Reviews with content warning for Car accident - I Know What You Did Last Summer

Reviews tagging 'Car accident'

I Know What You Did Last Summer by Lois Duncan

9 reviews

cursed10fold's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

There are actually two versions of this story. An updated one and the original one from 1973.

I read the original version of the story and I liked it but I can see why people wouldn't like the updated version because the story makes a lot more sense when it takes place in the early 70s when the cultural norms would be more likely to allow the inciting incident to happen in the first place. It almost reads like an early MADD PSA (which is impressive given that MADD was only founded 7 years after the book was published). There are also parts of the story that rely on the characters having limited or delayed communication.

If you want to check out the book I would recommend it with the caveat that the original version is likely the better one and it's very much a story of its time.

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hmetwade's review

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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islesbiyana's review against another edition

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mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

minor reading slump was the only thing that made want to pick up this book otherwise i wouldn't have bothered. i had at least thought that this was going to be a slasher like the movie (which i haven't watched yet) but there was no tension. the only positive thing that i can truly say is that it did its due diligence in being a quick read that you could finish in one sitting. the story itself, however, was such an uneventful, annoying, and predictable journey all at the time, despite being somewhat of a classic in this genre.

the first couple of chapters were just info dumps, one after another. the main cast was supposed to be "flawed" teenagers who just happened to have done something terrible one night, but you couldn't care less about them nor the circumstances they were in since they wereso shallow. and unsurprisingly, the men were just the most insufferable and sexist bunch. the casual dumbification and objectification of the women sprinkled throughout the text sure served as Fun reminders of how dated this was. the pacing was wonky and dull, the dialogue was painfully awkward that it almost felt AI-generated—there was also a part where Character A was vocally recounting everything that B until they got to the main point which wasn't?? needed?? because 1.) we already read those exact things (both actions and thought processes) written on paper, like... just get to the important part! and b.) that is.. Not how regular humans talk but okay. almost forgot to mention but the book ending abruptly with #that line almost made me cringe into an orbit. iykyk

the structure of the book itself was a bit of a hot mess; parts that were supposed to transition to a flashback showed no indication of such. i had to reread them thoroughly after i realize that a scene was supposed to be something from the past. i'd hope that this just an error in my own digital copy since the author had supposedly went back to edit some things in their book.

overall, not the worst book i've read, but i wished i'd picked up something more worthwhile. couldn't even put me to sleep which is unfortunate since i started this at midnight and finished at like 2am. will still give the movie a watch in the future since other reviewers claim that it improves sm from the book + i Do like a decent slasher (regardless of predictability) to pass time. fingers crossed that the former is true.

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vixenreader's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

It is better than you would expect it to be, despite the movie overshadowing its legacy, but it is still slightly dated.

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bitterseason's review against another edition

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mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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jillkaarlela's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

This book was so obviously written in the ‘70s. There are so many toxic male characters who treat women horribly and who think they can just be horrible and that they are a gift to the world. It’s just very irritating because there are so many traditional gender stereotypes that are just very tired and make it hard to enjoy. I also clocked the killer within a minute of them being introduced, it was so obvious. I just did not enjoy it very much, it was very predictable and outdated.

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