A Werewolf in Riverdale

Sometimes, you just want a little, campy fun. You find a b-movie that has a ridiculous sounding premise and a few elements you like - a slasher flick, disaster movie, vampire story, werewolf adventure, shark-based horror film, whatever it is you enjoy - then settle in with some popcorn, eager for a few laughs at just how entertainingly terrible it is.

Except... it isn't bad at all. You find yourself rooting for the characters, caring about the plotline, laughing with its campy moments instead of mocking them. You end up having a great time, and you don't even care that the movie was “Alien Sharks from Neptune Vs. Blue Flamingos from Antarctica” because, damn it, Dr. Buffguy and Professor L'Vinterest had the truest friendship ever and you're still feeling the emotional rush of having watched something so completely entertaining.

This book is the literary equivalent of that experience. Except, y'know, the character names are ever so slightly less cheesy. Slightly. (But if you're familiar with the Archieverse, then you know to expect as much. Jughead Jones is a main character's name, after all.)

I don't know how to articulate my feelings on this one, other than to say it was the unapologetically campy horror movie-worthy experience that I needed to drag myself out of a reading slump. I enjoyed this so much, I never stopped to think critically and my suspension of disbelief stayed comfortably enabled, allowing me to just have fun watching characters I already know and love get thrust into the depths of a werewolf story.

Though it began with the vibe of “Goosebumps, but make it gorey and a little older,” this book quickly became something more than just a hit of nostalgia. Once the first chapter, which was a little shaky on quality, was out of the way, I was hooked! Then I was halfway through, with no complaints. Three-quarters, no complaints... And then I was done, and my only complaint was that it doesn't have a sequel despite the kind of ending which I'd call ‘sequel bait' in a movie. (Not a cliffhanger, thankfully!)

The characters here are based on the Archie comics iterations of familiar characters - not the edgier Riverdale versions - and that took me a moment to adjust to, but I found them far more likable than the inconsistent characters in the Riverdale-based novels I've read. In many places, the characters and plot beats felt similar to Jughead: the Hunger, a comic series I enjoyed for a few issues, but they were different in ways which fixed the criticisms I had for the comics and avoided any risk of being repetitive.

Maybe the familiarity made me care about the characters, but I think the author's fairly skilled as well. It's practically impossible for me to get through even a book I've known and loved for years without at least once pausing to be grumpy about a plot hole, typo, etc. Yet here we are, and this book managed to keep me so thoroughly engaged that I had no complaints.

There were no dull points; something was always happening in a way that kept me reading in every moment of free time instead of hopping between books or running off to play video games for a while as I normally would. And though I had a few theories as to how the book would end - some based on the comic this is very loosely based upon - I was genuinely surprised by the outcome.

As you can probably tell, I'm not that good at turning “that was good, I loved it” into a lengthy review. I can't think of anything else to say, other than I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes YA characters and horror stories containing werewolves and a medium level of gore paired with character exploration. Yes, it's campy. Yes, the characters have ridiculous names. Yes, it's totally full of horror tropes. But, damn, is it ever fun anyway!

And, as a bonus, it contained absolutely zero main character relationship drama (or even main character relationships at all, only strong friendships). That's one thing which usually goes south fast and ruins an otherwise entertaining horror story - especially in the YA category - so the absence was refreshing.

This was exactly the break I needed from annoying things.

ugh these Archie Horror books go too hard!! I want ONLY CW levels of violence no further pls

http://www.frowl.org/worstbestsellers/episode-149-a-werewolf-in-riverdale/

This was FUN!!! I love Archie comics so this was a gem to find !! People being eaten by werewolves. Archie. Reggie. Betty. Veronica and Jughead!! Yes please!! Really good narrator too. Fun way to get through work and chores.