Genre: Horror / Mystery Young Adult
Publisher: Underlined (Imprint of Random House Children’s Books)
Publishing Date: June 20, 2023
Synopsis:
The new girl in town is having trouble fitting into a community that believes there’s a secret Satanic cult conducting rituals in the woods. When her crush goes missing, she starts to wonder if the town’s obsession with evil isn’t covering up something far worse. Perfect for fans of Fear Street!
To say sixteen-year-old Audre doesn’t fit in would be the understatement of the century. She’s a city kid who’s found herself in a rural town. The only girl at school who’d rather kiss a girl than a boy. Not to mention that the whole town believes there’s a secret Satanic cult conducting rituals in the nearby woods–and Audre is a born skeptic.
When the preacher’s daughter and Audre’s secret crush, Elle, goes missing on Halloween weekend, the town is quick to point fingers–in Audre’s direction. While they harass Audre’s family for being newcomers and nonbelievers, Audre realizes she might be the only person here who can find her friend.
The deeper she goes, though, the weirder it gets. What happened to Elle–and is the evil this town is hiding really what Audre thinks it is?
Content Warning: satanic cult, racism, sexism, police brutality and mistreatment, abuse from religious officials
My Review:
This book talks about the theme of Satanic Panic, which I have never read before. What I loved most about this book is that I didn’t feel like I was reading a very new topic; everything was expressed so well.
Audre’s character was so realistic. She felt like a companion. She was moved to a town, and like me, she was too wondering and questioning their beliefs, which made the story more connected.
David, Audre’s friend, was such a sweetheart. I loved their relationship so much. He was so supportive and protective towards her. Ahh!! I love him so much. He was my most favourite character in the book.
Judging by the cover and the title, one might think this is a horror novel. But it is not a scary ghost story. It’s about real horror, the horror you feel when your abusive father takes away your happiness and says he did what he believes is “right” because he “cares” for you. After reading the end note by the author, I was shocked to know that most of the horrible parts were true and happened in real life.
The mystery that revolves around the story was so extraordinary. It kept me on edge till the end. There were so many twists at the climax that it took me time to process all of it.
This book was a unique, thrilling, engaging read with a satisfying climax.
my rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thank you TBR and Beyond Tours for providing me with the arc of this book.
Click here for Tour schedule to see more reviews.
Book links:
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound
About the author:
Gigi Griffis is the author of the creepy YA horror The Wicked Unseen (coming summer 2023!), We Are The Beasts (2024), and The Empress (as seen on Netflix), among other things.
She’s a sucker for little-known histories, “unlikable” female characters, and all things Europe. After almost ten years of semi-nomadic life, she now lives in Portugal with an opinionated Yorkie-mix named Luna and a fancy blender that cost more than her couch.
Deepireads 
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