[Book Review] There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins

One-by-one, the students of Osborne High are dying in a series of gruesome murders, each with increasing and grotesque flair. As the terror grows closer and the hunt intensifies for the killer, the dark secrets among them must finally be confronted.
 
3.5 STARS 

This is exactly what I needed to read right now. It was creepy, fun, and I found myself unable to put it down.Stephanie Perkins typically is known for her young adult romance novels like Anna and the French Kiss, Lola and the Boy Next Door, and Isla and the Happily Ever After, so to see her writing a young adult horror had me intrigued and I am really glad that I picked it up.

First, the characters. I think Perkins writes great characters. I've read the first two of three young adult romance books she has written and I think her talent for writing great characters shines through in both genres (ya romance and ya horror). Our main character, Makani was fine on her own, but I really enjoyed her relationship with her love interest, Ollie. They had great moments together and I think by themselves they were okay characters but together is when they shined. Both because of the romance but also because of the way they worked together to figure out the mystery behind who is killing students at their school. Makani's friends Darby and Alex were a lot of fun too, but for me, I don't think we get enough of them. I really like Ollie's older brother Chris, who was funny and charming. And Makani's grandmother was awfully sweet, and I like their relationship. There is also some representation in this book that I honestly didn't expect. Makani is a half black half Hawaiian girl, and Darby is a transgendered boy. Like I said, I just didn't expect it so I was pleasantly surprised. 

This book royally freaked me out. I read most of it at night, with the lights off besides my little book light as my fiancé slept (thanks, insomnia) and although I wasn't alone, I felt pretty freaked out. There are a good number of tension building scenes that had my heart racing and I could not read fast enough. My favorite kind of movies to watch during the Halloween season are slasher films (Halloween, Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer, etc) and this is basically a book version of that. So it was right up my ally. 

However, I did have some issues with the book as a whole. One being that when we find out who the killer is, it was a bit underwhelming for me. I don't want to say anything else on that, because I don't want to spoil anything, but I was a bit unimpressed. I was also unimpressed with Makani's "dark back story". I think both of these things were built up a lot without much of a payout, which I found unfortunate. There is also a plot line about Makani's grandmother that ended up not going anywhere, which I found odd. This is the kind of book for me that kind of hooked me right into the story and had me for a creepy ride, but when I sat down after reading and started compiling my notes, I realized there were a few things I didn't love. 

Overall, I'd really recommend this book if you're in the mood for something creepy this Halloween season (or Autumn, it would be fine after Halloween also). I don't think my problems with the book are so bad that I don't recommend it. I think it's a lot of fun and I recommend giving it a try. It's a super quick read.

Thanks for reading!