Tag Archives: slasher

Review: How to Survive a Slasher by Justine Pucella Winans

Book Review and Content, Horror, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,
How to Survive a Slasher by Justine Pucella Winans

How to Survive a Slasher
Justine Pucella Winans
Bloomsbury
Published March 11, 2025

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About How to Survive a Slasher

You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight meets Scream in this YA slasher that turns classic horror tropes on their heads.

Few people can say they faced the infamous Satterville Wolf Man and lived. But CJ Smith can.

She doesn’t talk about that, though.

CJ has survived the horror movie that is her life by following one rule: blend in and stay out of it. But that’s hard to do when your trauma gets turned into a bestselling book series. The Slasherville books are a true crime phenomenon, documenting the Wolf Man massacres that changed CJ’s life forever. CJ hates everything about the books and their fans, but at this point she’s just grateful there aren’t any more murders to write about.

Until one day when an unpublished Slasherville book shows up on her doorstep predicting new Wolf Man killings. CJ is sure it’s a bad prank. But then the events in the book start coming true, and when CJ breaks her one rule, the Final Girl-the person who, according to the book, was supposed to stop the Wolf Man-ends up dead. Suddenly, blending in and staying out of it is not an option, and CJ will have to use everything she knows about the rules of horror to make it out alive.

My Review

I’m generally not a huge fan of slasher books, but I enjoyed You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight (Kalynn Bayron… is there anything she can’t write?!?!) and the description of turning tropes on their heads had me intrigued. I’ve also read a couple of middle grade horror novels by Winans, and the first one in particular (The Otherwoods) is still a favorite. So with all that in mind, I wanted to check out this book.

One thing How to Survive a Slasher does well is acknowledge the slasher story tropes right out of the gate. It adds to the fun and genre-celebrating element of the book and relieves whatever tension might gather between readers and their willingness to suspend disbelief. It also made it feel like readers and characters were in on some of the same jokes, which was fun. There’s a line in the book that’s something like, “We’re not all characters in books!” Which was funny, too.

I like CJ as a character and found it easy to root for her throughout the story. CJ identifies as genderqueer and explains what that means to her, which I thought was cool. It’s nice to see characters represented in fiction that explore different ways to identify. CJ also discusses what her identity means to her and how it feels to try to describe her identity to others.

The story moves quickly, and at less than 300 pages, it’s a pretty quick read. If you’re a fan of the slasher tropes, or just want to read something that walks the line between celebrating them and poking fun at them, I think you’ll have fun with this book.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 15 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity throughout.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
Characters have some discussions about spirituality in a more general sense. One character is an atheist. Others talk about the parallel between life and stories and whether we have assigned roles to play or are in charge of our own fates. Some characters act in service to a higher power, while others spurn that idea.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Brief graphic violence. Scenes show murders and accidental death.

Drug Content
In one scene, a teenager wishes for alcohol but doesn’t drink any.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,

You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight
Kalynn Bayron
Bloomsbury YA
Published June 20, 2023

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About You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight

At Camp Mirror Lake, terror is the name of the game . . . but can you survive the night?

This heart-pounding slasher by New York Times bestselling author Kalynn Bayron is perfect for fans of Fear Street.

Charity Curtis has the summer job of her dreams, playing the “final girl” at Camp Mirror Lake. Guests pay to be scared in this full-contact terror game, as Charity and her summer crew recreate scenes from a classic slasher film, Curse of Camp Mirror Lake. The more realistic the fear, the better for business.

But the last weekend of the season, Charity’s co-workers begin disappearing. And when one ends up dead, Charity’s role as the final girl suddenly becomes all too real. If Charity and her girlfriend Bezi hope to survive the night, they’ll need figure out what this killer is after. Is there is more to the story of Mirror Lake and its dangerous past than Charity ever suspected?

My Review

Okay, Kaylnn Bayon is on a ROLL. Wow. So, earlier this year I read MY DEAR HENRY, which is a reimagining of “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde,” and it was amazing. (My daughter is currently reading and loving it.) Last year I read her middle grade debut, THE VANQUISHERS, and that one was excellent as well. Now, here she is again, taking on a completely new genre of writing with this book. Is there anything she can’t write?

I don’t read a lot of books in this specific genre, so I’m not going to really be able to evaluate this book against other similar titles, but I have to say that I felt super engaged reading this book. It’s only about 240 pages or so, and I read it in one sitting.

I liked the characters a lot, especially Charity and Bezi. The setting– the backwoods camp turned into a live horror show experience– felt so creepy and isolated. I thought the premise of the story was really fascinating, too. It starts off walking a balance between poking fun at slasher films and also appreciating the beats and plot points writers use to tell those stories.

The only real thing that stands out to me as feeling like it didn’t really fit together is the way one minor character is introduced. She appears on scene dropping hints about something bad, and then later reappears in the story as the slasher part of the plot ramps up. I am not sure that I understood why she made the claims she did in the first place in light of all the reveals later in the book. But I did tense up in that first scene when she appears, so I appreciate the tension of that part. I just wish it had connected with the overall story a little more cohesively.

Conclusion

On the whole, though, I definitely enjoyed this creepy, scary read. The only other book like this one that I’ve read is THE PLEDGE by Cale Dietrich, and I can definitely say I enjoyed this one more. The woods and isolated camp really hooked me in this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Charity is a lesbian and Black.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two girls. References to sex.

Spiritual Content
References to blood rituals. Some characters act out blood rituals.

Violent Content
Charity and the other staff act out a slasher skit (complete with fake blood and rubber/retractable weapons) with customers who participate and try to avoid the “killer.” Some scenes show people who have been seriously injured or killed. A masked killer attacks Charity and her friends.

Drug Content
References to Charity’s stepdad, who is an alcoholic.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of YOU’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO DIE TONIGHT in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Pledge by Cale Dietrich

Book Review and Content, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Pledge
Cale Dietrich
Feiwel & Friends
February 14, 2023

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About The Pledge

Scream meets Clown in a Cornfield in this young adult horror novel by bestselling Cale Dietrich featuring a masked killer who targets frat boys.

Freshman Sam believes that joining a fraternity is the best way to form a friend group as he begins his college journey – and his best chance of moving on from his past. He is the survivor of a horrific, and world-famous, murder spree, where a masked killer hunted down Sam and his friends.

Sam had to do the unthinkable to survive that night, and it completely derailed his life. He sees college, and his new identity as a frat boy, as his best shot at living a life not defined by the killings. He starts to flirt with one of the brothers, who Sam finds is surprisingly accepting of Sam’s past, and begins to think a fresh start truly is possible.

And then… one of his new frat brothers is found dead. A new masked murderer, one clearly inspired by the original, emerges, and starts stalking, and slaying, the frat boys of Munroe University. Now Sam will have to race against the clock to figure out who the new killer is – and why they are killing – before Sam loses his second chance – or the lives of any more of his friends.

Elements of horror, mystery, and a gay romance make this a story readers won’t want to miss.

My Review

I received this book as part of a package of books from the publisher, and I was the most nervous about it of all the others in the set. I’m still pretty touch and go with horror, so it’s always hard to tell from the cover or cover copy whether something is going to be a good pick or end up being too much.

Ultimately, I didn’t think the horror elements were too much for me. In some ways, THE PLEDGE reminded me of some of the R. L. Stine or Christopher Pike stories that I used to read. I also enjoyed that it was a story centered around a gay character– something different from the romance or contemporary stories I often read with LGBTQ+ protagonists.

It’s definitely a slasher story– so expect lots of scenes showing a masked assailant with a knife overpowering their victims and stabbing them. I’m a bit of a wimp about that stuff, but I didn’t find the descriptions overly graphic or gross.

The part of the story that really hooked me, though was the mystery element. Some people suspect Sam of being the killer, and he ends up getting involved in trying to figure out who is hurting people. He works with the police, trying to stop the killer before they strike again. I definitely got wrapped up in trying to guess who it was and what their motive was. I didn’t guess either one.

The story also includes Sam’s relationships with his family, which drew me in. He has issues with his mom, and he has a younger brother he loves a lot. I liked both those relationships and the way they impacted the story.

All in all, a slasher book is never going to be my go-to, but I enjoyed checking this one out. I think fans of THE WHITE RABBIT by Caleb Roehrig will like the mystery elements and romance of THE PLEDGE.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Sam and some other characters are gay.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to Sam’s past relationship with Eli. He’s attracted to a new guy at college. In one scene, they kiss and retreat to a bedroom to have sex. The scene shows them naked together and vaguely describes that they have sex.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
It’s a slasher, so there’s a bad guy with a knife who stabs some people in some scenes.

Drug Content
Sam attends parties with the fraternity brothers and drinks alcohol. One of the boys in the process of joining the fraternity smells like pot.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of THE PLEDGE in exchange for my honest review.