Hey Readers!

Hope you’re having a good start to the week. I’m back to work and it’s … well, not wonderful, but not horrible either. I just have a lot of catching up to do right now. Anywho, I read another book!

This time I read Dead Flip by Sara Farizan.

This is my second to last read for my grad school project, and the cover sold me right away. This has been on my TBR for quite some time, but the blurb reference to Stranger Things sold me.

Let’s find out how this book did. On to the review!

Blurb

In this “terrifyingly fun” ( New York Times ) horror comedy two friends must solve the mystery of their long-missing former friend’s supernatural reappearance—perfect for fans of Stranger Things . Growing up, Cori, Maz, and Sam were inseparable best friends, sharing their love for Halloween, arcade games, and one another. Now it’s 1992, Sam has been missing for five years, and Cori and Maz aren’t speaking anymore. How could they be, when Cori is sure Sam is dead and Maz thinks he may have been kidnapped by a supernatural pinball machine?

These days, all Maz wants to do is party, buy CDs at Sam Goody, and run away from his past. Meanwhile, Cori is a homecoming queen, hiding her abiding love of horror movies and her queer self under the bubblegum veneer of a high school queen bee. But when Sam returns—still twelve years old while his best friends are now seventeen—Maz and Cori are thrown back together to solve the mystery of what really happened to Sam the night he went missing. Beneath the surface of that mystery lurk secrets the friends never told one another, then and now. And Sam’s is the darkest of all . . .

Award-winning author of If You Could Be Mine and Here to Stay Sara Farizan delivers edge-of-your-seat terror as well as her trademark referential humor, witty narration, and insightful characters.

GoodReads

Amazon

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The Review

Growing up in a small town in the late 80s, Sam, Maz, and Cori have stuck together through thick and thin. But when Sam mysteriously goes missing, their lives are forever changed. Years later after Maz and Cori become estranged, Sam suddenly reappears, but something is dreadfully wrong. Sam hasn’t aged a day, he won’t eat, and as bizarre events begin to unfold they can’t deny that there’s something more at play than they could’ve ever imagined. Determined to solve this perplexing mystery, Maz and Cori reunite to save the friend they thought was forever lost.

Wow, what a fun coming of age story!

I’ve always been a big fan of the 80s and 90s, and I loved this blast from the past. The atmosphere of this era felt very on point, with plenty of references without feeling too heavy-handed.

The characters really made this work shine. My favorite was Sam. He’s the glue, the heart of the group of friends. He’s scrappy and a jokester, and always has something sarcastic to say. He also had the best character arc and development in my opinion. Maz was more level-headed but maintained a degree of naiveté that felt realistic. Cori was great too. She’s been living a lie since Sam was taken and finds herself struggling to come to terms with her sexuality. Together these three characters made this book entertaining and fun. I loved their witty dialogue, and behind their disagreements you can really tell that they care about each other.

The writing was carried out in two perspectives, that of Cori and Maz. It also time jumps between the events before and after Sam’s disappearance. This was a little confusing at first, but once I got used to it this story flowed smoothly.

The prose wasn’t overly elaborate and the supernatural spooky element really worked for me. I wouldn’t call this horror, but it gave enough chills and thrills to be considered a thriller for me. There was a consistent sense of mystery throughout, and though it wasn’t the most complex story I still found myself riveted and hooked to every page.

If you like Stranger Things and not too many scares along the way, this is the book for you!

That’s A Wrap!

Well that’s it for this book review. I hope you enjoyed it!

Have you read this book? Are there other similar books you’ve read that you simply have to gush about? Feel free to leave a comment. I’d love to start a conversation!

Have a great day!

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