What do You think about I Know What You Did Last Summer (1999)?
I fund this to be a really great story. I was not expacting much, because I had seen the movie, and thought it was rather dull. The book is far better. It differs signioficantly from m odern day books in good ways. The characters seem real. You don't have the super snarky nerdy guy. You don't have the butt kicking girl. Just real people. The atractive girl is also very nice, and in todays books good looking girls are almost always shown to be mean, as a way to relate to the (probably unattractive) readers. In the movie we have Julie as the main hero, but here it is not centered around one person. The parents are not useless, and the bad guy makes alot more sense. For one thing, the reason the bad guy does nothing until the next summer is addressed. I suggest this to anyone looking for a fun read.
—Martine
tI Know What You Did Last Summer centers around a group of four teenagers bound to their past - notwithstanding an attempt made to seal it away through the ordination of a hastily formed pact - by a night of carelessness gone horribly awry. But after only a year of fallacious peace comes the realization that they’re not the only ones that know what they’ve done, emblematic tokens besides their own unwanted memories slowly beginning to haunt their every waking moment despite the four’s desperate wishes for their sin to remain hidden.tI have to say I rather enjoyed the book’s suspense and trickery; you never quite know who’s lying or telling the truth, which makes attempting to discern the reality of the novel that much harder and more entertaining. No one likes a puzzle easily solved. The way in which the author describes the characters also makes any conclusion compellingly elusive, providing just enough information to avoid blatant frustration, but not enough to fuel any reasonable deductions. That’s what makes the ending so shocking; even if you did happen to suspect the culprit, you would still have gotten the completed verdict wrong - something I found to be quite clever and resourceful.tDespite the well-rounded conclusion, I must say I was still disappointed. I thought that the novel was going to be one of the versatile horror genre (or at least a decent thriller) by the eerie cover and synopsis. But I was, to my dissatisfaction, very wrong. I haven’t experienced anything particularly scary in some time, so I was prepared to be afraid, but not once did the feeling of fear even begin to surface. I’d say it was more of a mystery novel - definitely something I would consider when appraising this book for selection.
—Victoria
So this is an example in which the movie is better than the book. Like WAY better. I added this to my book club list because I Know What You Did Last Summer is one of my favorite horror movies. I just love the cast, and the story, and it's just SO good and a forever favorite. I thought that the book would be just as good, but in my opinion, it SO wasn't.Maybe it's the fact that it was written so long ago. I do think that things that were really scary back in the day probably aren't as scary now. And the things that they added in the movie, I think needed to have been added to the book. And I think that the characters are just so well developed in the movie, and in the book, you barely know them. And pretty much all the characters are unlikable in the book, and all the characters are likable in the movie except for Barry.This book was boring, in my opinion, and I very much so think the movie is better. I'm interested to see what else Lois Duncan has out though, but she is clearly very capable of coming up with good horror stories.. this one just didn't do it for me.
—Elizabeth
Ray Brunson, Julie James, Barry Cox, and Helen Shivers were fun, popular, outgoing high-school students returning from a rowdy party one dark summer night when something happened that would change their lives forever. With the effects of drugs and alcohol upon all of them, Barry took no notice of the outline of a bicycle straight ahead. Wham! The little boy, later identified as Daniel Greggs, was instantly killed. The cowardly, young kids decided not to report the hit-and-run and to never bring it up again. A few years later, however, they are forced to remember that horrid night. Someone knows. But who? All four friends begin to receive suspicious notes and phone calls. They try to brush if off, but they know that someone is watching them and knows their "little secret". In the end, their stalker turns out to be someone they all thought they knew very well. But they were mistaken. Though Lois Duncan never clearly reveals the setting, as a reader I inferred that the drama unfolds in a small town similar to Grove City. With all things considered, I rated this book a 4star. I don't normally pick up a suspense novel or mystery from the library. I tend to think they drag on too long. But, I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I couldn't put it down. On the flipside, however, I didn't rate this book a 5star because I thought that some of the information included was irrelevant. A few parts bored me and the information supplied didn't seem of much importance to the plot. All in all, I would definitely recommend this book for a friend. It is a great suspense novel that makes your brain work to figure out clues. I'm interested to explore more into the mystery/suspense genre and see what other good books Lois Duncan has in store for her readers.
—Emma Lowers
