The kids are not all right.
Clown in a Cornfield follows Quinn Maybrook as she and her Father move to small town Kettle Springs following the death of her Mother. Kettle Springs is a small, rural town and completely different to Quinn’s previous city life, emphasising town pride and a real classical sense of views. On her first day at school Quinn finds herself falling in with the popular kids who regularly film pranks for fun, infuriating many of the town’s adults especially the authority figures.
During the Kettle Spring annual fair a prank then goes horribly wrong, resulting in a revenge taking of the worst kind. Several of the town’s adults don clown costumes and begin hunting the kids as they party, turning into a fight for survival as Quinn and her new friends run for their lives and desperately try and flee to safety. With the clowns swarming in can Quinn get out alive or will her new hometown end up being the complete death of her?
This one had an interesting start and I think us as the reader and Quinn were both thrown headfirst into Kettle Springs with little to no context, only to then become wrapped up in this literal clown massacre. It seemed like one second Quinn was adjusting to her first day at school, making friends and learning the town’s history and the next second she was being shot at and running for her life- it was all very fast paced and I completely flew through the chapters. The first third or so did move a bit slowly but I think once the killings started everything moved a lot quicker and the book definitely found its pacing.
Despite being marketed as ‘Young Adult’ there was something pretty sinister about this book and the whole concept of adults killings kids was gloriously dark. I think going into this one I’d assumed we’d only be dealing with one, singular killer but really it was entire conspiracy to rid Kettle Springs of its younger population, which was terrifying in itself. As the plot began to unveil itself and we discovered the identities of the multiple killers (including some of the kid’s own parents which was just horrific) the motives got darker and darker and the story really earned its horror title.
Quinn made for such a fantastic lead character/final girl and I really like how quickly she adapted to everything, especially considering the terrible situation she found herself in. We see her go from shy new girl to gun-ready badass in a matter of pages and she completely stole the show with how naturally she slotted into to her final girl role. With two more books in the series I’m definitely excited to continue following Quinn and see what she gets up to next and how she and the other characters all deal with the grisly aftermath.
The town setting of Kettle Springs was used brilliantly here and the wide open plains and titular cornfield all added to the overall horror vibes. The town’s backwards attitudes towards its younger generation almost matched the setting as well with the poor tech connections and middle of nowhere feel. Quinn and her friends found themselves stranded with multiple killers swarming in and it truly felt like there was no hope, no help and no way of escape.
Overall I really enjoyed this one and am already excited to read the next two sequels. The middle of nowhere town and creepy clown vibes made for the perfect horror feel and the even darker motives behind the killings really elevated this above its YA status. Quinn made for a fantastic lead final girl and I’m really excited to continue this journey with her and see what she gets up to next.
Ramblings of a Supposed Writer 