3.5 stars
This is set during the Halloween so atmosphere-wise it was pretty good. The magical realism aspect of it was very interesting but it felt like there were a couple of things glossed over to build up to the final twist. The ending left much to be desired as well.

How to Survive Your Murder is pure teen horror fun. Total Scream & I Know What You Did Last Summer vibes combined with a great plot; sharp writing; twists; a few heart racing moments ; and dark humour.

Alice's sister Claire is violently murdered on Halloween. Right before Alice is set to testify against her sister's killer, she's knocked out by a Sidney Prescott look-alike (naturally) and wakes up in the past and with the chance to save her sister.

I grew-up with these stories and Danielle Valentine killed it (pun intended) by combining the nostalgic and classic elements with her own style. The dynamics between the characters is spot on and as a reader, you're right there with Alice second guessing everyone around you.

Read this book! And I really hope there is a sequel!

Thank you to Penguin Teen Canada & NetGalley for the eARC to read and review.

I have loved this author's other books, which she has written under a different name, and enjoyed them! So I was really looking forward to this one and it did not disappoint. Valentine has amazing plot twists that will make you question things in the narrative and the way you have read them. Once I finished the book I couldn't stop thinking about it and the ending is one that I think about often. I agree with the comp of Happy Death Day, the tone of the book fits the movie and it was fun to read. I enjoy stories about sisters and their dynamics and this one was very intricate and gave a lot of insight into their dynamic. This one was a quick and delightful thriller that fans of YA Thrillers will not want to miss!

I have no idea how to rate this because I still can’t decide if I loved it or hated it?? I vacillated pretty wildly back and forth at various points of the story. The beginning was rougghhhh. I almost DNFed this book because the first 20% is PAINFULLY, in-your-face high school. Almost like it was trying wayyy too hard to feel like high school. To the point that it was nauseating. It was shallow and juvenile, and I was starting to wonder if maybe I was too old for this book. I did a lot of 15-second skipping in the beginning, not gonna lie.

However, when it got to the whole Sidney Prescott scene where Alice goes back in time, to before the murder, everything changed. From that point on, I was hooked! It was a wild ride, to be honest. I knew from the beginning that Owen was innocent, that much was pretty clear. View Spoiler » So the actual killer was a pretty good twist, but I’m honestly not sure how I feel about it, which I’ll get to in a second.

For the most part, in the middle I really enjoyed it! I was super intrigued about the direction the book was going and wanted to know what was going to happen. At times I felt like the constant horror movie references were a bit over the top, like it was trying too hard. I mostly got tired of hearing “if this were a horror movie” and “in a horror movie, x/y/z” over and over and over again. I felt like that could have been dialed down a little bit. The narration was pretty good, too – in the beginning, her high school girl voice grated on my nerves, but in the more serious parts she was wonderful and really brought the book to life!

So, the identity of the killer. Hmm. I felt like it was a little bit wild and waaay out in left field. It was a good twist, for sure, but did it make sense? [spoilers removed]

BUT. How about that ending!?! Did the author really go there with that ending?! OH YES SHE DID. And I have no idea how I feel about it. Did I love it? Hate it? I’m honestly not really sure! It will definitely be a controversial ending, and I think I’m leaning toward the love team because it was so unconventional of an ending. I love when authors do something that readers may not like, and even though open endings are frustrating, I also kind of love them because it leaves it ultimately up to the imagination.

90s vibes....here for it!

I thought this was pretty suspenseful, especially for a YA thriller!

I did not see that ending coming. VERY WELL DONE!

This book had a really good plot but the writing style wasn't good enough so it could not make it engaging. The protagonist talked too much about horror movies and it took a long time to get to the main action.

This title immediately pulled me in. I saw some mixed reviews for this book which honestly made me want to read it even more. It reminded me of a Halloween episode of my favorite show. This book gave off final girls energy and I loved every minute of it. I do think it started a bit slowly, but overall it was a great read.

Book Review!
Not ready for spooky season to be over?

How to Survive Your Murder
By: Danielle Valentine
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Check out this new YA book where slasher meets second chance. And huge thank you to @penguinteen
And @daniellevalentinebooks for my copy! All opinions are my own.

Horror movie loving Alice Lawrence is the only person to witness her sister Claire's murder. After that, everything falls apart. In the year following, her parents divorce, her friendships fall away, and Alice all but gives up.
Now Alice is faced with testifying against the boy that she saw murder her sister. Only, was it really him? Many bring into question his innocence. Alice is certain he is guilty, that is until she's given the chance to go back in time to the night of her sister's murder. She is told that if she can discover the identity of the killer once and for all, before midnight, her sister will live.
Can she face the horrors of that night all over again and save her sister before time runs out?

This was one of those books that was a little slow in the beginning and then went on a crazy snowball run downhill for the rest. I couldn't read fast enough, trying to figure out what happened and who the killer was. I have to say I was blindsided, especially by the ending. I had to sit back and kind of stare into space for a little bit, while I gathered my thoughts on this book. It was intense and crazy and surprising. Definitely a good book if you're looking for a wild ride. It is definitely young adult, but probably older YA due to the gory nature of some scenes.

Do you like horror or thriller better?

I tend to lean more towards thriller.

#daniellevalentine #howtosurviveyourmurder #penguinteen #penguinrep #bookreviews #slasher #horror #youngadult #readmore #reviewbooks

Absolutely riveting novel from start to end. HTSYM was the book version of Happy Death Day and it was so original and unputdownable.

This was one of the best horror/thrillers I have read in a very long time.

High school setting: check
Tropes in horror films: check
sister murdered: check
final girl: check

I was blown away by the fantastic writing style and I couldnt wait for our main character to have the opportunity to save her sister! It kept me guessing the whole time.

Well done!

I know this one will NOT be for everyone, but this was one hell of a wild ride.

This is one of those books that I think it's best to go in with as little information as possible. The author did a fantastic job of putting in twists and turns that I did not see coming. And y'all, the ending had my jaw on ground. I am still in shock that the author went there.

Thank you for the advanced digital copy of this book. It was the perfect book to read for Halloween and spooky season. I love the chapter titles and the flow of the story. The main character was relatable and her references to horror movies and final girls were all on point! I could not read this fast enough and was so excited to find out what happened! I loved the time traveling and thought that added a lot to the story. The ending was predictable, but knowing what was coming did not take away from the story at all! And the final couple sentences were truly shocking!!! Cannot recommend this enough!

Although this one took me a little bit to get into, once I was in, I was hooked. I found myself continually guessing until late in the book, which is exactly how I like it - I'm not a fan when I can figure out the killer or person responsible in the first little bit of the book - takes the fun out of it for me. One of the things that truly did it for me in this book were the 90s slasher movie references and all the nostalgia - give me more. I found this book to be quick moving, and quite the wild ride. I ended up being pleasantly shocked by the ending, and every fiber of my body wants a sequel. 4.5 stars.

I have to admit slasher books are not always my favorite. I sometimes struggle to feel connected to the main characters and then the story just does not capture. Some of this books struggled with this at the the start. Since this book was so short, it had a bit of the not connecting to the characters. But the last 50 pages left me shocked and stunend. I loved the really shocking twsits and turns and wonder if we might be getting more books. It was really shocking read, but want to get clousure in future books. But it def packed a punch, i loved the time taveling elements and also the focus on the sister dyanimcs. I will hope for a sequel!!!

This book kept my attention. I admit that I had the idea of who the killer may be about half way through the book, and was a little surprised I was right. Even with that though, that ending was not what I expected at all. This book was incredible!

How to Survive Your Murder
By Danielle Valentine

90's vibe
Slasher references
Fast Paced YA Horror

How To Survive Your Murder by Danielle Valentine is an enjoyable young adult horror read. Though this is not my typical genre - really don't like horror movies, but reading it is not bad at all. I love the motley crew of teenage characters - their personalities, and how it adds to the humor and story was I think Valentine's strong point. The premise of the story is also pretty good with a few twists and misdirection. This certainly is a great read perfect for the spooky season.

After witnessing the murder of her older sister, Claire, on Halloween night one year ago, Alice is about to give her testimony. While mentally preparing herself in the bathroom, he is struck in the head, causing her to travel back one year ago to the night of the murder. Allie has 24-hours to discover who the murderer is, and how she can stop him before he takes her sister again.

This was a cute, fun take on the groundhog day trope. I thought the plot was entertaining, and the pacing was well done. I really enjoyed the ending and how conflicted Allie must feel about what to do next. I was a big fan of all the 90's horror film references and the Final Girl trope coming into play. I thought the pacing was well-done, and there were many twists and turns along the way to keep you guessing who the murderer was. I enjoyed the mystery and was only able to call the murderer close to when it was revealed.

I couldn't get into this one. I was there for about 15% and then I just didn't really care after that. There were too many characters and the book felt unfocused. After slogging through, I hated the ending. It just wasn't the book for me.

This was such a fun slasher read to get me in the Halloween mood. I read this book in a day flat and really loved all the 90's nostalgia. I also loooove books with an aspect of time travel so Alice heading back in time to try and save her sister was an added bonus. There were a few times I mixed up who was who because there seemed to be a lot of supporting characters, but overall I had a great time reading this.

If you're looking for something quick and unique this spooky season- this is it!

How to Survive Your Murder is new from YA author Danielle Valentine.

Okay, if you're a fan of slasher and teen horror movies, you're going to want to pick up this one. There are so many references to 90's film culture that I recognized or knew.

Alice and her sister Claire go to a high school Hallowe'en party held at....wait for it....a cornfield. (What's rule one? Stay out of the cornfield and look out for chainsaws!) Well, Claire ignored that caveat and died. A year has passed and Alice is attending the trial of the killer. She is the lone witness - and the Final Girl. And then there's a Cinderella moment - Alice is knocked out and when she wakes, it is Halloween night a year earlier, the same day Claire was murdered. Alice has until midnight to save her sister and find the real killer.

At first I wasn't totally sold on the Cinderella twist, but I quickly changed my mind and embraced it. There's a lot of leeway afforded to the plot with that twist. But best of all, the ropes keep coming and the choices for whodunit change rapidly.

Valentine's dialogue and depiction of high school life, relationships, romance, teen culture and more rings true. (At least they do from my experience. ;0)

And that ending? Did not see that coming! There's a couple of ways it could be interpreted and personally I would have liked a less nebulous finale. But I applaud the last page twist.

With Hallowe'en in the near future, this would be a perfect (and fun) seasonal read! Just remember - stay out of the corn maze....or basement.....or check your backseat or....