From NetGalley
From Printz Honor winning author Lily Anderson comes a young adult horror that follows Arden and her friends as their graduation party at an abandoned mansion turns into a bloody fight for survival.
Red Solo cups? Check. Snacks? Check. Abandoned mansion full of countless horrors that won’t let you leave? Check.
The Deinhart Manor has been a looming shadow over town for as long as anyone can remember, and it's been abandoned for even longer. When the final Deinhart descendent passes, the huge gothic manor is up for sale for the first time ever. Which means Arden can steal the keys from her mom’s real estate office . . . It’s time for a graduation party that no one will ever forget.
Arden and her friends each have different reasons for wanting to throw the party to end all parties. But when the manor doors bar everyone inside and the walls begin to bleed, all anyone wants to do is make it out alive.
Killer House Party is a voicey thrill ride of a YA Horror story. Perfect for fans of The Haunting of Hill House and Haunted Mansion (both of them), who love a good haunted house horror with a comedic edge. Killer House Party would be a great addition to your Spooky Szn TBR!
Our headstrong and enterprising protagonist, Arden, starts us off with her embittered POV. She feels as if her future is slipping through her fingertips when she learns that her divorced parents blew her college money to buy a dilapidated and notorious mansion. The Deinhart Manor is well-known in her small town as a place where people go in, but they don't come out, just like the family that lived there.
Not one to be defeated, Arden and her friends devise a plan to raise the funds so she can still attend the college of her dreams. For her to host the ultimate graduation house party for her entire class and charge admission into Deinhart Manor.
Everyone's having a hell of a time, except maybe Arden. That is until the manor's doors and windows slam shut. Thus begins a night of insanity, confusion, destruction, and chaos of the best kind. The house comes alive. Arden's classmates become its puppets, dancing uncontrollably, attacking each other, and witnessing terrifyingly impossible feats.
Meanwhile, Arden and her friends are desperately trying to find a way to survive the night and get everyone out of the century-old prison alive.
Anderson skillfully weaves comedic commentary between horrific moments of terror while these characters work through the mystery of the manor. The conversations feel genuine, honest, and real. Arden debunks the untruths she's built up in her head about herself and her classmates--her friends. All of this leads to a resolution that has nothing to do with the haunted house. Sometimes life doesn't happen as planned, but that doesn't mean we can't still reach our goals.
Killer House Party is perfect for spooky season, but also a great read for the rest of the year as well. It's a fun, and enlightening story full of banter and heart. I really enjoyed reading it.
The only hiccup I had with this book is the way Arden discusses her weight and body issues. While there she makes many truthful statements about how pop culture, the media, and the general population treat heavier people negatively, I feel it was a bit heavy-handed. I'm worried that someone dealing with an eating disorder or other body issues might find early parts of this book, and Arden's perspective, difficult to read. And I can't recommend this book to anyone without pointing that out.
Otherwise, Killer House Party was a blast, and Lily Anderson killed it.
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