, Murder, Child death, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Police brutality, and Medical content

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders

2busyreading's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Misogyny, Racism, and Death of parent

zuzareads's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Drug abuse and Death of parent

loosejelly's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

3.25

It was a slasher movie put to page! I felt like I was watching a movie in the best way. It was campy and tense and I loved the surprise queer rep!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Murder, Mass/school shootings, and Gore

Moderate: Death of parent, Cursing, and Police brutality

corporealmystic's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Listen, if you are afraid of clowns, this definitely isn't for you.

Frendo is Kettle Springs mascot. His face is on the dilapidated factory outside Quinn's new bedroom. It's not creepy at all, right?

Quinn and her father moved to Kettle Springs for a new start after a very publicized death of her mother. Glenn believed that him and his daughter needed the change, but he didn't realize that the townspeople also wanted a change as well.

The characters are amazingly written and will keep you entertained throughout the book. There are a few twists and turns that you won't see coming in the dynamics of the group that we follow throughout the story.

The atmosphere is small town creepy, and it totally works. The writing style sucks you in and makes you think about being in these situations yourself and how you would react.

Overall, it is a great read! I suggest it for anyone who is a fan of horror and wants some entertainment. I will be picking up the second in the series as soon as possible.

"Make Kettle Springs Great Again!"

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Gore, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Blood, Bullying, Death, Medical content, Body horror, Child death, Medical trauma, and Violence

kups's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted tense fast-paced

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

4.0

A cheesy slasher book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Misogyny and Suicidal thoughts

lizzyspooks's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Gun violence, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Medical content, Drug abuse, and Death of parent

telliot's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death of parent, Blood, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

theveronicareview's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

2.0

Not much to say on this one. 

Clown in a Cornfield was a decent read overall, but I was bored, it wasn't suspenseful, and the social media/vlogger aspect was too cringe for me to enjoy. 

I like B-movie, campy horror flicks, and this book seems to WANT to mimic that, but it just didn't hit the mark. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gun violence, Blood, Death, Gore, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Death of parent

ilaxaria's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Gore, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Blood, Police brutality, Violence, Body horror, and Child death

Moderate: Drug abuse and Addiction

Minor: Bullying, Suicide, Medical content, and Racism