THERE'S NO WAY I'D DIE FIRST

A group of horror-loving teens are in for the thrill of their lives.

Black 17-year-old Noelle Layne is a self-proclaimed Final Girl who feels she would easily survive if she were in a horror movie. To celebrate the first anniversary of Jump Scares, the online horror movie club she founded, she decides to host a party at her family’s estate while her parents are away. She invites the 12 most influential people at her private school in hopes of boosting her follower count in preparation for launching her podcast. Noelle and her guests come from wealthy backgrounds, and she plans a luxurious party that includes extravagant decorations and catering. The hired entertainment consists of a creepy clown who leads them in a game of hide-and-seek. Things take a turn when the first body is found—one of the guests has been murdered—and the clown reveals his plan to take them all out. The teens must rely on their wits and skills to survive the clown’s numerous traps and tricks. The book does an excellent job of building suspense at every turn; each chapter begins with a quote from a horror movie that gives a hint as to how events may unfold. The book goes beyond these scares to delve into deeper ideas around classism and racism as the night goes on and the teens’ secrets get revealed.

A page-turning, nail-biting story with some new twists.