Title: Ten
Author: Gretchen McNeil
Genre/Audience: Mystery, Young adult
Publication: Balzer + Bray, 2012
Source: Library
Summary: Ten teens are invited to White Rock House on Henry Island for a three day weekend full of what they hope will be fun, booze, and hooking up. When best friends Meg and Minnie show up, they’re both excited to spend time with T.J., the hottest guy at school. Soon their fun weekend turns into a nightmare though, when the storm starts and the ten watch a mysterious DVD ending with the words, “vengeance is mine.” Soon, they all start getting killed off one by one, and they realize they are stranded on the island for the next few days, wondering if the killer is one of them, or if there’s someone else on the island…
My Thoughts: When I first heard the premise of this book, I knew I had to read it, and I’ve been dying to do just that since it first came out. Well, I finally got around to reading it, and I have to say, I did enjoy it. It was completely suspenseful and mysterious, and I was quite shocked at the end, which is always a good thing with a mystery novel. It had a real sense of creepiness about it, and a very dark, vivid setting. I felt like I was smack dab in the middle of a horror movie – always a good thing for this horror fan!
This book was incredibly fast paced and exciting. There were new mysteries and questions on every page, which kept me riveted. One problem about this fast pacing though was that sometimes I felt like the killings were coming too fast, literally just one after the other with not a lot of story, dialogue, or development in between. This wasn’t always the case, but sometimes it seemed that way, so this was just a minor setback. I also thought that the romance could be ridiculous at times and unrealistic in the sense that sometimes Meg and Minnie seemed a bit too involved and interested in romance while there were murders happening all around them. Yes, they were concerned about the killings obviously, but sometimes they cared more about their love lives it seemed. I felt that was a bit crazy, and that the story could have done without that “love story” aspect at all. I’m also not sure how I feel about this being based off the Agatha Christie novel. I’ll have to read the original to see if it’s too much of a copy cat story.
While there were a few things that kept me from loving this novel, all in all I enjoyed it quite a bit. I really liked the suspense, mystery, and eerie setting. I would recommend this to YA fans that are looking for a creepy read!
My Rating: 3.5/5
Great honest review. I tried this one but the beginning dragged for me. I should try again some day.
Yes, the beginning was a bit slow, but it definitely picked up later!
I really wanted to read this but more and more it sounds like a great YA which is not my cup of tea. I loved Agatha C version so I will keep that one for my memory. I don’t think you can read Ten without the thought of And Then There Were None.
It is very typical YA – love triangle, shallow characters, etc. so I agree, probably not your cup of tea since you aren’t a YA fan! I’m dying to read the Agatha Christie book now! Just put it on hold at the library!
Seems like a book I would read. Maybe I should give it a try. Great review!
Yes, I definitely think you should give it a try!