It’s been a year and a half since I read this and I still think about it. I really liked the setting of the camp here — it felt dreamlike and suspenseful. The characters were great as well, and I especially liked the mc and how the author portrayed their genderfluidity, something which I hadn’t seen in a book before. The horror here was unnerving, moreso than I expected for a YA book, and the mystery of what was really going on culminated in a shocking ending I didn’t expect.

I really expected to at least like this or be entertained by it, but I ended up hating it. Long rant review below:

I almost DNFd this book because it took me so long to pick it up between each chapter. 1 star only because I, as someone who used to frequently read nosleep as a teenager, can see how it would’ve worked well there. It might have been intriguing in the format of multiple fragmented posts, diary entry style POV, and a suspension of disbelief/automatic assumption that everything you are reading is a personal account that really happened to the narrator. Unfortunately, just taking those same posts, retaining a similar format and style, editing it (I use this word loosely here because the writing here was genuinely not well done for what’s required of a novel), and repackaging it as a book does not result in any great literary achievement here, or even simply a compelling horror novel at all.

I have too many problems to count with this book, in that nearly every aspect I consider essential to my enjoyment of a story here was a massive letdown, so I won’t go into more depth about how awful the writing style was, but needless to say it was nearly atrocious.

The characters were all incredibly flat and lacking any discernible personality traits beyond a list of stereotypical characteristics (ex: mom = protective, teenage girl the MC is crushing on = pretty). Often they felt completely hollow, and quite shockingly so - — didn’t feel any connection or tension in their relationships either beyond what the words on the page were telling the reader was going on. I would also argue that the treatment of the women characters was really feeding into the misogyny often present in how male horror authors write women, in how the only female character aside from the mom (whose own role is pretty limited) was reduced to existing solely for the mc’s sexual fantasies and suffering purely for the sake of his story arc. I truly cannot remember the last time I read a novel with such poor character building and a thorough lack of depth or development amongst the entire cast.

The timeline here was extremely jarring, and the various slips back and forth between chapters as well as within them felt confusing and unnecessary. The rehashing of events that would conclude in a previous section as if resolved, then suddenly get picked back up again later, was frustrating. There are too many nonsensical decisions made here in the book that make it feel far too unrealistic to be chilling. In here, the mundanity of the setting and applicability of the situation to anyone should be what’s scary — but this is undercut by how unbelievable the characters behaviour is.

Can’t decide if I liked this or not. I know it had something to say, namely in regards to living abroad, ideas of home, and the people that we surround ourselves with and who surround us, but I think I’ve read these all before in so many different ways that I have to question whether it was actually saying anything new or worthwhile. I also don’t really care about the experiences of a straight couple that much tbh. It is a short book though, so it didn’t feel like reading this was detracting any of my time.

A spoiled, rich narrator almost gains self-awareness and class consciousness, but this novella also considers if it even matters on such an individual scale (and maybe the apathy of an entire community/group is also at question here). The writing here was cool and brisk, much like the MC and many of those who orbit in her life. Despite the short length, every page felt solidified.

This was so reflective and reminiscent that I felt nostalgic for a life I haven’t lived and sorrowful about lost connections I’ve never made. The writing here was particularly compelling and unique, with unbroken narration that rendered the details of each relationship and experience with a poignancy that rarely felt artificial. I want to reread this right away, I want more chapters, I want to write like this, I want to reflect on my own life in such a manner one day.

Great short story as an addition to the main series - I find it so funny though to think that an island of magical people was also dealing with lockdown.

Reread from my childhood to see if it was still funny and it was a bit, but Greg is such a selfish character even for a kid and really doesn’t grow at all in this book (can’t remember if he does in the later books)

My favourite book - love the Southern Gothic setting, the supernatural and mystery aspects, depiction of grief and depression, and the realization of queerness. The characters here are some of my favourites as well - real and messed up, but I still cared about them and wanted to read more about their lives.