I am loving these YA horror books that are giving nostalgia to 90s horror movies. And this one definitely delivers.

I am unsure about the time traveling but overall I think this was good and I hope there is more.

How to Survive Your Murder had one of the best plot twists I've read.

When I first started this book, I was struggling. However, I am pleasantly surprised by how the book ended and how much I enjoyed it.

When I began the book I deeply struggled with the fact that two of the main characters (Chloe and Claire) had such similar names. It made them hard to differentiate so early into the novel. After I moved past that, I was enjoying the book, but not necessarily amazed by it.

However, that all changed around 70-80% into the book. Towards the ending the story really gripped me and I had to keep reading until I finished. Then, there was the ending. I admittedly did guess a few of the plot twists. But, the ending didn't go as I expected. And...I loved it. The ending is masterfully crafted and not at all what I expected. My jaw was on the floor after finishing. Even a couple days after I finished reading it, that ending is still on my mind. It was incredible.

TWs: murder, gore, blood, inappropriate relationships between adults and minors (non-graphic), & attempted suicide.

This title is another example of how thrillers and light horror are sweeping YA right now. I could easily recommend this title to any of the patrons looking for more after Karen McManus or Holly Jackson.

From the first paragraph, I knew this book would be a good one. I immersed myself into the book from the first chapter and I cannot say enough good things about this book! Honestly amazing! The writing is incredible and the plot is just one to die for. I am absolutely obsessed with this book. My favorite part would have to be the character development throughout the book. Character development is something I look forward to and this book did not disappoint.

I enjoyed this book and will admit that this was one of the most stressful third acts I can remember reading. Normally I’m pretty good at guessing who the murderer is, but oh boy did I not see this one coming. This book is ripe for a movie adaptation.

Thank you to Penguin Teen for the advanced copy of How to Survive your Murder by Danielle Valentine.

Alice and her friends are obsessed with horror movies. This entire book is an ode to 90s horror and slasher movie and references. Alice considers herself to be the expert on the “Final Girl” but when she is the sole witness to a murder she finds out that things aren’t just like the movies and everyone questions her story and believes the wrong person is on trial.

On the first day of the murder trial, she hits her head and is transported back to the day of the murder. This is her chance to try to solve the murder - but as she tries to figure out how to change the outcome and confirm the identity of the murderer things start spiraling out of control and you feel like you are in the middle of a slasher film.

Although you definitely had to suspend some disbelief and there were a few plot holes, I found this to be an enjoyable, twisty, thriller and I was so excited to see how it played out. But…..THAT ENDING…was not what I was expecting. Is there going to be a sequel? Definitely kept me on the edge of my seat.

This was a creative thought for a book - very different from other thrillers. It kept me reading to see what the mystery was and who was responsible for all the crazy killings... but I was NOT a fan of the ending. At all.

I haven't read a good slasher in awhile and this really scratched that itch. But more than that, you get a fun flash sideways trope! I guessed the killer correctly, though I'd be a liar if I said I didn't waver a few times. But having 12 hours to solve a murder on Halloween night - which quickly turns into a spree - is inherently tense. Adding in the pressure to save your sister from her untimely death and it is just NERVE-RACKING! It reads so quickly and left me wanting some of those jack-o-lantern donuts and a cozy peacoat. It's a perfect fall slasher best read in the dark.

*Thank you to Razorbill and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

What a fantastically fun book! Happy Death Day is one of my absolute favorite movies, so when I saw the comparison, I was immediately in. With all the elements of your favorite slasher films, this is a must-read for any horror fan. Time travel, suspense, murder, and some biting commentary on the current world and hot takes on 80s movies, all told in the classic creepy style of the Merciless series, I will absolutely be re-reading this during Halloween!

Scream meets happy death day meets back to the future. If you love murder mystery this book is for you. What would you do if you were at the trail for your sister's murder only to knocked out and you wake up on the day of your diets murder one year ago. Can you save her this time?

If you like 90s slasher horror and happy death day you will really love this book. Alice is the sole witness to her sister’s murder and in the year since her life has fallen apart. Her parents have divorced, she is estranged from most of her friend group and she has to testify at the trial of the man who killed her sister. Her sister Claire was a bubbly, outgoing theater star while Alice fades into the background around her beautiful sister and is obsessed with horror movies and being a forensic pathologist. On the first day of the murder trial this Sidney Prescott look-alike knocks her out and she wakes up in the maze the day that Claire is murdered and she has until midnight to save her sister and find the real killer. Oh man this was a roller coaster of a book and way gorier than I thought it was going to be as well. I definitely was completely blindsided by who the murderer and the ending was definitely very abrupt which is how most horror movies end. I didn’t like the ending and how many people end up dead in the end really sucked. So while I did like some of the horror aspects a lot of them just were a little too much for me. But if you like horror and gorier the better than you will really love this book.

Thanks Razorbill and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book in e-book form. All opinions in this review are my own.

This book follows our main character Alice, who is a horror movie fanatic. She has the Halloween theme as her ringtone and makes many, many references to different slasher movies throughout the book. A great weekend is staying at home with her two best friends, watching slasher movies and looking at what mistakes were made by the victims in each one, What Alice mainly focuses on though are the Final Girls in the movies. You know, the one girl per movie who makes it to the end alive.

At a classmate's big Halloween party, Alice's older and perfect sister Claire is killed in a corn maze and Alice sees it happen. She is wrought with guilt and her life just isn't the same afterwards. One year later, Alice is about to testify at the killer's trial when she is knocked unconscious. In true movie fashion, Aiice is sent back to the night when Claire died and (Cinderella reference) has until the stroke of midnight to figure out what happened. Did she really see what she thought she saw on Halloween night last year? Or has she accused the wrong person of murder?

There were a lot of twists and turns, but readers who pay attention to oontext clues should figure out who the killer is right away. I did. A good story until the ending--and the ending is bad, folks. You might throw this one at somebody after the last two paragraphs.

I didn't think the majority of the book was particularly original - Alice felt more like an updated version of Randy Meeks than an homage - but I greatly enjoyed it. The author really excels at tension-building scenes, and Alice's voice is strong and well-defined, but none of the other characters feel particularly developed (was this originally supposed to be a screenplay?). The plots twists for the most part were excellent, but I did think the reveal of the Final Girl as an Angel of Death was a little out of nowhere/not set up well. Overall, a good read, and if some of the issues get fixed, I'd strongly recommend the final version to my friends.

This book is a mind trip in the best way possible! The timeline jumps around a lot and it takes a bit to find the rhythm but the story is so engaging it is worth sticking with it. Alice saw her sister be killed on Halloween in the corn maze and now she has to testify at the trial of the man who killed her. However, when she is given a chance to literally do that night over and save her sister she has no way of knowing the outcome. I read this book in a day and it had me at the edge of my seat. I thought I had it all figured out SEVERAL times but the end had me flabbergasted. A great read!

This book was a wild lil trip, wasn't it?

A slasher practically from the very first chapter all the way to the end, not really for the faint of heart.

Once I sort of turned my brain off a bit and just followed the story along, the twists and turns and reveals really started getting me. It doesn't really reinvent the wheel or anything, but it takes the standard horror movie/thriller/final girl tropes and executes (lol) them with a bit of humor and some real flair.

I will say, the final FINAL reveal sort of irked me. I loved the initial reveals and each new level uncovered, but the final one sort of threw me and I wished there was either more explanation or at least more lead-up to it. The ending is pretty solid, so I did waffle between 4 stars and 3 stars. Settled on 3/3.5.

Def worth picking up if the slasher genre is your deal.

This was an homage to horror flicks and the Final Girl in slasher films. There are a lot of references to these folks throughout. The main girl Alice has a Halloween movie theme song as her ringtone and there are Scream bits (a girl that looks like Sidney Prescott).

Alice loses her sister Claire to a killer one Halloween night.... And Alice saw who did it. A year later, at the trial where she's set to testify, she is knocked unconscious and sent back to the same day Claire died. She is given until midnight to find out the truth by a Final Girl guardian angel.

It's always a bad idea to go back to the past and try to change it, haven't we learnt this yet? But i did enjoy all the suspects that the killer could be and it was always flipping. I didn't guess who it was and if I had, the ending might have pissed me off earlier 🤣

Everything a thriller should be! Truly heart stopping and had me on the edge of my seat. I kinda wish I read it in October, it's the perfect Halloween read.

I've never needed a sequel so bad, I'll even take a novella. SOMETHING. If you like thrillers with loads of twists that make you question every theory you have, read this one immediately!! I promise you won't be able to put it down.

I have no words other than: HOLY COW. I never guessed any of it and the end left me with my jaw in the floor

I absolutely love this mystery/thriller. I enjoyed the characters and really felt invested in the plot quickly. I absolutely did not see the incoming which was a surprise.

How to Survive Your Murder follows Alice who is the sole witness in her sisters Claire's murder. On the day of the trial Alice gets knocked out someone in the courtroom. When Alice wakes up it is Halloween a year earlier. The same day that Claire was murdered. Alice has until midnight to save her sister before the killer does.

I thought this book was just okay. It sounded really good but the writing felt very young to me. Which is understandable because this is a YA book. I think I would have liked this one more if it was not a YA book. I just felt like it was missing something. But I did enjoy this book over all. This is a different kind of thriller book which I really liked. By no means do I dislike this book. But this was a book that I would probably only read once, and not read again. It was just an average YA thriller to me.