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People seem to be REALLY divided on this one. But honestly? I enjoyed it.

Is it a perfect book? No. But it's an easy read with a unique concept, interesting characters, a creepy atmosphere, and social commentary sprinkled on top. I kept pausing my work to read a few more chapters because I needed to know how it ended!

Mack was a great protagonist, layered, resourceful, shut off for her own protection but still willing to be vulnerable when met with kindness and compassion. Ava, Brandon, and LeGrand rounded out our primary cast of characters, and I enjoyed that each of them was developed with backstories and motivations on a deeper level than the other contestants so we could connect with them.

Speaking of Ava, there was literally NO reason to have two characters with that name. It felt like a gimmick that was meant to be funny, but it got old after three pages and kept me groaning and rolling my eyes as White tried to find new quirkyTM ways to distinguish between them. That being said, I liked both Avas quite a bit and found Ava Two's internal conflict throughout realistic and rather endearing.

I appreciated that the author portrayed two versions of lasting trauma/PTSD and a nuanced development of both romantic and platonic relationships in a fraught and high-stress situation. The relationship development was quick but felt realistic based on their circumstances, and I was very invested in our core group pretty much immediately.

The pacing was a bit slow in the middle but definitely picked up as the horror ramped up in the second half. I can understand the critique that the opening flashback to Mack's past sets up an expectation for the book that doesn't necessarily align with what's to come, but I felt it was effective at immediately dropping the reader into the terror and allowing us to sit in that discomfort as we waited for the other shoe to drop in the present.

The atmosphere in the abandoned theme park was creepy as hell, and I thought the slow reveal of the baddie was well done for ultimate tension.

I also enjoyed the social commentary, from homophobia, racism, classism, and sexism to generational animosity (boomers using and abusing younger generations for their own benefit and then blaming and deriding them for struggling).

Overall this worked for me, and I had a good time reading it, despite its flaws. I'd definitely read another horror novel from this author in the future!


“People pretend things aren’t wrong, even when they can feel the truth, because they’re too afraid of what it means to look right at the horror, right at the wrongness, to face the truth in all its terrible glory. Like little kids, playing hide-and-seek. If they can’t see the monster, it can’t get them. But it can. It always can. And while you aren’t looking, it’s eating everyone around you.�



Trigger/Content Warnings: murder, blood and gore, suicide, murder of children, loss of parents, loss of a sibling, homelessness, homophobia, sexism, racism, classism, animal death, high-demand religion/cult (mentioned)



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