Fresh, campy, and fun, It’s not perfect but it was a wild, entertaining ride fans of 80’s/90’s slasher films will mostly enjoy.

Bonus points for the cover!

Thank you to Random House Children, Delacorte Press and Netgalley for a complimentary copy of this ebook. I am leaving a voluntary review. All thoughts and ideas expressed are my own.

Noelle's story captures the essence of classic horror with a modern twist, blending nostalgia with fresh excitement. Her journey from horror aficionado to potential podcast host, set against the backdrop of a Halloween party turned deadly, is a narrative that resonates with the thrill of survival and the clever subversion of genre clichés. The resurgence of teen slasher books offers a delightful homage to the golden era of slasher films, while also celebrating the genre's evolution with diverse characters and contemporary settings. It's a testament to the enduring appeal of horror and its ability to adapt and captivate new generations of fans. Noelle's tale is not just about the scares; it's about the triumph of knowledge, the power of community, and the unyielding spirit of the final girl archetype. It's a thrilling ride for anyone who cherishes the heart-pounding moments of a well-crafted scare.

Though no fault of this book, I just could not get into it. I am in *another* reading slump and this one just couldn't hook me enough to keep going.

While I loved the cover, I did not enjoy the book. The book was predictable and it was drawn out for no reason. The characters were all flat, and the clown was not as "terrifying" as he seemed. I love how well-versed the writer is about pop culture, but it became annoying the longer the story progressed. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this for free in exchange for my honest review.

Absolutely captivating! This book kept me hooked from start to finish. The characters are incredibly well-developed, and the plot twists had me on the edge of my seat. A must-read for anyone looking for a thrilling and thought-provoking story!

I love young adult mystery thrillers. This one had a lot of twists and turns I didn’t see coming, and I loved the mysterious aspect.

This was a fun horror book. I enjoyed the MC and most of the other characters. It's a fun slashy YA.

In all honesty, I dnf-ed really early on. The main character acting like Get Out was the first movie to have the black guy make it to the end rubbed me the wrong way. There were plenty of movies before it where black people made it to the end and we have been making horror movies since forever.

This was... Good. There are no bad or amazing sections. The main character was tolerable, and the plot was interesting! The book could use a bit more flavor, but overall I enjoyed it!

this was hands down one of the best books that i had the privilege of reading last year. i could not put it down .i felt like my heart was one second away from popping out of my chest the entire time i was reading

Overall this book was a lot of fun to read! I loved the nostalgic 90s/2000s slasher film feel. It was campy but I expected that going in and immensely enjoyed it. I had a few issues where I felt the book was a little political, the motive for the murders felt weak, and the endless amount of time this group of teens had to talk while a crazy murderer is on the loose in the same house. As a whole though, this book was a quick, fun read!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for gifting me an advanced reader copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review and opinion.

This young adult horror is reminiscent of the classic slasher film franchises like Scream and Halloween. It does have its alterations to the subgenre mold, however. There is an excellently diverse cast of characters, including BIPOC and LGBTQ+ characters. While I loved that, I found it very difficult to get past the extreme affluence of these teenagers. Moreover, their focus on brands, followers, and making the right business connections was really off-putting for me because I couldn't relate or understand their world. A teenager asking a fortune teller if starting a podcast is the "right career move right now" is just one example of that. I also found myself lacking any form of investment in a single character, even our protagonist, Noelle. Yes, characters can be gray or even downright bad, but I need a reason to root for them to survive the night against an unhinged killer clown. For instance, Noelle reflects on her drive to save herself even if that means sacrificing her friends, but she then pauses to think "but I need someone to vouge for me that I wasn't in on this killing spree," and I was very confused by her priorities and how much time the author is giving her to think in long monologue thoughts as a killer approaches her.

The last straw for me was when the clown defecated in front of two characters as they cowered inside a closet...I just didn't understand why that had to happen. For full transparency, I elected not to finish this book, DNFing at 35% as soon as the defecation occurred.

This was a good YA Horror, I will give you that, but probably not for all the reasons that most people would think. I thought the story was great and the horror was fun. Fun? What a strange way to talk about a book where a serial killer dressed like Pennywise from Wish picked off teenagers one by one.

Thank you to NetGalley who provided me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

I had such high expectations for this book..."There's No Way I'd Die First" advertises itself as a YA slasher in which the main character, Noelle is an influencer obsessed with horror, so she throws an ultimate horror party with other entitled rich kids.

At first, the storyline was cute and perfect for Halloween! But it quickly fell flat and literally made me want to chuck the book across the room at how annoying the characters were. Although I think one of the points was for the characters to purposely be stereotypical and hence, annoying and entitled, they felt too underdeveloped to even be considered that. I honestly have nothing positive to say about this book.

I love YA novels that center around these kinds of "deadly games" but this wasn't straight up "horror"...it was like "dark-comedy/horror-comedy/satire"...not quite sure how to describe....but it poked fun at its own genre and also subverted it, but still *kinda* "played by the rules" while also *not*. SO GREAT.

A horror obsessed teen decides to throw a themed party in which she hires a clown to play hide and seek with her friends. What could go wrong? The answer is, of course, everything.

The premise for this was fun. I liked the idea that a horror junkie would have a club and invite their friends over for a horror themed party. I loved all of the horror references. The movie quotes at the beginning of each chapter were also a nice touch.

As with most slashers, the characters seemed one dimensional or not fully fleshed out. The clown could have been so much scarier, in my opinion. I found it hard to care about the characters. They were all rich kids, some of which were either famous on social media or were into cryptocurrency.

If you just wanted a fun slasher then this might be perfect. I don't think the gore was too over top. I expected the third act to happen differently. The big reveal was a bit disappointing.

Overall, it was a fun read. It was silly in some parts (the Birkin bag thing) and the teen romance in this wasn't my thing. If you liked the movie Bodies Bodies Bodies, then you might enjoy this book.

Thank you to Random House Children's, Delacorte Press, and NetGalley for the ARC.

This wasn't my favorite, but it wasn't bad. I had high hopes for this and it kind of didn't meet the expectations. I went in expecting a slasher, but was left wanting more from it. I think some people will like it but just not for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for access to an eARC in exchange for my honest review!!

The setup of this story was so much fun. Getting to look in on a character who loves Slasher films enough to run an entire social media account based around her love for them and who plans to expand on that brand was awesome for me as a Slasher movie lover, and the focus Noelle gets to use her platform to put on POC projects was a really amazing layer to add to the storytelling. I adored the setup of the group of friends who all have their own 'thing' that makes them popular coming to this secret party to celebrate Noelle's channel's newest milestone, and there was so much about this story that was so creative and gory and downright twisted--making it a perfect ode to slasher films as intended.

I did. however, have to remind myself more than once that the book was supposed to be a slasher/horror comedy. Some of the antics the BBEG gets up to while stalking the characters through the house and tormenting them either separately or as a group were pretty wild. But with a little suspension of disbelief and a those reminders about the comedy aspect of the story, I got past that pretty easily. The pacing was great, the layers of the characters' backstories as they were peeled back were interesting and really shed light both on their hunter's reasoning for the attack and on the insanity that pushed him to that point. If you love slasher movies or a good psychological thriller, I would definitely recommend sitting up late one night with this one and letting it take you for a ride.

Just, you know, be prepared for any triggers along the way: clowns, death, blood, gore, vomiting, defecation, murder.

DNF this super early on but I just couldn’t get into this at all.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publishers for giving me this arc in exchange for my honest review.