"There's Someone Inside Your House" Review!

Stephanie Perkins definitely knows her way around a murder. Not saying she's killed anyone, but she has probably (absolutely) met a murderer or two in a past life. There's Someone Inside Your House is creepy, gory, and fascinating, all while keeping that romantic flair that Perkins executes so well.

This story follows Makani Young one year after she's moved to your quintessential small American town in Nebraska to live with her grandmother. She often experiences flashbacks that follow an unknown accident that she experienced back when she lived in Hawaii. This "accident" is one of the main plot lines that is spotted in and out through book, and is kept secret for much of it too. While this substory is lacking most, if not all, details, slowly the reader is able to understand that it was caused by Makani (or at least she believes that it was) and was so bad that it basically got her exiled from Hawaii. However, I'll get back to this "accident" later.

All the characters in this book are quirky and lovable, and the romance is well done and never over powers the idea that this is a YA slasher story, not another Anna and the French Kiss. The murders were gruesome and well planned. I definitely felt the anticipation that came along with each murder, and was creeped out by it's harrowing details. Perkins takes a psychological approach to horror, which I felt really fit the narrative well. It wasn't a scary book, a thriller, maybe, but not the next Shining. However, I don't think that that was Perkins' goal.

While the killer is revealed quite early on in the plot, the hook that keeps you reading is the murderer's motive. Makani's group of friends are very involved in trying to figure out what is going on (perfect for murder mystery lovers like myself), and keep thrill high and boring running around, endlessly guessing wrong, and making stupid mistakes low. And some of the murders were heartbreaking - as well as totally unexpected. Perkins' knows how to wield the surprise factor. I definitely appreciated Perkins' take on a story that has been overdone in many different styles, formats, and eras, and felt she did a wonderful job constructing a brand new story that still didn't stray too far from all the elements that make it what it is.

The only thing that I found a little dissapointing in this story was the "accident" that had brought Makani to Nebraska. To me, I felt like it was built up into this huge, nearly catastrophic and life-changing narrative, but when it came to it actually being revealed, I was a little underwhelmed. It was definitely well thought out, and Perkins did a great job putting little hints here and there that then tied into this backstory, but the anticipation, for me, was too high for the actual moment, making the reveal a (almost) let down.

I gave this book a 3.5 out of 5 stars, and would recommend it to anyone who wants a little bit of the Halloween spook anytime of year. This was a last-minute buy for me, I had seen it on my Instagram feed and thought, I'll get around to it eventually. But when I was shopping in my local bookstore, they had a signed copy, so I impulse bought it. I am happy that I made the purchase, I love Stephanie Perkins' books, they always have a way of making me happy. And, similarly, with this story, she knew what she was writing about, every excruciating detail was planned and executed to the max and was made with her own twist. As my first "teen slasher story", I felt that it was a great introduction to the genre and made me want Perkins' to just release more anything.

#ReviewsbyAnnalise