"Heads in freezers? Bodies in cupboards? Serial killers in masks?”

"Mean Girls" meets "Scream" in this tropey horror-comedy packed with witty dialogue and classic horror movie references.

Grab your popcorn, a cosy blanket, and get ready for a book that feels just like one of your favourite slasher films. "How to Survive a Horror Movie" by Scarlett Dunmore is a real page-turner. Perfect for reading in one sitting!

Horror movie lover Charley Ryan isn’t expecting much from her new all girls' boarding school... until her classmates start dying in ways that feel straight out of a slasher film. As if that’s not enough, Charley’s also starting to see the ghosts of the girls who’ve been killed. Suddenly, her love of horror feels a little too real.

I've been in a bit of a reading slump lately, and this book was exactly what I needed to snap out of it! It had everything I love in a horror movie: an isolating setting, mean girls, tropey characters, and some brutally fun deaths. I especially enjoyed that each chapter was named after classic horror movie rules like "don't go outside to investigate". A clever touch that added both flair and homage to the genre.

I'd highly recommend this one to all horror movie fans! Especially if you're looking for a quick and fun read.

The only reason I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 5 is that I found the plot twist a bit too predictable as I guessed it from the very beginning. Still, it was super entertaining to read, and I'm glad I stumbled across it!

Thank you so much to Union Square & Co. - A subsidiary of Sterling Publishing, as well as Netgalley, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fast paced, YA thriller/horror with supernatural elements. A perfect blend of comedy and horror, and I really liked how the ghost had their own personalities

Thanks netgalley!

if you like horror/slasher movies, this is definitely for you
from the very first line you get sucked in this horror, amazing work!

3.75/5 rounded up!

This was super fun!

Any book like this reminds of that movie Final Girls (from 2015).

As a movie lover (I went to film school), especially of the spooky, Scream variety, I love books like this.

I really liked how all of the chapter headers/titles were different slasher trope-related pieces of advice that applied to something that happened within that chapter. That was a really nice little touch that I found to be quite humorous.

I mean, what do you expect when you have an all girl's boarding school on a remote island...people are gonna get murdered. I've seen enough movies to know that!

This was such a fun read, I think this would be a perfect spooky summertime read.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

How to Survive a Horror Movie is a sharp YA horror debut that blends slasher tropes with emotional depth. Scarlett Dunmore balances gore, suspense, and wit as her protagonist navigates grief—and a very real killer—in a world that feels straight out of a horror flick. Smart, self-aware, and satisfying for fans of Scream and Grady Hendrix.

3/5 ☆: How to Survive a Horror Movie 🍿👻

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. This is a young adult horror that follows Charley, a sixth-year student sent off to a remote all-girls boarding school where students in her year are mysteriously being killed off one by one.

I was really intrigued by the premise — creepy boarding school on an isolated island? That’s an immediate yes from me.

Charley arrives mid-year under a fake identity, running from a messy past. She’s assigned a roommate, Olive, who’s a bit of a loner and just as into horror as she is — they bond over “Slasher Saturdays” and quickly become known as the weird kids. Naturally, they’re the first to stumble upon most of the bodies, which doesn’t help their social standing.

Soon, Charley starts seeing ghosts of the murdered girls — not just as scary visions, but as active characters who want to help stop the killer. I liked that twist; it gave the story a paranormal edge beyond the usual whodunit.

That said, I had some mixed feelings about the characters. Charley and Olive make these constant, snarky comments that felt more cringey than clever, especially considering their classmates are literally being murdered. It made it hard to connect with them — they often felt more self-absorbed than scared.

At first, I found the writing and dialogue a bit immature. The first 5% almost lost me, but I pushed through and it did start to grow on me.

Some plot points felt undercooked. For example, Charley is said to be standing in Gabrielle’s blood — but then there’s apparently no proof Gabrielle is dead? That just didn’t track. Like… wouldn’t that be the proof?

Spoilers below ⬇️ ‼️

Early on, I predicted there’d be two killers — Mr. Gillies and Saoirse. Mr. Gillies was super sketchy, always on edge, and there’s a mention of blood on his shirt? That angle was never fully explored, and I wish it had been.

Toward the end, I started to suspect Olive — her hesitation to return to the mainland and the way she skipped out on the shower scene felt off. So when she was revealed as one of the killers, I was surprised — but not totally shocked. That said, the reveal felt a bit rushed and messy I feel like it would have worked if Saoirse was the only killer.

Her motive was interesting, but her final decision to kill herself didn’t quite land for me. It felt out of nowhere and a bit unnecessary.

One plot twist I did like was the reveal that Olive and Saoirse had been roommates all along, and that Saoirse had skipped a year. That was clever. But I wish it had been explored more, especially why no one else seemed to know like surely people would have known they were previously roommates? Not even the ghosts?

The ending left me a bit confused. Charley survives a brutal stabbing, and somehow everything just resets back to normal? If Olive hated her that much, wouldn’t she have made sure she was dead?

Still, despite the flaws, this was a fast-paced and entertaining read. I’d definitely be curious to see where Charley’s story goes in book two.

Charley Ryan is a transfer student at Harrogate School for Girls and has found it difficult to fit in, but she does have one friend, her roommate Olive. Olive and Charley bonded over their love for horror movies of all kinds, of which Olive has a near encyclopedic knowledge. When students start to turn up dead, new girl Charley's name is immediately gossiped about as a suspect. It's up to Charley to prove that there is a serial killer on the loose (and it's not her) and try to stop them before it's too late.

This book was a solid YA horror tale, but it wasn't super original. The setting was great--an all girls school on an island, accessible only by ferry, but the characters, aside from protagonist Charley, were a little underdeveloped. Three stars for a fun, if familiar, YA horror book.

I received this advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Per una volta una lettura che, al netto del fatto che avrei preso Charley a sberloni* (ma mi capita spesso con le protagoniste dei romanzi, YA e non solo), mi ha divertito parecchio. Nutrita di tutti i luoghi comuni dei film horror, con un consiglio per sopravvivere come titolo di ogni capitolo (i miei preferito decisamente "Cardio! Cardio! Cardio!" e "Metti sempre scarpe in cui puoi correre" XD), riesce a essere simpatico pur nelle sue forzature; in più mi è piaciuto moltissimo come l'autrice rende e utilizza i fantasmi delle vittime.
*Dopodichè, diciamocelo: se i personaggi dei romanzi avessero uno straccio di buonsenso si pubblicherebbe molto meno.
...
..
.
Oddio, e forze non sarebbe neanche un male, eh.

This was a perfectly fine read, but none of it elevated the story beyond 3 stars. If you like YA Horror, this one is likely to satisfy you, although it might not be very memorable after just a few days.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

Exciting, thrilling, surprising! These are certainly the main words that came to my mind as soon as I put off this book.
Charley is our main character, a horror movie addict, who happens to find herself into her own slasher movie in her suggestive school on an island. Everything around her is mysterious and she brings the reader with her for a ride, that's for sure! I adored the clever and sassy horror genre's quotations and the brilliance of the writing, which is able to both keep me on my tiptoes and yet flows as smooth as a river. It's a very intriguing book, full of real and unexpected plot-twist: as an avid thriller reader and a master in horrr movies, I thought I could be able to catch on the plot-twists... but it turned out that I can't. Not on these amazing ones though.
The characters are intriguing, and there are a lot of curious elements that will surely give us a great sequel.
Shout out to this one, it was amazing and such a fun time!

A big thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I was so excited for this book because it is a locked door thriller with a supernatural aspect and horror movie referenced! That sounds like it would be perfect for me.

Sadly, I think it was too YA for me. I definitely think this would be suited for younger readers even though there is the death and a small portion of gore. Probably wouldn’t recommend but did like the twist of who did it.

An absolutely fun and campy read that is also an ode to horror movies. We follow Charley, our horror film aficionado as she finds herself in a real life horror film. Charley has her horror movie rules to follow (a nice nod to Zombieland) to try and keep herself alive as she tries to sort out this mess AND survive.

The characters are fun and there are so many horror references throughout the book, which were a treat to pick out as the novel progresses. This is a YA novel but it’s a very enjoyable novel for adults who want to read something to remind them of their beloved Goosebumps books from their childhood, but that doesn’t read quite as a silly YA horror.

I did find the dialogues to be very YA but the plot itself made up for it. It has all the traditional slasher elements and the humor throughout keeps things from being too heavy. You can absolutely get your horror vibe on without having to worry it’s going to keep you awake listening for things that go bump in the night. You may stay awake to finish it though!

I enjoyed this. It was very meta and nostalgic of scream like slashers. The humor was great, and I thought it had some pretty great twists. It’s one person pov and the story flows well. All in all solid addition to YA horror. This will be out in September 2025, just in time for spooky season!
Thanks to NetGalley for the copy of this ARC.

A very quick and easy read. Nice twist at the end. Love all the horror references but not the shade to Jane Austen lol. Would have liked a bit more of the romance build up.

Fast-paced, funny, and full of surprises, this thrilling mystery delivers a perfect blend of scares and sarcasm. With a sharp heroine, eerie setting, and killer twists, it’s a fresh and fiercely entertaining take on the classic slasher. A total blast for horror lovers.

If you love slasher movies and ghost stories, this is the book for you! Sometimes scary, always fun. I did guess the ending but that didn't take away from the enjoyment of the story.

*** Spoilers Ahead!***

There were so many things I loved about this book. The setting at Harrowgate, the Elles, rhe unique ghosts and Charley's love of the horror genre were some of my favorite parts of this novel. There were a few things Charley did that drove me a little crazy, such as pulling a murder weapon from a dead body (any horror fangirl knows better than that!) and trusting Saorise (it's always the love interest! Never trust the love interest!). I liked the added twist of the second killer, though I should have expected it given the many nods to Wes Craven's Scream.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book and would definitely recommend it! I plan on buying it as soon as the physical copy is available.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this arc!

Twisty and fun, definitely read like a love letter to the genre! I liked our heroine, and the reveal of whodunit was a little surprising (I don't want to give away which part exactly surprised me)!

Thank you to NetGalley and Union Square & Co. for providing this book, with my honest review below.

How to Survive a Horror Movie has a little sprinkle of fantasy to its take on a girl using classic horror films to guide her actions in finding a killer - a unique take on the YA horror genre and one that kept this book fresh.

Charley is clearly escaping her past at a remote island with a private school for girls (and a separate one for boys) but what she’s escaping from is a mystery that is slowly revealed alongside several ghosts - representing Charley’s newly dead schoolmates. As she tries to figure out the why behind that mystery her love of horror films act as a guide to not only catch the killer but keep her and her roommate and close friend Olive safe. I loved the use of common horror tropes for Charley and the winking take on them within each chapter. And the end is to be read to be believed - whether you’re a horror film buff or not I don’t think you’ll see the tropes at play there.

This book ends with an opening to continue the story, or at least keep the reader on edge, and I know it’ll be as much a hit for young readers as it was for me. Congratulations to author Scarlett Dunmore on this debut novel to be proud of.

I really enjoyed this one! Lots of twists and turns and an ending I didn’t see coming but should have! Charly, running from her past, enrolls at a boarding school on an island. It’s an all girls school and it has its means girls. Charly and her friend Olive are in love with horror. They spend their free time reading and watching horror. So when girls start dying they have to work out who is doing it. Especially when, because of their love for horror, they become the prime suspects. Can they survive a horror movie? Fun and twisty and will have you consuming it!