ALA Booklist (Mon Jun 05 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Seventeen-year-old Charity Curtis doesn't have a typical summer job. She works at a horror camp, and she's recently been promoted to "final girl," which also elevates her into a coveted managerial role. Things are going great at the camp until Charity's coworkers start disappearing. At first, Charity chalks this up to normal employee attrition, but soon strange things start to happen, quickly turning her dream job into a real-life horror movie. Charity must make sure that her role as "final girl" holds true in real life. In this latest novel, Bayron (My Dear Henry, 2023) integrates the traditional conventions of a slasher novel with the story of a queer, Black girl protagonist who subverts the trope of "Black people dying first." Bayron's foray into the YA horror space helps continue the effort of decentering whiteness in the genre. The overall campiness of the novel will appeal to fans of '90s horror films and makes the book as fun as it is terrifying.

Kirkus Reviews

A "final girl" finds herself in a real-life thriller in which survival isn't an option.Seventeen-year-old Charity works at Camp Mirror Lake, a horror-simulation camp in the woods of upstate New York. She's moved up to being manager as well as Final Girl, the most desirable role in their nightly performance, thanks to her lifelong horror fandom, her mastery of fake blood, and her ability to navigate co-workers with all-too-real murderous impulses. But her real commitment to the faux frights comes from not having much of a home to go back to when the dust clears each season. The camp, owned by a Mr. Lamont, is located on the site where a 1980s cult classic was filmed. When her co-workers mysteriously don't show for their roles as victims, Charity reaches out to her friend Paige and her girlfriend, Bezi, inviting them to fill in. As an aficionado of the genre and one of the few Black staff members, Charity is well aware of the usual tropes; as Bezi reminds her, "You know what happens to Black folks in slasher movies," (Charity reassures her, "I'm the final girl….Guaranteed to survive the night"). Unfortunately, the slowly paced story meanders toward a reveal that readers may themselves have already anticipated. Ultimately, the tropes of the final girl and Black people's roles in horror are reconciled in an inexplicable hurry.An homage to horror stories that doesn't quite land. (Horror. 14-18)

Publishers Weekly (Thu Oct 03 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Frightening thrills and bloody kills abound in this meta twist on classic horror films from Bayron (This Wicked Fate). Black teenage lesbian Charity has spent the last few summers as a counselor at Camp Mirror Lake, a terror-simulation experience in which guests pay to be scared by participating in recreations of scenes from the 1980s cult classic The Curse of Camp Mirror Lake. After two years playing insignificant characters, Charity can’t wait to embody the coveted Final Girl in the camp’s send-off game. But when her fellow counselors start disappearing and menacing figures are spotted lurking around the lake, the game begins to feel way too real. Charity, her girlfriend Bezi, and the rest of her coworkers find themselves fighting for their lives over the course of one horrifying night that offers no promise of survival. Rushed exposition and a racially diverse but little utilized supporting cast dampen the novel’s clever, audience-winking start and ambitious trope subversions. Nevertheless, Bayron’s abundant use of familiar twists and turns draw on the genre’s classic predecessors to craft a gory and darkly funny read that is sure to satisfy slasher fans. Ages 14–up. Agent: Jamie Vankirk, Rainbow Nerds Literary. (June)

School Library Journal (Thu Jun 01 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Gr 8 Up— While the guests expect to be scared when they sign up for a terror experience at Camp Mirror Lake in upstate New York, they don't expect to end up dead. In her third season working for the camp, Charity, a Black teen, has advanced to managing the orchestrations that frighten the campers and playing Final Girl, the one who gets to decide who, if anyone, "wins" the game. When several teens don't show up to work on the penultimate evening, Charity assumes they have quit early, and so she calls for reinforcements, including her girlfriend, Bezi. However, the lake has a hidden dark history and unexpected visitors reveal that Charity is no longer in charge. The tension in this slasher ramps up toward the final conclusion that includes plenty of blood and surprises without a bloated page count. Featuring a diverse cast and plenty of horror movie references, in this novel Bayron manages to acknowledge established horror tropes while subverting them in unexpected ways. VERDICT With a Cabin in the Woods vibe, this fast-paced slasher with chills in all the right places is perfect for fans of horror novels, such as Stephanie Perkins's There's Someone Inside Your House .— Carrie Shaurette