You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight

Product Information

Though initially this YA horror novel ( with queer rep!) is your usual final girl survival story/‘teenagers getting obliterated by a deranged serial killer at a summer camp’ fare, somehow Bayron still makes it feel fresh. (Think Fear Street: 1978vibes.) And then . . . well, the rest of the book after that point had me scratching my head with utter confusion at the odd creative choices. For me, it goes left. Alllll the way left. Expect the unexpected. Bayron subverts the readers expectations and flips slasher tropes on their head. Just when I thought I had everything figured out, a new twist would be introduced and leave me completely frazzled (Gemma Collins voice). You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight carves a place for itself within the horror genre by simply being something new and bold. This book takes the characters that are always on the sidelines of horror and slasher films and puts them front and centre. As our Final Girl, Charity takes control of the narrative and fights for survival. It was wonderful seeing a queer woman as the protagonist of a horror novel. I'm all for making the genre more queer! Kalynn had me giggling and snorting like an idiot. The humour was fun and joyous. It's not a slasher if you're not laughing a little. Charity had some hilarious lines. I really enjoyed that Charity was self aware and knew what would get her killed and completely avoided doing exactly that. The tone just felt so fresh and queer. Bayron proudly wears her influences on her sleeve, infusing her writing with a clear respect for the slasher movies of the 1980s and 1990s. The camp is a love letter to Camp Crystal Lake from the Friday the 13th movies, while characters such as Charity’s horror-movie-rule-spouting friend Paige could have come straight from the Scream universe (this humble reviewer is reminded distinctly of the very good one-and-done Dead of Summer television series when thinking about YNSTDT). And this was where my expectations didn't match the plot. I thought the story took a very very weird turn that, personally, didn't quite fit the setting and what had been established in the first half of the novel. I was very confused as to why that would be the main point behind everything? Even more so with the mix of slasher/paranormal elements. It brought me no feeling of tension or... well, horror. Just a bunch of ???? ??? ???????? ??? ??????

But, still. This book was, like, terrifying. Granted, do NOT TAKE IT FROM ME that this book is actually scary! I know Horror Fans are always, like, very hardcore about their perception of what's gory and terrible and nightmare-inducing enough to be considered "real horror", but just let me say that it felt scary enough TO ME and I will NOT SLEEP for at least the remainder of the week! Thank you! You're welcome! One of my biggest pet peeves is when characters do things that make no sense - especially if its more than one character. It's one thing to set up a character as the less intelligent decision maker, it's another when it's all of your characters. With the exception of Javier (at times), all of these kids were making nonsensical decisions. Saw something man-shaped by the lake, shrug it off and pretend you didn't. Let's go talk to the crazy lady that came after us with a shotgun. Let's go looking by ourselves for our friends that went missing in the woods where other people have also gone missing. Yes, a character needs to do something to start the action, but at least make it sensical. The writing, particularly Charity's narration when she was alone, felt so... task oriented? It's a lot of play by play of what she does to keep the park running and how the trap doors and effects work. It felt incredibly objective and too much like exposition to make me feel like I really knew her. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reader copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review*. This is 100% a taste issue though and regardless of my personal preferences, I can still recognize the effort and skill that Bayron brought to this story.Admittedly, it was a bit of a mixed bag for me, with some aspects that I really enjoyed and others, not so much, but enjoyable nonetheless. A delicious mix of intoxicating fantasy and coming of age, steeped in Greek mythology and peppered with references to the Jordan Peele films Get Out and Us' - Observer New Review

If you like horror and don't mind if it veers into the paranormal realm, then you will probably enjoy this book and should give it a try. Charity works at what is essentially an irl Camp Crystal Lake horror experience. It's a camp guests can come stay at and live in a reproduction of a slasher movie. It's all fine and good until her coworkers start going "missing" and creepy figures are beginning to be seen around the camp... PDF / EPUB File Name: Youre_Not_Supposed_to_Die_Tonight_-_Kalynn_Bayron.pdf, Youre_Not_Supposed_to_Die_Tonight_-_Kalynn_Bayron.epub But in the last weekend of the season, Charity's co-workers begin disappearing. And when one ends up dead, Charity's role as the final girl suddenly becomes all too real. If Charity and her girlfriend Bezi hope to survive the night, they'll need to figure out what this killer is after. Is there more to the story of Mirror Lake and its dangerous past than Charity ever suspected? About This Edition ISBN: I feel like this takes a while to get going for how short it is and And honestly kinda hard to follow. It took me a while to figure out why the kids were being murdered and hunted.Okay, Kaylnn Bayon is on a ROLL. Wow. So, earlier this year I read MY DEAR HENRY, which is a reimagining of “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde,” and it was amazing. (My daughter is currently reading and loving it.) Last year I read her middle grade debut, THE VANQUISHERS, and that one was excellent as well. Now, here she is again, taking on a completely new genre of writing with this book. Is there anything she can’t write? Welcome to my review, or what should probably be more accurately titled "Idiot Complains About Horror Book Actually Being Scary" With her girlfriend, Bezi, and many other friends' lives on the line, she's hoping not. She needs them ALL to survive. This might have caused me to give this one or two stars, but there are some good things. The writing is really strong and kept me interested and invested. There's great and realistic queer and POC rep throughout the book, and a lot of humor surrounding it.

I've always admired Bayron's ability to normalise queerness. Kalynn's queer characters are not defined by their sexuality, but always feel empowered and comfortable within their identities. Charity and Bezi's relationship was casual, wonderful, and thrilling. Two queer women fighting for their lives amidst stolen moments of gentle intimacy? Turn that shit UP! A haunted lake with a dark past plays host to a group of summer camp counsellors working on a ‘real life horror movie’ in You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight, the latest novel from Kalynn Bayron, her first YA horror offering, and one that explores legacy, family, and what it means to be a Final Girl. I'm sorry this is so silly "I will make this land run red with the blood of a thousand camp counselors". The dialogue in this is painful and the writing is very cringey. I'd love to hear from the targeted audience of this and see if they could appreciate it. Maybe I'm just too old and need something a little more serious? The atmosphere was incredible. I loved learning about the history of Camp Mirror Lake and its shady past. I really wasn't expecting this to have dark academia influences, but the second half of the novel really took me there when Charity and her friends stumbled upon something pretty sinister. This novel was the epitome of shining your flashlight on something horrifying in the middle of the woods. Oh, and there's no cell reception. So... you're asking to die! I'm so saaaaad. You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight didn't work for me as a Horror novel. I had very high expectations and the story ended up going in a very different direction than what I expected.This story follows 17 year old Charity Curtis, who plays the final girl role at Camp Mirror Lake, a camp where guests pay to be terrorized based off of scenes from the slasher film Curse of Camp Mirror Lake. When one of the camp staff winds up dead, Charity and her friends realize they are in for the fight for their lives. You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight is a solid effort in the YA Horror space for well-loved author, Kalynn Bayron. Will Charity’s role as final girl become all too real? Who, or what, is lurking in the camp? Are the legends of murder there true? 🔪 I’ve been playing the part of a girl who escapes a serial killer every night for months. It’s not a game this time. The consequences are real, but we still have to play.’

Alongside the scares, there’s also a nod to the coming-of-age theme of shifting friendships —“Are we growing apart or are we just learning a new way of being friends?”Readers are in for a thrilling ride! I enjoyed the nods to different slasher films that all felt natural to the story instead of a *wink wink, look at what I know about* namedrop, particularly the character Paige rattling off horror film logic and the rules to surviving a la that one kid in the original Scream where being a virgin is ironically the only good thing he has going for him. Oh and I enjoyed that this doesn’t shirk from the blood and gore and also doesn’t go over the top with it. Heads up if you are squeamish, there’s some good quality massacring here. In a world where everyone has a magical ability based on the moon’s phase on their day of birth, magical education is reserved for those with exceptional talent. You’re Not Supposed To Die Tonight was the perfect book to pull me out of a reading slump! The set up in the first half was better executed than the latter half, but overall it was fast paced and fun. Even though the second half is exactly the type of horror genre and twist that I love! Because of the speed, it didn't leave much time for development, both of plot, or character. It's a short book, and because of this, it ended up feeling very surface level. I could have done with more substance all around.

Did we miss something on diversity?

I loved the entire cast of characters. Kalynn is always normalizes queerness and doesn’t make queerness the entirety of her character’s identities. Charity and her girlfriend Bezi are freaking adorable, and are just two girls who are in love and trying to be there for each other. The premise was really cool and I did enjoy how Bayron set that up in the first few chapters of the book. I didn't expect that much action right away and it worked really well to establish the tone of this story and also to introduce our main character, Charity. Kalynn Bayron really can write anything and I'll devour the story. No matter the genre, I'll be there to read her work because she really is an incredible writer. You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight was one of my most anticipated reads of 2023 for obvious reasons. Bayron is one of my favourite authors and the premise sounded incredible. Horror is not a genre I typically read but I was ready to dive into this because I trust the author to deliver something brilliant. I also feel like the story was one note. It could have been a better experience for me had it been even more campy. That may sounds strange, but I would have enjoyed some humor, or even just more witty banter.