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3.13 AVERAGE
3.13 AVERAGE
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A fast-paced thriller that plays on some of our worst fears, deftly playing on our assumptions before veering in another direction.
This would, I’m pretty sure, have to go down as the school trip from hell though the worst elements of it stem from what is anticipated.
A group of theatre students are travelling to a competition when a heavy snow storm derails their plans. They have to seek refuge in a rundown motel, which has clearly seen better days. Another school group and a couple of extras are also forced into this environment, and our stage is set for a tense experience.
Naturally, the hotel was the site of a gruesome murder. As they learn the details of the story from the creepy caretaker, we can’t help but feel something bad is on its way.
An innocent game of Two Truths and a Lie quickly exacerbates the unease. A note claiming to enjoy watching people die and stating someone will be killed scares them…but not as much as finding the body of one of the group the next morning.
All I will say is that nothing is what it first appears. Henry manipulates her characters (and us) with delight as she forces them into a desperate bid for survival. I was more than ready to find out who was behind this, and while it might not exactly take you by surprise it was good fun to watch events unfold.
This would, I’m pretty sure, have to go down as the school trip from hell though the worst elements of it stem from what is anticipated.
A group of theatre students are travelling to a competition when a heavy snow storm derails their plans. They have to seek refuge in a rundown motel, which has clearly seen better days. Another school group and a couple of extras are also forced into this environment, and our stage is set for a tense experience.
Naturally, the hotel was the site of a gruesome murder. As they learn the details of the story from the creepy caretaker, we can’t help but feel something bad is on its way.
An innocent game of Two Truths and a Lie quickly exacerbates the unease. A note claiming to enjoy watching people die and stating someone will be killed scares them…but not as much as finding the body of one of the group the next morning.
All I will say is that nothing is what it first appears. Henry manipulates her characters (and us) with delight as she forces them into a desperate bid for survival. I was more than ready to find out who was behind this, and while it might not exactly take you by surprise it was good fun to watch events unfold.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book has a good mystery going throughout. I do appreciate the character dynamics and the speed of the book, but I didn't love the way the information for the mystery was given out. I also didn't love the result of the whole mystery.
For a mystery, it is pretty mid.
For a mystery, it is pretty mid.
A quick read and such a page turner. Definitely had a hard time liking any of the characters though. Started with some parts that felt too childish for my liking, e.g.: dramatic glee like dialogues, teenage banters that are not important to the plot, etc. Thankfully on the second half I started to feel the thrill and intensity. The ending was also satisfying, it would have been unpredictable if you're not a usual reader of whodunnit mystery like Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None.
Overall still a fun and entertaining YA thriller!
Overall still a fun and entertaining YA thriller!
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Drug use, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Car accident
while this specific book wasn't written for me as an audience, I think it was extremely well done for the YA audience. the writing is certainly for a more mature YA group, but still too juvenile for me. having said that, I think that any teenager that picks this up would thoroughly enjoy it! it had just enough twists and turns to keep the reader on the edge of their seat, while also being believable just the same.
what held me back from rating this a five-star (from my teenage self) was the abrupt ending. this book is under 300 pages, therefore we definitely had room for a more drawn out ending, instead of an 'eight weeks later' situation.
what held me back from rating this a five-star (from my teenage self) was the abrupt ending. this book is under 300 pages, therefore we definitely had room for a more drawn out ending, instead of an 'eight weeks later' situation.
Readable but not very good. I didn’t hate it. It’s an easy read but very childish despite minor gore. I couldn’t connect to any of the characters and some felt like cheesy villains. I wouldn’t recommend
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
saw this a few months back and finally checked it out at my library because I thought the premise would be cool.
I literally could have read better writing on AO3 🤨
- The dialogue was awful.
- The only way the author thought to describe the main character was to have her look in a mirror.
- A (student) teacher kisses another student and it’s never brought up again
- Racism is brought up, but only in the context of a student doing impressions of Simpson’s characters
I didn’t make it far enough to find out who the killer was, but I’m 90% sure it was the hotel manager (Stuart?)
I literally could have read better writing on AO3 🤨
- The dialogue was awful.
- The only way the author thought to describe the main character was to have her look in a mirror.
- A (student) teacher kisses another student and it’s never brought up again
- Racism is brought up, but only in the context of a student doing impressions of Simpson’s characters
I didn’t make it far enough to find out who the killer was, but I’m 90% sure it was the hotel manager (Stuart?)