Out Now from Blackstone Publishing; 254 pages
About the Author: “He’s been scaring people all around the world for a lot of years. So far, he has sold over 400-million books and his books have been translated into 35 languages, making him one of the best-selling authors in history” (Bio from the author’s website).
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Amy despises her little brother, Arnie, with a passion. He’s mean and self-centered, always playing pranks on her and her friends. Her parents have tried talking to him about his behavior, but between attempting to find jobs and struggling with money, it’s not at the forefront of their minds. Lately, however, Arnie has been getting on everyone’s nerves, including his parents, and Amy is at her breaking point. One night at a sleepover, Amy and her friends watch a slime tutorial. She gets a devilish idea to pour slime on him during his birthday party–an action she would soon regret.
The book starts off a little slow, but as you keep reading, the pace does pick up. I find those types of books are always the best written. I liked that the author wrote sibling rivalry so well. Arnie is a frustrating character, and, personally, I love that about him. He doesn’t have many redeemable qualities, but when he actually puts effort into caring for other people, he’s so sweet he’ll melt your heart. I also loved Amy and Arnie’s characterizations. Both have had to deal with neglect from their parents and have coped with it in different ways. Arnie acts out for attention while Amy keeps to herself and ignores her family. The adolescent characters in this book act and sound like adolescent characters. The atmosphere of this book was well done. I was creeped out at some parts and the descriptions made me feel uneasy, which is perfect for the genre of the book. The scenes where Arnie becomes the villain of the story seemed a little rushed, and it was hard to keep up. The ending did fall flat for me and left some questions unanswered. The twist at the end was just okay, nothing groundbreaking. However, this was a fun, light spooky read that I highly recommend.
Pine Reads Review would like to thank Blackstone Publishing & NetGalley for sending us an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change before final publication.
Sadelle Gibson, Pine Reads Review Writer