Written by Mendal W. Johnson who passed away shortly after writing this book. I plan on doing writing this in a few different segments as in trigger warning, description, and some thoughts I have. I found this book on Libby in the Halloween horror recommendations
Trigger warning: this book does contain violence, torture, and rape.
Description: Barbra is babysitting two children while their parents are away for the week. She wakes up and is bound by rope and gagged. She has to be their prisoner in their “game” with them and some neighborhood kids.
Thoughts that contain spoilers: these kids are fucked up. The book makes you feel emotions as hopelessness, anger, more anger, and sadness. It doesn’t end happy at all, and is left making you have questions. I’m putting down my thoughts of the kids below.
Cindy: the youngest of the group, the most impressionable. The kid that wants to fit in and be part of the group badly. One that often can’t hold a secret in.
Bobby: brother of Cindy, the kid who bound the babysitter for their game. This kid believed he was having fun until things became more morbid. He wanted a way out but he was scared of getting in trouble with the game and endures an attack when he disagrees with them and threats. There’s moments I wished Barb would have made it clear she could have protected him if she was free.
John: a piece of shit sixteen year old kid who was “the leader.” Once he seen Barb naked, he took upon himself to rape a helpless woman. He had a big crush on her and when “in the moment” he cared about her, but afterwards she wasn’t anything to him.
Paul: this kid has a lot of mental issues and is into torture. He pissed me off badly that he had an idea to kill. He loved feeling dominate.
Dianne: the real leader of the group, one who Is truly a monster as well, feeding her brother pills as well. She gets power hungry too.
The book is rough. There’s moments I thought “what if she told Bobby this?” “What if she did this to Jonathan?” “What if she would have hit Dianne harder, what if she could have looked past a child and knock down Cindy.”
The book doesn’t get better. You’re stuck with thinking about what happens to these kids in life . I was so hoping how they’d miss one tiny detail and all get caught.
It’s insane to think how a kids mind can work especially when they don’t have consequences in the moment. How much they are willing to do to avoid trouble as well.
by SalamiMommie