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themysterymaven's review against another edition
2.0
2.5
Ok, this book reminds me so much of the Fear Street trilogy on Netflix. Except, swap Camp Nightwing for a maze of an old amusement park. The two parallel each other right down to the underlying social commentary that turns the stories into a large, complex metaphor on the privileged vs. the underserved and the horrific ways those in the upper echelons will sacrifice their values, morals, souls…heck even their own lives and those of the lower masses to maintain the high status upon which they exist.
If you’ve seen the trilogy, I don’t want to give away much from the book, as there are differences…enough to keep you turning the pages. But, only because it’s a brief book. I’m just not sure you’ll find the novel as thrilling as it could be. If you have not viewed the streaming hit, then your reading experience, I think, will be quite different.
The book has the fun of people playing an extreme game of hide and seek in an old theme park. There are some very chilling scenes and quotes, especially related to one character’s backstory. But at times, I felt, the plot became a bit too obvious and preachy in it’s social righteousness…which I understand how infuriating today’s state of the world is, but when you also seek escapism, this novel could have provided more. In my opinion, I give the edge to Bockoven’s Fantasticland.
Ok, this book reminds me so much of the Fear Street trilogy on Netflix. Except, swap Camp Nightwing for a maze of an old amusement park. The two parallel each other right down to the underlying social commentary that turns the stories into a large, complex metaphor on the privileged vs. the underserved and the horrific ways those in the upper echelons will sacrifice their values, morals, souls…heck even their own lives and those of the lower masses to maintain the high status upon which they exist.
If you’ve seen the trilogy, I don’t want to give away much from the book, as there are differences…enough to keep you turning the pages. But, only because it’s a brief book. I’m just not sure you’ll find the novel as thrilling as it could be. If you have not viewed the streaming hit, then your reading experience, I think, will be quite different.
The book has the fun of people playing an extreme game of hide and seek in an old theme park. There are some very chilling scenes and quotes, especially related to one character’s backstory. But at times, I felt, the plot became a bit too obvious and preachy in it’s social righteousness…which I understand how infuriating today’s state of the world is, but when you also seek escapism, this novel could have provided more. In my opinion, I give the edge to Bockoven’s Fantasticland.
meggamillion14's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I’m kind of conflicted!!! I think I’m at like a 3.5 but it feels wrong to round up to four. I did really enjoy this story and loved how it ended, as well as the 3rd person omnipresent narration, but I did find myself getting a little bored at some points. The characters were cool & all very different & well defined, with different motivations and clear arcs as the story progressed. I’m pleasantly surprised by my experience with this story as the majority of my favorite reviewers didn’t love it (but, really, that doesn’t mean too much- I often have a different opinion anyway!). Glad I gave it a shot. Her other recent release sounds great so I plan to try that too!
toadscreams's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
hazelmerevandran's review against another edition
3.0
It was a fun read, story wise it was cliche as hell, you read one high stakes children's game story with a big ol cash prize story, you've read them all. I definitely fell in love with a few characters (I'd walk through fire for Buzzed Ava and Brandon).
The info dump pages and the shifting perspective between 14/15/16 (lost count) different characters, was kinda boring and confusing respectively.
There were many fun(ny) and engaging parts, moments that made me cackle, and keep turning pages, only to be met with a boring long drawn out infodump again. Though it was fun to put the pieces together at times.
The ending was pretty cool, low-key a dick move though
The info dump pages and the shifting perspective between 14/15/16 (lost count) different characters, was kinda boring and confusing respectively.
There were many fun(ny) and engaging parts, moments that made me cackle, and keep turning pages, only to be met with a boring long drawn out infodump again. Though it was fun to put the pieces together at times.
The ending was pretty cool, low-key a dick move though
theoceanrose's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Murder, and Gaslighting
lindseygurney's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
kristenbooks's review
2.0
2/5
This was... fine. I don't really have strong feelings toward it one way or another. Which sucks, because a deadly game of hide and seek held inside an amusement park is one of the best premises I could ever imagine.
But the execution is... so cliche, and honestly, somehow kinda boring? And I'm someone who enjoys slow-paced stories. Except this isn't meant to be slow-paced, but it is.
I think there were supposed to be twists along the way, but nothing about them was surprising. They were either tropes I've seen too many times and can recognize on sight, or were so heavily, clunkily foreshadowed that I felt like I was being beaten over the head with the foreshadowing.
What it doesn't bash you over the head with? Scary moments. For a book tagged as horror, tense scenes are too few and too far between and... uh... not really even that tense. Even though the reader knows it's a DEADLY game, it doesn't feel like there are really any stakes until well into the book, and even then, it still doesn't feel that high-stakes.
---
*Although the rest of this review will not contain explicit spoilers, I do vaguely reference some things, so if you want to remain completely unspoiled, I would not continue reading*
---
And then there are the villains. As I mentioned in an update, this book is like... somewhere between preachy and stereotypical? The terrible people are Evil with a capital E. They can't just be doing a terrible thing, they also have to be The Stereotypical BoomerTM. They use slurs, they complain about how kids these days don't want to work, about how "back in my day" gender existed, and women married and had babies. *cue snarky response from one of the protagonists* It has absolutely no subtlety to it, just like everything else in the book, giving you the exact canned lines you would expect Stereotypical BoomerTM to say. Either way, regardless of this, they're already bad people doing bad things, you don't have to make them EVEN WORSE.
Given this, as well as the dedication at the beginning ("To the youngest generations we've tasked with saving us all: You shouldn't have to. I'm so sorry."), it just feels like she was trying to write a horror story with some sort of allegory for the way that Boomers have messed up the world while pushing onus onto every generation after them. I don't think she succeeded on either the horror or allegory front, because the former... basically wasn't there, and the latter bashes the reader over the head to the point of cliche, hyperbole, and caricature. (and I'm saying this as someone who AGREES with her...)
This was... fine. I don't really have strong feelings toward it one way or another. Which sucks, because a deadly game of hide and seek held inside an amusement park is one of the best premises I could ever imagine.
But the execution is... so cliche, and honestly, somehow kinda boring? And I'm someone who enjoys slow-paced stories. Except this isn't meant to be slow-paced, but it is.
I think there were supposed to be twists along the way, but nothing about them was surprising. They were either tropes I've seen too many times and can recognize on sight, or were so heavily, clunkily foreshadowed that I felt like I was being beaten over the head with the foreshadowing.
Spoiler
I never believe a character is dead until I see them dead, so I knew Ava was still alive. We were also bombarded by discussions of relatives, and once Ava couldn't see the monster, it was clear she wasn't related and couldn't be killed.What it doesn't bash you over the head with? Scary moments. For a book tagged as horror, tense scenes are too few and too far between and... uh... not really even that tense. Even though the reader knows it's a DEADLY game, it doesn't feel like there are really any stakes until well into the book, and even then, it still doesn't feel that high-stakes.
Spoiler
idk if it was the book's fault, or my own gut instinct, or maybe the number of similar stories I've consumed, but I just could tell that this would be a horror story where the main protagonists (plural) will make it out. Not even a final girl scenario, definitely not an everyone dies scenario.---
*Although the rest of this review will not contain explicit spoilers, I do vaguely reference some things, so if you want to remain completely unspoiled, I would not continue reading*
---
And then there are the villains. As I mentioned in an update, this book is like... somewhere between preachy and stereotypical? The terrible people are Evil with a capital E. They can't just be doing a terrible thing, they also have to be The Stereotypical BoomerTM. They use slurs, they complain about how kids these days don't want to work, about how "back in my day" gender existed, and women married and had babies. *cue snarky response from one of the protagonists* It has absolutely no subtlety to it, just like everything else in the book, giving you the exact canned lines you would expect Stereotypical BoomerTM to say. Either way, regardless of this, they're already bad people doing bad things, you don't have to make them EVEN WORSE.
Given this, as well as the dedication at the beginning ("To the youngest generations we've tasked with saving us all: You shouldn't have to. I'm so sorry."), it just feels like she was trying to write a horror story with some sort of allegory for the way that Boomers have messed up the world while pushing onus onto every generation after them. I don't think she succeeded on either the horror or allegory front, because the former... basically wasn't there, and the latter bashes the reader over the head to the point of cliche, hyperbole, and caricature. (and I'm saying this as someone who AGREES with her...)