sarahskorupa's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
marissaevonne's review
4.0
This book actually gave me chills! I love horror, so I can't imagine how scary it is for children!
I wish Millie lived tbh.
I wish Millie lived tbh.
hannahrox23's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
xarson's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
odette_tbdk's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Las tres historias que vienen en este libro están bastante bien. Usan clichés y cosas comunes de los libros "middle grade" pero le meten el elemento de suspenso y horror de FNaF. Mi historia favorita creo que es la segunda, fue la que me dejó más impacto. La última parte del libro (la de hojas oscuras) me parece que es una historia extra que se va a ir desarrollando en los otros libros. Seguiré leyendo el resto de la saga.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Child death
Moderate: Classism, Violence, Fatphobia, Torture, Body shaming, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Bullying, Eating disorder, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
beccamelbert's review against another edition
dark
lighthearted
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
boomboomkapow123's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
sarah_shelf's review against another edition
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
melsage1823's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A fun, spooky and amazing ya short story collection that digs deeper into the creepiness and weirdness of Five Nights at Freddy's.
I wanted to check out more fnaf content after seeing the movie and I have to say even though the concept it Bizzare its pretty good. To Be Beautiful was the strongest of the collection in my opinion whilst Count The Ways was the weakest. The Stitch Wraith epilogue also has my interest. I'll start with my dislikes before I go into my likes.
From Oswald to Millie all the protagonists were down like unlikeable. Characters with flaws definitely belong in a horror story but not irredeemable nasty characters. Sarah's story had context for her unlikeableness which makes it excusable but there is no excuse for Millie and Oswald. I generally found myself routing for the bad guy due to how nasty they both were. It also made their stories hard to read since its from their point of view. Oswalds sort of gets a redemption but it's a very mucky one and only because of what he went through. I hope Scott has improved upon this in future novels because if not, I can tell I'm gonna find this more and more unbearable.
Secondly I found the ending of Into The Pit a bit to vague and random. It felt like both writers got bored and wanted to move straight onto to the next story. I feel like both Scott and Elley have taken show don't tell a bit too far. I won't spoil but I felt like Into The Pits ending could have been more satisfying. It felt like I was left scraps of an unfinished story. The reason why it ruins the Anthology for me is because it feels so out of place when placed with next to the creepy and complete endings of the next two stories. Might just be my casual fnaf fan brain but that's my opinion.
Finally the writing of Count The Ways. A piece of wasted potential if I'd ever seen one. Its full of clichés and annoying unesssary plot points.
No spoilers but I feel like they could have addressed the whole thinking about death plot point with horror in a different way. Mental health is a sensitive topic and not taking seriously as it should be. This story also just generally puts a harmful stereotype on suicidal people and really irked me. Teenagers do not act like the way they are written in this story. The best part was the ending due to how much it reminded me of Five Nights At Freddy's.
Okay, onto what I liked. I love that this is its own thing and not set in the games universe. The stories explore endless possibilities and villians. This collection felt more like pyscological horror rather than just down write spooky like FNAF. To Be Beautiful left me not wanting to judge my appearance anymore. I feel like just scary horror would not be satisfying so I'm glad Scott and Elley didn't limit their ideas. Hope that other collections keep to this feel. I like it. Jumpscares aren't the only type of horror.
Secondly I really have to hand it to how even for a younger audience, the horror isn't watered-down. It manages to keep the story simple for its younger readers but also be appealing for older readers too. The endings of To Be Beautiful and Count The Ways felt generally like they could be endings of a Black Mirror episode. The stories felt like goosebumps, fnaf and black mirror all put into a blender. Really creepy but I do think a younger audience would able to appreciate each lesson taught in the short stories. It truly feels like a good jumping point into horror for kids and adults a like.
Finally, To Be Beautiful. It was a beautiful well paced story that carried the whole book. The story felt like it belonged in the world of fnaf but at the same time was its own unique thing. It turned a normal thing such as feeling insecure about your looks into something down right terrifying. Eleanor gave me downright chills and was written so well. The twist was predictable but that's what terrified me so much as I didn't want to believe it could be possible. Honestly this story is worth, picking up the book alone.
Overall a solid set of anthology stories that culminate in a fun mcu style crossover in the Stitch Wraith epilogue. I had a really good time with it and am honestly interested in picking up more.
Highly recommend if your a bookworm, a goosebumps fan and of course if your a die hard FNAF fan.
My overall rating for the whole anthology would be 4 Stars. My rating individually would go as followed:
Into The Pit: 4 Stars (The ending and lose plot threads let it down)
To Be Beautiful: 5 Stars (Chefs Kiss)
Count The Ways: 3.5 Stars (The Ending Was The Best Part)
Stich Wraith Epilogue 1: 5 Stars (Good set up and world building)
I wanted to check out more fnaf content after seeing the movie and I have to say even though the concept it Bizzare its pretty good. To Be Beautiful was the strongest of the collection in my opinion whilst Count The Ways was the weakest. The Stitch Wraith epilogue also has my interest. I'll start with my dislikes before I go into my likes.
From Oswald to Millie all the protagonists were down like unlikeable. Characters with flaws definitely belong in a horror story but not irredeemable nasty characters. Sarah's story had context for her unlikeableness which makes it excusable but there is no excuse for Millie and Oswald. I generally found myself routing for the bad guy due to how nasty they both were. It also made their stories hard to read since its from their point of view. Oswalds sort of gets a redemption but it's a very mucky one and only because of what he went through. I hope Scott has improved upon this in future novels because if not, I can tell I'm gonna find this more and more unbearable.
Secondly I found the ending of Into The Pit a bit to vague and random. It felt like both writers got bored and wanted to move straight onto to the next story. I feel like both Scott and Elley have taken show don't tell a bit too far. I won't spoil but I felt like Into The Pits ending could have been more satisfying. It felt like I was left scraps of an unfinished story. The reason why it ruins the Anthology for me is because it feels so out of place when placed with next to the creepy and complete endings of the next two stories. Might just be my casual fnaf fan brain but that's my opinion.
Finally the writing of Count The Ways. A piece of wasted potential if I'd ever seen one. Its full of clichés and annoying unesssary plot points.
No spoilers but I feel like they could have addressed the whole thinking about death plot point with horror in a different way. Mental health is a sensitive topic and not taking seriously as it should be. This story also just generally puts a harmful stereotype on suicidal people and really irked me. Teenagers do not act like the way they are written in this story. The best part was the ending due to how much it reminded me of Five Nights At Freddy's.
Okay, onto what I liked. I love that this is its own thing and not set in the games universe. The stories explore endless possibilities and villians. This collection felt more like pyscological horror rather than just down write spooky like FNAF. To Be Beautiful left me not wanting to judge my appearance anymore. I feel like just scary horror would not be satisfying so I'm glad Scott and Elley didn't limit their ideas. Hope that other collections keep to this feel. I like it. Jumpscares aren't the only type of horror.
Secondly I really have to hand it to how even for a younger audience, the horror isn't watered-down. It manages to keep the story simple for its younger readers but also be appealing for older readers too. The endings of To Be Beautiful and Count The Ways felt generally like they could be endings of a Black Mirror episode. The stories felt like goosebumps, fnaf and black mirror all put into a blender. Really creepy but I do think a younger audience would able to appreciate each lesson taught in the short stories. It truly feels like a good jumping point into horror for kids and adults a like.
Finally, To Be Beautiful. It was a beautiful well paced story that carried the whole book. The story felt like it belonged in the world of fnaf but at the same time was its own unique thing. It turned a normal thing such as feeling insecure about your looks into something down right terrifying. Eleanor gave me downright chills and was written so well. The twist was predictable but that's what terrified me so much as I didn't want to believe it could be possible. Honestly this story is worth, picking up the book alone.
Overall a solid set of anthology stories that culminate in a fun mcu style crossover in the Stitch Wraith epilogue. I had a really good time with it and am honestly interested in picking up more.
Highly recommend if your a bookworm, a goosebumps fan and of course if your a die hard FNAF fan.
My overall rating for the whole anthology would be 4 Stars. My rating individually would go as followed:
Into The Pit: 4 Stars (The ending and lose plot threads let it down)
To Be Beautiful: 5 Stars (Chefs Kiss)
Count The Ways: 3.5 Stars (The Ending Was The Best Part)
Stich Wraith Epilogue 1: 5 Stars (Good set up and world building)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Gore, Child death, Fatphobia, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping
Minor: Murder and Ableism