Hi all!

Welcome to the very first blog post of 2021. I hope you all had a safe and happy new year celebration! In December, we read Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare for The You’ll Read Too Bookclub! Spoilers ahead!

Quick Reminder: This month we are reading The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James.

Today I’m going to give a quick plot summary, plus my overall star/scare-factor ratings. Then I will share the discussion topics and trivia questions. Please include all of your answers and opinions down below. I want to know exactly what you thought. I’ll also leave the answers to the trivia questions at the very bottom of the post. Without further ado, let’s get into it!

CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD by ADAM CESARE – DECEMBER 2020 

PLOT SUMMARY 

Quinn Maybrook just wants to make it until graduation. She might not make it to morning.
Quinn and her father moved to tiny, boring Kettle Springs, to find a fresh start, but ever since the Baypen Corn Syrup Factory shut down, Kettle Springs has cracked in half. On one side are the adults, who are desperate to make Kettle Springs great again, and on the other, are the kids, who want to have fun, make prank videos, and get out of town as quickly as they can.
Kettle Springs is caught in a battle between old and new, tradition and progress. It’s a fight that looks like it will destroy the town. Until Frendo, the Baypen mascot, a creepy clown in a pork-pie hat, goes homicidal and decides that the only way for Kettle Springs to grow back, is to cull the rotten crop of kids who live there now.

OVERALL STAR RATING

I gave this book 4.5/5 stars. It had a slightly slow start, but once things heated up, the pacing took off! If you’ve ever wanted a slasher film in book form, this is the story for you. I’m a huge fan of clown villains and gory deaths. I did guess early on who was behind it all, but it was still a super enjoyable read and one I would highly recommend.

OVERALL SCARE-FACTOR RATING

I gave it a scare-factor rating of 3/5. I wasn’t terrified, but it creeped me out imagining how I would fare against several killer clowns in a cornfield, late at night.

DISCUSSION TOPICS

1.) What theories did you have as to who was behind the Frendo’s masks/murders? 

I told a friend I believed either Cole or his father was behind everything. It turns out I was half right!

2.) What slasher movie tropes did you notice in this book? (e.g Quinn is a ‘Final Girl’)

The dramatic/violent deaths, the masked killers, the sinister ending and the shocking villain reveals.

3.) Did you feel the older generation were justified in their hatred of the younger generation? 

Not at all! All the adults were mentally unhinged! It’s one thing to not approve of the younger generation, it’s another to massacre the entire lot of them!

4.) Do you think there will be a sequel, given the ending? 

I don’t believe so. I feel like the ending was meant to be sinister and unsettling but not to be explored any deeper.

Update: I was wrong. I reviewed the sequel here. 

5.) What did you think of the pacing? Was it too slow, too fast or just right? 

I felt the pacing was a tad slow in the beginning, but when it ramped up, it didn’t stop!

TRIVIA QUESTIONS 

Easy: What type of hat does Frendo wear? 

Medium: What is the full name of the very first character to be killed by Frendo?

Hard: What is the name of the prankster YouTube channel, created by the teens?

I hope you enjoyed the book club discussion. As mentioned above, share all your thoughts in the comments below! If you have any feedback/suggestions to improve the bookclub, please let me know. I look forward to talking to you all next month! Thanks for reading!

Peace & Love xoxo

TRIVIA ANSWERS: Easy: Porkpie. Medium: Harlan Jaffers. Hard: Trick Question – it was never revealed!