Book Review: Ten

Ten

By: Gretchen McNeil

Published By: Balzer & Bray

Publication Date: September 18, 2012

Page Count: 304

Buy it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or IndieBound

Source: ARC Kindly Provided by Publisher

Audience: Young Adult - Thriller

I was a teen in the 90's when the teen thriller/horror flick reigned. I can remember loving the feel of adrenaline pumping through my body while I watched movies like Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer. The way those movies made me feel will also be associated with my youth. Reading Ten stirred up all those memories and helped put me back in that frame of my mind. I had forgotten how delicious creepy stories can be - especially on dark nights. 

Ten is the story of what seems like the perfect weekend - ten teens, a gorgeous house on a remote island in the Pacific Northwest, no parents, and three glorious days of freedom. Sadly, perfect isn't quite the adjective I would choose for this little vacation. Also, if you've ever been to the Pacific Northwest you will understand why picking an island in Puget Sound  during a brutal storm is the perfect setting for a story like this one.

Meg and her best friend, Minnie, have no idea what they are walking into when they step off the ferry and onto Henry Island, but they soon learn that all the teens on the island are connected and someone doesn't want them to go home. I can't tell you anymore about the plot because I certainly don't want to ruin this read for anyone. I can tell you that it was an addicting, fun, terrifying read. I instantly wanted to read Possess, McNeil's other novel, when I finished this one because I loved her writing style. She knows exactly how to keep the reader on pins and needles. 

This is one of those books that you can't close and walk away from for very long. An incessant compulsion to find out how these teens were connected and who wanted them dead kept me flipping pages. I'm such a chicken - reading this book at night really freaked me out. Every little noise in the house would make me jump. I swear I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest on several occasions. I was so immersed in this world that I devoured the novel in largely one sitting. I can't even remember the last time I finished a book in a 24 hour time period, but this one just wouldn't let me be. I had to know how everything was going to work out. When the big reveal finally arrived, I was taken by surprise. I so did not see that one coming.

Ten is the perfect book for the upcoming autumn nights when a chill is in the air and the night sky is an inky black. Might I also suggest waiting for a storm for that additional creep factor? Ten is a delightful scare that will send chills dancing up your spine and have you looking over your shoulder. 

One Last Gripe: I was frustrated with Meg and her journal. It didn't make sense to me that she wasn't actively trying to find it when it was misplaced - especially given some of the information it contained. It just seemed slightly out of character, but I'll give the girl a pass since she was a little overwhelmed with the whole "everybody on this island is being murdered" thing.

My Favorite Things About This Book: The setting and the pacing

First Sentence: Minnie's face was deathly pale.

Favorite Character: Meg

Least Favorite Character: Nathan

Summary:

And their doom comes swiftly.

It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives—an exclusive house party on Henry Island. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their reasons for being there (which involve T.J., the school’s most eligible bachelor) and look forward to three glorious days of boys, booze and fun-filled luxury.

But what they expect is definitely not what they get, and what starts out as fun turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine.

Suddenly people are dying, and with a storm raging, the teens are cut off from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn’t scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine?