By Ava Grippo – Entertainment Editor

“Clown In A Cornfield” is a young adult horror novel. It is the first book in the trilogy written by Adam Cesare, followed by “Clown In A Cornfield: Frendo Lives” and “Clown In A Cornfield: The Church of Frendo.” The novel was published on August 2, 2020. The story follows Quinn, a teenage girl moving to Kettle Springs, a run-down town with a clown as the mascot. 

Cesare writes about the setting, “Philly ate its rot, was constantly demolishing the old to make way for the new. Looking at these houses, Quinn was struck with the feeling that Kettle Springs had left its best days behind. The town had given up.”

Quinn’s father recently received an offer to be the town’s new resident doctor. Quickly after moving, Quinn is able to meet several new friends. One night at an annual party the kids throw, a group of killer clowns dressed up as the town’s mascot, Frendo, make it their goal to murder the kids the night of the party. 

The story follows Quinn and her newfound friends – Cole, Janet, Matt and Ronnie, along with her new neighbor, Rust – as they try to survive the murderous clowns with machetes. 

The novel is essentially a 1990s slasher film in the form of a book. There are also elements of humor, betrayal, and romance wrapped up into one 300-page novel. 

Cesare does a great job keeping readers entertained as they follow Quinn and other characters’ points of view through the night of horror. The story keeps people reading, one unexpected event after another. 

One thing that the book could have done better is fleshing out the characters. The book relied heavily on the plot. Although the characters did portray backstories and emotions and have distinct personalities, they were pretty one-dimensional. The characters include:

Quinn, the strong, independent new girl who says, “Yeah, Well, I’ve decided a change will do me good.” 

Cole, the troubled boy: “He’s pretty cute, for an arsonist.”

Janet, the tough girl: “Quinn had met girls like Janet before. Ameatur lawyers.” 

Ronnie, the princess: “She had blond ringlets and a side ponytail. Chewing gum snapping. White jeans and a T-shirt so tight it might’ve been body paint. She looked how Quinn had expected the popular girls in Kettle Springs to look” 

Matt, the jock: “Quinn sniffed and realized that she could no longer smell Janet’s perfume. Because Matt stank of booze”

The book was incredibly fast-paced, which had a positive effect on the story, but it also made it more difficult to develop the characters. The characters do each have their special moment in the story, where they get to either have their breakthrough or hero moment. 

Fans of slasher films will definitely love “Clown In A Cornfield.”

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars