I Should Read That

Book review

Quinn Maybrook and her father have moved to tiny, boring Kettle Springs, to find a fresh start. But what they don’t know is that 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 Kettle Springs as quick 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. 

This book was exactly I wanted it to be.

Confession time: I checked a copy of Clown in a Cornfield out of the library a few years ago and I just couldn’t get into it. Strangely though, it haunted my brain ever since – I knew it would be a book I would love if I read it at the right time.

I took a flyer on the audiobook version from Libby and I’m so glad I did. The audiobook for Clown in a Cornfield is excellent. Cesare’s writing has a real cinematic quality to it that lends itself so well to the audio medium. The book feels like a modern take on the 90s slasher flicks we all know and love (this isn’t terribly surprising, given the author’s love of horror films).

Aside from the horror homages, one of the strengths of this book is the characters. Quinn is a level-headed, reliable teen who just wants to fit in to her new school. She’s relatable but also acts her age – sometimes getting herself into trouble. She also has a really lovely relationship with her father, which is so great to see in a YA book. Her father is a cool, slightly exasperated dad who is just doing his best – he’s like generation’s Charlie Swan (and therefore my favourite). Quinn and her friends were three-dimensional and while they fit into horror tropes, they still felt fresh and human.

Clown in a Cornfield is a classic slasher tale for this generation – it’s full of troubled teens, a dying down with a MAGA vibe, a bit of camp, and a very good dad.