Title: There’s Someone Inside Your House
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication Date: September 26, 2017
Pages: 287
Price: 17.66$ CAD (Hardcover) at Indigo Books & Music Online
Hola Amigos! Today I’m going to review There’s Someone Inside Your House, by Stephanie Perkins. Truth be told, I’ve never read any of Stephanie Perkins other books because the genre didn’t seem all to appealing to me; but as soon as I read the synopsis for There’s Someone Inside Your House, I knew I’d have to reconsider!
Synopsis
Makani Young thought she’d left her dark past behind her in Hawaii, settling in with her grandmother in landlocked Nebraska. She’s found new friends and has even started to fall for mysterious outsider Ollie Larsson. But her past isn’t far behind.
Then, one by one, the students of Osborne High begin to die in a series of gruesome murders, each with increasingly grotesque flair. As the terror grows closer and her feelings for Ollie intensify, Makani is forced to confront her own dark secrets.
Review
When I began this novel, I was really confused for the first like five pages because when I read the synopsis, the story was about a girl called Makani, but this girls name is not Makani and… oh, she also just got murdered in her home! But afterwards I realized it was like this because you get all the victims POV’s before they get murdered -in very gross ways, might I add- which I initially thought was a little disturbing but I ended up liking much more towards the end since all of the victims POV’s made it SOOO much easier to put the pieces together! Thus saying, I hated the beginning of the book but enjoyed the end.
As you’ve probably been able to deduct from the synopsis, There’s Someone Inside Your House is about a new girl, Makani, who moved to Nebraska to live with her grandma. Makani has a “dark past” but they don’t say what’s so “dark” about it at the beginning of the novel. I personally, preferred it to be left untold until later in the book because I love a good mystery so thats another point for Perkins. Makani also has this crush on Ollie, the schools loser, bad-boy (with pink hair?!) but she barely knows him.
So blah blah blah everything is good at Osborne High until – BaM! – random girl is found dead!!!!! OMG! People think it was a suicide, so the whole school is having a memorial for her and data ta ta…. But wait! Some other girl is found dead a couple weeks later with cuts similar to the first victim! The school is grieving but is also frantic, there’s a suspected serial killer on the loose! Later on, more students are found dead. Makani teams up with her friends and reluctant and timid, Ollie to try and solve these deaths before its too late. Makani ends up spilling her secrets and she almost becomes a victim too!
Alrighty, now it is time for the real talk: what the heck just happened!
Good story, good plot, I like how it was planned out and I like how each murder is gruesome and detailed but still unique from one-another. This was good, +1 for Perkins. What I did not enjoy though (or thought was rather weird), was how the book is mainly focused of Makani’s relationship with Ollie. I picked this novel up for some gruesome murders like the synopsis promised. If I wanted lovey dovey I would of picked up Anna and the French Kiss or something. But yes, I know, “Stephanie Perkins writes pretty much all lovey dovey novels” I was just hoping There’s Someone Inside Your House would be different. It’s not that I ABSOLUTELY HATE lovey dovey. I just thought that in this context it was a tad bit weird since, oh, I don’t know, literally all of your classmates are getting murdered and you guys are going on dates in fields during the NIGHT. (The serial killer could of been watching y’all in the tall grass, I’m just saying. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ) I knew that a bit of romance was to be expected but I’d rather it focused predominantly of the problem at hand. Anyway, all taken into consideration, this book was pretty good and I still enjoyed reading it for the most part. 🙂
“Someday, their story would be a chapter in one of those sleazy, mass-market, true-crime paperbacks that were shelved in the cobwebbed corners of used bookstores—the types of paperbacks that boasted about the number of crime-scene photographs inside.”
― There’s Someone Inside Your House
Final thoughts/Recommendation
I’m giving this novel three stars. On my Goodreads (hmu if you want @emmafackenthall) I only gave it two because I thought it really lacked the “WOW!” factor. Don’t get me wrong, the book is good, but thats all it is, a good book. I finished the novel and I was like: “Yep, pretty good book.” There was no like “HOLY CRAP WHERE IS THE SEQUEL!” or a “I’m so angry I’m trowing this book onto the floor!” (I throw them on a pile of clothes so don’t worry I don’t intentionally damage my books!) It was just a pretty good book.
I ended up actually giving it 3 stars thought because I thought I was being a bit harsh and I did not take that cover into consideration. ( You guys all know how I am with my book covers, 🙂 I know it’s bad but I can’t help it!)
I’d recommend this book to someone who likes romance (obviously), mystery, and quite a bit of gory murders with lots of details. When I finished reading There’s Something Inside Your House, I just got this random feeling that this would be a book Drusilla Blackthorn from The Dark Artifices would really enjoy. If you think you and Dru are strongly alike, this book would be perfect for you!
prettayyyy in pink!
(P.S. Who is excited for Queen of Air and Darkness thats hitting the shelves in…FOUR DAYSSSSS! I can’t wait much longer so I hope my pre-order arrives on time!)
Feel free to let me know what you thought of There’s Someone Inside Your House or of my review! I love to hear what others think. 😉
Have a super great reading-filled weekend!
-Emma ♥