Scan barcode
A review by joelles_bookshelf
There's No Way I'd Die First by Lisa Springer
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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? No
1.5
I'm disappointed that I ended up not liking this book. The cover is gorgeous, the blurb hooked me in, and I was thrilled to have a Black female main character who seemed to be head-strong, but I ended up struggling getting through this book.
The build-up was slow, and I found myself wanting to skip chapters to get to the night of the party. I didn't feel majorly attached to any of the characters and forgot certain names because I knew so little about them before the party (I do wonder if I was, I'd feel more sympathy for them). While I wasn't rooting for their deaths, Noelle was particularly annoying with constantly wanting to be the final girl while her friends are being killed off one by one. Even her romance with Archer felt nonsensical because the first thing Scream teaches you is to not trust the love interest yet she's busy kissing him while a clown hunts then down.
Noelle and her 'friends' are insufferable throughout the book (except Demario, Elise ad a few others who were done dirty) and when it was revealed why the clown was killing them all, I couldn't help but agree with the clown?? They are a bunch of rich kids who get away with anything. I get where Noelle was coming from with 'who decided you can be the judge, jury and executioner' but most if not all of those kids ran away from their problems or got their parents to sweep it under the rug. Gage as a villain confused me because how was he more or less the same age as everyone yet he had this crazy strength? I feel that including the fact that he was racist in the end felt like a last-ditch effort to give us a reason to not root for him because some of these kids were awful likeKelsey, Josh, and that girl who left her friend paralyzed in London and that other girl who let the other girl go to juvie and get assaulted.
The build-up was slow, and I found myself wanting to skip chapters to get to the night of the party. I didn't feel majorly attached to any of the characters and forgot certain names because I knew so little about them before the party (I do wonder if I was, I'd feel more sympathy for them). While I wasn't rooting for their deaths, Noelle was particularly annoying with constantly wanting to be the final girl while her friends are being killed off one by one. Even her romance with Archer felt nonsensical because the first thing Scream teaches you is to not trust the love interest yet she's busy kissing him while a clown hunts then down.
Noelle and her 'friends' are insufferable throughout the book (except Demario, Elise ad a few others who were done dirty) and when it was revealed why the clown was killing them all, I couldn't help but agree with the clown?? They are a bunch of rich kids who get away with anything. I get where Noelle was coming from with 'who decided you can be the judge, jury and executioner' but most if not all of those kids ran away from their problems or got their parents to sweep it under the rug. Gage as a villain confused me because how was he more or less the same age as everyone yet he had this crazy strength? I feel that including the fact that he was racist in the end felt like a last-ditch effort to give us a reason to not root for him because some of these kids were awful like
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: Gore and Torture