Teen Killers Club by Lily SparksMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a stand alone novel, a rarity these days, especially in the YA genre. So that's refreshing. The premise is kind of grim and yet funny at the same time—convicted teen killers selected for a sort of summer camp for professional killers. Kind of like Looking for Alaska crossed with Darkly Dreaming Dexter.
The author has been a camp counselor, so probably started out by fantasizing what she might like to do to some little puke who made themselves obnoxious. (I've never been a camper, my experience consisted of working in a camp kitchen, so I only experienced this rite of passage as an observer and I admired the counselors' patience. I was grateful to deal with dishes, not campers.)
Signal has ended up in this camp through someone's malice. She woke from a drugged stupor with her only frenemy's decapitated head in her lap. Signal & her mother live in a trailer park, so there's no money for a lawyer and Signal goes to jail. She has scored highly on a psychiatric test that identifies stone cold killers too, so between the two, she is chosen for this deadly commando training. But it rapidly becomes obvious that she didn't kill her friend and doesn't have what it takes to harm anyone. How is she even going to survive training, let alone her first assignment?
This is a seventeen year old main character, pretty naïve really, so of course she wants friends and a boyfriend, even if she is surrounded by sociopaths. And for people who have very few emotions, her unusual peer group seems to find a certain degree of connection with her. But we question the reality of these associations every step of the way right along with Signal. One thing these peers recognize is that Signal doesn't belong in their circle.
So, not realistic at all, but great entertainment. I'm just recovering from a nasty migraine and this was the perfect antidote. Nothing too heavy or complex, just silly fun.
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