Tag Archives: survivor

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

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

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Until one day when an unpublished Slasherville book shows up on her doorstep predicting new Wolf Man killings.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: We Called Them Giants by Kieron Gillen

Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

We Called Them Giants
Kieron Gillen
Image Comics
Published November 12, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About We Called Them Giants

“What an astonishing piece of work. Beautiful and moving.” —Neil Gaiman

We Called Them Giants is a story of communication across a chasm at the end of the world.

Lori wakes to find the streets empty. Everyone has gone. Or at least, nearly everyone. She’s thrown into a world where she has to scrape by in the ruins of civilization, nearly starving, hiding from gangs when …

They arrive.

The award-winning team behind dark fantasy smash DIE release their first stand alone original graphic novel.

My Review

The artwork in this short (just over 100 pages long) graphic novel is striking. The images feel as apocalyptic as the story, showing characters in a dark, shadowy landscape. One of the things I love about the book is that all three central human characters are women. At the beginning, Lori and Annette meet someone in a mask with a weapon who tries to prevent them from stealing cans of food. This person turns out to be an older woman the girls eventually meet again.

Much of the story is told in narrative that’s divided into short sentences arranged at the top or bottom of the panels. I love the way the panels are arranged on the pages. A lot of pages have tall, narrow panels side by side, showing a sequence of events. This made each panel seem huge and drew attention to the details of each image.

The storytelling itself is a little bit choppy, jumping from a few lines about Lori’s backstory straight into the present apocalyptic world without offering much explanation about what happened. The story leaves a lot of unanswered questions. We never learn what caused so much of the population to disappear, for example.

What does come into stark focus, though, is the relationship between Lori and her friends and the giant they call Red. They look for ways to communicate their needs and ultimately form what feels like the kind of relationship between a caregiver and a pet.

All in all, I can see why so many people are talking about this book. The illustrations are truly compelling. Readers who like dark fantasy will not want to miss this one.

Content Notes for We Called Them Giants

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Lori’s friend Annette is pictured with brown skin.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Some characters have otherworldly abilities. Annette wonders if everyone else disappeared because of the rapture, a reference to an apocalyptic belief that some Christians share.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Giant wolves attack Lori and her allies. Lori sees the dead bodies of other people and creatures.

Drug Content
None.

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: How We Ricochet by Faith Gardner

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , , ,

How We Ricochet
Faith Gardner
HarperTeen
Published May 24, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About How We Ricochet

Intimate, impactful, and incisive, this newest novel from Faith Gardner, critically acclaimed author of GIRL ON THE LINE, is an unflinching look into the devastating consequences of a mass shooting for one girl and her close-knit family, for readers of THIS IS HOW IT ENDS and ALL THE BRIGHT PLACES.

It seems sometimes a charade that we continue celebrating in the face of relentless tragedy.

How dare we? But then . . . what else is there to do?

Betty’s mom needed new pants for her job.

That was why Betty was at the mall with her mom and sister when the shooting started.

Afterward, nothing is the same.

There are no easy answers to be found, and Betty’s search for them leads her to Michael, the brother of the shooter. But this path only shows Betty one thing: that everything she thought she knew—about herself, about the world around her—can change in a heartbeat.

A moving, powerful journey of life after tragedy, HOW WE RICOCHET is an unflinching and necessary story for our time that will resonate with readers everywhere.

My Review

The whole book is told from Betty’s point-of-view. I liked that, and I truly loved the writing, so I think that was great. I did honestly wonder what the story would have been like if it had been divided between Michael and Betty’s points-of-view.

This is one of those books where there’s a LOT going on. Betty, her mom, and her sister are recovering from the experience of the mall shooting. The girls have a difficult relationship with their dad, who has been absent from their lives for ten years besides occasional phone calls and random gifts in the mail. Betty is trying to break into the fashion industry as a copy writer, something she isn’t sure she has a real passion for anymore. Her sister is spiraling into a bad place, and Betty doesn’t know how to help her. Her mom has leapt into a new identity as an activist for gun safety, leaving Betty feeling super isolated.

And then, of course, there’s her getting to know Michael, the brother of the shooter. There’s the way they dance around one another’s grief. The way they process their losses side by side, comforting each other without speaking about it. I loved the way their relationship unfolded. I liked that they were safe harbors for one another in the storm.

Conclusion

On the whole, I found this to be a deeply moving story with great writing and heartfelt relationships. This is the first book by Faith Gardner that I’ve ever read, but I am super interested in her other books now, too.

The cover copy compares this story to a book called THIS IS HOW IT ENDS, but I wonder if they meant THIS IS WHERE IT ENDS by Marieke Nijkamp? That second book is a story about the unfolding of a school shooting, which is why I wondered about that.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Betty and another character identify as pansexual. One of her close friends is gay. Betty experiences some symptoms of PTSD after being near a shooting involving her mom and sister. Her sister also experiences debilitating PTSD symptoms.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Betty was next door during a shooting in a store where her mother and sister were. She heard the shots but didn’t see it happen. Her mom briefly describes what she witnessed.

Drug Content
Betty’s sister takes medication for panic attacks. She and Betty and others drink alcohol.

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 HOW WE RICOCHET in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Lucky Ones by Liz Lawson

Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,

The Lucky Ones
Liz Lawson
Delacorte Press
Published April 7, 2020

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Goodreads

About The Lucky Ones

May is a survivor. But she doesn’t feel like one. She feels angry. And lost. And alone. Eleven months after the school shooting that killed her twin brother, May still doesn’t know why she was the only one to walk out of the band room that day. No one gets what she went through–no one saw and heard what she did. No one can possibly understand how it feels to be her.

Zach lost his old life when his mother decided to defend the shooter. His girlfriend dumped him, his friends bailed, and now he spends his time hanging out with his little sister…and the one faithful friend who stuck around. His best friend is needy and demanding, but he won’t let Zach disappear into himself. Which is how Zach ends up at band practice that night. The same night May goes with her best friend to audition for a new band.

Which is how May meets Zach. And how Zach meets May. And how both might figure out that surviving could be an option after all.

My Review

At the beginning, I wasn’t totally sure I’d like May or Zach. He seemed so… wheedling? I don’t know if that’s really the right description. I found his awkwardness endearing, especially once he began trying to interact with May.

I liked a lot of things about May. She’s so obviously deeply wounded and prickly/angry as a result. I guess I just didn’t understand her choices at first. She was brave enough to vandalize property, but too scared to tell someone she was being harassed. I found that a little hard to reconcile at first.

Ultimately, as I got more and more drawn into the book and the healing process of both May and Zach, I couldn’t help rooting for them and hoping they’d find a happily-ever-after, or at least, have a breakthrough that opened the possibility of a happy ending.

THE LUCKY ONES is a journey through grief. Some parts hit hard, landing some pretty sharp punches straight to your heart. Other parts can’t help but inspire hope. I think that was my favorite part– that though the story gets dark as May revisits what happened, there’s hope.

Readers who enjoyed WILD AND CROOKED by Leah Thomas or GLASS GIRL by Laura Anderson Kurk should check out THE LUCKY ONES. (Content information below.)

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Lucy, May’s best friend is from Haiti and prefers female partners.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Lots of extreme profanity used frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Lots of feelings of attraction and brief kissing. References to making out.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
References to a school shooting during which May heard the shooter killing people.

Drug Content
Teen drinking and references to past drug use.

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