Clown In A Cornfield #1

Clown In A Cornfield

Specs:

What The Vibes Are

What It’s About

Bram Stoker Award Winner for Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel

In Adam Cesare’s terrifying young adult debut, Quinn Maybrook finds herself caught in a battle between old and new, tradition and progress—that just may cost her life.

Quinn Maybrook and her father have moved to tiny, boring Kettle Springs to find a fresh start. But what they don’t know is that ever since the Baypen Corn Syrup Factory shut down, Kettle Springs has cracked in half.

On one side are the adults, who are desperate to make Kettle Springs great again, and on the other are the kids, who want to have fun, make prank videos, and get out of Kettle Springs as quick as they can.

Kettle Springs is caught in a battle between old and new, tradition and progress. It’s a fight that looks like it will destroy the town. Until Frendo, the Baypen mascot, a creepy clown in a pork-pie hat, goes homicidal and decides that the only way for Kettle Springs to grow back is to cull the rotten crop of kids who live there now.

YALSA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults Nominee

• For teens who love dark and scary stories

• Perfect for Halloween Reading

What I thought about it

***Possible Spoilers below

After her mother passed from an overdose, Quinn and her father moved to Kettle Springs after he was offered a job as the town’s new physician. Not looking forward to being the new girl, Quinn quickly got on her teacher’s bad side when she snickered at the impossibility and ridiculousness of this town while he was arguing with two other students. I noticed that adults in this town seemed to have a strong, deep-rooted intolerance for teenagers and tended to get aggressive rather quickly.

The parents of Kettle Springs were beginning to get fed up with the recklessness of the town’s teenagers, a hatred that stemmed from arson at one of the town’s factories before the novel’s events. The tipping point was a prank involving pyrotechnics going awry that left several floats on fire and children getting hurt. This caused an uproar amongst the parents, which led to an emergency town hall meeting. The mayor couldn’t sway the crowd’s animosity towards his neutrality, and Sheriff Dunn stepped in and began dictating the meeting. Dunn claimed he had a plan, but would have to deputize all those who wanted in, as it was a police matter. The mayor offered, and due to his title, he couldn’t. Dunn then asked the mayor to leave, and the mayor was stabbed through the neck with an ice pick by Frendo the Clown, the town’s mascot, in the parking lot as he headed back to his car.

The story took place over an evening or so, which explained the lack of character depth development and world-building. The events leading up to the climax were Quinn picking up on some hostility and trying to navigate/find her place in the town’s dynamic.

The climax took place at a party in a barn within a cornfield. A bunch of people dressed as Frendo began killing the partygoers and trapping them in the barn before setting it on fire. As the partiers were trying to escape, the killers picked them off one by one as they exited the burning barn. They got creative with their weapons, though. Nothing says fear like running through a cornfield in the dark, and an arrow shoots into the air, killing you.

As Quinn and the group try to outrun the Clowns, we discover that the sheriff has enlisted two students to betray their classmates and lead the killers right to their prey.

After killing one of the clowns, the group unmasks him as their science teacher from earlier in the book, revealing that the killers are the adults of Kettle Springs.

We learn that Cole’s father is behind this. Cole’s father hates his son for taking away his wife and his daughter with his careless actions. Along with Sheriff Dunn’s help, that is. After being confronted by Quinn, Cole’s dad goes into hiding, and Cole makes it out safely.

Conclusion

Such a quick and easy listen! Devoured it and immediately began the next one! Just a quick, cliche slasher. Loved!

If you’ve read or listened to A Clown In A Cornfield, leave a comment! Would love to know what you think!

♡ G&P