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.

How to Survive a Slasher follows CJ, a Slasherville survivor. While her hometown is actually called Satterville, it was dubbed Slasherville after two horrifying massacres: the first, CJ’s dad survived, the second, CJ survived. CJ’s mom trains their entire family in case another killer tries to come after their family. A paranoia that works in CJ’s favour when a unpublished manuscript shows up on their doorstep written by the author who sensationalized the murders in two books. This new book says a new killer is in town and CJ attempts to stop it from happening.

This was a fun slasher! YA horrors like this are a lot of fun, and this one is great if you don’t like the plot to be centered on the killings. There’s a great deal of friendship and romance and family that really balances the plot so it’s not super, crazy intense. The pacing was mostly good, but I found it a little slow at times and I guessed the twist pretty early. But I really enjoyed the family dynamic and how set CJ’s mom was on ensuring her family was prepared and protected. It was nice to see such involvement in her children’s lives. I also really enjoyed all the LGBTQ+ representation in this novel!

CJ is a great main character. I liked how set they were on not being a Final Girl and the reluctance to accept the role. I also liked how they were actively trying to protect themselves and their family—it was really sweet. It was also sweet that they got to open up and find new friends with the killings going on. Sebas and Nadia were so great!! Such a funny duo and added great comic relief and horror trope lecturing. I really enjoyed the dynamic between this main trio.

Overall, this is a fun slasher with great representation!

Thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury YA for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

A really fun read, once I sat down and really read it I whizzed through the story. It felt a bit like You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight, but wasn't nearly as gruesome. Fun, and it'll keep you guessing!

How to Survive a slasher was my first title by Justine Pucella Winans. I just love books (and movies) like these. Serial killers, final girls, this has it all!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this digital ARC!

Thank you Bloomsbury and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. Y’all this book is so good! CJ was eleven when she survived a serial killer. Unfortunately her dad didn’t make it. For him, that was the second time the Wolf Man had come after him. When he was in high school the original Wolf Man killed a bunch of camp counselors, three survived. Years later the Wolf Man struck again set on finishing off the original survivors and their families. He managed it with all the families but CJ’s. Their dad stopped him but lost his life doing so. Now CJ’s family spends their days doing practice drills to escape a killer. They carry knives and pepper spray and other essentials at all times. While their family does that the town throws Slasherfest every year, it’s supposed to be in memory of those who died, but really honors the Wolf Man. CJ hates it, and Moon Satter, who wrote the books on the killings. When CJ receives a book that tells the story new killings they believes it’s a prank but then events begin happening as the book tells it. Only when CJ interferes and saves Nadia, the first kill, the book gets rewritten. Now CJ is in the protagonist role, will they survive? With the help of Nadia and Sebas, Nadia’s attractive and adorable cousin, CJ will track a killer down. Who is next on the killers list? Can CJ protect their family and friends? I loved every aspect of this! CJ is a dynamic character who I absolutely loved! I loved the deep emotions of losing their fathers, the fierce protectiveness of their family, and the development of their non-binary gender and bisexual orientation! The story had me on the edge of my seat! Loved the twists and the romantic connection between CJ and Sebas! Gripping, pulse pounding, and will have you consuming it! Highly recommend!

This book was just ok.

The obvious comparisons to Scream are there but I think it was trying too hard to be Scream without fully recognizing what made it so great. For instance, the meta satirization and commentary was really weak and didn’t end up working for me most of the time. While slashers are generally pretty unrealistic, this story took it a bit too far. It came across as way too farfetched instead of camp.

It should’ve leaned into the wackiness of the plot instead of trying to incorporate realism. Because of this flip flopping tone, it was very difficult to uphold my suspension of disbelief, especially during the ending.

I also did not particularly like any of the characters (except for the mom who’s a baddie) as I felt like they were very hastily developed and relationships felt rushed. I did enjoy the nonbinary and queer rep though and I think that many readers will appreciate it as well.

I’d recommend this book to fans of the Scream series who are perhaps on the younger side of the ya spectrum.

I think Justine Pucella Winans is just not for me, because this is the third book of hers that I have read and whole I liked it the most, I still think it has a lot of problems. I do think it has a lot of really good representation, especially around gender identity, and it has some interesting takes on horror tropes. However, I find a lot of her writing to be kind of cringe (lots of shit-focused content and the Warrior Cats DMs stand out). I also knew who the killer was from the moment he was introduced, which made the book very un-suspenseful for me. Readers that like her writing might enjoy this, but I think there are better similar YA horror books out there.

nonbinary MC and horror ideas that kept me guessing throughout. would reocmmend. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

Thank you Netgalley and Bloomsbury USA for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

“How to Survive a Slasher” by Justine Pucella Winans is a wildly entertaining, horror-comedy twist on the classic slasher genre, complete with meta commentary, a uniquely queer perspective, and a mystery that keeps you guessing until the bloody end. CJ, a genderfluid teen whose family has been haunted by a series of slasher-style killings, finds themself at the center of a new spree that uncannily mirrors past tragedies—except this time, they’re seemingly cast as the “Final Girl.” If you are a fan of this author’s “Bianca Torres Is Afraid of Everything,” then you will definitely love this book.

CJ's character is beautifully developed, providing humor and vulnerability as they grapple with trauma and the absurdity of being forced into a Final Girl role they’d rather avoid. CJ's nonbinary and genderfluid identity is handled with nuance, making them relatable and refreshing. Supporting them are an eclectic cast of friends, including Sebas, a sweet love interest with a background distinct from the usual “book boyfriend” mold, and their fiercely loyal friend, Nadia. Their family dynamic also stands out, showing a close-knit unit that hilariously trains in “murder chase readiness” due to their violent history. CJ’s emotional support cat, Chekov's Gun, wearing a pink harness and serving as an unexpected plot clue, adds a quirky touch. I absolutely loved Chekov; he was my favorite character and based on the acknowledgements at the end of this book, it sounds like Winans will continue having cats in future books, which I am incredibly excited about.

The book also explores the horror genre itself, defying and deconstructing typical slasher tropes while playing with elements like the "Final Girl" and ominous "Big Bad Wolf" killer. Winans infuses the plot with self-aware humor and spot-on pop culture references, making it a perfect read for fans of meta-horror like “Scream.” In the “Bianca Torres” book, there were a lot of anime references (which I loved), and this book had a lot of webtoon/webcomics references, which I also loved. There were many different nerdy references that I found to be relatable and made the book even more enjoyable for me. There was even a reference to the Warrior Cats series, and I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that referenced that series before. Overall, I absolutely love Winans’s writing!

The story is fast-paced with escalating tension and gore—perfect for horror lovers without being overwhelming. The setting—a town that treats its violent past as a local legend and holds festivals around the murders—adds a darkly comedic undertone and enhances the meta feel of the story. As CJ navigates the bloody mystery, the town’s indifference to the danger gives the story a surreal edge, amplifying both the satire and suspense. Despite some predictable twists, Winans keeps you on your toes with layers of mystery and horror conventions turned on their heads.

Overall, “How to Survive a Slasher” is an engaging, smart, and emotionally resonant story that reinvents horror with inclusive representation, meta-humor, and heartfelt themes of family and identity. It’s a thrilling, quick read, especially fitting for Halloween and anyone who enjoys a good laugh in the face of fear.

This was a masterpiece. Any slasher movie lover will love this, all the Scream TV show vibes. Breaking the third wall and inserting slasher movie knowledge to survive. The characters were cute, Non-binary Bisexual MC (who explains their gender identity throughout the book when it’s necessary without being over the top) Latina Lesbian BFF and cute Latino love interest. The small town setting with obsessive cult like tendencies, the child of survivor/victim of a slasher. So many elements without loosing depth or getting boring. Highly recommend.

Scream Meets Stranger than Fiction with a dash of I Know What You Did Last Summer!!

Justine Pucella Winans is surely a horror author to watch! How to Survive a Slasher is a novel full of family, heart, and gruesome slayings. The story follows CJ a young human who is coming to terms with who they want to be as they get older. However, they are haunted by a terrible tragedy that has followed their family. The Big Bad Wolf is set to make a return and it’s going to be a bloodbath.

The family parts of this story are really something to note here. It’s just a really nice story that does invert some aspects of a “slasher.” In the classic slasher family is usually a plot driver but it’s abandoned as the bodies start to pile up. However, Justine gives us a totally different perspective and I don’t want to spoil how that goes, but it’s fun and well worth the read!

Additionally, this story isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s gory. However the mystery elements and the “whodunnit” keep everything moving at a nice pace without just slaying everything in sight. I think that’s truly something that readers are going to enjoy. The layers of this mystery unfold like that of Only Murders in the Building. It’s reveal into twist into more reveals and twists and I know readers are going to love this!

Don’t miss out on this latest slasher - you’re going to love it!

If you like the Scream movies, this is the book for you. Non-binary lead, the main characters/love interest actually communicate, and so funny. Also hallelujah the cat lives! And so does the lesbian!

That’s all you get. Read this book right now or I’m coming to your house and flushing all your socks.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.