Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.42 AVERAGE
3.42 AVERAGE
Reading a book like this gives me hope that more YA books can make good mystery and suspense. Every chapter had mounting tension as characters are being picked of one by one. Adding to the mystery of not only who is the killer but also what their motivation is. It's pretty clear that this a contemporary YA version of And Then There Were None, I book that I love so much and it still has the same spirit as Christie's novel! Recommend if you love suspense and mystery!
adventurous
challenging
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I liked it! And also hated it!! I think YA horror novels just have the most unlikeable characters. I unintentionally have ended up hate reading them and loving it!!
I was really disappointed in this book. I felt like a YA Agatha Christie-esque story would have been interesting but it just felt bland. At times, it seemed like the author was going to touch on some cool topics (abusive relationships, mental health, etc.) but they just used them as lame plot points. There lacked any depth to relationships, characters, etc. I wouldn't recommend this.
The Good: If you're not familiar with Agatha Christie, then you might not see the ending coming. And, well, probably a lot of teens are not familiar with her, so this book's end twist might seem brilliant!
The Bad: I won't fault this novel for being unoriginal because re-telling classic stories is a trend right now, and that's fine, but the novel just wasn't well written. The main character's inner monologue told every mundane thought that went through her head, and all of the "possibilities" for what was happening. If writers do their job well, they don't need to have the main character constantly voice "what if this happened?" or "what if so-and-so is the killer?" Good writing leads the reader to wonder those things themselves. The character musing about it all is just annoying filler. And the characters... they were 2-dimensional at best. The relationship between the main character (Meg) and her BFF (Minnie) had an attempt at some depth, but it fell flat because it was so predictable and neither of them changed or grew. And it was painful to read, because I could see the author trying to set up Meg as this girl who never speaks her mind and to save herself she just needs to stand up and say what she really thinks, but instead her knight in shining armour shows up. Lame. And the mystery... there are holes in it. Even though the villain explained everything at the end, a lot of things don't make sense and would be impossible for one person to pull off. Especially the set up about the party. [SPOILER ALERT] Really, no one talked to the host before they went? They all just accepted this Facebook invite and went separately to a deserted island? And though the villain at the end explains that the host was going to a different weekend party, so if anyone mentioned a party, she'd assume it was that one... come on, how stupid is that? A party on a deserted island doesn't get mixed up with a party in the city. And no one checked the WEATHER?! There was a convenient storm that trapped them all there so they couldn't escape??? Did the villain plan the weather too?!
Oh gosh, I'm getting angry now. I think I could write a least a dozen pages ranting about the holes in the villain's "brilliant plot." But I won't.
In Conclusion: If you love mysteries and killers with brilliant plans, don't read this book.
The Bad: I won't fault this novel for being unoriginal because re-telling classic stories is a trend right now, and that's fine, but the novel just wasn't well written. The main character's inner monologue told every mundane thought that went through her head, and all of the "possibilities" for what was happening. If writers do their job well, they don't need to have the main character constantly voice "what if this happened?" or "what if so-and-so is the killer?" Good writing leads the reader to wonder those things themselves. The character musing about it all is just annoying filler. And the characters... they were 2-dimensional at best. The relationship between the main character (Meg) and her BFF (Minnie) had an attempt at some depth, but it fell flat because it was so predictable and neither of them changed or grew. And it was painful to read, because I could see the author trying to set up Meg as this girl who never speaks her mind and to save herself she just needs to stand up and say what she really thinks, but instead her knight in shining armour shows up. Lame. And the mystery... there are holes in it. Even though the villain explained everything at the end, a lot of things don't make sense and would be impossible for one person to pull off. Especially the set up about the party. [SPOILER ALERT] Really, no one talked to the host before they went? They all just accepted this Facebook invite and went separately to a deserted island? And though the villain at the end explains that the host was going to a different weekend party, so if anyone mentioned a party, she'd assume it was that one... come on, how stupid is that? A party on a deserted island doesn't get mixed up with a party in the city. And no one checked the WEATHER?! There was a convenient storm that trapped them all there so they couldn't escape??? Did the villain plan the weather too?!
Oh gosh, I'm getting angry now. I think I could write a least a dozen pages ranting about the holes in the villain's "brilliant plot." But I won't.
In Conclusion: If you love mysteries and killers with brilliant plans, don't read this book.
It would be interesting to hear what those with no Agatha Christie background think on this book. I had some inklings/clues about what was happening because I know Ten Little Indians.
Teens will love this.
It is a typical teen horror movie setting: 10 teens some friends some strangers in every stereotypical teen identity (the smart one, the blonde, the crazy one, the jock, etc) are trapped on an island for a party, they watch a movie that threatens to kill everyone, people start dying, yada yada yada. However the killer is really well hidden for a YA novel. Still it becomes obvious to the seasoned reader early on, but not for a teen reader. Plenty of suspense and creepiness. The characters are horribly type cast and flat but that is to be expected. Quick read that will suck readers in.
One thing really bothered me. What if it hadn't been storming? How would the killer have justified half of what was done without it? oh well.
It is a typical teen horror movie setting: 10 teens some friends some strangers in every stereotypical teen identity (the smart one, the blonde, the crazy one, the jock, etc) are trapped on an island for a party, they watch a movie that threatens to kill everyone, people start dying, yada yada yada. However the killer is really well hidden for a YA novel. Still it becomes obvious to the seasoned reader early on, but not for a teen reader. Plenty of suspense and creepiness. The characters are horribly type cast and flat but that is to be expected. Quick read that will suck readers in.
One thing really bothered me. What if it hadn't been storming? How would the killer have justified half of what was done without it? oh well.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Well, when I started this, I thought, maybe I'll read it in less than a week... and then I stayed up until 12:30 AM to finish. Very suspenseful, kept me guessing until the end.
This was a pretty good version of one of my favorite Agatha Christie novels, "And Then There Were None." I read for the middle school library, but I may end up send it to the high school. It's got some profanity, underage drinking, and descriptive sexual references.
This was a book where the premise sounded better than the delivery. And I couldn’t really put my finger on why I didn’t love this book. When it checked so many boxes in my “stuff molly likes”list.
Then j read another review that says it’s basically a retelling or “fan fiction” of another pretty popular book. And that made sense to me.
There was a lot in the boom that I liked and had great framework. But it felt poorly executed.
Then j read another review that says it’s basically a retelling or “fan fiction” of another pretty popular book. And that made sense to me.
There was a lot in the boom that I liked and had great framework. But it felt poorly executed.