Clown in a Cornfield
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🤡 Killer Clown 📽️ High School MCs 🏘️ Small Town
🩸 Gore 🎞️ Film Adaptation 📖 Book Series
Synopsis
Quinn Maybrook just wants to make it to graduation. She might not make it to morning.
When Quinn and her father move to a tiny town with a weird clown for a mascot, they're looking for a fresh start. But ever since the town's only factory shut down, Kettle Springs has been cracked in half.
Most of the town believes that the kids are to blame. After all, the juniors and seniors at Kettle Springs High are the ones who threw the party where Arthur Hill's daughter died. They're the ones who set the abandoned factory on fire and who spend all their time posting pranks on YouTube. They have no respect and no idea what it means to work hard.
For the kids, it's the other way around And now Kettle Springs is caught in a constant battle between old and new, tradition and progress. It's a fight that looks like it will destroy the town. Until one homicidal clown with a porkpie hat and a red nose decides to end it for good.
Because if your opponents all die, you win the debate by default.
“On his laptop screen was a clown. The figure stood stock-still with its feet on the welcome rug.”
Favorites
A classic slasher - one thing that really worked for me was the gore. It kind of jumped out of nowhere and totally threw me off guard, which is what I hate about scary movies but LOVE about horror books. There's something about turning the page and your jaw dropping to the floor that is so exciting. I felt that the author really nailed the slasher moments and created such an anxiety-provoking few chapters. I'd say that the last 40%, at least, was absolutely riveting for me!
It's giving footloose - I really enjoyed the bit of politics and generations that were touched on. It was quite entertaining to see the older generations fighting for things to remain, while younger generations are consistently innovating and utilizing the internet. This piece reminded me of the OG footloose movie - where the kids were fighting for dance and freedom, while the adults and town officials were doing everything in the power to end it. Neither side were necessarily wrong, though it was evident that both were equally stubborn - in this instance even more so! A killing spree wasn't necessary, but there was no telling the clown that.
I also admired the relationships and characters in this story. It was interesting to see them as kids, where their lives changed so drastically after an incident, and then grow into teenagers that were fighting to find themselves. Popular kids, quiet kids, new kid - there was a way to relate to so many of the characters and I really enjoyed reading about their interactions. It felt real and made the panic and chaos of the middle of the book seem that much more intense. If none of these kids are truly friends, how are they going to make it out together?
“Stop actin’ like you’re children. You fight and fuck and drink. You are
not children. You grew up too fast.”
Final Thoughts
This was a buddy read with my horror-loving friend, Kim, before we went to see the film adaptation. I really enjoyed both, though it’s true that the book is always better. I’m hopeful to finish the series and see how the characters grow!
“That’s why we didn’t have a choice. If a farmer has fungus or beetles or any other scourge, it spreads if you don’t take steps to eliminate it. Cut and cull. Root out the problem. Burn the whole harvest if you have to, lose the crop to save the land.”
