e-Audio, 09:09:21
Narrated by: Karissa Vacker
Release Date: April 25, 2023
Published by: HarperTeen
Read from: April , 2023
Stand-alone
Source: Library’s Libby
TW: Gaslighting, Death, Violence, Possession
For Readers Interested In: Horror, Thriller, YAClaire’s grown up triple-checking locks. Counting her steps. Second-guessing every decision. It’s just how she’s wired – her worst-case scenarios never actually come true.
Until she arrives at an off-the-grid summer camp to find a blackened, burned husk instead of a lodge – and no survivors, except her and two other late arrivals: Reyva and Mariana.
When the three girls find a dead body in the woods, they realize none of this is an accident. Someone, something, is hunting them. Something that hides in the shadows. Something that refuses to let them leave.
*MY THOUGHTS*
My immediate thoughts after finishing this was “WTF did I just read?!” And that’s how I know I liked it lmao This book was all over the place and I couldn’t look away. I remember not being able to sleep because I had to get to the root of what was happening. I’m sure anyone else who reads this will do the same.
Ok so first things first, the horror in this was actually creepy! I can’t count how many horror books I’ve read lately that aren’t actually scary. Maybe it’s a me thing because I’ve read so many and nothing really scares me anymore, but whatever it is, this made me extremely happy with being scared lol AND to make it better, it’s scary on different levels. There’s the suspense about literally everything that’s happening. And then there’s the creepy person. AND the possession. It was all over the place and I loved every creepy bit of it.
The writing style was good too. I liked the way the pacing was. It hooked me right in with the opening chapter, but the girls spent time trying to figure out what happened and they started helping each other and getting to know each other. It just seemed hella realistic. I mean, as much as something like this could actually happen lol Then as things started getting scarier, it wasn’t all at once. Things steadily happened, but it wasn’t all bunched at the end like some thrillers.
The characters were cool tho. I liked the main character because I really related to her. Is that something y’all would think about? As someone with anxiety, I felt this was really real. I think about things like this all the time, so I don’t think it’s unrealistic to think that it wouldn’t be worse for me in a stressful situation like this. The other characters were also well fleshed out too, even the side ones. It was hella weird to see even the creepy thing had a back story lol That’s just how good it was tho.
The only thing I didn’t really like was the way it ended. It was too rushed. And they didn’t seem nearly as scarred as they should have been. Like they walked away from that ok? Ain’t no way they were meeting up and doing things like that. Ain’t no way. I don’t think I’d ever walk out the house again lol But that’s just me. It just made this perfectly believable book not so believable and it annoyed me.
This book was so much fun. Definitely filled a void in the space in my heart left for horror. This was so good I even offered it to my library system for Tournament of Books a year away lol It has some representation, some scary and spooky and a tough ass girl squad that I would have loved to have as a teen. This book is definitely going to be one of my faves for the year!
Overall, I give this
Ooh nice! I still need to read this one too! I remember it took me a doozy to track down as first I saw it out early but come release week it was harder to find! Eek! Hate when that happens! Glad to hear it had some good ol creepy vibes! I’ve been missing those from my current thriller reads! Great review!