Killer House Party

By: Lily Anderson

Narrated by: Rebecca Soler

From Printz Honor winning author Lily Anderson comes a young adult horror that follows Arden and her friends as their graduation party at an abandoned mansion turns into a bloody fight for survival.

Red Solo cups? Check. Snacks? Check. Abandoned mansion full of countless horrors that won’t let you leave? Check.

The Deinhart Manor has been a looming shadow over town for as long as anyone can remember, and it's been abandoned for even longer. When the final Deinhart descendent passes, the huge gothic manor is up for sale for the first time ever. Which means Arden can steal the keys from her mom’s real estate office...It’s time for a graduation party that no one will ever forget.

Arden and her friends, each have different reasons for wanting to throw the party to end all parties. But when the manor doors bar everyone inside and the walls begin to bleed, all anyone wants to do is make it out alive.

©2024 by Lily Anderson. (P)2024 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"A hauntingly beautiful take on a classic horror story that will leave readers’ skin crawling in the best way possible." —Kirkus, starred review

"There’s a compelling, critical undercurrent here that encourages readers to think about how ghost stories begin and what keeps them alive in cultural memory, but at its core, this is pure fun for horror fans, with sharply drawn teen characters, lively banter, and a deft balance between moments of comedy and genuine scares." —Booklist, starred review

good story, over acted narration

The story was good but the narrator was too dramatic in a lot of sections, kinda like over acting. I felt the narration took away from my ability to enjoy the story better.

Horror Trickery: Woke Propaganda/Phobic/Victimization in a “Scary” Disguise

HORROR TRICKERY: Woke Propaganda, Everyone is apparently Fat-Phobic, and the constant Victimization in this failed attempt at a “Scary” ‘slash’ Horror novel.

For those who don’t care if a book tries to stuff too much of a “message” and propaganda down one’s throat while reading, go ahead and skip the next paragraph.

I know a lot of readers/literary people tend to be semi to ultra liberal, but I’m a gay moderate and was annoyed from chapter one until the very end. I am totally okay with taking a message and putting it in a book that isn’t literary fiction. To me, that’s where it belongs, but I also am okay with seeing it in genre fiction. So, this is NOT about that at all! I assure you. The problem was that this book was constantly playing the “I’m a victim card” and I don’t for one second believe that it was coming from the first person narrator. I believe that the author of this book decided one day to write a book that covered fat phobia, ONLY black racism, a very basic concept of queer identity, and more and SHOVE it inside a pretty short YA novel. What about Latin racism? There were one major and one minor Latina characters that had no issues with racism. It’s like the author was trying to say that only black people go through this… That’s just what I got from reading and I understand that some may call me racist, misogynistic, or other things for calling this author out, but you have to understand that this was CONSTANTLY a thematic element to the story. My other issue was that the fat phobia was nonstop as well; I am a guy who doesn’t care what people look like. I’m not skinny. So, why mention it this much? That’s why I called it propaganda; the author was trying to send a message. And the “poor me” sh** got old after chapter 3 and it was also CONSTANT!! 😒 This book was SUPER annoying and I have to say that we need to recognize that not everyone wants to hear complaining in a novel, especially when we are trying to be entertained. Why was this book advertised on all of the sites like Amazon, Goodreads, and the rest?? It was BAD—my only theory comes from our woke society putting books on pedestals that don’t belong there. Sorry, but it’s true. Also, sorry to the author. I know it’s hard to write a book and I want to have a message in my book that I am writing, but I think your objective fell flat.

Now, as far as the actual story of the book goes, there were stolen things from other books/movies throughout, the complaining of the main character (I believe the author’s complaints) were so frustrating, the queer characters were surface level at best, and I would say that, without all the inappropriate stuff that couldn’t be in children’s literature, the book could theoretically be read by kids; the Goosebumps books are scarier. It was nonstop absurd behavior, unrealistic emotions, and I think the Latin representation was racist in itself when I know this author was trying to write an inclusive story—it just seemed that the inclusivity stopped at larger African American women.

So, the story itself is going to get a D- on my personal scale. The narrator was okay, but her Hispanic accents were atrocious. She’s going to get a C+. I know that I’m probably one of the very few people who ripped this book apart for what it actually was: a tragic, not scary, unfunny, mess, but I hope that the author learns a few things. Only a certain amount of a message can fit inside a story and, if you are going to trick a community, do NOT do it to the horror readers. We know what’s supposed to be in these books and what’s not—or what it is too much of non-horror material. ✌️ & ❤️.

OMG so good

I loved the book but the voice acting made it even better. Would I be this worried for Maddie Mae if her voice weren't adorable?