Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Loop

Author: Jeremy Robert Johnson

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 2/5

Recommended For...: sci-fi fans, thriller/mystery lovers

Publication Date: September 29, 2020

Genre: Sci-Fi

Recommended Age: can’t recommend, dnf-ed

Publisher: Saga Press

Pages: 320

Synopsis: Stranger Things meets World War Z in this heart-racing conspiracy thriller as a lonely young woman teams up with a group of fellow outcasts to survive the night in a town overcome by a science experiment gone wrong.

Turner Falls is a small tourist town nestled in the hills of western Oregon, the kind of town you escape to for a vacation. When an inexplicable outbreak rapidly develops, this idyllic town becomes the epicenter of an epidemic of violence as the teenaged children of several executives from the local biotech firm become ill and aggressively murderous. Suddenly the town is on edge, and Lucy and her friends must do everything it takes just to fight through the night.

Review: I had to DNF at 20%. The book is really slow and I just couldn't get into it as much as I wanted to.

Verdict: Not for me but maybe for you!

“But in the big picture, we had a chance to save humanity from pain, depression, addiction...everything. We were going to give people a broad spectrum tool for truly controlling their lives, and minds, and bodies. Oracle was going to cure society’s ills.”
What could possibly go wrong?
Kids are starting to go violently crazy in Turner Falls. Deaths are covered up and marginalized. Action immediately gets this book rolling and doesn’t slow down for quite some time. Explanation in the middle of the book kills the pace for a bit but I still couldn’t put it down.
A small group of teens try’s to escape while the rest of the kids in town are hunting and killing.
These are realistic characters with their flaws and imperfections just like everyday teens. This group of outcasts quickly grow into people you care about. Hopefully some will survive.

The Loop ended up not being my cup of tea. I was drawn to it based on the synopsis and the comparison to Stranger Things and Blake Crouch, but I didn’t see the parallels. A lot of the descriptions were too intense and I didn’t love the “frat boy” vibes.

4.5 stars / This review will be posted at BookwormishMe.com on 15 September 2020 .


Turner Falls is a perfect little ski town in the high desert of eastern Oregon. Quaint, friendly, as long as you’re not Lucy or Bucket. Lucy and Bucket are “brown” and outcasts from most of the Turner Falls students. Spring Meadows High School is mostly broken down into the wealthy kids, the burnouts and the nerds. And then there’s Lucy & Bucket.

As such, they’ve bonded over weird things like Bucket’s obsession with porn. They hang out at The Exchange, a retro vinyl store where two other outcasts, Toni and Judah work. Now, they’re going to have the night of their lives as the students celebrate the end of the school year, brought on early by two tragic deaths in the community. The first deemed a “murder/suicide” by a boy who wouldn’t hurt a fly, and the second, in a classroom right before Lucy’s eyes. Lucy watched a mild mannered classmate beat their teacher to death.

What is going wrong in idyllic Turner Falls? Does it have something to do with the recent rise of IMTECH, a biotech company building the next great AI? Whatever it is, Lucy and Bucket are going to have to fight to get through the madness that has consumed this town.

I’ve seen this mentioned as a kind of World War Z meets Stranger Things, which is why I picked up this book. It maybe goes beyond that. Not for everyone with extensive violence, gore, sex and profanity. This isn’t your happy ending teen novel. It depicts a crazy, apocalyptic 24 hours in the lives of a group of people trying to save themselves and their town.

Johnson is clearly a master of this macabre genre, as he kept my attention riveted to this book. Dark and twisty, yes. But impossible to put down. If you’re ready for a trip into the frightening world of AI gone wrong, grab this one.

"It was so surprisingly calm that it took a few minutes before anyone in the room even noticed the way that Chris Carmichael was twitching at his desk."

The first hint that something has gone wrong in Lucy Henderson's town is a horrific event in her high school classroom. The violent-nature of the event triggers trauma from Lucy's past, an emotional wound that goes so deeply into her psyche that she hasn't begun to process it- let alone the damage it has left behind.

It doesn't help that Lucy feels like an outcast and an outsider in her small hometown. Part of this is baggage from Lucy's past, but the majority of it is the racism and tribalism she faces from the small-minded young adults in the community. They won't let her forget she looks different from them and torment her with their racial hatred on a near-daily basis.

The only semblance of friendship in her life is with a young man who goes by the name of "Bucket," for reasons that are explained in the story. (No spoilers.)

When all hell breaks loose in town, Lucy and Bucket only have each other and a few acquaintances to help in a race to save their families. The nightmare that they had been living solely in their minds becomes all too real.

"What the hell is going on in this town? Sometimes it feels like things are f*cked up in every direction, you know?"

The character and world-building of The Loop is well done in that I connected deeply with Lucy and Bucket before the story took off.

My lack of enjoyment of the book stems from the graphic nature of the violence against people and animals, both physical and mental. There are also brief instances of sexual abuse between underage teens as well as the discussions of porn with descriptions vague enough that young adults reading this book will immediately turn to Google to answer any questions they may have. There is bullying, unaddressed by the adults in the young peoples' lives, as well as the trauma Lucy suffered at the hands of a system that should have protected her.

Which brings me to another discussion point, this is not a book for young adults. If it was television, it would carry a mature rating. The horror genre has a huge following and graphic violence is definitely a part of that. That being said, it is strange to me how cavalierly some treat depictions of absolutely horrific things.

I feel like society has become desensitized to violence in the media we mindlessly consume. Descriptions of fingers popping through eyeballs and knives cutting through flesh is delivered as a matter-of-course, part of what makes the story so scary.

I picked this title out of the myriad being published in the next months because it was compared to Stranger Things, a horror show, true, but one that leans on the psychological and paranormal scares far more than the physically violent ones. I watched that show with my young daughter. I would not let her read this book, at least until she's 18.

I say that as a former librarian but also a mother.

All that being said, there are beautiful lines in the book that perfectly capture the agony of mental pain.

For example: "She imagined herself tilting her head back and opening her mouth to scream again, only this time her mouth kept opening and her jaw detached like a snake's and she kept splitting until she was cleaved in two and all that came out of her was white flame."

But I didn't feel that the beauty of those fleeting moments made the time I spent reading the title worth it.

Recommended only for adult horror readers who can handle the triggers of violence and everything else described above.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free digital advance readers copy of this book. The brief quotations I cited may be changed or omitted in the final, printed version.

Insanely creative, insanely gory, and insanely good. Jeremy Robert Johnson captures a blend of the Purge meets Stranger Things so well that I couldn't put this down. An absolute thrill ride that makes you think just as much as it makes you furiously turn the pages. I couldn't get over how seamlessly deep metaphors about class systems and capitalism as well as the way violence permeates our lives got mixed in with crude humor. Johnson balances a lot of topics really well and delivers a dark punch to this novel that leaves you feeling satisfied. I cannot thank NetGalley and Gallery/Saga Press for the advanced copy.

“It’s like you get sick from the anger and the helplessness of living in this fucked-up system and you feel like destruction might be the only way to shut it all down.”

I absolutely love genre-bending horror when the person writing it is a master of their craft, and Jeremy Robert Johnson is absolutely that, so this turned out to be an incredible reading experience. In just around 300 pages, we get a little sci-fi, a little horror, and even a tiny bit of romance. I went into this one not knowing anything about it previously, and since the cover doesn’t really give you any insight into the story, I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into. I was blessed with a weird, outrageous, fast-paced conspiracy thriller that completely absorbed me, yanking me right out of my world and into the town of Turner Falls.

There are some really specific things I love in horror (but will obviously still enjoy books that don’t include all of these): I prefer it to be teen/20s based in character age range most of the time, I love small town settings, and I can’t get enough of a good conspiracy. THE LOOP checked every box for me, and while I’ve seen it referred to as “Stranger Things meets World War Z”, I think a much more accurate vibe is The Faculty meets Disturbing Behavior from the 90s, which is also my absolute favorite decade for scary teen movies. Did I already mention how perfect this book is for me?

Johnson writes characters that are believable and heartfelt, both in their strengths and in their weaknesses. I loved our main heroine Lucy, and also really adored Bucket and Brewer, her high school buddies. Their relationships and friendships reminded me of what it was like to be in high school and have a primarily male social circle – gross things are funny, porn is an almost constant topic of conversation, and there are lots of confusing feelings going on a majority of the time that are joked away and not really talked about. The way the characters and their connections were portrayed in this, in such a wholesome, honest way, really stands as a brilliantly stark contrast against the absolute bonkers gorefest going on in the rest of the book.

While some books opt to give you all the information about a specific virus or contagion right up front, this one prefers to lead up to it without revealing too much too early on. This method of storytelling keeps the reader in the dark for a large chunk of the mayhem, which really invests you in the confusion and worry that the characters experience. Things go wrong for Lucy and her friends very quickly, and the violence and trauma and struggle are unrelenting. Since pretty much everything takes place over the course of a single night, you may be like me and will feel compelled to keep reading until you finish the book in a single sitting at 4 AM – and to this, I say do it! It’s worth it.

Truly, this is a wild ride of a book, and one that I’ll absolutely be recommending as often as possible from this point on. I’m not a new reader of Jeremy Robert Johnson’s work, but even if he weren’t already cemented as an author I’d auto-buy, he would be after reading THE LOOP. It’s that good, seriously! Don’t miss the late September release – you can pre-order both the hardcover & the digital version on Amazon today!

The Loop by Jeremy Johnson is a superb page turner. Well worth the time and the read! Looking forward to the next novel.

a YA sci fi horror. I am a sucker for a strong female main character. The Loop does a good job of making you care about these characters and their survival. This isn't my normal genre but I was engaged and felt it was a refreshing book to read! Memorable and unique. There were a few cringe worthy parts when the characters were making racist comments. Good amount of gore too!

First of all, this was quite the rollercoaster read! Thank you to NetGalley, Gallery/Saga Press, Simon & Schuster, and the author, Jeremy Robert Johnson, for allowing me access to this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Book release date set for September 29, 2020.
320 pages
My rating is 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Perfect choice for a 2020 horror thriller honestly - and some parts might hit a little too close to being believable in the sense of how technology keeps growing and expanding. It is not inconceivable that our biotech industry might cross some ethical lines at some point and create some horrific apocalyptic nightmare. This was one book that I found difficult to put down as it is just quite fast-paced and the horrors just kept building.

This one follows a group of teens, focusing primarily on one girl's experience, when their small town is overtaken by an untested biotech implant that was supposedly designed to link people together in such a way that violent behavior could be shut down in an individual before it could occur. However, the dangers of releasing untested implants, while obvious to most of us, may be overlooked or ignored by corporate conglomerates just looking to be the next big thing - or perhaps something more sinister can occur and biotech becomes the new testing ground for biological warfare to the next level.

I may never think of an octopus in the same way again though - and if you want to know why that is, you will have to read this book.

Second book I've read by this author - the bizarro elements hit differently in 2020, but still a great story teller.

I am conflicted with The Loop by Jeremy Robert Johnson. At times I enjoyed it and thought that by the end, this will be a 4 star book. Other times, I cringed a bit and wondered if this would end up being a 3 star book. It’s times like these that I wish I the rating system had half star increments, but the simplicity of only having 5 stars works very well in my opinion so no need to change it for the few times a year that I must decide between stars.

Ultimately, the parts I didn’t like bothered me enough to outweigh the parts that I did like which is unfortunate because I feel this book and it’s chilling story had the potential to be a great read. I enjoyed it overall, a solid read. What was bothersome for me was how dumbed-down the characters felt at times, particularly at the beginning. It felt like these characters were stereotypical 80’s horror movie teens who only care about drinking, drugs and sex. Maybe there is a target audience that will think these characters feel "real" because of this, however I’m not one of them so to me they just felt a little flat. I found it difficult for me to want to cheer for their survival. Other times, like the podcast chapters and the parts of the second half of the book that explain the cause of the horror, were well thought out, intelligent and illustrated the events very well. The clichéd teen feel eventually wore down once the horrors of the story came out but they would make an appearance once in the later chapters. For the record, this would be a solid 3.5 stars.

I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the kind of edgy, fun read that I just love.

It’s violent, disturbing, and it goes a mile a minute. You won’t want to come up for air.

I liked our characters and simply loved the plot of this one. It’s one of those books where you simply aren’t sure where it’s going…but you’re happy to be along for the ride.

Not for people who like things soft and easy, but if you like a thriller with an edge, this is your book.

A blast of a read!

*ARC Provided via Net Galley

This was a very interesting book about a small whose teenagers become very violent and a few teenagers who have to survive. There is two different points of view and most of the book a radio DJ and a teenage girl.I found the radio DJ a little bit flat but I very much enjoy the teenage girl's point of view and her struggling with PTSD.as someone who struggles with PTSD myself I I can completely understand the flashbacks and the fight or flight instinct.

I enjoyed this book about a small town and how everything can change when you least expect it. The change happens first in a high school class known for bullying anyone that is different like the main character and her best friend. In a fit of rage, a boy brains his teacher with a textbook before being shot by police. From there, violence escalates across town. I thought that this story was very well written and I liked that ultimately, this all started because some human scientists did some experiments they shouldn't have and ended up making a big mess. The main cause about the epidemic wasn't zombies or vampires or werewolves, but humans.

What a crazy ride. Not going to lie, the book was slow to start and the end seemed rushed and chaotic. But the middle of the book was engrossing with great character development. Will definitely give this author another try in the future. Thank you to NetGalley!

#Netgalley #TheLoop

Character driven, riveting apocalyptic YA sci-fi, fantasy with Stranger Things meets World War Z, Inbetweeners and Freaks and Geeks vibes! I’m sold!

Yes, amazing combination is served well with popcorn and gin-fizz! Of course I jumped in without having second thoughts!

But I have to warn you my friends! This book is not everyone’s cup of Early Grey: It’s gory, bloody, wild, dark and extremely violent journey! If you have delicate stomach, a hater of teen slasher movies or expecting something less disturbing, this is not a great pair for you! It can give you nightmares and make you paranoid ( I checked the doors at least seven times and saw shadows following me at the house. When my husband saw me on the floor after I fast jumped from my seat, I acted like I was doing my push ups! My arms still hurt like hell)

So I gave you my warning. It’s up to you whether you choose to read or not!

The nightmarish story starts at a small touristic town named Turner Falls located in the hills of Western Oregon: an ideal place for your weekend holiday escapades. But this place is also home of IMTECH: a science and biotech corporation. IMTECH’s brand new exploration is a special kind of parasite which has been taken from another specie’s tissue. They just implanted those parasites to teenagers to their great mind control plan which unfortunately gets out of control. Those teenagers start to turn into crazy killing machines, full with fury and vengeance. They seem like younger extras of Walking Dead series walking down the streets bloodthirsty, looking for their new victims.

Meanwhile Lucy and Bucket are the juniors and also outcasts of the high school, who are keeping their heads low, acting like ghosts not to be bullied more but a fight breaks out near the end of high school days and everything gets under control! Lucy decides to fight back and gathers her new friends to help her for this fight or die mission!

It’s action packed, disturbing, stimulating, blood freezing, intense, complex reading, criticizing sensitive issues including racism, bullying.

First half of the book is a little bumpy and slow paced. You have to push yourself harder not to dnf@%20 but after 80 pages later, juicy parts ( a lot of pouring blood!) start. Lucy is extremely likable, badass character you may easily root for.

If you ignore the slowness and long introduction of first 100 pages and if your endurance to gory things level is high enough, this is surprisingly twisty, moving, dazzling and also horrifying story.

I cut some star points because of my bumpy start and some of less likable and forgettable characters but I’m still rounding up 3.5 stars to 4! I mostly enjoyed my reading experience and highly recommend it to the genre less and not so delicate readers with highly functioning stomaches.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books/ Saga Press for sharing this ARC with me in exchange my honest opinions.

This book started off great, but got messy pretty quickly. I got lost quite a few times. Other than that, it was pretty good. I love the premise.

A wild ride! Evil corporations, conspiracy, mind control, experiments gone wrong, this book has it all! Eerily parallels a whole lot of what’s going on in the world today which only added to the already enthralling adventure.
Features a strong female lead that works against her troubled past and develops new friendships, all while fighting for her life. Great character development. Atmospheric and graphic. This would make an awesome movie, I could not put it down!

The Loop by Jeremy Robert Johnson is a standalone coming of age horror thriller with a science fiction aspect to it. Turner Falls, Oregon is a small tourist town that has recently seen an influx of biotech and related firms locating to it. Lucy and her friend nicknamed Bucket are juniors at the local high school and are the only minorities in the school. When a fight breaks out in class near the end of the school year, it is only the beginning of what is to come.

Lucy was a character that took a while to get to know, but was definitely someone you could root for. She had a distinct voice and her motivations seemed believable. The secondary characters were less three-dimensional except for Bucket and Brewer. However, they enhanced the story and the relationships seemed believable. The writing in the first third of the book did not flow well for me. However, it picked up as the action and stakes increased. Themes include family, trauma, racism, bullying, biotech research and development, violence, friendships, and much more.

Overall, this was an interesting and compelling read that had high stakes and some unusual plot twists. However, there are many instances of extreme violence and gore in this book as well as some language and I would not call this a fun read. If you are a fan of horror novels, then you may want to check this one out.

Many thanks to Gallery Books – Saga Press and Jeremy Robert Johnson for a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley and the opportunity to provide an honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.