DNF.

The beginning feels painfully slow, despite the story elements happening in the right places, which is probably due to characterization. The main characters don't read like real teenagers, or even real people. I found them so distractingly bad that I just kept waiting for something plot relevant to happen so they’d shut up and get on with it already. And when things did happen, I still didn’t care.

The blurb seems misleading. The comps are both multiple POV, and the blurb calls Lucy a “young woman.” I was not expecting this story to be told solely from the POV of a teenage girl. I quit around the halfway point, but Disturbing Behavior seems like a better comparison than World War Z.

I read this in a blaze--not because it was bad, but because it is a fantastic ride of a horror story of the creature variety, with fights and twists and poignant moments and some very true high school student behaviors and a Final Girl to blow away all other Final Girls. In a small town in Oregon, the local med-tech company starts experimenting on high school students, and as you'd expect, things do not go well. Altered students rampage, killing and infecting the town, while adults fall into induced comas, only to be murdered by said students. Lucia, who has been a survivor all her life, leads a handful of friends though a harrowing pursuit as they seek shelter and safety. It's a terrific race against attackers and time to the very last page. If you like horror, creatures, conspiracies, big business gone bad, people getting their comeuppances, and Strong Female Protagonists, you're going to love this.

Thank you NetGalley and Gallery/Saga Press for this ARC.

Wow wow wow, this book is incredible!! It is for sure a favorite read of 2020. The characters are amazing and so authentic. I felt transported back to high school with the bullies, the “loadies”, and the awkward kids. There were some things about Lucy, the main character, that I could relate to. Then there’s the conspiracy aspect, and a corporation testing a biotech device in a small rural town. Obviously nothing is going to go wrong, right? We all know the answer to that. This book was sooo gory! So if you don’t like gore, be warned. I personally felt like the ending also tied everything up nicely. This book gets all the stars!

What if you gave in to every desire? What if everything you did was to make you feel good? The Loop is a #thriller, #scifi, #horror masterpiece. You hear a lot in the news lately about addressing #mentalhealth. It's not something you can see from the outside and some don't want to talk about it. Chemical imbalances in the brain create all sorts of chaos. Don't get me wrong, sometimes a little crazy is a good thing. Using that term to refer to myself of course. What if there was a procedure that could keep everything balanced for you? This story is about that possibility and all the things that could go wrong. Let me tell you, it gets sideways. Are you in #theloop? Maybe you eat to balance yourself. Maybe you medicate. Maybe you kill...

This was my first JRJ experience. I recently discovered him, and began to order his backlist titles. Then I saw this one coming out in September. Then somehow I got a free arc from netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book was so good. It had friendship, diverse characters, suspenseful story...I didn't want to put it down! Definitely some scifi, X-Files-y stuff going on. It had me hanging on to every word. I throughly enjoyed it and I can't wait to read his other books. This is my first venture in this bizarro horror type novel.

UMMM. This was absolutely WILD. I expected something out of the ordinary and on the periphery of my preferred genres but this was a punch to the senses!

It begins with Lucy and her pal Bucket, who have banded together as sort of outcast minorities in their dinky Oregon town. Life in a small town sucks, yada-yada, and then one of their classmates gets his eye gouged out by another kid in the middle of class and their teacher ends up in a rather bad way when he tries to intervene. Is it bad meth or something else?

Spoiler: it’s definitely something else. There’s a new company in town called IMTECH and they’ve done something to a bunch of kids that makes them turn into murderous hive-mind monsters. It was pretty awesome and then it just kept getting weirder and I got less invested. It got to the point where I found it to be absurd and just kept reading because it made me laugh in a disturbed sort of way.

The characters were actually pretty great. Lucy and Bucket were wonderful and there was another semi-main character called Brewer who was actually pretty great and played a bit of a love interest role. The dialogue between them was great and there were surprisingly heartfelt moments amidst the horror.

Overall, this was an interesting read that certainly grabbed me and didn’t let go. I read it in just a couple sittings because I just had to know what happened next! Like I said, it was almost an absurdist horror that gave me so many WTF this is stupid/laughable moments but I still just kept reading!

This is a story about horror & unethical science

I liked elements of this book- the gore & horror aspects were outstanding, and truly frightening at points... but the protagonist felt like a teenage girl written by a male author & I never got to the point where I could sink into her perspective.

I would be curious to read more by the author! 3.5 rounded by 4.

Thanks Netgalley & Gallery Books for the e-arc!

This was a fun read with a lot going for it! It’s been described as World War Z meets Stranger Things and I can totally agree with that! The main characters are high school misfits that add in the darkly humorous banter that we all love. And the apocalyptic plot was very plausible and well explained!

I must admit though, this is the second time ever that I have said this: I do think this would make a better movie than a book simply because it is non-stop action. But that doesn’t mean it’s not a good book, because it is! I just pictured everything rolling out as movie scenes and if it does make it to the big screen I would definitely watch it!

If you want something fun and different, action packed and apocalyptic, then try The Loop! It won’t let you down.

Sometimes I will read a book only because the tagline sounds interesting without knowing anything else about the book. I'm thinking after enough fails where the tagline doesn't come close to the actual book I need to change my tactics. The only thing this book has in common with Stranger Things is they both have teenagers and a tech company, and for the WWZ (it's the movie not the book) the only thing in common is a Zombie like antagonist. This one mostly falls flat for me, it's not good but it's not also bad, I'm predicting I'll forget most of this after a few short weeks. I ended skimming more through this than I wanted to, the book seemed to exchange gore and horror for the reasons of why and how people were being possessed by a weird tech. The writing is good and the plot idea is decent, there's a good chance I didn't fall into this one fully is because I just read a book that I ended up loving. People who want a short, quick, easy read, this is for you. On to the next.

Once upon a time in the town of Turner Falls, there lived the adopted daughter of Bill and Carol Henderson, Lucy. She was originally from Peru, and if it wasn't for her best friend, Bucket, she would be the only person with brown skin at her high school. The evil and rich princes and princesses loved to humiliate Lucy and Bucket, and they were very sad most of the time. They were living for the day that they could escape this evil kingdom, and find a place where they would be valued for who and what they are, not judged by their looks alone.
One night, Lucy and Bucket go with their friend Brewer to a party where all of the rich kids have gathered. They will journey deep into the caves under Turner Falls, and come face to face with evil. A virus, or contagion, or perhaps an evil spell soon overtakes the princesses and princes, and nothing will stand in the way of their murderous intentions.
It is up to the brave and heroic Lucy, along with Brewer and Bucket to save the good people of Turner Falls and make the villains pay. But there is more at work here than a greedy biotech firm with an untested invention. Evil has been released and all it plans to do is play its game, its way.
Our heroine Lucy is just a damaged kid when all of this begins, but she will find her inner warrior before all this ends. She will fight to do what is right for the good people of Turner Falls, and woe to those who stand in her way. And they all lived happily ever after, or not because that would be telling.
There were so many things to love about The Loop. The Nightwatchman podcast, where an outsider has many questions about all of the corporations suddenly locating in Turner Falls, especially IMTECH. What can I say about Lucy? She didn't deserve what happened to her, but if you think life is fair, Yeah Right( this will make sense when you read the book, I swear)! She was a great character who grew by leaps and bounds, and like Robin Hood, she would take down the rich kids to try to save the poor. Her band of Merry Men, Bucket, and Brewer, with a little help along the way, were loyal and true. A crazy ride with only one part that slowed the frenetic pacing down for me.The first book I have read by this author, and not my last.

Oh my goodness. This book grabbed you in and held you tight. It was dark, visceral, and oh so bloody. Would definitely not want to watch this as a television show or movie. I wish we had gotten more of an epilogue but at the same time that’s what life is like. Thank you for the opportunity to follow along.

This book was a TRIP. Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC of this novel. I would most definitely categorize this book as science fiction, particularly in the arena of science gone horribly horribly wrong. The narrator, Lucy, realizes that something is not quite right in her town of Turner Falls when a classmate attacks another student, and then kills the teacher. Shortly after that, other teenagers begin committing horrible acts of violence. Lucy and a crew of ragtag misfits attempt to survive the night and figure out what exactly is happening the rest of the book. I will say as a slight spoiler that if you are expecting a happy ending to this tale, you will be disappointed. Was it satisfying? Yes. Happy? Nope. In that respect the book maintained a sense of realism in the face of all the crazy whacked out science gone wrong of it all. I do recommend this book for anyone that is looking for a fast paced, thrilling trip.

Through Net Galley, I read an advance copy of The Loop by Jeremy Robert Johnson. Something is seriously wrong in Turner Falls, Oregon. First there is a murder/suicide involving a mother and her 17 year old son. Then there is a classroom incident results in several deaths and injuries. Outcasts Lucy, Bucket and Brewer are at first witnesses to the mayhem and, later, the last line of defense against the evil the engulfs the town.

This one works on multiple levels, there is plenty of teen angst, a rogue corporation willing to skirt scientific ethics to maximize profits and a government conspiracy. Equal parts mystery, thriller, horror and science fiction with touches of humor, this one grabbed my attention and forced me to read the entire book in one sitting. Fast paced, action packed and featuring a conflicted, yet compelling kick ass heroine this one gets 5 stars all the way.

An e-book copy of The Loop was the only compensation received in exchange for this review. My thanks to Net Galley and Gallery/Saga Press for the opportunity to read this book and provide feedback.

A small town starts seeing violence from its teenagers in this story of biotech gone wrong. Lucy survived years of her parents' neglect and has since been adopted by a loving family and moves to a small town. There, the wealthy all seem to work for the same tech company IMTECH, and their children lord over the rest of the school. Lucy, originally from Peru, is an outsider and bonds with Bukit, also known as Bucket, as some of the few non-white kids there who are taunted constantly. Lucy witnesses a kid freak out and attack their teacher, and is trying to get over that trauma when Bucket and a friend of his decide to go to a party and she tags along. There, they learn that someone has been experimenting on the teens of the town and all hell breaks loose quickly. From there it is a fight for survival as the tech seems to have gained a mind of its own and is spreading...

This is a sorta zombie book that takes off and never lets up once the horror starts. It gets gruesome in parts (though the parts that bothered me most had to do with animals, specifically cats) so if that kind of thing bothers you don't read. I really enjoyed the main character and was cheering her on as she makes her way through the apocalypse. I'm still not 100 percent sure I understand exactly what the tech was, but that's OK. Close enough to zombies for me!

Netgalley's describes it as "Stranger Things meets World War Z", Goodreads as "Alien meets World War Z."

Frankly, I feel deceived.

There is a vague passing familiarity, but only in grand concepts that are so common in the genre; what makes Stranger Things, World War Z, and Alien - the heart and intricate storytelling - isn't exactly present. There are bones, and an obvious intention and direction, but Johnson fails to see the story to its full potential. The base concept seems hastily put together, difficult to follow and all-around lacking in complexity. It seems like two ideas he attempted to merge together but they just fail to connect for me. Given the style of narration I didn't expect all the answers but what answers we were given were just told through long paragraphs of dialogue rather than shown.

I think that limiting the story to only Lucy's point of view is what makes the worldbuilding suffer. I think stories of this genre work best from multiple - but not too many - perspectives; had we seen the world filtered through Steve and even Emmett's point of views, offering a more full and realized narrative, then this would be better. Perhaps not still perfect, but better. Attempting to channel everything through Lucy's inner monologue just absolutely kills the potential, especially when Lucy's mind is very.. awkward. I appreciate the attempt to portray her awkwardness as a young brown girl in a small, white, conservative town, and acknowledging the trauma she's suffered after watching such violence enacted in front of her but it just feels very stilted; there's too many instances where she just rejects her roots and culture, and it feels more like a cop-out than a genuine personality trait, rendering the entire narrative pointless, and the very uncomfortable instances of bringing attention to her 'sexuality' and how her trauma is somehow intertwined with it are difficult to read. Of course, she's not the only character that ends up feeling hollow; the dialogue exchanges near the beginning in the party scene are absolutely (and I don't use this word lightly) "cringey." There's not a moment where any of the teen characters actually feel like teens. The dialogue seems like it's written by someone who's never spoken to a human, much less a gen z teen.

It's almost enough to make you want to quit reading.

But I was determined, and I really do regret that determination. There's just not much I liked. I kind of zoned out a bit, even in the action scenes, because they were just boring. It definitely feels like the intent was to be shocking with the graphic depictions of animal abuse and the weirdly shoed-in discussion of assault, but I don't know if I'm just numb to it or it just wasn't compelling enough to even infuriate. At that point I was just constantly looking at how much I had left to go and wondering if something major was going to happen.

Like I said in the beginning: I do feel deceived. I wish I could have some nicer things to say because it does seem like an Attempt by the author, but. I think if you're going to liken your book to some of the most genre-defining media, you need the story to back it up. This book definitely didn't have it.

With a great opening sequence of a classroom out of control as a high school student seems possessed and a cave scene filled with flesh eating teenagers run amuck, "The Loop" is a cross between Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Stranger Things and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It is an action-packed horror story about an isolated town out of control as parasitic-controlled teenagers burst out of control. The first half is the best though.

This one missed the mark for me. The first half of the book was good; it picked up pace quickly and I was sucked in by the drama as I tried to figure out what direction the story would go in. The gore seemed overly gratuitous at times, but I didn't have a major problem with that. The writing wasn't great - it felt like it was written just to become a movie instead of just being written as a great book, if you know what I mean. A lot of the dialogue was just unnatural. I did think the unfolding of the main character's personality and past was well done, but wish we had gotten that a little more for other characters as well.

A lot of people seem to have enjoyed the ending, and while I don't have a problem with the ending itself, I did have a problem with the writing leading up to it. The whole end-game plan didn't seem to make a lot of sense and I thought the thought process was just confusing and seemed to contradict itself.

Overall I'd give this a 2.5/5; I usually round up, but in this case I'm rounding down. Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery/Saga Press for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

TSK TSK TSK, SOMEONE'S BEEN A BAD LITTLE CORPORATION!!

Something disturbing has begun in Turner Falls, Oregon. Home to IMTECH, a Science & Biotech Corporation. And it's about to get wild.

Using another specie's tissue, IMTECH created a biotech (like a parasite) and secretly implanted it in some of the town's teenagers. The goal was to control them. Let's just say, it backfired and the opposite occurred. All teenagers implanted became "infected" with an uncontrollable rage to kill and cause pain. The infected torture and kill everyone they come into contact with. A random group of people, including a few uninfected teenagers will spend every second fighting for their lives while trying to also understand what has happened so they can try to stop it before its too late.

Initially, I was off put at first. I thought it started very slow and felt mediocre. I even set it down for a while.

Finally around 100 pages in, the story did more than just pick up; it punched you in the face and hit you on the head with a hammer for good measure!! Because WOW folks: This is one bloody disturbing action book. It is extremely graphic and can be overly crass as well. Definitely not for the faint of heart. I think the author was smart to have the POV from a teenage girl instead of a boy. It lessened the graphic attack, only slightly, but it was a good idea.

On another note: The author is able to create great dialogue among the characters that helps to lighten and entertain. Additionally, character development of the main character was excellent. It gives the book more depth than just a raging kill fest. I think the author had many positive attributes going for him. This book takes you through a myriad of emotions, highs and lows, rotating constantly. Ultimately, this is a highly stimulating read. If not for the long and slow start, and the initial crass tone I would have given 4 stars.

*Thank you to Gallery Books via NetGalley for the digital review copy.

This may very well be the book that launches Jeremy Robert Johnson into the upper echelon of the scifi/horror genre. Despite some of the blurbs from some of the early reviews, this is not a zombie novel. It's more like man-made Frankenstein plague.

On the face of it, many readers may want to compare this book to Stranger Things, but it soon is obvious that the resemblance is only superficial. The characters are more damaged, the action is much more frenetic and eventual outcome is much bleaker. If it wasn't obvious, I loved it. We need more cross-genre mashups like this.

5 Gory Stars.

The Loop- Jeremy Roberts Johnson

“But when I try to picture a utopia, where we, like, all rise above, and we’re kind and we grow as a species, I can’t see it. So either I’m too dumb to have that kind of vision, or I’m just smart enough to know that humans could never pull it off. It’s way easier to imagine dystopia, and war, and all the bullshit we’ve been living in.”

Strap in, bitches! We are not in a utopia, that’s for sure! This book is a high-octane ride from the very beginning. Lucy and Bucket are best friends, and just about the only brown kids in their crap hillbilly town of Turner Falls, Oregon. But Lucy is confident that they can make it through their senior year and put the town in their rearview as long as they have each other. Unfortunately, their plans fall apart one day in school when one of the rich kids attacks & kills the teacher with a textbook. In a matter of minutes, the room is swarming with police and he is shot. But not before Lucy & Bucket saw his strange blue eyes and saw that weird thing in his neck.
Something very wrong is going on in Turner Falls. And it all connects back to the giant biotech company IMTECH, who has decided to use the children of its own execs as guinea pigs for an insane experiment.
Now Lucy, Bucket, and another of their outcast friends Brewer are on a mission to save the world.
The promo material calls this book a conspiracy thriller, and that’s just about right- it will take you down all the rabbit holes of all the conspiracies you’ve heard out there: drones, government monitoring, implants. But it does it all through the lens of a badass female protagonist, so there’s that! Lucy is easy to root for. This book has everything a horror/thriller lover might want: lots of gore, a fast paced plot, and so much action!
But it just wasn’t my style. I’m more of a slow burn kind of gal. What really saved this book for me was the ending, where the language shifted from crass teenage dialogue (which was realistic, I thought) to a more poetic style. I won’t tell you why, but I’m glad I hung in until then. It really opened up at that point for me.

I gave this one almost four stars 3.75! But that is just a matter of personal taste. This book is well written and a lot of fun, and I think a lot of other people will just love it!

I did not realize this was a YA book before requesting. I found I was not a good reader for it, as I almost never read YA. The book opened with a dramatic scene, and I was interested for a while because of that.

The pace slowed dramatically, and I also had a hard time with some of the content in the first 1/4 of the book--references to animal abuse as well as references to "negging" behavior toward a young woman. I get that the author is not promoting these bad things, but I was just not expecting them and found them unpleasant, and so, not feeling caught up in the narrative, I didn't continue reading. I see that the book has a lot of good reviews, and I wish it well, but it was not for me. I am not posting this review.