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Sonja Ska Reviews: 10/31/2024

spookycurious


TW/CW: Grief, blood, violence, mental health issues, death


After spending the summer grieving an accident that killed her little sister while babysitting, an overly ambitious gamer returns to real life and, more importantly, her neglected Twitch stream. After all, everything will be better once she makes it as a famous video game streamer, right?


The Good:

The premise is good - really good. A cursed video game that haunts whoever plays it? Fck yes. Yeah, we've seen the premise before with other media, but video games were a new take on a familiar and well-loved, concept, and Schlote-Bonne crafted it into something pretty cool.


It's genuinely creepy. The in-game descriptions are incredibly immersive, pulling you into dark hallways where it feels like something is lurking around every corner. Plus, it's just creepy to think about this happening because wtf do you do?


Good writing. Even for a young-adult book - and this may just be because I rarely read young-adult books - but Schlote-Bonne is descriptive, succinct, and swiftly moves the action along while balancing out emotional monologues and relationships.


The not so good:

So unserious. I get that we're following a teen who's being haunted by an AI doppelgänger, but Viv's priorities never make sense, which kind of killed the suspense. There are only so many times someone can be more upset or concerned over their follower count than a very real AI doppelganger trying to take over their life. If Viv wasn't making that her top priority, it was hard for me to make it mine.


Teenage love. This is strictly a preference thing, but it could have been a fun ride-or-die friendship story.


The Verdict:

As a 'gamer,' I loved seeing the cursed media trope get video game + AI treatment. It's creative, fun, and honestly worth the read to see how it plays out. If you're in the mood for a popcorn horror that's a little unserious but has a pretty solid concept, I'd still say pick it up. 


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