You all know I’m a sucker for a good slasher book, and let me tell you, How To Survive A Slasher does NOT disappoint! If you’re into that Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer vibe, then you’re gonna want to grab this one ASAP. We’ve got a fierce non-binary main character who’s not just trying to survive the legendary Wolf Man but is also on a mission to keep everyone else alive. Talk about a total badass! This YA horror read had me turning pages way past my bedtime, and I loved every chilling moment. Big shoutout to @NetGalley and @Bloomsbury for the advance copy. If you’re a fan of slasher flicks, this book is a must-read.

I really enjoyed this one!! I love a good slasher novel and the fact that it was a queer slasher made it even better! I loved the discussions around gender and sexuality and i especially loved how supportive CJ’s mom was of them! I think the pacing was great and I would love to see this as like a Netflix movie or something because I think it would really come alive on screen! It was a little anticlimactic for me because I guessed the killer pretty much from the moment they were introduced and it just seemed really obvious to me so I would’ve loved some other kind of twist but overall, this was a really great book!

CJ finds themselves and their friends in the middle of their own slasher, when the Wolfman returns to finish what they started years ago.
This was fast and fun. I loved how the characters came together and did their best to survive. We have a cantankerous kitty cat and a mom who not only believes what is happening to CJ and their friends but has also done her best to prepare herself and her children in case the Wolfman ever returns.

I enjoyed this from beginning to end, with surprising twists and turns that had me not wanting to put this down. I will definitely pick up more from Justine Pucella Winams

How to Survive a Slasher is a wonderful young adult slasher novel. It follows CJ, who receives a mysterious manuscript for a novel they assume has been written by a novelist who wrote a dramatized version of their father untimely demise by the slasher The Wolf Man. When the manuscript starts to play out in real time, CJ is compelled to stop it, inserting themselves firmly in the narrative where they were merely a background character. This book is a fast paced slasher novel that gives you mystery, intrigue, but mostly gives you a brilliant protagonist in CJ. This book has a somewhat predictable twist but it doesn't take away from the journey of getting to that point. I would absolutely recommend this book for teenagers who love the horror genre but particularly the slasher genre.

How to Survive a Slasher was wonderfully meta with a wild ride through a slasher nightmare come back to life, but also had a great sense of characterisation and heart.

This was a brilliant addition to the YA horror genre. If you enjoy slasher films with bite and brains, you will love this. For me, it was like the best parts of the Scream films brought to the page but with different elements that make it a wholly unique story. CJ is a great protagonist with a different slant on the genre—they’ve spent their whole life preparing for this very eventuality. The way they’re drawn into this initially is fantastic and you get a real sense of badassery from them. I appreciated how this was often presented in their innate kindness and wanting to save people, as well as some fight skills. I actually liked that we got some training scenes and the development of their skills, which also played a nice role in the overarching romantic thread. The book really grapples with The Final Girl trope—a role which CJ fundamentally rejects. They are plagued with self-doubt though, not feeling important or brave enough. This plays into their unwillingness to take a central role, but also provokes a discussion around gender identity. I really appreciated the representation in this novel with a genderfluid protagonist, something that is still fairly rare to see in YA.

This has a darkly comic and meta edge to it that I adored. There is an awareness of the tropes and rules of slashers, but they are often being challenged and contrasted. CJ is all too aware of this, having grown up with the legacy of a chilling true crime. Their dad survived the first massacre, but not the second—where CJ did. You really get to grips with how this has affected CJ’s family with the survival drills and odd associations and assumptions about their family. They have had to live through nightmares before and can’t trust them not to resurface. This has also stained the local community, with the lives lost but also the increased focus on them from obsessed fans, descending on the town during the anniversary.

With this, there is an important throughline about the exploitation of tragedy for entertainment and the way real people are reduced to characters in a story. Quite literally in the case of Moon Satter’s novelisations of the two massacres of years past. It strikes true to real life, adding another dimension to this already layered narrative. I loved the narrative device of the new book and how it sets everything into motion. It really blurs the lines even more, breaking the fourth wall in an interesting and creative way.

The book leans into surreal territory at times around this topic, which enhances the reading experience tenfold. It asks questions about fate and predestined events. Every action has a real consequence and the stakes are keenly felt. In some of the best slashers, you almost feel like the events have been set in motion long before you picked up the book or started the film. It is a work of fiction and therefore of course they have but even in the story world, that rippling effect is so interesting to watch play out. The actual mystery is great too, with a well-constructed whodunnit and plenty of twists in store. I particularly enjoyed how the timelines echoed one another and converged.

How to Survive a Slasher offers a rip-roaring, extremely meta take on the YA slasher genre that examines the exploitation of tragedy, fate and the tropes of the genre. It is dynamite reading.

I really enjoyed this, more than I thought I was. I think it's such a difficult task to create good slashers these days, and they are my favorite type of horror. It's hard to get excited when things coming out don't hit that mark for an individual, a fan especially. But this was awesome, it had me invested. I loved the banter and humor in the dialogue, and I really did enjoy how Winans flipped your everyday slasher tropes on their head. It was emotional and empowering and I really just enjoyed the story. I like how it didn't drown itself in horror/slasher history making it more organic and its own. I loved the ease of the writing and rawness of CJs thought process. I wish we could have got a little bit more scenic descriptions and a little more world-building of the town, but hey, there is always hope for a money-grab sequel.

A perfect mesh of the slasher genre, YA, and the queer representation we love to see continuing to come out!

I loved the characters, the plot, and the over the top twist and reveal. If you love horror movies, I promise you will love this book. It's fun, easy to read, and probably one of the best YA horror books I've read in a while. Our characters are actually smart and don't do anything that leaves you monologuing like Randy did in Scream.

Big thank you to the publisher for an early copy!

I had such fun with this adorably terrifying trope-heavy LGBTQ+ Thriller!
In How To Survive A Slasher, we follow the oldest member of a family of survivors from the same "set" of Serial Killers, the Splatterville Werewolf. CJ, who is nonbinary is just trying to live their life and graduate when they receive a manuscript detailing the sequel to a set of books based on the murders. Since there haven't been any new murders, she is concerned about where the source material is coming from. When the main character in the manuscript is found dead after CJ sees a new wolf, they decide to try and fight for their freedom.
I loved all the trope inclusion and how diverse and inclusive the characters were. While I did know who did it, I still had an absolute blast reading to the conclusion.

HOW TO SURVIVE A SLASHER by Justine Pucella Winans is a fun take on classic horror. I love the queerification of the final girl trope, and the characters are likable and funny. I do, however, wish it had more scary scenes, and I don't think the author quite stuck the landing with the meta aspect of the story.

Such fun. I had the best time while reading How To Survive A Slasher by Justine Pucella Winans. It has all the good parts: a bookstore, books about a slasher, a who done it storyline and a slasher fest. It gets into the nitty-gritty about a certain family and the Wolf Man who killed their father, If you feel hunted, you have to defend your family. A book within a book, a story within a story, a script written and a mythology formed. In Satterville, who will be the Final Girl? Is it what The Creator has written? There’s wolf men, cults, books, slashers, family, crushes and a whole lot more. Read if you like Scream movies, Final Girls, daddy issues, and revenge. ARC provided by Bloomsbury YA via NetGalley. I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Short and Sweet Review

Satterville is known for the Wolfman and the two massacres that occurred. The first one at a summer camp where a few camp counselors made it out alive. The second time with a copycat killer who went after the counselors who lived. That’s where CJ comes in she was at the second killing and witnessed her dad get killed by the Wolfman. Now years later Cj just wants to live her life without having to relive that night over and over again but unfortunately her trauma was published into the Slasherville books and the fans are crazy. One day CJ comes home to find the manuscript for the new book but it doesn’t have information about the previous murders but about ones that are going to happen in the near future. CJ thinks its a joke but the murders start happening and CJ tries to change the trajectory of the book and the final girl who was supposed to stop the Wolfman ends up dead and now its up to CJ to fill that spot.

What drew me into this book was the synopsis and this book didn’t disappoint. CJ has been through a lot in her life she watched her father be killed in front of her eyes and now her mom is a bit paranoid and makes her and her siblings do drills to be prepared for everything. When CJ gets that manuscript she just thinks it’s a prank until she does see the Wolfman kill one of her fellow classmates. During this time CJ meets Nadia and her cousin Sebastian and they become her friends and the people she can trust about what’s going on. I liked the representation with CJ being nonbinary and still trying to figure out who they wanted to be. It was also nice to see how bonded her family was, her siblings always knew that they could come to her. The whole plot was well executed it was interesting to see how some of the things from the manuscript take place and CJ try to stop the new Wolfman. I didn’t know who the Wolfman was I had some suspects put their were a lot of possibilities especially because people like to be copycat killers.

Overall, you really can’t go wrong with any of Winans books they’re all engaging and have great plots. This book is no different I loved the mystery and seeing everything unfold. CJ was a great character she was strong and determined to make sure those around her were safe. Winans is an author whose books I’ll always pick up and if you guys haven’t you have to check her books out!

Not sure if it was the writing style but I just couldn’t connect with the characters. Had high hopes for this book but it just didn’t meet my expectations

Years after surviving an attack that left their father dead, C.J. Is at the center of a chilling mystery. A mysterious manuscript appears at their door, and soon, murders begin unfolding around them—each one eerily mirroring its pages. Now, C.J. must uncover the truth before they and their friends become the next victims.

I was drawn to this book because of the awesome cover and the title. The premise sounded awesome. I liked that this was a meta teen slasher, but the story ultimately fell flat for me.

The story had all the characters you would normally see in a slasher: the main character with a sad backstory, the love interest, the sidekick best friend, the popular mean girl, and the villain. I loved the queer rep, but some of the characters’ personalities annoyed me. C.J.’s mother acted like a teen. I guess she was supposed to be seen as this cool, kickass mom, but it just did not seem realistic to me.

The writing was okay, but some things became repetitive after a while. There was way too much focus on jiujitsu, to the point where I felt like I was sitting through a class myself. On top of that, the side character, Nadia, constantly talks about her love for webcomics. I actually enjoy webcomics too, but I didn’t need to be reminded of her obsession for webcomics every few chapters.

I guessed who the killer was early on. It was glaringly obvious to me. There was a twist that I didn’t see coming, but I did find a lot of the plot to be predictable.

The ending was definitely over the top. I was not surprised really with what happened though. It goes along with all the slasher tropes.

Overall, this was a little disappointing but I think lovers of YA slashers might enjoy this book.

This is probably more of a 3.25 star rating from me.

I really enjoyed certain elements, and the characters were fun to follow. The beginning had me hooked, but as the story went on, I felt a little less interested in the middle portion of the book. I felt there was a lot of extra commentary I didn't really feel was necessary to tell the story, and the ending wrapped up nicely, but it was very obvious of who had done it.

Overall, I felt this one was a decent thriller, loved the cover, and did like the idea of what was happening and why. I just felt like the reveal was lacking and would have liked a little more suspense.

Lastly, thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury YA for my advanced reader copy.

I love a good cheesy horror movie, like the ones Friday Fright Night played. So when I saw this cover and read the summary I was like this is just like that but in book form. If you love a good slasher film and cheesy 80's and 90's horror films then this book is for you! I will be buying a copy when it comes out so I can reread it during October Spooktober reading.

THOUGHTS

This is a great book... for a very particular audience, anyway. This book is meta horror, and it does a lot of playing with genre, with conventions and stock characters and plot beats. And that's fun. It's a lot of fun. But it's not necessarily written for general audiences. I don't know that I can give a blanket recommendation for this one, but if this type of horror speaks to you, definitely snag this up when it hits the shelves!


PROS
Red Herring: This book had me constantly suspicious. Everybody was doing things and saying things that they shouldn't have. Everybody felt like they could have motive, even if I didn't know what those motives were. There was a lot of cause for pointing fingers and sideways glances. I loved the great misdirects in this book!

Meta Commentary: This book is meta. It is very, very meta. These characters know horror, and it isn't just CJ who knows what's happening next. They know the type of story they're living in, and they know the archetypes they're falling into--and what fate that might lead to. There are a lot of jokes for horror fans and for writers, too, tossed into this book. There's a lot of foreshadowing, very self-aware foreshadowing, and every little bit of way-too-aware groundwork here paid off in the end.

Inevitability: Even though this book is hyper aware of itself and sets its expectations up right at the beginning, it isn't boring to read. This book sets a trap for itself in its own meta-ness, because Winans could easily have written a book that was too on-the-nose, too foreshadowed, to make reading worthwhile. But even though these characters know (literally) what's happening next, in a lot of ways they are unable to stop these events from transpiring. That sort of fated inevitability in this book adds just the right note of despair to the overall plot structure. So the few times the characters manage to break free from their plot-prescribed roles and change fate, it is refreshing... and concerning. In other words, this book toes a fine line and absolutely sticks the landing!


CONS
Same Old, Same Old: As meta and self-aware as these characters are, there are still a lot of "traps" that CJ falls into all too easily. And I kind of wish that CJ would have been harder to trick, to lure away from safety and into the plot of a slasher. CJ knows the rules, right? So the rules should have changed, at least a little bit. And the rules do change for CJ... but not nearly as much as I would have expected or hoped.

Cringe Fest: Look, as much as I like meta horror, it can quickly veer into the "cringe" territory. And that definitely happens here. Not that everyone will dislike it. I didn't dislike it, even. But there were some lines of dialogue here and there that had me cringing. It was... unfortunate. But forgivable.

Not-So-Twist: Maybe it's because this book had me primed to guess suspects all along, but I did guess the twist ending about halfway through. I guessed a lot of wrong directions this plot would take, too, though, so this criticism comes with more than a grain of salt. I did a lot of guessing, and the pieces started clicking too quickly for me. But I don't know that everybody would come into this book with such a suspicious mindset, so... This one might just be me.


Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
8/10

Fans of Stephen Graham Jones's My Heart is a Chainsaw will like this new self-aware slasher. Those who enjoyed Adam Sass's Your Lonely Nights Are Over will love leaping to conclusions in this new small town horror.

This sounded like it would be a quick, fun read and all in all it was. Pucella Winans delivers a quirky main character who is living the life of an extra in a horror film and suddenly finds herself thrust into the final girl role despite her deep dislike of the genre as a whole. The whole idea of this book was a little silly to begin with, but assuming you can look past that it is at it's core an enjoyable read about not only horror movies, but grief, friendship, family, and finding it inside yourself to be the main character of your own story. I don't know why I keep reading meta books and expecting them to blow me away, because while I don't mind them I've come to the conclusion that there's something about them I find just cringe enough that I never love them. That's entirely on me though, so if meta books are your thing, and you're also a fan of horror, this one should be right up your alley. Aside from that I think the other thing that caused this book to lose a star is the fact that the side characters didn't feel very useful. Sure, they were amusing from time to time, but outside of the mom (she was great) I feel like the entire plot could have been exactly the same even if they were all removed. Don't get me wrong, there was some character development going on with our main character, but I feel like secondary characters should also affect the plot in some way, especially with a horror story. I also wasn't overly surprised by the twists and the big reveal at the end. Honestly if our characters had thought about it a little harder I think it wouldn't have been a huge shock to them either. But again, overall rather small nitpicks. I don't think I'll be writing a shelf-talker for it, but it was still an enjoyable read and I'll be happy to recommend it to any teens looking for a good horror story, or even one looking for good queer rep. I'll also keep an eye out for whatever Pucella Winans does next, because they're books are always full of interesting mysteries mixed with queer joy, which seems like an odd mix, but they make it work.

Anything pitched as "Scream" meets "You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight" is something that I'm absolutely going to read.

I really liked CJ. She's smart and tough in a way most kids don't have to be. I enjoyed reading her navigate her scary reality, making friends along the way. Of course this family is bonded in a weird way, but CJ's mom is the absolute best.

Plot wise, it's a bit of a slow burn build up, but once it gets going, it's going. There's a good amount of misdirection and it had me second guessing everything, which I always love. My only complaint is that I wish there was a bit more of an explanation for why as that part didn't quite feel fleshed out.

Overall, this was a fast paced story with characters who were easy to get invested in.

**Huge thanks to the publisher for providing the arc free of charge**

*4.25 Stars*

This was a good slasher. It felt a little more thriller than truly horror to me. I liked the characters, especially Nadia and the mom. The ending was a little predictable and took me out a little cause it didn't make sense to me. But I still had a great time following these characters, the romance and the family drama. The murders fell to the background but I didn't mind so much. Overall, this was a really good, short read and I can't wait to read whatever Justine Pucella Winans writes next.

I really enjoyed this book. It's true that it is very reminiscent of Scream, and *no spoilers* but I totally called who ended up being the big bad at the end. I really liked CJ as a character, and her trajectory throughout the story, and I loved her camaraderie with Nadia and Sebas. The whole Smith family was amazing, and I am obsessed with CJ's mom. The whole cast really rounded out the story, and though I felt like it tried a little too hard to be "woke" or self-aware, I did appreciate all of the inclusion in the story. Overall, it was a really fun, and entertaining read.