My rating is more a 3.5/5, though closer to a 4 than a 3.
I absolutely loved the first book, Clown in a Cornfield. It was a great heartbeat of the Slasher genre & for YA Books. I enjoyed how it ended with a spat of a cliffhanger and was eager to jump right into the sequel!
Adam Cesare continues to do the genre a good deal of justice with the return to Kettle Springs & with Frendo the Clown. While both books do jump around to multiple characters and perspectives, the first book felt more as Quinn as the main character to follow. Here in the sequel, Quinn & Rust I feel share an equal amount of time during the journey of this story. It was great to see the returning faces and some new ones.
Lots of great descriptions, details and one a couple occasions a good deal of suspense. One criticism I had with the first book was wanting more tense & suspenseful moments, the slow build up and honestly I felt we indeed got a couple more moments like that! Absolutely loved a gruesome moment in a car and a tense stalking moment at Cole's house. The world and life of Kettle Springs is still great as ever and feels very much a town I'm already very familiar with!
That said there are a few more bumps that sadly make this second ride a little bumpy at times. While we had some absolutely great tense moments that invoked the nail-biting moments from a good Slasher flick, I felt the overall Horror was dialed back a bit more at times. Less cornfield creeping and Killer slinking around town, instead the story doubles down on the angry mob a bit too early & too much and would've liked a few more chapters & moments with Arthur Hill being a unhinged killer.
I also felt that we didn't get nearly enough time with the new Sheriff and would've liked a little more time with her/ to be from her perspective. It was also a bit disappointing that Cole seemingly took a bigger backseat role.
I'd say the two biggest criticisms with the sequel is that 1.) the story went for bigger and more outlandish set of threats/enemies, when I think the "Frendo Lives" angle could've worked better if it was a smaller group of utterly obsessed fans going unhinged murder spree, instead of (imo hitting too close to home) moronic bigoted groups trying to met out their own justice and being truth deniers.....people who at this very moment of writing are committing similarly heinous actions. Though maybe it's for the best for the world to have books that show these ludicrously deranged people for who they are. So while artistically I think it bring the story down a little bit, maybe for the endgame it's better this way.
The second biggest issue for me is that 2.) I feel like we didn't get nearly enough kills of victims compared to the first book, and in general not nearly as much suspenful, Slasher horror as I would have liked. The book rocks into the horror angle perfectly but then at times swings a bit too hard in the opposite of vigilante & riot action/thrills.
Still, despite a few bumps and things that lowered the enjoyment & horror goodies that the first book gave us, there was still enough bites and moments that were fulfilling. I'd still recommend it if you enjoyed the first book and is a solid sequel. If we were to get a third entry (and honestly I would love more) I'd def request we got more classic slasher & suspense moments and a Killer, or threat that was less anti-truth idiots and more psychopathic killer(s) or even dip into some slight supernatural'isms. Maybe that's just me wanting something different than what Adam Cesare is wanting to steer his YA writing towards, but either way he is 2 for 2 on me enjoying his work!
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A fun, YA slasher that ups its game from the first one
Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2023
REVIEW: Clown in a Cornfield 2: Frendo Lives by Adam CesareA year after the brutal massacre in the cornfield party in Kettle Springs, the three survivors have moved on with their lives. Unfortunately, there are online conspiracy theorists who don’t believe that Quinn, Rust, and Cole are telling the truth about the Halloween slaughter, and they promote viral “truth-telling” videos trying to prove that the trio of protagonists from the first book were behind the killings. Quinn, being the tough nut she is, has learned to deal with it and shuts it down whenever she’s confronted with any of these people in person.However, it isn’t until her dad (now the mayor of Kettle Springs) is attacked that she and her friends finally return to the town that took so much from them. The “truthers” also descend on the town (all donning homemade clown costumes) to expose the coverup. This part of the story reminded me a bit of the scene in Halloween Kills where the townsfolk with pitchforks march the streets of Haddonfield chanting, “Evil dies tonight!”To complicate everything else, a rich family has purchased the cornfield sight of the slaughter and has turned it into a Halloween haunt hoping to profit off the real-life tragedies that occurred there. Outsiders love it, but it rubs the ones directly affected the wrong way.Aside from the tasteless capitalists, the armchair a-holes causing a ruckus online and in Kettle Springs, there are actual murders occurring with a clown who’s different than the band of wannabes that he inspired. Frendo is back: older, meaner, and more vicious than ever to finish what he started. No one is safe, and Adam Cesare is never scared to let the bodies hit the floor.My only critique is that there were too many characters at first. (I feel stupid saying that since this is a “YA” horror novel.) It was complicated jumping from so many different storylines, but once I got into the rhythm of it, I enjoyed it. What I loved the most was the direction Cesare took the main villain from the first novel. It wasn’t what I would’ve done, but it was gruesomely satisfactory. Come to think of it, that aspect reminded me of Halloween Ends. With this being a slasher set in Halloween, there are going to be some parallels.If you liked the first one, you’ll most likely dig this one. You get more character development from lovable characters. You also get an improved antagonist, so I guess Cesare accomplished one of the more difficult aspects of writing a sequel that’s not repetitive. It’s a fun read with only a few draggy spots.
Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2023
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Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 21, 2022
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 21, 2023
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 18, 2023
A year after the brutal massacre in the cornfield party in Kettle Springs, the three survivors have moved on with their lives. Unfortunately, there are online conspiracy theorists who don’t believe that Quinn, Rust, and Cole are telling the truth about the Halloween slaughter, and they promote viral “truth-telling” videos trying to prove that the trio of protagonists from the first book were behind the killings. Quinn, being the tough nut she is, has learned to deal with it and shuts it down whenever she’s confronted with any of these people in person.
However, it isn’t until her dad (now the mayor of Kettle Springs) is attacked that she and her friends finally return to the town that took so much from them. The “truthers” also descend on the town (all donning homemade clown costumes) to expose the coverup. This part of the story reminded me a bit of the scene in Halloween Kills where the townsfolk with pitchforks march the streets of Haddonfield chanting, “Evil dies tonight!”
To complicate everything else, a rich family has purchased the cornfield sight of the slaughter and has turned it into a Halloween haunt hoping to profit off the real-life tragedies that occurred there. Outsiders love it, but it rubs the ones directly affected the wrong way.
Aside from the tasteless capitalists, the armchair a-holes causing a ruckus online and in Kettle Springs, there are actual murders occurring with a clown who’s different than the band of wannabes that he inspired. Frendo is back: older, meaner, and more vicious than ever to finish what he started. No one is safe, and Adam Cesare is never scared to let the bodies hit the floor.
My only critique is that there were too many characters at first. (I feel stupid saying that since this is a “YA” horror novel.) It was complicated jumping from so many different storylines, but once I got into the rhythm of it, I enjoyed it. What I loved the most was the direction Cesare took the main villain from the first novel. It wasn’t what I would’ve done, but it was gruesomely satisfactory. Come to think of it, that aspect reminded me of Halloween Ends. With this being a slasher set in Halloween, there are going to be some parallels.
If you liked the first one, you’ll most likely dig this one. You get more character development from lovable characters. You also get an improved antagonist, so I guess Cesare accomplished one of the more difficult aspects of writing a sequel that’s not repetitive. It’s a fun read with only a few draggy spots.
A fun, YA slasher that ups its game from the first one
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 18, 2023
REVIEW: Clown in a Cornfield 2: Frendo Lives by Adam CesareReviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 18, 2023
A year after the brutal massacre in the cornfield party in Kettle Springs, the three survivors have moved on with their lives. Unfortunately, there are online conspiracy theorists who don’t believe that Quinn, Rust, and Cole are telling the truth about the Halloween slaughter, and they promote viral “truth-telling” videos trying to prove that the trio of protagonists from the first book were behind the killings. Quinn, being the tough nut she is, has learned to deal with it and shuts it down whenever she’s confronted with any of these people in person.
However, it isn’t until her dad (now the mayor of Kettle Springs) is attacked that she and her friends finally return to the town that took so much from them. The “truthers” also descend on the town (all donning homemade clown costumes) to expose the coverup. This part of the story reminded me a bit of the scene in Halloween Kills where the townsfolk with pitchforks march the streets of Haddonfield chanting, “Evil dies tonight!”
To complicate everything else, a rich family has purchased the cornfield sight of the slaughter and has turned it into a Halloween haunt hoping to profit off the real-life tragedies that occurred there. Outsiders love it, but it rubs the ones directly affected the wrong way.
Aside from the tasteless capitalists, the armchair a-holes causing a ruckus online and in Kettle Springs, there are actual murders occurring with a clown who’s different than the band of wannabes that he inspired. Frendo is back: older, meaner, and more vicious than ever to finish what he started. No one is safe, and Adam Cesare is never scared to let the bodies hit the floor.
My only critique is that there were too many characters at first. (I feel stupid saying that since this is a “YA” horror novel.) It was complicated jumping from so many different storylines, but once I got into the rhythm of it, I enjoyed it. What I loved the most was the direction Cesare took the main villain from the first novel. It wasn’t what I would’ve done, but it was gruesomely satisfactory. Come to think of it, that aspect reminded me of Halloween Ends. With this being a slasher set in Halloween, there are going to be some parallels.
If you liked the first one, you’ll most likely dig this one. You get more character development from lovable characters. You also get an improved antagonist, so I guess Cesare accomplished one of the more difficult aspects of writing a sequel that’s not repetitive. It’s a fun read with only a few draggy spots.
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Arynth
Quick, fun potboiler with a letdown final act
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 8, 2022
Bruce moyle
An excellent sequel with some amazing twists
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 20, 2022
Bruce moyle
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 20, 2022
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