It’s October! So begins the season of falling leaves, all
things pumpkin and sweater weather. October also happens to be my favorite
month literary-wise. It’s the perfect excuse to curl up under a warm blanket
with a book that scares you so much you won’t be able to sleep a wink. October
is the one month where my obsession with true crime and serial killers is
accepted and doesn’t make me look like a crazed lunatic. It means I can watch
as many horror films as I want and – you know what? It’s okay.
But I’m not here to talk about how October finally makes me
look like a normal person. I’m here to share with you a little gem of a book that,
if you’re like me, might make you excited for October, too.
I haven’t been able to stop thinking about Final Girls by
Riley Sager since I turned the last page. It is everything I could have ever
wanted for a Halloween read and if you’re a fan of slasher flicks then you might
also get a kick out of this book.
The title of the book gets its name from an “exclusive” club
that the main character Quincy and two other girls (Lisa and Sam) are part of.
It’s definitely not a club you want to be a member of. All three girls were
victims of a mass murderer and were the only ones to come out of it alive. Lisa
lost nine sorority sisters after a man wielding a knife came into their home;
Sam barely escaped “Sack Man” who attacked the Nightlight Inn during her
evening shift; and Quincy lost her friends after a man brutally stabbed them at
their cabin getaway in the woods.
Due to their similar experiences, the media dubs these three
the “Final Girls”. Years later Lisa, the first Final Girl, has decided to use
her experience to helps others and acts as a sort of mentor to the other girls,
although they never meet; Sam has gone off the grid and no one knows her
whereabouts; and Quincy, the reluctant Final Girl, has moved on to a fairly
normal life, which is aided by the fact that Quincy can’t remember much of what
happened that night.
Then one day the peace Quincy finally feels suddenly ends.
Lisa has died. The authorities suspect suicide, but Quincy knows better. Sam
does, too. Not long after Sam shows up on Quincy’s doorstep in the hopes of
solving Lisa’s murder, and getting Quincy to accept her place as a Final Girl.
I can’t tell you how hard this book was to put down. I
thought I had a pretty good idea what the plot was going to be when I started this
story, but it kept changing into unexpected territories. It’s a tale of not
just being a survivor, but also the importance of remembering and coming to
terms with the good and evil in your life. Not to mention there are some crazy
thrills along the way.
The ending was so unexpected to me. I couldn’t stop thinking
about it for like a week after. I finished the last page and then kept
repeating over and over again in a zombie-like trance, “Oh my god. What? I
can’t. I just can’t.”
My fiancé then told me it was late and I needed to go to
bed, which I tried to do until five minutes later I heard him mumble, “You’re
still thinking about it aren’t you?”
“Yes…”
Final Girls is that
kind of book.
What I particularly like about this story is how it merges
the horror and psychological thriller genres. As Quincy starts to remember
things we get flashbacks that read like a campy horror film. Yet the rest of
the plot is spent exploring her life after that infamous day and how becoming a
Final Girl has impacted her life. It’s great if you like a little bit a scare,
but also want to be able to sleep at night.
So if you’re like me and really
enjoy your horror films and serial killer stories then add Final Girls to your
list. It’s the perfect Halloween read you won’t want to miss out on.
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