Burn Baby Burn! - Campfire Review

TITLE: Campfire
AUTHOR: Shawn Sarles
PUBLISHER: Jimmy Patterson
PUBLISHING DATE: July 17, 2018

FROM GOODREADS: While camping in a remote location, Maddie Davenport gathers around the fire with her friends and family to tell scary stories. Caleb, the handsome young guide, shares the local legend of the ferocious Mountain Men who hunt unsuspecting campers and leave their mark by carving grisly antlers into their victims' foreheads.

The next day, the story comes true. 

Now Maddie and her family are lost in the deep woods--with no way out--being stalked by their worst nightmares. Because there were other, more horrifying stories told that night--and Maddie's about to find out just how they end...

MY THOUGHTS: Five years ago Maddie lost her mother to a horrific accident.  Ever since then, extended family and friends have made it a point to take vacations together each year and this year, they are going on a two week camping excursion.  What starts out as fun takes a deadly turn when the campfire tales they starts sharing slowly come to life.  Everyone is suspect and it's a race for survival to see who will come out alive.

I really had pretty low expectations when I picked up "Campfire" from my local library. I didn't even expect to read it as soon as I did but I picked it up on a whim and pretty much devoured it in a 24-hour time period.  I wanted a fun slasher-type read and although I had a few issues with the novel, in the end, it hit the spot.  I will caution anyone who is thinking about picking this up that the book is pretty slow in the beginning.  Basically it takes about 180 pages for the real action to start.  Up until then, it's pretty much some back story and people camping.  The main thing that save those first 180 pages though are the campfire tales.  Each night, when an individual takes a turn, that tale becomes it's own chapter with a story title.  It's a nice addition and keeps the reader engaged.

Finally, when the action does start taking place, the pace quickens and the fun begins.  The author really had me guessing about who/what was going on and threw a few twists and turns in I totally didn't expect.  There is some normal teenage angst, which is to be expected since it's a YA novel, but it wasn't too annoying.  There is no insta-love, but there is an insta-crush, which I didn't mind because Maddie totally realized what it was and didn't try to make it into some love at first sight connection.  

If you are looking for a fun read, then consider "Campfire."  It's a solid debut in my opinion and even though the beginning of the book was struggling to be even a 3/5 read, the ending really made my overall opinion jump.

RATING: 4 PAWS