A good YA novel that is a little stuck between genres and doesn't follow through enough on any of them to be effective, yet still worth a read.

Solstice is fun, but not quite a romp, and has some great scary moments and horror ideas, but doesn't maintain the moments of tension long enough to provide any real menace. [ Both the hiding behind the truck moment and near the end on the small boat knowing there is something beneath you, are both really effective scary scenes, but they end pretty quickly and that tension doesn't stay. (hide spoiler)]

I would have liked if almost every aspect of the novel was expanded on once we get to the island. There isn't very much of the Fyre festival aspect before the story moves on to the girls on the boat and then the deaths. The novel is very sympathetic to the rich kids aside from some basic stereotype spoiled kid whining, so perhaps that was intentional, to not make them look too bad, but I think the point of "it doesn't matter how spoiled or bratty these teens are, they don't deserve to be wholesale killed" can be made at any time.

I'm still rating this four stars instead of three even though I wasn't as into this as I could be because I think many of my problems with it are YA read by an adult issues, and YA audiences will like it more. Adri disobeying her parents for pretty much the first time ever, and then having that choice go disastrously wrong is very relatable, although not usually to this extent. I liked that the strong female friendship is tested, but never falls into backstabbing bitchiness the way it could have. All in all, I would really like to read something by this author that keeps to one idea or genre and really sees it through. There were some moments with such great promise, I'd love to see what a straight YA horror could be.

I was ready to love this book -- I thought it would be a hot mess in all the best possible ways -- but it turned out to be just a mess.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this horror/suspense novel about an ill-fated music festival reminiscent of the Fire Festival. The details showing the lavish experience that festival guests were promised versus the inadequate, even harmful, experience that was delivered were thought-provoking. The shocking conditions and lack of ability to communicate via mobile devices would likely be enough to stun many teens, but the incorporation of the festival's deadly turn makes the book truly horrific. I appreciate the incorporation of a legendary beast directly from the local mythology as a nod to the magical realism often found in literature from the Caribbean and Latin America, but the inclusion of the flesh-eating beast moved the book from the territory of accessible social commentary to that of a cheesy monster movie. Some students might love the somewhat campy nature of the beast and others might quit reading when the book becomes too goofy.

It was a quick and entertaining read for me, which would normally garner a 4 out of 5, but the question of how the beast will be received by teen readers bumps it down to a 3.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My opinion was not affected by the free copy.

I was enticed by this because it was said to be comedic horror/mystery/thriller. And while this was not the sort of comedy that made me laugh out loud, it definitely was the sort that was ridiculous. Though at the same time, it was hard for me to tell if it was purposefully being this ridiculous sometimes. I honestly can't imagine a lot of this being taken seriously, but who knows. I had fun with it and was entertained.

It's a pretty easy read. I sped through it quickly. If I had to nitpick, I would say that it stinks the narrator is away from some things I would've liked to see play out. For example, you know from the premise that the festival isn't all people hoped it would be. I was interested in seeing their reactions and how things spiraled as the days wore on. But sadly the narrator doesn't really get to see any of that and we only catch up with everyone else after a lot of time has passed for them. It's a little disappointing.

I don't know if this really does the mystery part very well. There is a mystery but I don't know if the clues really pointed in the right direction. I would have to re-read to see. When all is revealed, I rolled my eyes and was like "Really?" But by then it had also devolved into something pretty ridiculous, and it was so dumb it was really entertaining. It kind of feels like the novel's version of a B movie, if that makes any sense.

There is kind of a romance but it was actually sweet, and more focus was actually on the friendship between Adri and her best friend. I like that they actually talked through things and though they fought or had different world views, they got along well and it felt like a real, solid female friendship. It's a shame those feel so rare in YA literature.

Does this book have cliches? Absolutely, but I'm sure that's the point. Either you're going to enjoy how ridiculous and weird this book is, or it will be too much for you. I don't want to give too much away, but if you're the type of person who enjoys B movies or something like Scream and Until Dawn where they also purposefully use cliches in their storytelling, you'll probably like this fine.