A lot of descriptions that I read for the book, Final Girls compared it to a slasher movie. After reading the book, I can see why. The premise is the same. A group of college kids go on a weekend trip to a cabin and then they get murdered by a crazed killer on the loose. This sounds like most slasher movies of the late ’70s and the ’80s, like Halloween and Friday the 13th series for example. There’s even a lone survivor left to tell the tale.

In Final Girls, it’s Quincy Carpenter. She’s the lone survivor of the massacre at Pine Cottage. The reason why she’s called a final girl is because she was the last one left after the massacre, and she’s not the only one in her case. There’s Lisa Milner who was the original final girl after a serial killer came into her sorority house and killed everyone but her. The other final girl is Samantha Boyd, the lone survivor after a massacre at the Nighlight Inn. All of these tragedies happened years apart. The media hounded each of the girls ever since their incidents took place. Lisa tried to keep in touch with Quincy and Sam. Quincy had talked to Lisa a few times, but they never met. Sam had gone off the grid after everything occurred. She shows up after Lisa is found dead at her home of an apparent suicide. As the book goes on we find out that Lisa was murdered.

The book starts with Quincy finding out about Lisa’s death, which has an understandably terrible effect on her. Before this news, Quincy had been trying to move on with her life. She has a boyfriend named Jeff who is a public defender. Quincy also runs a baking blog that has a decent following. Despite all of these good things in her life, the events at Pine Cottage have changed Quincy. She doesn’t remember much of what happened at Pine Cottage, which leaves a lot of people reeling, including Sam, who wants Quincy to remember what happened that night.

Once Sam appears Quincy’s life goes into a downward spiral. Everyone is skeptical of her when she suddenly shows up, including Jeff and Franklin Cooper, the cop who saves Quincy’s life at Pine Cottage. Quincy stays in touch with Cooper, or Coop, as she refers to him after Pine Cottage. She feels a connection to him because he was there when everything happened. Coop seems to be one of the few good people in the book, but he proves to be the exact opposite. As for Sam, she isn’t who she’s claiming to be. She’s hiding a lot and the longer she stays with Quincy the worse things get. Just about everyone in this novel has secrets, with the exception of Quincy’s boyfriend, Jeff. As the book went on, I felt bad for Jeff.

The story alternates between the night at Pine Cottage and the present. Readers learn exactly what happened the night at Pine Cottage and who Lisa’s killer is. I won’t give spoilers about the ending, but I was surprised. What I will say is that I wasn’t happy about what happened with Quincy. I think that she should’ve taken more responsibility. Still, Final Girls is worth a read.

Have you read Final Girls or any thriller books lately? Let us know in the comments below!

~Kayla

Kayla works at Squirrel Hill as a Clerk, so when you come up to the customer services desk you might see her face! When she’s not at the library she enjoys reading, watching TV & listening to music. You might also find her at your local Starbucks, because she loves her Frappuccinos.