The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! đ
fictionaladventures's review
3.5
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Bullying, Body horror, Mass/school shootings, and Child death
sarah_shelf's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
I usually reserve 1 stars for books I actively despised reading. While I would not say I despise this book, I had absolutely no investment in the characters or plot for the majority of this novel. I wanted the reasons/explanation for the creepy world of the present timeline, which we got in the last 20 pages, but I didnât particularly care about anything else. This sounds bad, again, given the last 20 pages, which is why Iâm splitting my review into my thoughts pre- and post- reveal (plot twist? ending?)
I bought this book on a whim one day, intrigued by the cover and the premise as well as a passing interest in one of Francesca Zappiaâs other novels. Mostly I bought this book because it reminded me of the horror games my friends and I were obsessed with watching when we were in middle school. For the majority of the book, those vibes were all I really got out of it, plus a frustrating reminder of how YA can be such a vague genre when it caters to so many age groups. Pre-reveal I did not think I was at all part of the target audience for this novel. Honestly, I still think this novel wouldâve gone over better with at least high school self (some of the more serious topics that come up later plus the gore may have been too much for middle school me.) Though the reveal does make the novel a lot more present and relevant to our society as a whole.Â
What I mean by the target audience is the characters, storyline, and writing were all simplistic. The past timeline, what happened before in the normal world, follows our main character Cat as she grows up and goes through high school. Cat is an outcast and a bit of a loner. Sheâs that weird girl with one friend and a talent at making creepy and disturbing art. Her best friend Jeffrey is a plain, chill dude who sticks by Cat through all the bullying, especially at the hands of his older brother, the attractive and ever popular Jake the jock. All of these characters feel like archetypes Iâve seen in high school media countless times and the bullying Cat suffers from, while horrendous, is still a story Iâve heard before. There was nothing interesting or different about this past timeline, no new commentary besides the dangers of bullying.Â
The present timeline, in the horror reflection of Catâs high school and student body held my attention the most, but it still left a lot too be desired. If Catâs past was just an exhibition of all the ways her life went wrong (with the exception of her relationship with Jeffrey) then Catâs present just tries to one-up itself with the creepy student transformations and increasingly bloodier and gory-er murders. The crux in this storyline is finding out who or what is killing the changes students (the outcasts) with a minor desire to escape the prison the school has become, but that mostly falls to the wayside. Itâs framed like a mystery, but itâs really not. Everyone points fingers at Schoolâs so-called boogeyman, Laserbeams who lives in a cave of knives in the basement. So of course, itâs Laserbeams. Why? Well after a bloodbath,
As the climax of the violence occurs, Cat finally remembers what happened at the end of the past timeline:
Why was any of the horror timeline necessary?
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Mass/school shootings, Bullying, and Gun violence
frogggirl2's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Vomit
smortnerd's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Murder, Mass/school shootings, Bullying, Death, and Violence
trippalli's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Stalking, Child death, Torture, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Eating disorder
chilivanilli28's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Gun violence, Gore, Bullying, and Death
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Homophobia
sammba's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I would NOT recommend his book for teens or label it as YA (see content/trigger warnings). It is NOT for the faint of heart.Â
Graphic: Child death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Gore, Grief, Murder, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
sarah984's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Gore, Violence, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Racism, Ableism, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Confinement, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Self harm, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual content
stonams's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Mass/school shootings, Body horror, Child death, Death, Blood, Violence, Bullying, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Lesbophobia, Torture, and Eating disorder
Minor: Animal death and Mental illness
mellamaron's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
What is it then, you ask?
Katzenjammer is a haunting horror that flows beautifully between two timelines. We see the âcurrentâ time where the students of the School are changing, turning into monsters. Each time we meet a new character in the current timeline, we see them in the past - a normal contemporary timeline before the students were stuck in the school. Both timelines are told in short abrupt chapters and both are so compelling, I canât pick a favorite.
Cat is a lovely protagonist. She is a girl who is different; people make fun of her lazy eye and her weird paintings. We meet Jeffrey, her best friend, who is a kind-hearted charismatic odd boy who enjoys spending time with her.
All of the characters we meet are interesting - when reading, itâs like these names stuck. Sometimes when I read, I go âwait who was this?â But in this book, I knew. When something connected in my head I went âoh my gosh, itâs XXXâÂ
There are many triggers in this book, the one that happens most is violence: intense violence. I would recommend you look up the triggers before reading this book. I wonât list them all here as there is a particular trigger that is a spoilerâŚ. So please look it up before reading if you have issues with violence triggers.
I really loved Zappiaâs writing in this book: it felt sinister and compelling. I truly felt like I was in a horror video game - trying to hide from the toys in Five Nights at Freddyâs or Emily Wants to Play. If you donât like those psychological horrors, please do NOT read this book.
Graphic: Violence, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Gun violence and Vomit