I’m a huge Stephanie Perkins fangirl. I’ve read Anna, Lola, and (my favorite) Isla too many times to keep track of. I cried when I met Stephanie Perkins. She’s one of my biggest influences as a writer. I wrote this blog post! But I was worried – really worried – when I learned her newest book would be a horror novel. I’m seriously the most sensitive person in the world when it comes to being scared. I didn’t know if I could handle reading it, but I also didn’t know if I could handle not reading it.
Well, in Halloween spirit I picked up the book. And of course, I sped through it. It had everything I love in a Stephanie Perkins novel – a nuanced and interesting heroine, a quirky love interest, the most swoon-worthy, romantic writing I’ve ever seen in YA. It also had someone killing people with a knife. And while I did stay up late to finish the book, I found I could handle it.
One of my favorite things about it (besides Ollie, the love interest) was how the main character is forced to confront her own shame about a big mistake she made in the past. She’s moved out of town and changed her name to hide from a secret. But she doesn’t find peace until she shares her secret with other, trustworthy people. It reminded me of this Brene Brown video and seems like such a good lesson to be teaching teenagers and everyone actually.
So yeah, I LOVED this book. And if you are on the fence about reading it because of the horror, I think you should give it a try. Happy Almost Halloween!
Alison Doherty 