"Final Girls"
Written by Riley Sager
Review written by Diana
Iozzia
"Final Girls"
is a unique thriller, telling the perspective of a ‘final girl’, the teen /
young adult who survives the end of a massacre. In cheesier horror movies like “Scream”,
“Nightmare on Elm Street”, “I Know What You Did Last Summer”, “Halloween”, the female
survivor who defeats the mass murdering male villain is praised for enduring
and making it to the end of the film. Often, films like this are parts of
franchises, in which the ‘final girl’ continues to survive, throughout at least
two or three films. Riley Sager offers us our main character, Quincy, who has
survived a group murder at a cabin in the woods.
The story takes place in
two separate time periods. As each chapter alternates, the first perspective shows
Quincy and her friends at the cabin, as we bite our nails waiting for the
killing to start. The second perspective is about ten years later. Quincy was
the sole survivor, so she is a neurotic and morally ambiguous woman. She works
as a dessert blogger, which was pretty interesting. I enjoy when characters in
psychological thrillers have hobbies, so we can relax and read a little about
that, instead of chasing back and forth through action sequences.
However, Quincy’s life in
the present isn’t just peachy. In the media coverage after the Pine Cottage murders
that she survived, the newscasters named her a ‘Final Girl’, also covered with two
other girls who have lived through similar events. In the present, Quincy is
met by one of the girls, Samantha Boyd, who now goes by Sam. In addition, it
has also been released that the other girl of the three has committed suicide,
but the police are possibly investigating it further.
Under the influence of
Sam, Quincy morphs into a “Mr. Hyde”-like personality. She is reckless and dangerous,
injuring herself and others. She makes crazy decisions and becomes unhinged.
Sam is clearly unhinged as well, leading us to question her morals and why she
decided to seek out Quincy. As the plot progresses, we start to doubt everyone
and everything, finding it difficult to trust any word or thought of each
character. We also wonder, is Quincy still in danger?
Another aspect of the
book that I really enjoyed is the links between each chapter. They are often small
and subtle but great to notice if you can. Each “past” perspective has a parallel
in the “present” in a clever way. For example, Quincy’s ‘blood-drenched arms’
during the killings links to “her hands covered in frosting” in the present.
To be honest, I was not
the biggest fan of the two twists. One I saw coming from the first meeting of
one character. The second twist was niggling in the back of my mind, but I
hoped that I was not right. However, I still think that I truly loved this
book, and the read is certainly worth it. Although I was not hoping for the second
twist, I think it was done especially well. It makes complete sense, offering
no plot holes, and was really jaw-dropping. I said to myself, “I can’t believe
that just happened”. The climax is also incredible, giving a new meaning to ‘final
girl’.
In conclusion, READ THIS
BOOK. This was my first experience reading Riley Sager, and I cannot wait to
read his next books. This became a new favorite.
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