The setting and atmosphere of You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight is isolated and creepy. Kalynn Bayron creates a work experience at Camp Mirror Lake for Charity Curtis with just as many perks as hiccups. Taking advantage of an unsupervised summer job, Charity is living her best life curating a full-contact horror experience for those who are brave enough to face Camp Mirror Lake. It’s tainted, but hidden history is the main attraction. What happens when hidden history is revealed and tries to repeat itself? Strange things start happening, and what a ride it was!
Likes
What I enjoyed most about this book is the red herrings. Each character I expected to be responsible for the chaos was suspicious, but not the expected party. I was genuinely caught off guard by who we should have been leery about.
I also enjoyed how the author built suspense and tension in the story, as the mood of the book changed with the events. At many points I felt tense, scared, and a little unsettled. The setting and positioning of isolating characters and depriving them of reliable access to modern-day technology ramped up these feelings; forcing everyone to work overtime to survive the ordeals of their time spent at Camp Mirror Lake. These elements kept me reading and wondering what was to happen next.
Gripes/Dislikes
Pacing
The pacing was slow for the first 50% of the book. If it were not for the tension and suspense built during this time, I would have had difficulty maintaining interest in the book. Luckily, the pacing picks up after the 50% mark.
This may be a ‘me’ thing. I’m only partial to slower pacing when character connections are built along the way, and this story faltered for me in that area in the first 50%. Thus, the increase in pacing of the later 50% did not negate the slowness of the first 50%. My reading experience was affected by both.
Character Development
Character development is important to me as a reader, and it was somehow lost on me in this novel. I didn’t feel much attachment to the characters. For as much time as I spent with them, there was only one character I was genuinely curious about. Unfortunately, I felt like the characters were strangers, which affected my enjoyment of this book.
In addition to this, the characters seemed like they were written as half of a person. Characterization of each character was a fraction or fragment of a whole character that could have been created to better facilitate the story.
Twists
The ending of the book was surprising, but it wasn’t satisfying because there was an END to the end, and that can always be a hit or miss with me. It may be a personal preference for me, as I tire from a book with twists stacked against each other. Eventually, it’s like a game of Jenga, and there’s that inauspicious chance of the finality of the story collapsing. It’s the burden of consecutive twists. Not all of them worked for me.
What I Wanted More Of
Lastly, I desired better usage of space within the story to explore the history of Camp Mirror Lake. I understand that the mystery behind its history is intentional. However, from my viewpoint, it was a disservice to the overall story. If the history of Camp Mirror Lake was tied more into the story, we would have had more opportunities for red herring appearances. I think integrating more of the history could have served as the foundation for creating characters that deliver massive confusion and suspension; messing with readers’ heads. Think along the lines of “ABSOLUTELY nobody can be trusted.”
All in All
I liked You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight, despite it not being as impactful as expected.
For what it’s worth, this book did not disappoint with the killings. If that’s what you looking forward to, this book is for you.
Don’t let my review prevent you from picking up this teenage slasher. Give it a try and see where you land on the scale of literary enjoyment.
I hope this review of Kalynn Bayron’s You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight finds you well.
🙂
