by Gretchen McNeil
Expected publication date: September 18, 2012
Balzer + Bray
Source: ARC received from the publisher at BEA. Click here for my FTC disclosure.
My summary: When Meg gets dragged along by her best friend Minnie to a weekend house party, she's only marginally excited. Excitement turns to suspicion when the party's host is a no-show, a raging storm knocks out the phone and internet, and one of the nine other party guests suddenly turns up dead. As more bodies pile up, it becomes clear that these ten teens have been lured to the isolated location to be killed off .... one by one.
My take: Rewriting Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None to appeal to the Pretty Little Liars crowd is a genius move. Genius!
Ten cleverly adapts and updates the original book -- in which ten strangers are lured to a deserted island house to be murdered one by one as punishment for past crimes -- with a scenario in which a group of Seattle-area teenagers with loosely interconnected social lives are invited to a house party by a popular cheerleader. Like the movie Scream, Ten features characters who are well-versed in the conventions of teen horror films.
Regular blog readers know that I'm a huge mystery fan, and I loved the fact that Ten is a true mystery, with all the clues laid out for sharp-eyed readers to find. While I guessed a major plot twist -- possibly because I remembered the original book -- I missed one crucial clue and had my eye on the wrong person as the killer.
I'm pretty sure the original book had no romance, so I was happy that as poor Meg tries to keep herself alive, she's distracted to be spending the weekend with a classmate she has a huge crush on -- a guy she ditched as her homecoming date so as not to make Minnie jealous. Minnie and Meg have one of those weird girl frenemy relationships going, which also added a bit of depth to this fast-paced plot.
Ten is a fun, fast-paced read that should keep you guessing up until the end!
Are you a mystery fan? Love scary books? Let me know in comments.
I'm a fan of mystery and this definitely catches my interest. I'll definitely be adding this to my list, great review!
ReplyDeleteGreat -- hope you enjoy it@
DeleteI love mysteries but, I am not good with suspense lol, whenever I can't handle it on t.v. when the suspenseful parts come I change the channel and then come back I know so weird lol. I have been really curious about this one though, as long as it's not to creepy scary I can handle it lol.
ReplyDeleteKristin @ Young Adult Book Haven
I understand!!! That's part of the reason I sometimes peek at the end -- suspense kills me! But I could handle this fine :)
DeleteI hated the relationship between Meg and Minnie, but I enjoyed this one anyway. It does make me want to go back and read And Then There Were None again.
ReplyDeleteMeg was definitely a doormat in the relationship with Minnie, but in other ways she came through when it counted!
DeleteI love a good scary mystery!! I have this pre-ordered and can't wait to read it!! Awesome review Jen!!
ReplyDeleteYay -- only a week left to wait!
DeleteI've had this pre-ordered for months! I love mysteries and watching scary/thriller movies too, so this was definitely something I wanted to read. So glad you liked it! :-)
ReplyDeleteI bet you'll love it!
DeleteI'm a huge fan of scary mysteries, so this sounds like something I will love! Awesome review and now I really can't wait :D
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of scary movies -- then I get too scared. But this book was a good amount of scary!
DeleteI am so excited for this one--especially since everybody is RAVING about it. I can't wait.
ReplyDeleteNot much longer to wait!!
DeleteI love mystery and suspense! I can't wait to read Ten :)
ReplyDeleteThen I think you will love it!
DeleteThat looks so good! I just added it to my to read shelf at goodreads! Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteFantastic -- hope you enjoy it!
DeleteI'm excited and scared to read this one at the same time! I love suspense and mystery but not horror. This sounds like a combination of both.
ReplyDeleteI am pretty squeamish but the horror/gross-out factor was not that high. Try it!!!
DeleteI'm extremely squeamish, but if you say it's not that bad I'll probably try it and see how it goes. Thanks!
DeleteOh yay -- I'm happy you liked this one! I can't wait to read it. I LOVE scary stories ... though not a lot of scary stuff in books actually terrifies me. I wish it would! Maybe this one will change that. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, Jen!
Well, I know that from your posts this month!!
DeleteYou should definitely read this one!
I don't know if this one is for me but between your review and the several other positive ones I've read recently I'm getting curious.
ReplyDeleteAh, give it a try!!
DeleteI love a scary mystery! This one sounds interesting with the whole stuck on a island thing with a murderer thing. Might pick this up sometime. I have never read any of Agatha Christie's books but I hear good things about her as well.
ReplyDeleteIt's great. And I also love Agatha Christie mysteries! Give one a try sometime!
DeleteVery cool premise! I'm not familiar w/the books Ten is based on, but I love a great, scary mystery, like scream. Your review has me very excited to read Ten, Jen. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteYou should definitely try it, then!
DeleteI love the comparison to Pretty Little Liars-I was already planning to read this but I will also share it with my sister who loves PLL. I always like finding books we can share.
ReplyDeleteLet me know how both of you like it!
DeleteI am an Agatha Christie fan - books & movies, so yes I love a good mystery.
ReplyDeleteI re-read the original story not long ago, but TEN should still deliver a few new ideas.
I thought it was very cleverly updated to YA. Let me know your thoughts when you've read it!
DeleteHey There! I’m a fellow blogger/writer looking to meet new people and discover great blogs, and I gladly added myself to your followers! I’d also love to invite you to check out a great giveaway I’m having, that I think would be right up your alley!
ReplyDeleteHope to see you there, and thanks so much!
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DeleteI LOVE a good mystery and I LOVE this book! I missed a few clues and after I finished it I instantly wanted to reread so I could see them! Great review! I am so happy you liked this one. :)
ReplyDeleteI feel better that you missed those clues too. I think I was enjoying the story and wasn't paying attention!!
DeleteLove your review! I'm definitely even more excited now! I played the computer game of And Then There Were None and it was so fun! :) Plus, I totally love those books where you guess who the killer is- there's not many books like that in YA. This book is definitely on my wishlist!
ReplyDeleteWhat? There's a computer game? I need to check this out!!!
DeleteI enjoyed this one but not as much as I hoped I would. I think it's because I only had lukewarm feelings for the characters. But I DIDenjoy all the creative ways the teens bit the dust:)
ReplyDeleteI am reviewing this for Oct 1st post, so glad you liked it!
ReplyDeleteI've heard so many great things about this book. It's on my TBR list, but I've got to bump it closer to the top.
ReplyDeleteI am a huge fan of these types of books, and this is one that I'm eagerly looking forward to! I'm so glad to hear how much you liked it!!
ReplyDelete