Campfire

May 15, 2018
When fictional murders become the blueprints for actual killings, where is the line between imagination and reality?Sixteen-year-old Maddie Davenport (nicknamed "Saint Maddie" by peers who see her as a goody-goody) and her best friend, Chelsea Park, hike deep into the mountains to camp with friends and family. Away from their comfortable suburban homes, Chelsea goads Maddie into chasing after the group's attractive trail guide, Caleb. Soon, the quiet wilderness brings out other thrills, such as a rocky relationship between two older teens, smuggled cannabis, and underage drinking. Each night, the group also gathers around the campfire to share spooky stories. In one, mountain men kill intruders on their land by carving antlers into the victims' foreheads. As campers are mysteriously and gruesomely murdered in ways that mimic the plots of these oral tales, readers will wonder if the group is truly alone in the mountains. Or, is there a serial killer among them? Sarles' debut focuses heavily on plot, resulting in flat characters. The embedded campfire stories are clearly delineated by chapter titles but clumsily integrated into the rest of the story. Though justified within the world of the novel, the killers' motives border on cliché. The cast assumes a white default, but Maddie has a biracial (white/Korean) cousin.Slasher film fans will want to gather round the fire; others should hike elsewhere. (Horror. 13-adult)

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June 1, 2018

Gr 9 Up-Maddie Davenport is on a camping trip with her friends and family in a remote mountain region. The outing starts with a round of scary stories around the fire only to derail when members of the camp are murdered one by one in the styles of their spooky tales. Maddie must face down the demons of her past to defeat the monsters in her present. Pacing issues weaken the book. The titular campfire stories are beautifully crafted vignettes that will leave readers biting their nails. The main narrative, however, has a slow burn and packs most of the actual horror into the tail end of the novel. Suspense is doled out in small doses. Maddie herself is a complex character with a tragic backstory and a lot of heart. This is a wonderful representation of the "Final Girl" horror movie trope. But the supporting cast is so vast that the individual characters seem emotionally underdeveloped. They become a sum of their misdeeds, with thin motivations. This will make it hard for teens to invest emotionally in their inevitable demise. VERDICT A mildly enjoyable summer read for teens looking to dip their feet into the slasher subgenre.-Kasey Panighetti, Indianapolis Public Library

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 28, 2018
When 16-year-old Maddie Davenport heads into the Colorado wilderness to camp for a week with family and friends, her biggest fear is looking like a fool in front of their hunky guide, Caleb. She laughs off the scary stories that her aunt and brother tell around the campfire, until Caleb tells a truly terrifying tale about the Mountain People—a community of feral men, women, and children who prey on hunters and hikers and carve antlers into their victims’ foreheads. Caleb assures Maddie that it’s fiction, but the next morning, the group finds antlers emblazoned in red on the side of one of their tents. Shortly thereafter, people begin turning up dead, forcing Maddie and company to question whether the legend is real or if there’s a killer in their midst. After an intriguing start, this gory teen horror novel from debut author Sarles succumbs to broadly drawn characters, manufactured drama, and improbable acts of cartoon violence. Unearned twists fuel a plot that feels hastily sketched, and a lack of stakes undercuts the action-packed, blood-soaked conclusion. Ages 15–up.

May 15, 2018
Grades 8-11 In Sarles' conventional but entertaining slasher, a family trip turns bloody when a scary campfire story appears to come true. On the trip are three closely linked families and their guide, Caleb. Innocent teen Maddie, the focal character (and obvious final girl ), plans to enjoy nature, flirt with Caleb, and gossip with her friend Chloe, but her simple pleasures are curbed by unexpected tension among the adults. Each night the group gathers for a spooky story, but it isn't until Caleb's tale of the Mountain People, who legend says torture and kill campers on this very mountain, that the murders start. Soon, everyone's secrets?affairs, blackmail, arson, bankruptcy, and more?are revealed, and it's clear someone is using this trip to punish wrongdoers, but who? Sarles keeps up a fast pace with toxic family drama and graphic murders alike, with effective use of red herrings. Characterizations are thin, but this by-the-numbers slasher will work for teens raised on Goosebumps and ready for something gorier. When they're ready for a real scare, give them Cyn Balog's Alone (2017).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)