This is one of those books that has an intriguing premise, but just doesn’t quite follow through. I picked it up expecting something similar to the classic YA horror of the R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike books that I read as a teenager. It was a good attempt that fell short for me.
The story starts with a remote island that is home to a boarding school for the elite and talented. Unfortunately, our heroine is not in attendance for her academic, artistic, or athletic abilities. Unlike the other students, she is there because her parents happen to own the island. That is part of the reason she is surprised when she is chosen to become a member of the Guild, a not-so secret society of the coolest kids. It begins with her initiation, which is disgusting, but promising. It quickly went downhill from there, though.
The Kill game is a yearly ritual for the Guild. One person is the killer and they must come up with elaborate ways to “kill” the other members, until someone correctly guesses who the killer is. The book spends a good deal of time building doubt about several of the characters, but they do not actually have much interaction with Cate, our heroine. The other major character, Vaughn, is her childhood friend and is the most entertaining element of the book. Alex is the nasty leader, who is obsessed with the game. The rest blur into the background.
The back cover of the book promised danger, but there isn’t much and it is unimpressive. One girl has a robotic spider tossed at her with peanut oil on it, a dangerous attempt due to her allergy. It was supposed to be exciting, but it came across as silly. It wasn’t until the last tenth of the book that it actually picked up its pace. Finally, someone almost dies. It took far too long to get to that point. The ending is ridiculous and it is easy to guess the who, but the why is an utter disappointment.
I found that all of the characters were annoying, even Vaughn, my favorite. This is a YA novel, but the teen aspect was overwhelming and I could not connect with any of the shallow characters. It’s not a small book and I had to force myself to finish it. It turned out to be nothing like the gory, heart-pounding books of my own youth. Sadly, I cannot recommend this to readers, unless they are prepared for a slow, anti-climactic read. The author’s style is appealing. It is all the other parts of a story that are lacking.
Now, for the rating:
- Genre and general reading age – Young adult and definitely for young adults. I enjoy YA, but this was a little too young.
- Level of sexuality – There is a tad bit of kissing, but that is all.
- Is there graphic language? No.
- Did I cry? Not a tear.
- Did I laugh? Nope.
- Is this part of a series? No.
- Level of character development – Basically non-existent.
I wish I had better news about this book. It is obvious that a lot of hard work went into this story, but the characters were flat and not particularly interesting. There was too much time spent running around in caves or on the beach and not enough actual danger. I am sorry to give it ⭐️⭐️ stars. I had hoped to find a new, exciting author, but I will probably pass on her work in the future.
Available here on Amazon
Available here on Barnes & Noble
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