There’s Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins is a YA Horror novel that you won’t want to read if you’re home alone…
Shout-out to the wonderful Paula, admin of the Facebook group Bookaholics, for sending me a copy of this book!
There’s Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins
Synopsis:
Love hurts…
Makani Young thought she’d left her dark past behind her in Hawaii, settling in with her grandmother in landlocked Nebraska. She’s found new friends and has even started to fall for mysterious outsider Ollie Larsson. But her past isn’t far behind.
Then, one by one, the students of Osborne Hugh begin to die in a series of gruesome murders, each with increasingly grotesque flair. As the terror grows closer and her feelings for Ollie intensify, Makani is forced to confront her own dark secrets.
My thoughts:
Whenever I see a book labeled YA Horror, I’m always a bit hesitant. However, with this book… it had way more gore than I was expecting! Phew! Many of the descriptions were actually quite brutal! I enjoyed seeing how each victim was left after the killer was done with them, as dark as that sounds! Yikes! But it just showed how much thought went into each killing, even though from the outside, each attack seemed so random.
The overall premise also really creeped me out. I don’t want to give anything away about that aspect, but I will say that it had a bit of the Golden State Killer feel to it… and not going to lie, I totally lost sleep overthinking this book one night when I had been up late reading!
I didn’t love the characters, but I did find them interesting. I wish Makani had been just a little less selfish, but it did work with her teenage persona!
Beware, the negatives:
My main irk was about the massive build up for Makani’s big secret. This was hinted at so frequently that I thought it was going to be something really intense. But I have to say, the reveal was a bit of a let down.
There was quite a bit of repetitiveness, but that was mainly in regard to Makani’s big secret, her fearful thoughts, and the POV’s overlap every now and again.
I also didn’t super care for the romance, but of course, with YA there just has to be an angsty, miscommunication-filled romance. I will say that it wasn’t too overdone, however, and it did really work well with the story overall.
The ending… I was enjoying how quickly everything was happening. I felt like I was totally caught up in a whirlwind of suspense and gore, but then I turned the page fully expecting to see more, but there wasn’t anything there… It was just too abrupt for me.
My favorite passages:
The thought churned inside Makani’s stomach like a rotten apple.
They talked for hours. Until Makani’s hands were cramped from gripping her phone and even the singing crickets had gone to bed.
Makani peered over her grandmother’s shoulder and out the large window that looked across their front lawn. She scanned the yards for the boogeyman, the Babadook, Ted Bundy. The street was empty.
Her attacker – it was intolerable for her to think his name right now – had reduced her to a child afraid of the dark. She wanted her stuffed animals. Perhaps they could have kept her tethered to these more simple fears as opposed to her current reality.
It felt chillingly empty without the tick of the grandfather clock. The heart of the house was dead.
My final thoughts:
Overall, this book really creeped me out! I loved how terrifying it was as the characters tried to figured out the killer’s motive. Equally terrifying was how the killer moved around and what he did before he killed; that bit scared me the most!
However, I could have done without a lot of the elements that put this book firmly into the YA genre. Even so, this was still a great read! I would definitely recommend it if you’re a fan of YA Horror with quite a bit of gore.
I keep meaning to grab this one from the library. I've read some mixed reviews but after reading yours, I'm sure I'll find some value in reading it. We do tend to like similar stuff. I love the quote mentioning The Babadook. That movie! I just checked out #murdertrending from the library today at lunch and plan on starting The Cabin at the End of the World tonight.
Yeah, I would definitely recommend snagging this one from the library. I really enjoyed it, but I can definitely see why others didn't. I'd love to see what you think!! And right?! Now I need to go re-watch that movie!!
Ooh! And I can't wait to see what you think of those two books! Both have been on my radar! 🙂
This really intrigued me. I would read this book. Great post!
I'd love to hear your thoughts if you snag a copy!
This kind of sounds like the movie Scream! The romance would probably bother me, and I dislike when secrets get so built up and then the reveal is lackluster. But this would definitely be a great read for fall!
Right?! I love things like Scream! I gotta watch those films again soon! And yeah, I definitely think this is a great fall read!
I have to try this one because I liked her contemporary romances and have to see how she handles horror but I’ve heard quite a few negative things.
I'd love to see what you think!!
I read this book a long time and honestly I've forgotten what I thought of it 😉 But I do remember loving the creepiness. And being disappointed with the characters 🙁
Yay for a scary read!! Haha.
Yeah, unfortunately I think that's how it will be for me; rather forgettable except for the eerie feeling.
I don't read YA horror as they always seem to shove in a romance that doesn't work, just for the sake of it!
Yeah, it's so frustrating! In this case, it did work… but I would have loved to see the book without it.
Wow. I'm completely blanking on Makani's secret.
Great review Erica, I agree that it got repeatedness but Perkins didn't let us down with the gore!
Yeah… a bit forgettable lol!
Although I don’t remember a lot about it I think we had a lot of the same thoughts!! At least with being overall underwelmed! Great review though <3
Yeah… unfortunately I think it's going to be pretty forgettable.
I've sort of avoided this one because of the mixed reviews. I do admire the author for exploring a new genre. I am so excited to pick up all the scary books this October *rubs hands together*
Yeah, I can definitely see why some people don't like it. I enjoyed it for sure, but I wouldn't reread it.
I really liked that the killer was revealed in the middle of the book instead of at the end. It gave us a chance to deal with their identity and see how the other characters would react. I wasn't in love with this one, but I did enjoy the overall story.
Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear?
Right?! It definitely made it more intense!
I took this one off my TBR after seeing some mixed reviews for it, but now I have to admit you have me curious again. I may end up checking it out of the library at some point.
😀 I'd love to hear your thoughts!
I'd say you still enjoyed this a little more than I did…
I can definitely see why you didn't enjoy it! It's definitely a book that'll be very hit or miss!
I've heard a lot of mixed things about this book. Angsty romance seems to be her wheelhouse, so I'm not surprised.
Ah darn… I just can't really get behind teen angst anymore.