The Friday the 13th franchise is ingrained into the psyche of many Americans to the point where some people think some camps had murders happening in them. It’s also fodder for some people to use that idea for a story. One of these is You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayon.
Camp Mirror Lake is a horror attraction based on a movie where patrons are put into the roles of helpless campers getting stalked and slashed to death by a serial killer. Scarer Charity Curtis is the “Final Girl,” meaning she survives and kills the killer. It’s the end of the season and Charity notices that a lot of the employees are MIA and that some scary stuff is happening around the camp that’s not part of the attraction. Also, one of the employees is found dead. Now Charity, who has been put in charge of everything, must try to finish the season with a skeleton crew and figure out what’s causing all the scary stuff that’s not part of the attraction.
It’s a great idea since horror attractions have exploded in popularity in recent decades and the idea that there is a real killer on the loose is an idea some people dread. The camp, along with the background, is nicely described and makes you feel that this is part of a movie. However, the writing makes the plot seem plodding with most of the scenes consisting of teenagers being stupid teenagers.
That’s the major flaw with this book. The characters at first come off as great but soon devolve into dull caricatures that you don’t care much about. Charity at first seems like a likable character at the beginning but she isn’t given that much depth as the story goes along.
The big reveal at the end is a shock if you’ve never read or seen much horror, but veterans of the genre could see it from a mile away. While it’s done nicely and the scenes involving said reveal are kind of scary, it’s still what you’d expect in this story.
While not a terrible book, You’re Not Supposed to Die is a letdown with a great premise that has too many scenes of teenage drama, characters that should be great but are mediocre and an obvious reveal for those who are used to this kind of story.
Categories: Novels
Tags: horror novels, novels, reviews, You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight
Sanrock Reviews 