ARC, 336 pages
Release Date: October 15, 2024
Published by: Page Street YA
Read from: October 11-26, 2024
Stand-alone
Source: PRH Audio App (I received an ARC from the publisher. This did nothing to influence my review.)
Content Warning: Death, Blood, Vomit, Toxic Relationship, Death of Parent, Fire/Fire Injury
For Readers Interested In: Slasher Horror, Racial/Ethnic Diversity, 2slgbtqia+, YAQuinn Marcelo wouldn’t necessarily win the award for Most Popular Person at her school, but unbeknownst to her peers, Quinn entertains them at every football, basketball, and baseball game―as Peaches the Parrot, her high school’s God-like mascot.
When someone sabotages the legendary Peaches costume at the Homecoming Game, Quinn’s left unmasked and humiliated. After all, Peaches’ identity was a closely guarded secret and a point of pride for nearly everyone at Olivia Newton-John High. As if that wasn’t enough, Little Peaches, a new, real parrot that the PTA got to enhance the Peaches Experience, is kidnapped right after Quinn’s unmasking.
Determined to uncover the culprit, Quinn publicly unravels the lives of everyone in her path―including Tessa Banks, the most popular girl in school―in a no-holds-barred conspiracy-fueled investigation. But when a killer starts going after the people implicated in Quinn’s mascot disaster, she must race to uncover the truth behind her feathery faux-pas―before the truth kills her, too.
*MY THOUGHTS*
When I heard about this book the only thing I knew about it was the fact that it was a slasher. Did I know it was about an unhinged town that loved their high school’s mascot wayyyyyyy too much? No. But when I did, I got even more interested in it. And I’m so serious lol I have notes all up and through that ARC. Anyway, this book was unhinged, but it was also slasher horror so it would have been anyway? Idk how to explain it lmao
Ok so first things first, the killer. There were parts that I got right, but I don’t want to say what it is because I don’t want to give up too much of the ending. I also got the motive way wrong too lol Well kind of. I was in the ballpark, but tbh it wasn’t very close lol Which was kind of stupid because there aren’t that many characters in this lol It should have been obvious, but it wasn’t. Which y’all know I loved lol I think it was so easy to get it wrong because the rest of this was so unhinged. Who knew a town’s obsession with a mascot was enough for me to get distracted and ignore the rest of what was happening in the book.
I did think it was a little slow in the beginning tho. I think I made it to page like 92 (maybe? I don’t have it in front of me… But I do remember it was late in the game) before someone got got? And like of course we don’t condone violence, but this was a slasher? Idk how to say it without sounding weird lol But basically, there was a lot of build up I’ll just say that. But when people started going, they went quickly. And it was people that I wasn’t expecting lol That trophy room? Yikes. But no, I was stuck when it finally got going.
The romance was cute tho. Not necessarily believable tho. I mean once you find out what one of them does, you’ll understand. Because Lordt it was almost worse than cheating. I verbally cussed her out when the secret was revealed lol I’m not gonna lie, if I was her I wouldn’t have said another word to her. But I get it tho. Now the romance is sapphic, and it’s full of representation. One of them is bisexual and the other is pan. But even still with the secrets and lies, I think they really balanced each other out. And when it came down to it, they really were ride or dies lol
This one was good! As soon as I started reading this I immediately went into watching all the old school horror movies. I’m talking the originals. I am a 1978 Halloween fiend, and I actually really like the Scream franchise, so you can imagine why I liked this so much. This was so much fun and the perfect way to finish my horror marathon until Halloween.
Overall, I give this
