This book confused me. At times relying on a bit of a gimmick to propelling the story forward with a dark look at society.

The whole book seems to send us varying messages about human nature and I am not sure that I understood it all that well.

The "love" story or the "i like him" twist was used to move the story ahead, but fell short. Nothing seemed to connect with anything in this book.

I wish I had liked this book more - it had potential, but was never realized.

I enjoyed this book and liked the storyline and idea of it. I felt like the characters and storyline needed a little more development. I enjoyed the writer's style; however, she reused too many phrases. I often found myself reading something and thinking what a good choice of words it was, only then to reread the same phrasing again and again. This repetition watered down any uniqueness it many have had.

Thank you to Sara Walters and Sourcebooks for the opportunity to preview this YA book.

There are many bleak YA novels around at the moment and The Violent Season, the debut novel of Sara Walters is as dark as it comes. It starts dark and by the time you reach the end it is pitch-black, potentially too uncompromising for many teen readers. I often regard the Kevin Brooks masterpiece The Bunker Diary as nihilistic as it comes, but this novel is not far behind and is certainly in the same ballpark. The novel is set in a small town called Wolf Ridge where every November there are unexplained acts of horrific violence. Is there something in this or is it merely an urban myth? You’ll have to read it yourself to find out whether this aspect of the story is dealt with adequately, I was not convinced, and it reminded me of Moira Fowley-Doyle’s The Accident Season, which has a very similar plot where a family believe they are cursed by accidents every October. However, the context in which this curse (or urban myth) is framed was a real strength of the story, with a teenage girl trying to come to terms with the murder of her mother by connecting it to the curse.

The story picks up the year following the murder of Wyatt Green and much of the action unfolds as a teen drama and eventually an edgy romantic triangle between Wyatt, Cash (who she has a long-term but sometimes unhealthy relationship with) and Porter, who has history wish Cash, but a combined school project brings Wyatt and Porter closer together. In the background there is the longing to leave or escape the small town and the sadness of Wyatt feeling the ghost of her mother in the house. For a teen novel it was quite explicit, edgy and had a fair bit of drug use in it, with characters who appear to be okay in the outside but are in turmoil on the inside. Social media is playing an increasingly greater part in YA dark fiction as it can lead to horrors which are significantly nastier than the monster which lurks under the bed and is there anything worse than having photos taken (naked) and drunk which are then shared on online? Overall, the book was a fascinating blend of teen drama, with an unspecified supernatural feeling lurking in the background, and a lot of pain. A very challenging, bleak, but ultimately rewarding read. AGE RANGE 14+

This book is crazy! In a small town that is seemingly beset by violence every November, Wyatt begins to question just what is really behind all of these deaths. Upon stumbling on her mother's murdered body, and seeing some townsfolk die and classmates kill themselves, Wyatt is convinced there is a sickness afflicting the town.

Wyatt also worries this sickness is starting to affect her boyfriend Cash, who seems to genuinely want to kill their classmate, Porter. Once Wyatt and Porter become partners for a class project, Wyatt's attention (and affection) is split between the two and she becomes more and more concerned that something terrible is going to happen to someone close to her and she might be in the most danger of anyone!

Is there really something terribly wrong in Wolf Ridge or is Wyatt imagining everything? Is the sickness real or are people just naturally prone to doing bad things? Can Wyatt and her friends come out of the Violent Season unscathed or is one of them going to be the next victim?

With very mature themes and plenty of violence and language, this book is definitely for the high school and above level. I'd say only the most mature middle schoolers should even consider reading this and, if they do, they should get parental permission first! I, however, absolutely devoured this book!

So, I’m going to warn you that much of the behavior in this book is toxic. It’s an uncomfortable reminder that many humans are simply trash.

The book is good. Although there’s teen angst to the 1 bajillionth degree, there’s a palpable undercurrent of heartbreak, violence and real life horrors.

I loved our main character. I also wanted to wrap her up in bubble wrap or something so that she’d be protected. I also loved her father – that’s a nice change because so many of these books feature worthless parents. He’s not perfect, but he’s loving and he tries so hard.

The description of the book is accurate, but it’s not really what the book is about. I wish I could say more without spoiling it. I’ll just say that you might not get exactly what you came for, but you’ll likely be very satisfied with what you get.

Much of the book made me unhappy – and highly vengeful – but I enjoyed the read!

*ARC via Net Galley

“The Violent Season” by Sara Walters is an addictive, beautifully-written, masterful debut novel that is hands down a must-read.

When November comes around, residents of Wolf Ridge are overcome with a desire to inflict violence. The kind people don’t come back from like the murder of Wyatt Green’s mother. Everyone thinks it’s an urban legend or horror story passed down from one generation to another to keep children in line. Except, outsiders are beginning to notice something isn’t right with the people of Wolf Ridge. Even Wyatt begins to notice the unnatural all-consuming hunger for violence in her best friend and lifelong crush, Cash.

As Wyatt looks into her mother’s death and the sickness that plagues her town, memories begin to unravel, secrets ruin trust, horrible events result in bloodshed, hostilities rise, lives are endangered, and everything everyone knows about one another and the town is brought into question.

There aren’t too many novels that resonate with me to the extent whole paragraphs have been highlighted, lines are so beautifully written they sucker-punch me in the gut, and the story leaves me feeling chilled and numb as it circles through my brain. The novel makes me question what I understand about violence, evil, and what humanity is capable of. It brings back the nostalgia of old crushes and the small-town vibes of knowing everyone or knowing of them. The town and people of Wolf Ridge feel familiar and unfamiliar as the story progresses, which was a really neat experience.

Cash and Wyatt’s relationship was a fascinating aspect of the story. The way their friendship works, to their highs and lows, and their isolation from everyone else, showing how their perceptions of each other are warped. Even Wyatt’s crush on Cash is both sweet and alarming in its consuming nature, as it’s expected of a teen who is deeply enamored by a boy and yet shows signs of being unhealthy. The two aspects were very well written.

The concept of violence striking every November was unique and drew me to the story right away. Why November? Why this town specifically? What happens when residents are consumed by violence? Is this going to be like Purge? Some of these questions were answered and some, unfortunately, were not. I really wanted the violence that hits this town to be more personal, more intimate with the characters and readers. Some of it hit close to home while other acts of violence were only mentioned in passing. Either way, for a debut novel, Walters did a spectacular job depicting the ways in which people are consumed and overwrought with the need for violence. Even the characters are well-developed and have an interesting growth throughout the novel that read like a thriller or crime mystery.

I would highly recommend giving this novel a read. “The Violent Season” by Sara Walters is expected to be published on October 5th, 2021.

A big thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing me with a free e-arc of this novel and the opportunity to share my honest opinion in this review.

Whaaat? This freaking nerve bending, claustrophobic, intense, disturbing small town mystery scared the living daylights out of me!

Think about a town becomes violent at each year’s 11th month: freaky November. ( every town has its own Mike Myers!) Somebody always gets killed! Somebody loses control! Guess who’s gonna be the victim and who’s gonna the killer this time !

I liked the haunted town premise! The hunger and thirst for violence at Wolf Ridge never end! This time the victim is Wyatt Green’s mother. And she finds out Cash the boy she’s yearning for a long time is affected by contagious violent feeling turning the town’s people into animals in human furs.

Being friend with Cash’s old time nemesis Porter is such a mistake but she cannot help herself which brings out more secrets and get her into more complicated situation she can deal with.

The premise and intriguing execution of mystery, high tension of the claustrophobic story and sad conclusion made me enjoy my reading.

I’m still having second thoughts about the love triangle. Was it necessary for the story’s development? Well, I’m still not so sure about it!

But I’m still rounding up 3.5 stars to 4 this dark story still affected me and gave me creeps stars!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.