I’m currently in my horror/slasher era, so this request could not have come in sooner. I was ecstatic to be reading this YA slasher, following main character Chastity who works at this place where they reenact scenes from a slasher classic in this universe, The Curse of Camp Mirror Lake. Chastity plays the role of the final girl, leading guests through scenes from the movie and to their “death” for an insanely scary, once in a lifetime experience. The goal is to terrify, until her fellow actors begin disappearing, culminating in one night of true horror.

The references to classic slashers like Scream (the sheriff’s name is Sheriff Lillard, which I noted as a reference to Stu Macher actor Matthew Lillard, so cool) and Halloween and other movies made sense and were fun additions to the story. The scary parts of the story truly did freak me out, this read exactly as a horror movie “watches” if that makes any sense. I was so into it, I read it in all of two hours. Kalynn Baron absolutely knows how to set an unsettling mood. There were shivers up my spine. And that ending?? I was so hooked on this story despite some of criticisms on craft. I’m not a fan of some of the modern and hyper specific references the author made, that generally takes me out of any story, like the main character saying she and her friend were both part of the “alphabet mafia” and the Harry Styles references that popped up, among others. It just makes me cringe a little, personally. There were also some repetition of phrases that I saw occurring multiple times within a few pages that I feel could be edited to have a little more variety.

I read this book mostly in the middle of the night which was...a choice! It's quick-paced and camp (literally), and Bayron's bold narrative choices show she can really do it all. An excellent addition to queer YA horror.