There’s Someone Inside Your House [review]

There’s Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins
Published by Dutton Books for Young Readers on September 26, 2017
289 pages.
my rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Goodreads avg: 3.44
cw: statutory rape, suicide

Spoiler-free Review

Goodreads | IndieBound | Author’s Website

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 Hugh 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.

Wow y’all, this was such a fun read!! I wasn’t sure what to expect going into a YA slasher, but I had heard it was less scary and more corny, which is totally up my alley. I’m definitely going to second this sentiment — if you’re like me and love horror but get scared easily, you might like this book. While there’s a bit of suspense and some gore, it didn’t turn me into an anxious mess or anything. I was on the edge of my seat a few times, but mostly comfortable with my reading experience.

The next morning, the entire school was buzzing about two things: the brutal slaying of Haley Whitehall and Ollie Larsson’s newly pinkened hair.

I adored the romance, I’m a huge sucker for YA romance and as far as that part of the storyline went, this leaned toward YA contemporary. I gushed over Makani and Ollie endlessly and felt that they had a pretty healthy relationship. It was also nice to see them interacting with each other’s guardians! I felt like it was a pretty realistic portrayal of how dating as a teen works.

It had been so long since Makani had felt any amount of genuine, unadulterated happiness that she’d forgotten that sometimes it could hurt as much as sadness.

I did have a few issues, which is why this wasn’t a five star read for me. While I enjoyed the writing as a whole, I tripped over several awkwardly-written sentences and grammatical errors. I also didn’t care for Makani’s mysterious backstory. I felt like the reader kept getting hit in the face with it and when it was finally revealed, I was just kind of like “…okay?” Maybe it was just me, but it felt kind of forced and more like filler than anything else.

There is a huge yikes moment at the beginning where the author deadnames a trans character. From what I’ve seen and been told, this was brought up to the author by beta readers and was still put into the final copy. I’m cis and can only speak to the topic so much, but it was an unnecessary inclusion and could have been easily adjusted or removed.

Other than those issues, I did enjoy the book. It was a quick read that could have used a little more polishing. It was nice to see some diversity, although again the portrayals are something I cannot speak to fully. I would love to hear your thoughts on There’s Someone Inside Your House in the comments, whether or not you’ve read it.

(This book features a non-white MC and a trans side character. Please contact me with any ownvoices reviews that you would like featured here.)

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(Blurb courtesy of Goodreads.)