Summer Camp Slasher: What Comes After
Are you a fan of summer camp slasher stories? Have you ever wondered how the surviving victim’s lives are impacted after those horrific events?
Enter The Last Girls Standing.
This book takes a deep dive into the psychological impacts of survival for our main characters Sloan and Cherry. While this story is told through the eyes of Sloan, she is constantly with Cherry, so the reader feels a deep connection with both girls. From the start, it is clear that Sloan struggles with her memories and emotions connected to their ordeal. It can be hard to watch as she starts to unravel at times, but Dugan portrays that in a way that feels genuine. This also leaves the door open for Dugan to utilize Sloan as our unreliable narrator and right alongside her we start to doubt Cherry and everyone close to Sloan.
I’m not sure that I would categorize this book as a thriller or a horror story. There are certainly elements of both, especially when it comes to the ending, but the majority of the story feels more like a character study. Perhaps I would call it more thriller/horror-adjacent. It’s certainly geared toward those genre readers. There is a slower pace and detailed structure to this story that I think would have been beneficial to know before I started and been able to set my reading expectations accordingly.
This is one that is worth pushing through the slower start to hit the tension towards the middle and ultimate grand finale of a twisty ending.
Enter The Last Girls Standing.
This book takes a deep dive into the psychological impacts of survival for our main characters Sloan and Cherry. While this story is told through the eyes of Sloan, she is constantly with Cherry, so the reader feels a deep connection with both girls. From the start, it is clear that Sloan struggles with her memories and emotions connected to their ordeal. It can be hard to watch as she starts to unravel at times, but Dugan portrays that in a way that feels genuine. This also leaves the door open for Dugan to utilize Sloan as our unreliable narrator and right alongside her we start to doubt Cherry and everyone close to Sloan.
I’m not sure that I would categorize this book as a thriller or a horror story. There are certainly elements of both, especially when it comes to the ending, but the majority of the story feels more like a character study. Perhaps I would call it more thriller/horror-adjacent. It’s certainly geared toward those genre readers. There is a slower pace and detailed structure to this story that I think would have been beneficial to know before I started and been able to set my reading expectations accordingly.
This is one that is worth pushing through the slower start to hit the tension towards the middle and ultimate grand finale of a twisty ending.