Author: Sean McDonough
Genre: Slasher
Pages: Paperback 286
ISBN: 978-1-63415-278-5
Opening Lines: "The party was sick. Bro parties usually were."
Rating
"Beverly Kilbourne has it all. She's beautiful, she's popular, and she gets to kill whoever she wants. The problem is that Beverly doesn't want it all. She doesn't want to be a friend, daughter, or cheerleader anymore. She just wants to be a killer. And if she cant get through just one more year of high school, then Beverly can leave home for good and stop pretending that she's anything but a butcher.
"Anthony has nothing. He's a loser. But he's got one more year to muster up the courage to tell Beverly that he loves her and he's determined to do it before they graduate and she leaves his life forever.
"After a senior year filled with drama, confessions, and decapitations, the clock finally runs out on graduation day. As the diplomas get handed out, the question still remains . . . Will the geek get the girl? Or will the girl slaughter everyone?"
~ Jacket copy
Beverly is everything to everyone. To the girls, she's the head cheerleader, damn near the top of her class, popular, and gorgeous. To the guys, she has a killer rack, great legs, and blonde hair. Everyone either wants to be Beverly or fuck her. However, unbeknownst to everyone, Beverly has a little secret—she loves killing people on the side. To her, watching someone's life slowly leave their eyes is better than any orgasm. And, once she graduates high school, she is excited to finally have the freedom to explore being a full-blown killer. She will be done with quickies in the parking lot during parties, missing curfew because someone took longer to kill. She can finally be what she truly wants—the hunter. Unfortunately, she just has to deal with those pesky things called attachments—family, friends, expectations . . .
On the outside, Beverly seems like the average high school princess. She's a blonde bombshell, her family is rich, she is the head cheerleader, and she has been picked to be the valedictorian. On the inside, she is struggling with her internal desires. Since a young age, Beverly has known that killing people is the only thing that has given her any meaning. Unfortunately, it is hard to balance being a daughter and friend with the need to kill. And, during her senior year, it only gets worse.
Based on the author introduction, I expected this book to be a campy comedic slasher. In some ways, I was not disappointed. The book is a slasher, and it does not lack on brutality. Unfortunately, it was too cliche to be campy and funny. It felt like the author was trying to develop Beverly—especially during her little game show asides—but it completely fell short. All of the characters were flat. The author tried to garner some sympathy through Anthony and Curtis, but, again, it felt forced.
I enjoyed how the book played with stereotypes, which is what ultimately caused Beverly's inner turmoil. In addition, some of the kills were over-the-top and awesome. Sadly, even though I wanted to love this book, it kind of fell flat for me. It was a good mind-numbing, beach read; however, after coming off the high of Home Before Dark, I wanted something with a bit more oomph.
If you're looking for a campy beach read, this book should definitely make the list! Watch out, there are typos, but it's nothing egregious.
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