You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron
Charity has a summer job that not only would I never do, but I would also never visit. She works at Camp Mirror Lake. It is a full-contact terror game, sort of like a haunted house, where Charity and others recreate scenes from slasher films. People are paying to be chased, pushed, shoved, and even restrained. Nope. Not doing that. Hard pass. Charity enjoys this job, and she has worked her way up to the “Final girl”; she is the one who survives the night.
Strange things are starting to happen at the camp that shouldn’t be happening. The lights are flickering, accompanied by weird sounds and shadows. Charity keeps hearing splashing in the lake, but she can’t see any sign of something falling into the lake. No ripples or waves at all. All the creepy stuff that you would expect to hear and see in a horror movie, except this is all supposed to be fake! Again, this is not for me!
At one point, an old woman appears and begins discussing how this camp should not exist. How if they “knew what happened” they wouldn’t be doing this. Charity calls her boss to tell him about this crazy lady’s rants. His response? Shut it down early, cancel the last night, and just close down. Sounds a bit extreme, but Charity goes with it. One would think that was the end of it all, but the creepiness doesn’t end. As they begin to close down the camp, they continue to see and hear strange things. They learn about an actual camp that took place here years ago that mysteriously shut down. What happened all those years ago? Also, you know what happens when you start digging into the past…
Will they make it through the night?
I liked this book at first. Then it took sort of a wild turn that I am still not sure how I feel about. Additionally, it was significantly more violent than I had anticipated. It wasn’t horrible, but I was viewing it from a school librarian’s perspective. I am not sure all of my starting 6th graders would be able to handle it. 8th grade? Sure, most of them would be fine. There were a few parts with a lot of details of violence that I would feel the need to at least warn some of my students.
I could see this book becoming a movie though.
Three out of Five Magical Coffee Cups
Literary Coffee 