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tabea1409's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Child death, Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Bullying, Mental illness, Murder, Blood, Sexual harassment, and Toxic friendship
readbooksovermygrave's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Gaslighting, Blood, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Murder
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Grief, and Drug use
willow2342's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Gore, Stalking, Violence, Cursing, Death, Grief, and Murder
cactuspunk's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Alcohol, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Child death, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, and Classism
sallytiffany's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Violence, Gore, Toxic friendship, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug abuse, Grief, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, and Gun violence
bookishgoob's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, and Medical content
nina_yan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
A fun YA horror with a solid plot.
This was more fun than horror tbh. Appreciated that the story gave the reader moments to breathe out once in awhile from all the suspense tho.
Also didn’t expect LGBTQ content, because unfortunately the book didn’t have the tag to inform the reader. This is not the content I want to read about so coming across it does disappoint when the book clearly didn’t provide of a tag as a prior warning.
About the story, I have a few things to say:
1. I was Team Bram from the start and still am.
2. Saundra is still my favourite character idc.
3. I never liked Freddie. If you’re Team Freddie I wish you won’t ever find the cold side of your pillow at nights.
4. I miss emo characters like Felicity in books these days. People may hate her but she was very amusing to me.
5. THE CLIFFHANGER?????
Moderate: Death, Murder, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, and Cursing
sunshinestark's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual assault, and Violence
justagirlwithabook's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This one got off to a sort of slow start, but by maybe a fourth of the way in, things started picking up and the storyline turned a bit more macabre, which I ate up, in one 4 and a half hour sitting! I really appreciated all the references to the cult classics of the horror genre, both film and text (as a former English teacher and current librarian, all the asides related to horror literature were a hit for me!). The storyline really focuses most on this traumatic incident that occurs at the very beginning, and then everything builds from there. We don't ever find out much about Rachel and her mom's story really; we only know them through the lens of this bad moment a year ago. While this might not work for some, I think it worked fine here, especially as a Young Adult novel that really carries itself well as a "slasher" type of story (it'd make a great older teen horror movie!). I didn't fully see the twist at the end when all was revealed, so it wasn't super predictable, which was great as well.
What I loved: the (mostly) fast pace, all the references to classic horror novels, authors, and films, the build up to the somewhat surprising ending, the 'slasher film' feeling of the story overall (5-stars for entertainment value!)
What I didn't love: the end-end of the ending (it felt like it ended quite abruptly rather than smoothly tapering off and letting us go - there were some loose ends that would've been nice to have wrapped up), not a lot of love for the main character (she was a bit abrasive, but then if this had been a horror film, we wouldn't need to have lovable characters to still get caught up in the scary of it all), the more mature content (in regards to language, casual underage drinking, drug use, and sexual commentary ... as a junior high librarian I was hoping this would be a great addition to my library shelves but it's much to 'new' young adult rather than just middle grade-YA).
I would definitely recommend this to older young adults who enjoy a good horror/thriller with a plot twist (as well as adults who can appreciate a pretty decent YA slasher novel when they see one). As a librarian, I would recommend this to general public libraries where young adult horror has a readership.
Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group (Henry Holt and Co.) for the Early Review copy in exchanged for honest feedback.
Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, and Violence
Minor: Alcoholism and Drug use