Compared to Hendrix's other book I've read, We Sold Our Solds, this book feels more, well, I think frantic would be the best way to describe it. It makes sense given that our POV character, Lynette, stays in an eternal fight or flight mode, which at times can be both exciting and exhausting. I did understand more of the references/homages, as I'm more familiar with the slasher genre than the heavy metal, which certainly made a few aspects of the book more enjoyable. I'm wavering on whether copy and pasting the final girls' backstories from famous slasher movies (Friday the 13th, Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, etc.) was a good idea, since it somewhat lessens the overall creativity of the book, but this is only a small nit pick.

I'm not exactly sure what to think of the themes of this book. On one hand it juggles showing the resiliency of the final girls, painting them as survivors that shoulder on through their trauma and support each other with the glamorization of violence against women. However, while showcasing the women's strength, some tired slasher tropes somehow manage to sneak their way in, such as

the only person of color being the first final girl to die, the bury your gays behind Michelle passing away

. There are some interesting those tropes could have been further deconstructed, but, for some reason, the book chose to have it's cake and eat it.

Also dang, the women chose to go support Stephanie over Dr. Carol, you know, the one whose son was slowly picking off the women she worked so hard to give help and provide care to? Who probably has an infinite amount of guilt on her hands? I know she went off the grid and wanted privacy, and apparently Lynette saw something in Stephanie worth saving, and yet didn't she also deem Dr. Carol a fellow final girl in her own way? I just wish there was time spent on both of them so it felt like all women who were impacted by the violence had some people to hold onto.