Book Review: In Nightfall by Suzanne Young

Publisher’s Book Description:

In the quaint town of Nightfall, Oregon, it isn’t the dark you should be afraid of—it’s the girls. The Lost Boys meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer in this propulsive novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Treatment.

Theo and her brother, Marco, threw the biggest party of the year. And got caught. Their punishment? Leave Arizona to spend the summer with their grandmother in the rainy beachside town of Nightfall, Oregon—population 846 souls.

The small town is cute, when it’s not raining, but their grandmother is superstitious and strangely antisocial. Upon their arrival she lays out the one house rule: always be home before dark. But Theo and Marco are determined to make the most of their summer, and on their first day they meet the enigmatic Minnow and her friends. Beautiful and charismatic, the girls have a magnetic pull that Theo and her brother can’t resist.

But Minnow and her friends are far from what they appear.
And that one rule? Theo quickly realizes she should have listened to her grandmother. Because after dark, something emerges in Nightfall. And it doesn’t plan to let her leave.

Karen’s Thoughts: I am reading this as part of my Cybils reading, which I discussed here the other day. To be honest, I’m not sure why I hadn’t read this already as it is solidly in my wheelhouse. The main thing I want to say is this: this is a solidly enjoyable teen horror book. And as someone who has spent a fair amount of time recently railing against how adult YA has gotten, this is solidly YA; the teens act and talk like teens and it is authentic in voice and relatable. As a bonus feature, In Nightfall features one of my favorite horror tropes: creepy towns with dark secrets. It got a bit sluggish in the middle, but I listened to the audio and never walked away. A solid horror book that I definitely recommend.

Filed under: Uncategorized