It kept my interest but also felt like something I've already read, watched, or heard somewhere before. Trying to think what this reminds me of - oh yeah, it reminds me of the Pretty Little Liars and that vibe. Oh and also somewhat of a Hunger Games vibe and such too. ( )

Dee wakes up and finds herself in a kill room on Alcatraz 2.0. Part of the criminal justice system has been outsourced to a person named The Postmaster who has a crew of Paniacs who will take care of criminals with highly stylized kills on a reality TV app set on Alcatraz Island. However, it soon becomes clear that Dee and several of the other young, attractive inmates have been setup. Cameras watch their every move, danger lurks around every corner, and the audience has something to post about everything. Dee and her crew (nicknamed the Death Row Breakfast Club by the audience) have to figure out how to survive while conditions deteriorate on the island. Can they save themselves and each other in time? And why does the Postman seem to have it in for Dee and how is to connected to the time she was kidnapped? ( )

4.5 stars

I loved the intensity of this book and HOLY HELL, WHAT AN IDEA!! The ending wasn't THAT surprising, and you'll definitely need to suspend your disbelief to get through the last 3rd of the book. Having said that, it is a page-turning horror that YA needs in its life.

I'm going to go ahead and disclaimer myself: I judge YA Horror books at a lower standard than other YA books.

I apologize for this-- it's just YA Horror is a genre of books that I'm always hoping there will be more of and it just never happens. Maybe one year it will be the trending book, but until then I will grade on a curve. Considering it's so hard to find GREAT ones, I think finding GOOD ones make me just as joyful at this point.

Having said all that, this book is GOOD. It has its issues, but it was addicting as hell. I don't think this is a book you can read slowly because the action is INTENSE. Where is a good place to pause?? There really isn't one.

What I liked:

-The idea of a serial killer island/prison??? I freaking LOVE it.
-The serial killers were so well thought out-- I loved how they each had very unique killing preferences, and I think it added to the fear while reading.
-#CinderellaSurvivor was kind of a fun concept. When Dee survives her first serial killer, she's dressed as Cinderella-- therefor causing her persona on the island to be Disney-themed. I loved that she was basically forced to DisneyBound every day (and besides the whole serial killer/stalking/death thing, I kind of wouldn't mind having access to her closet on Alcatraz).
-The Death Row Breakfast Club (aka Dee and her entourage) was a kick-ass cast. I especially loved Nyles and Griselda-- the geek and the bad-ass boss bitch).
-THE KILLS!! This book was awesomely gory and didn't hold back on kill scenes. I LOVEDDDDD that it went for it.

Drawbacks:

-I didn't like that this is set TODAY. This felt like a future dystopian world and setting it now was obviously just a try at making some sort of current political statement. I am bored to death with that-- just do what's right for the book.
-The fact that the serial killers were allowed to leave the island and live normal lives in public just didn't feel right. It would make much more sense if they were also inmates who were allowed to carry out their sick performances as a perk.
-I am pretty good at being in a book world and not being overly harsh about believability-- but the last 1/3 was REALLY hard to believe.
-The entire book happens over 3 days-- and I just don't think it's humanly possible to be involved in EVERYTHING that happens in 3 days.
-Also-- Serial Killers are smarter than these ones. Dee would have SO been dead.
-The Ending: it wasn't that big of a surprise. I wanted something SHOCKING and this was something we knew the whole time. There was one twist that I didn't see coming, but it wasn't anything major or meaningful.

The book ends on a semi-cliffhanger & I was unaware until that point that this was indeed the first book in a series. I'm kind of bummed about that because I think it has standalone written all over it. Although I don't think it's perfect, I do think that it's worth reading for the entertainment of it all.

OVERALL: Do you ever just want to read to be entertained?? This is your book! It's action-action-action & full of gory death and intenseness. I wasn't 100% in love, but I liked it enough to recommend to horror fans.

My Blog:
Pink Polka Dot Books
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This book reminded me of the movie Death Race, but with a YA spin. I borrowed it on Hoopla for a flight, and was invested enough to finish the book, but also wouldn't necessarily purchase it for my classroom or personal library. ( )

2.5 Stars

CW: gory deaths, PTSD after kidnapping, deaths of family members and friends

Seventeen year old Dee Guerrera has been framed for the murder of her step-sister, Monica. She now has to fight for her life on the island prison, Alcatraz 2.0, where she is being hunted by professional executioners (The Painiacs). The gruesome deaths are live-streamed to millions of viewers via the ‘Postman’ app. Viewers eagerly discuss the fates of prisoners and their favourite executioners via social media and online forums.

It is billed as a dystopian satire of reality shows and US politics where the President is a former reality TV star. It is in fact more about gory deaths and gutsy teens who against all odds seem to be able to defeat the highly experienced killers. Sarcastic yay. Dee inadvertently kills her would be executioner, Prince Slycer, and is labelled by the public as the #cinderellasurvivor. She and her band of moany merry misfits team up and uncover the dastardly plot to increase ratings by using young hot people on reality tv *rolls eyes*. There was also the darker underlying plot of Kimmi’s obsession with Dee. It becomes more apparent as the story progresses that Dee’s harrowing kidnapping ordeal (shown in flashbacks) as an 11 year old is linked to her arrival on the island.

It felt like I was reading two different novels smooshed together. The gritty, intense murder scenes were over the top and ridiculous but at the same time really engaging. Then between these scenes were some extraordinarily dull ones. I know it would be a bit much to maintain high levels of action and gore throughout the whole novel, but during the boring scenes the tension dropped away completely leaving me feeling disinterested. There was a lot of ‘fake mean girl’ snark and ‘why me I’m innocent’ whining, and ‘am I hot and does he like me?’ which was, quite frankly, annoying.

Last quick thoughts:
- Solid and not overly complicated world building allows the reader to immediately understand the environment they have entered.
- Unnecessary romance was out of place and awkward.
- I genuinely didn’t care who lived or died as long as it was an entertaining death, so this means I didn’t connect with or care about the characters.
- Ethan is black and likes sports, Gucci Hangman is flamboyant and dresses in drag, Blair is Asian and a lesbian = diversity box has been checked.
- In parts, the absurd executioner’s set ups seemed like they were staged by the cast of Fawlty Towers, and the resulting blood baths were darkly funny.
- Griselda uses her sex appeal to be popular with viewers....s’pose a girls gotta survive? Toxic femininity anyone?
- The book has a strikingly similar concept to the 1987 movie ‘The Running Man’, where murderers are sent to be hunted by highly themed executioners in front of cameras and live audiences.
- The idea for televising deaths and the use of social media in the justice system can also be found in the book ‘Cell 7’.
- The idea of ‘kill or be killed’ was never fully addressed as it was in ‘The Hunger Games’.
- Jeremy tries to escape by swimming off the island in shark infested waters and surprisingly gets eaten by sharks. He knew the sharks were there. #naturalselection

All in all this book delivered on the action and thrills in a quick and easy read. Don’t expect any insightful commentary on the justice system, the influence of social media, and societies desensitisation to human suffering. Just relax, read it for sheer comedic value and wonder who is next to get it in the neck.
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