Gretchen McNeil

booknook — Young Adult book reviews

I almost didn't read this book for one reason: I don't read horror. I like some horror/mystery movies, but I'm extremely picky. And until now, I had never read a book in that genre.

At first, Ten was an intriguing book with an EXTREMELY annoying side character (Minnie). At the half-way point, I started freaking out. Things went from interesting to downright creepy. I had chills. ACTUAL CHILLS. Not metaphorical chills—real ones. I was suddenly completely show more on edge, paranoid, and felt like someone was watching me (despite being alone in my apartment).

Ten is so thrilling and suspenseful. I love how we can literally see things spiralling out of control! It's definitely very Lord of the Flies. People turn on each other, question their friends, and question their sanity.

I read this book in one sitting because I literally could not put it down. I had no idea that Ten would have such a strong effect on me! I had to shoot film scenes for uni today and I was whipping my book out in between takes because I just had to find out what happened next!

The best thing about Ten is that I couldn't predict the ending, though I desperately wanted to. The whole time I was reading, I was also speculating and trying to figure out the killer. At all times, I was bouncing around about 5 possibilities, but I couldn't narrow it down. The book kept me constantly guessing!

My one gripe with the book was Minnie. Minnie is supposed to be an annoying character, and it all gets explained at the end, but before that was clear to me, she was pissing me off. She was a horrible, disrespectful, unthoughtful friend to Meg and what annoyed me most was how Meg totally put up with it. At one point even T.J. says to Meg, "You deserve better," and he's totally right. But things change as the book goes on: Meg has less patience with Minnie and Minnie's near-insanity gets a good explanation. But in the beginning, I was rolling my eyes every time her name came up!

I am so glad I read Ten! I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. It's absolutely terrifying, disturbing, psychologically freaky, and totally gripping. Even if you don't normally read this genre (like me), I still highly recommend it. AWESOME BOOK! show less

This was such a fun, creepy ride and I loved every second of it. I gave it 5 stars because it gave me everything I wanted, mystery, suspense, drama, and just enough of that horror-movie energy to keep me on edge the whole time. From the second the characters hit that island, I was locked in. The vibes were tense, the setting was eerie, and I could not stop flipping pages.

This book gave me total slasher thriller vibes, but in the best way. The cast of characters felt like a classic teen show more horror setup, and I was constantly trying to figure out who was behind it all. I kept changing my theories every few chapters, and even when I thought I had it figured out.... nope. There were some legit creepy moments that made me pause, and the tension just kept building. I was fully stressed in the most fun way.

If you love fast-paced thrillers with a little bit of horror, a remote setting, and that “who’s next??” energy, Ten is such a good time. It reads like a scary movie in book form, quick, intense, and impossible to put down. Definitely recommend it if you’re in the mood for something dark and twisty but still super readable. show less

Initial thoughts: “Holy hell. Gretchen McNeil’s novel is amazing – good, old-fashioned gory horror complete with messed up rules and an entirely unique premise. It was SO intense that I did something I have never done before in my life – I skipped to the end and read the last few chapters. Then I went back and enjoyed the story because I was not so obsessed with what would happen to these characters. Plus, there is a sequel. This fact is squeal-worthy in my mind.”

Now: One would not show more think that a story about celebrity serial murderers could be so much fun, but that is exactly what I think of when I think back to reading #murdertrending. It is over-the-top in its violence. The characters are kitschy. The story itself is goofy as only a parody of reality television can be; the story is also predictable. Yet it is exactly the sort of delightful distraction from world news that I continue to crave. The intensity of the live-or-die moments blends with the hyperbolic death scenes to create something unique, scary, and a hell of a lot of fun. show less

Allow me to state what I wished I could on Goodreads, but didn't for fear of getting banned because this is a -harsh- thing to say about an original work: This sequel, written by the author herself in a way that clearly intends to start a whole series as per the last line in the book, reads like a really, really bad fanfiction of the first book, #Murdertrending. In my review, I was so annoyed that I forgot to note that the Enemies to Lovers trope, which I despise, is nonetheless done so show more abruptly that I got whiplash from the fuckton of instalove (which I do not like either) shoved into the "romance", as well. Seriously after two hundred pages of hating each other, WHAM I love you more than anything and will die for you, which has a literal meaning in this series. Also they've known each other for three days at this point. (groans in disgust)
Onto the review I posted on Goodreads.
What an enormous disappointment. What a bland but aggravating follow-up. I was bored by page thirty, rolling my eyes by page forty, and seriously considered DNF'ing by page sixty. I misunderstood what the sequel was going to be about in a very fundamental way, as well. I knew it was going to be from the POV of Molly Mauler's kid, but thought it'd be set up and executed (pun unintended) differently. I was bored or annoyed by every person in this book, but thought it clever that the original survivors were briefly included. Somehow I thought the original cast would return, but only these three did.
The world-building in this is terrible. Just because it's a sequel doesn't mean world-building isn't needed. "The Hunger Games" and "Harry Potter" (1-7 anyway) as examples, are terrific at using their sequels and subsequent books to enhance the built worlds. This book is coded as taking place right now, with its incessant references to President Cheeto and his cronies, but it quickly turns into a plot device. I kid you not, this novel has Russian agents involved, and Russians are some of the Paniacs' biggest fans. It could have been scathing commentary but instead is so, so stupid. The unfortunate implications from the first book are multiplied and intensified here. There's a Bury Your Gays trope four times over, alone, along with continued negative portrayals of POC and gay people before they died. But she did that in the first book, too, so it wasn't surprising, just enraging.

The cast doesn't start Paniac stuff until two hundred pages into the book. Around that time, supposedly strong bonds are unconvincingly formed and Enemies to Lovers is a trope that the author rams into my brain. This book has a lot of tropes I hate. The book ended with an incredibly melodramatic funeral scene, with the last line suggesting a sequel. I was glad the book was over. I'll reread the first one because it was interesting, but ignore this and further ones. show less