The Blonde Dies First

The book follows a group of six teens living in the same neighborhood since childhood: Leila, a would-be artist; Gael, a horror lover who has already directed a short film; Malachi, a black queer boy; Devon, twin sister to genius Drew; Drew, the skeptic, who attends private school, and Yaya, Devon’s longtime crush. Most of the friends are Black, with the exception of Leila.

Ever since the Scream franchise began subverting the tropes of horror films many contemporary YA horror choose to also subvert these obvious tropes. In this story which sees a demon (seemingly following the rules from a very poorly received movie 'Read Your Rites' (Box office revenues 10 million on a 12 million cost) stalking the teens.

These teens are trope savvy enough (especially Gael) to bait the demon and recognise the need for the 'final girl' to end the threat. But with the required third act twist and a satisfying reveal of who was the real monster it was a Karen sorry Kendra. I found it a breezy, satisfying addition to the genre.