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A review by el_wheel
Slasher Girls & Monster Boys by April Genevieve Tucholke
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The Birds of Azalea Street: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Very well written. Creepy more so than thriller or horror, but well done. I like the twist added to the inspirations. I also see this as worse than other types of the same stories simply because it hinges on something real and something awful that could happen to anyone. This one may be the one that sticks with me for a bit, leaving me more unsettled than other things I've read.
In the Forest Dark and Deep: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I liked the writing and I liked the premise. I will say I want to understand the Hare more. What is he? What exactly is his deal? Where did he come from? I like the switch in how Cassidy refers to him partway through because I really wasn't expecting it given the information we get at the beginning. I also enjoyed the foreshadowing we're given: "That he was a master at making one thing look like another..." All in all, it was a well-done horror story.
Emmeline: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
It was creepy for sure. Well written. I guess it just hit kind of a midpoint for me. Wasn't bad, but wasn't raving good either.
Verse Chorus Verse: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
This was good, but it was too short. I was left with too many questions and not enough answers. What was Lousie? What was going on there? What trade? What happened to Jaycee? I just had so many questions, and the whole thing was really vague. The ending was also too abrupt. I'm also not sure I liked the implications against Jaycee for something that was obviously not her fault.
Hide-And-Seek: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was fun. I enjoyed the premise, and the ending got me - it was clever. I liked our main character. All in all, it's a good story.
The Dark Scary Parts and All: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Absolute chills. This is super well written, and I like the twists and turns we go down as Marnie figures out what's happening. It's well done, and I actually found the ending really fitting.
The Flicker, the Fingers, the Beat, the Sigh: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I really enjoyed the horror story mixed with star-crossed lovers. This was super well written. It gave me chills. I enjoyed our main character, and I really felt pity for him honestly - stuck with Scout, obviously in love with Canary, put in this impossible situation. I love the ambiguity of the ending. It's just very well done.
Fat Girl With a Knife: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The writing is pretty good. I'm not sure how I feel about Dahlia. Her characterization seems a tad underdone. I get that being fat is a big part of her story, but at the same time, after a few pages of it, it just kind of got on my nerves. Part of this is likely the shortness of the story, it doesn't leave time for anything the author doesn't decide is vital to the story, but even understanding that I felt it did her character injustice. That and I feel like I can't even give props for diversity because the weight of the character is just so poorly handled. The author could've done a lot to combat fatphobia here, but even the character's own description of herself and her weight is just so offensive. Overall, the story was interesting. It had a different sort of feel than a good portion of other zombie media, which was cool. All things considered, it's better than average but still sort of mid, hence the 3 star rating.
Sleepless: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
That was good. I didn't see the ending coming, and I loved that. This was a nice twist from its source material. You think you see the twist coming, and then when the real one comes, you're left wondering how you missed it. It's really well done. This is probably my overall favorite.
M: ⭐️⭐️1/2
As with a few others, it's not bad. It's just a sort of mid-point for me. It's definitely an interesting premise, and I liked the idea of a blind main character solving a murder. But I also think it was an odd choice that she could see him? Like she's blind, why does she need the ability to see anything? That felt like one of those "magic gives them the ability to do things even with their disability" sort of cop-out, I don't know. It also wasn't particularly scary. It only really fits here because it's a murder mystery.
The Girl Without a Face: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
That one gave me chills. It's truly scary, though I can't find any pity for our main character. It seems to me that he got what he deserved. I did enjoy the twists and the way the inspirations were twisted into their own new story. This one strikes me the same way a 2000's horror movie would. Well done.
A Girl Who Dreamed of Snow: ⭐️⭐️1/2
This one was confusing throughout. I never felt like I got a solid hold of the story or its universe. Due to this, it was really hard to ever feel invested in the story. It wasn't really scary at all, either.
Stitches: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Wow. Gutting. So well-written. I loved Sage. I loved the Collector. I saw the twist coming, but it made me so sad regardless. The story is gruesome and beautiful. This is definitely tied for my favorite story.
On the I-5: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was really good. Good writing. I loved EmmaRae. The story was interesting, and the premise was new and fresh to me. It'll stick with me a while because it's one of those stories about real horror - the horror people create, not monsters.
Very well written. Creepy more so than thriller or horror, but well done. I like the twist added to the inspirations. I also see this as worse than other types of the same stories simply because it hinges on something real and something awful that could happen to anyone. This one may be the one that sticks with me for a bit, leaving me more unsettled than other things I've read.
In the Forest Dark and Deep: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I liked the writing and I liked the premise. I will say I want to understand the Hare more. What is he? What exactly is his deal? Where did he come from? I like the switch in how Cassidy refers to him partway through because I really wasn't expecting it given the information we get at the beginning. I also enjoyed the foreshadowing we're given: "That he was a master at making one thing look like another..." All in all, it was a well-done horror story.
Emmeline: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
It was creepy for sure. Well written. I guess it just hit kind of a midpoint for me. Wasn't bad, but wasn't raving good either.
Verse Chorus Verse: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
This was good, but it was too short. I was left with too many questions and not enough answers. What was Lousie? What was going on there? What trade? What happened to Jaycee? I just had so many questions, and the whole thing was really vague. The ending was also too abrupt. I'm also not sure I liked the implications against Jaycee for something that was obviously not her fault.
Hide-And-Seek: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was fun. I enjoyed the premise, and the ending got me - it was clever. I liked our main character. All in all, it's a good story.
The Dark Scary Parts and All: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Absolute chills. This is super well written, and I like the twists and turns we go down as Marnie figures out what's happening. It's well done, and I actually found the ending really fitting.
The Flicker, the Fingers, the Beat, the Sigh: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I really enjoyed the horror story mixed with star-crossed lovers. This was super well written. It gave me chills. I enjoyed our main character, and I really felt pity for him honestly - stuck with Scout, obviously in love with Canary, put in this impossible situation. I love the ambiguity of the ending. It's just very well done.
Fat Girl With a Knife: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The writing is pretty good. I'm not sure how I feel about Dahlia. Her characterization seems a tad underdone. I get that being fat is a big part of her story, but at the same time, after a few pages of it, it just kind of got on my nerves. Part of this is likely the shortness of the story, it doesn't leave time for anything the author doesn't decide is vital to the story, but even understanding that I felt it did her character injustice. That and I feel like I can't even give props for diversity because the weight of the character is just so poorly handled. The author could've done a lot to combat fatphobia here, but even the character's own description of herself and her weight is just so offensive. Overall, the story was interesting. It had a different sort of feel than a good portion of other zombie media, which was cool. All things considered, it's better than average but still sort of mid, hence the 3 star rating.
Sleepless: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
That was good. I didn't see the ending coming, and I loved that. This was a nice twist from its source material. You think you see the twist coming, and then when the real one comes, you're left wondering how you missed it. It's really well done. This is probably my overall favorite.
M: ⭐️⭐️1/2
As with a few others, it's not bad. It's just a sort of mid-point for me. It's definitely an interesting premise, and I liked the idea of a blind main character solving a murder. But I also think it was an odd choice that she could see him? Like she's blind, why does she need the ability to see anything? That felt like one of those "magic gives them the ability to do things even with their disability" sort of cop-out, I don't know. It also wasn't particularly scary. It only really fits here because it's a murder mystery.
The Girl Without a Face: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
That one gave me chills. It's truly scary, though I can't find any pity for our main character. It seems to me that he got what he deserved. I did enjoy the twists and the way the inspirations were twisted into their own new story. This one strikes me the same way a 2000's horror movie would. Well done.
A Girl Who Dreamed of Snow: ⭐️⭐️1/2
This one was confusing throughout. I never felt like I got a solid hold of the story or its universe. Due to this, it was really hard to ever feel invested in the story. It wasn't really scary at all, either.
Stitches: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Wow. Gutting. So well-written. I loved Sage. I loved the Collector. I saw the twist coming, but it made me so sad regardless. The story is gruesome and beautiful. This is definitely tied for my favorite story.
On the I-5: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was really good. Good writing. I loved EmmaRae. The story was interesting, and the premise was new and fresh to me. It'll stick with me a while because it's one of those stories about real horror - the horror people create, not monsters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Death of parent, Grief, Sexual assault, Violence, Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Addiction, Alcoholism, Fatphobia, Gore, Pedophilia, and Murder