Scan barcode
sheriffrockyraccoon'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? Yes
2.0
SPOILERS AHEAD
I don’t even know where to start. Maybe the good stuff?
I loved Verona’s writing. She absolutely has a strong voice and creates a compelling world to write in. I loved how she described everyday suburbia and created unnerving visuals through the mundane. While I am so-so on putting lots of nostalgic references in books, it is still fun to read about a kid enjoying a Fruit Roll-up!
That being said, this book was frustrating. It was absolutely a mistake to make this story non-linear. It absolutely ruined the pacing and, in my opinion, made the twists and reveals obvious instead of exciting. Honestly, there were multiple points I was rooting for Amy to die just because I couldn’t stand her. Her character was very contradictory- she’s “shy and non-confrontational” according to her own narration and yet she takes every opportunity to cuss out her boyfriend and his brother. It makes her final scenes of actually doing something to stand up for herself and the kids become less poignant. Side note: it also drove me crazy that they didn’t get the hell out of that house when THE MAN WITH A RESTRAINING ORDER SHOWED UP? Maybe this is playing into how slashers always have dumb characters but honestly, it was ridiculous.
I should also add that Verona repeatedly goes over the same irrelevant information every 4 chapters. In case you forgot who Amy’s cousins were or that Amy has panic attacks. It almost felt like no one had read the novel before it was published or were trying to keep it at a certain word count. It was odd.
I will end on another good note I remembered about this book: Ben is absolutely adorable and I wish he had narrated the entire story. If this was a slasher story told from a child’s POV, it would have been much more interesting.
I don’t even know where to start. Maybe the good stuff?
I loved Verona’s writing. She absolutely has a strong voice and creates a compelling world to write in. I loved how she described everyday suburbia and created unnerving visuals through the mundane. While I am so-so on putting lots of nostalgic references in books, it is still fun to read about a kid enjoying a Fruit Roll-up!
That being said, this book was frustrating. It was absolutely a mistake to make this story non-linear. It absolutely ruined the pacing and, in my opinion, made the twists and reveals obvious instead of exciting. Honestly, there were multiple points I was rooting for Amy to die just because I couldn’t stand her. Her character was very contradictory- she’s “shy and non-confrontational” according to her own narration and yet she takes every opportunity to cuss out her boyfriend and his brother. It makes her final scenes of actually doing something to stand up for herself and the kids become less poignant. Side note: it also drove me crazy that they didn’t get the hell out of that house when THE MAN WITH A RESTRAINING ORDER SHOWED UP? Maybe this is playing into how slashers always have dumb characters but honestly, it was ridiculous.
I should also add that Verona repeatedly goes over the same irrelevant information every 4 chapters. In case you forgot who Amy’s cousins were or that Amy has panic attacks. It almost felt like no one had read the novel before it was published or were trying to keep it at a certain word count. It was odd.
I will end on another good note I remembered about this book: Ben is absolutely adorable and I wish he had narrated the entire story. If this was a slasher story told from a child’s POV, it would have been much more interesting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, and Stalking
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Cursing, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Homophobia
michelle_mightbereading's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Blood and Violence
bookishchaos's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I was expecting some kind of crazy plot twist but no, the story ends with zero explaintion as to what happened. The time jumps were confusing at first but I got used to it. This book is full of plot holes, like why does our 17-18 year old main character think like a 30 year old? And wtf was that ending? What was the purpose of Sadie trying to unalive Amy? None of the flashblacks implied that she was unstable, just lively and a bit reckless. It would've been a really cool twist if Sadie was just a figment of Amy's imagination.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Bullying and Domestic abuse
minimicropup's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Have you ever wondered what being the babysitter in a classic slasher would be like? If you can give up the slasher horror for ‘90s teen drama tropes embedded in a slow-burn character study, this may scratch that itch. It isn’t nearly as eventful as the synopsis makes it sound; it’s more retro fiction with spooky moments and an unhinged ‘Big Bad.’ I enjoyed most of it, but the plot devices and the ending didn’t quite connect for me.
Energy: Self-effacing. Diligent. Harsh.
Scene: 🇺🇸 A modest family home in New Jersey one evening in October 1993.
Perspective: We follow a 17-year-old babysitter with a backstory about her experience with babysitters when she was 11. We also occasionally get the perspective of the 6-year-old boy she is currently babysitting.
🐺 Growls: The narrator made the 6-year-old boy’s voice sound so deep I kept picturing him as 14 or older. The villain and the red herrings, even during the high-stakes danger bits, didn’t make me feel tense or anxious—I can’t figure out why.
🐕 Howls: The classic horror fandom and references were not threaded throughout but discussed at specific parts of the book that sometimes felt out of place or forced. The same was true for the commentary on why an anxious person would find comfort in horror tropes. Although it wasn’t story-breaking it felt like the spoon-feeding of mostly relatable situations I’d expect from a YA book.
🐩 Tail Wags: The character development of Amy, Mira, and Ben. Amy’s flashbacks to the different types of babysitters she encountered. Nostalgic ‘90s setting. The house being a ‘normal’ home instead of a suburban mini-mansion setting.
🤔 Random Thoughts:
- There are 90’s caricatures and scenarios, to the point it felt like a sitcom theme sometimes (misogynistic jock, virginity peer pressure and cool girl posturing). I didn’t get why the “party crashers” were older and had their own places, yet they chose to hang out in a house with kids and a parent who could return anytime.
- Anxious and terrified, frozen, not calling the cops is real. The fear of overreacting or feeling stupid, if it is nothing at all, is so relatable. However, as things escalated and lives were obviously in danger, those decisions didn’t make sense anymore and went against what we were told about Amy’s character and condition.
- Nothing much happens except for the high-stakes unhinged stuff near the 60% mark that often felt contrived (I lost interest). Most of it is night-in-the-life stuff (I liked those parts).
----
🎬 Tale-telling: Direct, reflecting, musing style. Scenes slowly unravel, and the vibe is set. Then, we explore a related tangent to give background to the characters’ thoughts and actions before returning to the scene.
👥 Characters: Cute, relatable, a little naïve but also self-aware. I felt for Amy craving friends who shared her interests-she had no way of joining movie sprints with online friends so was stuck trying to convert the jerks!
🤓 Reader Role: Telepathic ghost in the middle of things. Watching the scene unfold, listening to private conversations, and overhearing thoughts and memories through the third-person POV.
🗺️ World-Building: Mostly vibes. It was uneasy, gloomy, and slightly claustrophobic, set through character dialogues or inner thoughts and observation. It captured the 1990s without info-dumping or pointing out all the things.
🔥 Fuel: Up to the 60% mark, the challenges in babysitting unfold, but overall, it's uneventful. What’s going on with 12-yr old Mira? Is she just trying to be grown up or something more? After the 60% mark, the fuel is high-stakes fight-for-your-life survival. Will Amy survive? Can she protect the kids?
📖 Cred: Suspended disbelief, go with the flow and don’t overthink the villainy or character choices.
🚙 Journey: Staying up late Friday night snuggled with a mix of Sweet Valley High and Baby-Sitters Club mystery books.
Mood Reading Match-Up:
- Lounging by the TV light, kitchen linoleum, landline phone ringing, microwave ding, pizzas and plates, pizzicato and waterphone effects, nail polish, door slams, siren strobes at night
- Grown-up ‘The Baby-Sitters Club’ drama and conundrums
- Nostalgic character study and commentary on anxiety, responsibility, loyalty, safe spaces and safe people.
Content Heads-Up: Sexual harassment (peer pressure, comments). Home burglary. Home invasion. Generalized anxiety. Panic attacks. Domestic abuse (graphic; brief). Abusive parent. Stalking. Blood/body horror (brief but descriptive).
Rep: Jewish and Ambiguous Americans. Cisgender. Heterosexual.
📚 Format: Everand Audio
My musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Stalking, Mental illness, Blood, Domestic abuse, Body horror, and Panic attacks/disorders
nicolesbookreviews's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, and Murder
acetheticallyy's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
def a love letter to the babysitter horror trope and I adore it for its reverence. the characters had so much life and intrigue packed into such a short page count, you have no choice but to root for them from the beginning
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Blood
bookedbymadeline's review
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
Thank you Netgalley, HarperCollins, and One More Chapter for the eARC!
What a debut from Verona! This was a quick read with good pacing. As the synopsis promises, Midnight on Beacon Street is a love letter to horror/slasher films. The story is told through switching POVs between Amy and Ben with each chapter progressing in different ways (Amy’s moves towards midnight up to the climax while Ben starts at midnight with the climax-without revealing anything of course-but then moves backwards). It was a unique and interesting way to tell the story!
What a debut from Verona! This was a quick read with good pacing. As the synopsis promises, Midnight on Beacon Street is a love letter to horror/slasher films. The story is told through switching POVs between Amy and Ben with each chapter progressing in different ways (Amy’s moves towards midnight up to the climax while Ben starts at midnight with the climax-without revealing anything of course-but then moves backwards). It was a unique and interesting way to tell the story!
The writing could sometimes be too repetitive and descriptive, especially in Ben’s chapters. I preferred Amy’s since Ben’s had a lot more telling instead of showing.
The twists were predictable, I wasn’t really surprised by any of them and guessed them a few chapters before it was revealed. But I did appreciate how the story unraveled!
Despite the predictability and telling over showing, it was an enjoyable read and one that I didn’t want to put down! Highly recommend if you want a quick, entertaining thriller. I’m excited to see what Verona writes next ❤️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Vomit
Moderate: Violence, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, and Blood
halfwaytosanity's review
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Domestic abuse
sunshinestark's review against another edition
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Child abuse, and Cursing
More...