Ten

Rating: 5 Stars (No halves, no conditions. 5. Actual. Stars.) This review originally appeared on my Goodreads Profile and my blog, "In Review". Oh. My. Goodness. This. Book. I tried so hard to come up with a flaw that this book had. Ever since I saw the blurb I was SO excited to read this, and so, naturally, I half-expected it to be awful, or at least have some major problem that would ruin my excitement and enjoyment. SO not the case. I'll admit, this book does start slow. You have a handful of chapters of somewhat annoying exposition, with the main character, Meg, being a little whiny and a little annoying, and all the other characters being VERY annoying. You have the standard love triangle with a twist (the twist being one side of this love triangle is kind of insane). Then you have hints towards past events that aren't fully explained, which make the reader go "wait, did I just miss...no, okay, they're not going to tell us what that means yet." Once you get past this beginning, however, the book begins to pick up. People start to die. (That isn't a spoiler, the blurb clearly states it.) And then, once you hit the halfway point or so of the book, it TAKES. OFF. My reaction on just about every page of the second half was "OHMYGOODNESS, really?" "THAT happened?!?!" "Are THEY the killer?" "No, it has to be THEM." "OMG NO HOW COULD IT BE....WAIT WHAT." In addition to the fast pace and the legitimately fright inducing writing, this book had a real plot. And it was a FANTASTIC plot. And I was freaking out the whole time trying to figure it out. Maybe I'm just stupid, but I do watch/read a lot of murder mysteries, and I totally didn't figure this one out. The author sufficiently twisted my brain around and kept me from seeing what was right in front of me, and it's safe to say I didn't know exactly how this would turn out until the ending. Once I saw it laid out, it made perfect sense, and I was SO HAPPY. The entire book I was terrified the ending was going to be stupid, and it was anything but. Another major plus to this book: It has a message. It's a somewhat hidden, underlying message about the potentially tragic effects of bullying, and the consequences of your actions, and the author never chooses to hit her readers over the head by reiterating it, but it's there nonetheless. And, besides being a great and poignant message, it also serves to make this book modern, relevant, and relatable to YA readers. If you like murder mysteries or horror stories and you haven't read this yet, you really need to fix that. If you're trying to get into the genre with something creepy but not gut-wrenching, I definitely recommend this as well. Even if neither of these categories applies to you and you just want to read a really good book, I would still give this a try. In a nutshell: READ THIS BOOK. You won't regret it.

THIS IS A SPOIL FREE REVIEW. “Ten teens. Three days. One killer. It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives-an exclusive house party on Henry Island. Best friends Meg and Minnie are looking forward to two days of boys, booze, and fun-filled luxury. But what starts out as fun turns twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine. And things only get worse from there. With a storm raging outside, the teens are cut off from the outside world…so when a mysterious killer begins picking them off one by one, there’s no escape. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on one another, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine?” I’ve had this novel sitting on my kindle for some time until I decided to dive in and I’m glad I did. I will admit, I went in with a little hesitation since the book centers around teens out for a weekend intended for booze, boys and the inevitable hookups which I have outgrown, but the sinister twist the weekend takes is what drew me in. I’m usually not a fan of cliquish teens competing and complaining about boys, which this book defiantly has, maybe a little too much, but I found myself trying to piece all the clues scattered through these pages alongside Meg. I had theories about who was behind the killings and a few times I stood by those theories, thinking I cracked the case, but then the next clue would be revealed and I found myself back to square one. None of my theories measured up to the big finale, and I was very surprised and impressed with how it alluded me, I never saw it coming. However, there was an aspect of the book that I was not crazy about; the tone. While some parts of the book were written very well, the dialogue was a little painful. While, yes it’s about ten teens, I must have forgotten how petty high schoolers can be, and some of these teens were off the charts. Drama. A lot of petty drama. Aside from the serial killer lurking in the shadows, these guys decided it was the perfect time to wash their dirty laundry in front of everyone. Maybe that was because of the serial killer lurking in the shadows. But still, the dialogue less than desirable. A lot of cheesy one-liners were put in place where a simple description of an expression or body language that would have sufficed and still get the point across, maybe even make it stronger. In the end, this was how the author wrote, and I still enjoyed her book very much. I quickly connected with Meg and felt her pain when it came to the sacrifices she made for a friend, someone who was ultimately toxic, but her big heart prevented her from walking away. She simply couldn’t, and I admire her for that. The characters became very real to me, and I quickly loved some and hated the others. The story engulfed me. I let it, and I enjoyed it. Hopefully, you enjoy this book if you’re just diving in, and if you’re still on the fens about picking it up, give it a try if you like fast-paced action, suspense, and gruesome murders.

I can't even begin to explain how much I love TEN! TEN is a fast-paced thriller, with jump-out-of-your-seat moments, secrets that will shock you, and an ending that will terrify you until the very last page. I should start off by saying that I read TEN in one night: start to finish. I couldn't put it down! McNeil composed a mystery novel in which all of the events in this book actually made sense. She did a terrific job with this novel, and I would recommend it to anybody -- mystery lover or not! Our main protagonist Meg is a very likeable character. She's always there for her friends, always wants to help out, and is always sharp on the tack. Especially when it comes to murders around her. I never once found her to be annoying or idiotic, like some characters are in books that feature murders. Minnie, on the other hand, is a very completely different story. She's quick-tempered and will push anybody aside to get what she wants. Minnie is definitely not the best of friends in YA literature. And the whole thing with a serial killer murdering these ten teens on an island cut off from the rest of the world . . . mind equals blown. If you don't know, TEN is an inspired story by Agatha Christie's AND THEN THERE WERE NONE. I thought that Gretchen did a great job at tackling that very popular mystery novel, and I wanted more and more after I read the last page! Fantastic! THE. ENDING. No spoilers here, but GUYS. WOW. My jaw was literally open for the entire final fifty pages. McNeil had me on the edge of my seat; I was even checking over my shoulder to make sure the killer wasn't standing behind me! Love it when a book makes me do that! And like I said before, everything makes sense in the end! Didn't see a bunch things coming in this novel. One last thing before I end this review: somebody in Hollywood, PLEASE buy the movie rights to TEN! This would make a killer movie! (no pun intended) Thrilling, captivating and scary; TEN deserves to be on the big screen! Overall, TEN is one of my favorite novels of 2012! If you want a novel with secrets and betrayals, shocking moments and terrifying conclusions, TEN is definitely the book you should buy! -Review originally posted at bookyareview.blogspot.com-

The cover art and write up for this book immediately intrigued me. It made me think of the movie I Know What You Did Last Summer. Masked killer runs around killing off unrealistic teenagers? I mean who wouldn't be intrigued by that. This is the first book that I have ever read by author Gretchen McNeil and it left me with mixed feelings. The main character Meg was likeable enough, a sweet, shy, sarcastic high school senior. Her best friend Minnie was a hot mess, unpredictable, bossy, and clingy. Personally, I had a hard time keeping the two different girls names straight, Meg and Minnie. I felt like the characters weren't really all that developed. There wasn't really enough information about each character to really grow attached to anyone and root for them so to speak. So, when someone died it was kind of like eh there goes another one. There was no emotional attachment for me, which I like when I read a book as I am sure you do as well. Except, maybe Meg. It felt like the characters were just thrown into the plot of this story without a whole lot of thought put into it. Meg and T.J. Fletcher the leading man in this story have a sketchy past. Meg was head over heels for T.J. to the point where she had fallen in love with him. He asked her to prom and as excited as Meg was to go to prom with him, she turned him down because her long time best friend Minnie liked him A LOT. Meg put Minnie's feelings above her own throughout the entire book, which is selfless and all, but there comes a point when you have to put yourself first and do what you need to do for you, right? So as you can guess jealousy and rivalry came out in Minnie when T.J. started paying more attention to his crush Meg... Overall, this wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't the best book either. So, in my personal opinion I rate this book with two and half stars. It's only 320 pages so it would make for a light quick beach read. Just because this book didn't really hit me doesn't mean that I won't give some of Gretchen's other titles a try in the near future. Review is also listed on my blog: girlathome23.blogspot.com

What I Liked: 1) First off, I loved that it was an homage to one of my favorite books of all time, Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. If you've never read the original, make sure that you do it at some point in your life. 2) Miz McNeil has embodied Christie's gift for the confused mystery! I've read a lot of AC novels, and in every single one of them, just when you think you find the answer, she throws you a new twist. That's exactly how Miz McNeil wrote Ten. Just when you think you've figured it out, she throws you for a loop and you start thinking the killer is someone else. 3) I liked how all of the characters seemed to find their own rhythm with each other, despite that they weren't really friends. That should have seemed suspicious to them from the beginning, but being teens at a party on a deserted island with no supervision for the whole weekend, they didn't really seem to think much of it. 4) Something that was different in Ten than ATTWN, at least for me, is that I felt more connected to these characters than I did in the Agatha Christie story. I knew that if it held true to the Christie story, almost everyone would have to die, but there were characters that I genuinely did not want to see dead, even just for Meg's sake! I think that is what had me holding my breath at certain scenes! 5) Probably my absolute favorite thing about this book is that it captured me so well that I had to actually turn more lights on. Every creak in the house that I heard while I was reading was a potential murderer! Gretchen McNeil's ability to terrify me so completely in this book made this a huge winner for me! I may or may not have had to sleep with the lights on.... What I Didn't Like: I liked everything about it! Overall Thoughts: Gretchen McNeil's Ten is the perfect spooky story to curl up with on a stormy night. If you like to be spooked by every gust of the wind while you are reading, pick up this one. It will tug at your heart as you know what's coming for these characters, but also hold you in high suspense with each twist. I think everyone will enjoy this story, and fans of Agatha Christie will be awed by the talent that Miz McNeil displays!

The story of Ten may seem familiar, but the characters, setting and modern twist will not. I breezed through this edge-of-your seat read in a day, although I have to admit when I got to the last 20 pages and it was dark outside, I decided to finish it in the morning. Yes, it was scary and suspenseful, and it will make you think twice about spending the weekend in a secluded house on an island during a terrible storm, if indeed you ever have the opportunity to do so. Here's the set-up: A mixed bag of ten high school kids are invited to a private weekend party by popular teen Jessica Lawrence. Meg and her best friend Minnie arrive together on the ferry in the middle of a storm, and they are joined by T.J., Ben, Vivien, Nathan, Kenny, Gunner, Kumiko and Lori. Jessica has been held up and won't be able to make it until morning, and so the gang settles in for the night. But right away, strange things begin to happen. Ben, who is allergic to nuts, almost dies at dinner when he eats a salad sprinkled with almonds. And a strange home-made DVD is discovered that sets everyone on edge, a DVD with eerie music, disturbing images, and an ominous countdown from ten to one. When one of the girls is found hanging by her neck from a ceiling beam, things begin to quickly unravel. From this point on, McNeil builds the tension at a steady pace as the party-goers start to drop like flies, and accusations run rampant as the teens realize they don't know who to trust. The harrowing story is told through Meg's point of view in third person, so if you have any sleuthing skills at all, it will not take long to figure out who the survivors will be. But the author has plenty of tricks up her sleeve, and even though I thought I had the murderer pegged early on, I was dead wrong. McNeil delights in setting up interpersonal relationships among the teens that pit them against each other, and as you might suspect there are plenty of "he said - she said" moments that throw the reader off even more. Meg's best friend Minnie is already on edge, since she is clinically depressed and relies on medications to function. But wait! Someone has stolen Minnie's meds! Yes, Minnie is slowly losing it, and her co-dependent relationship with Meg adds to the unrest and distrust that is slowly escalating. A fierce storm acts as a backdrop for the entire story and adds to the danger as the party-goers leave the house to try to find a way off the island. The overall moodiness of a stormy night is a familiar horror trope, but it worked for me. I felt every icy raindrop that lashed down on Meg and T.J. as they tried to get to the boathouse in order to radio for help. But don't worry, help is a long time coming, and things are going to get a lot worse before they get better. McNeil's characters are somewhat stereotypical, and you may get tired of the "dudes" and "totallys" that make up some of the dialog, but the author has a sense of humor and occasionally pokes fun at her own clichés. At one point early in the story, as the characters finally begin to realize what might be going on, Nathan tells T.J. "Well, if this is a horror movie, you're the first one to go. The black dude's always the first one to die." Of course, there are moments where it's almost impossible to suspend your disbelief, like the appearance of a bow and arrow that the killer uses with amazing skill. But other plot points are truly effective, like the introduction of a diary that gives us a glimpse into the mind of the killer. The possibility of a supernatural element is briefly suggested, but it is the pure evil of a delusional human mind that is responsible for the terror, which makes this book all the scarier. I recommend a copy of Ten, a nice safe blankie, and a dimly lit room to get in the Halloween spirit. And if the weather is stormy, please lock the doors. You don't want to get caught outside.

Book Description: It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives--three days on Henry Island at an exclusive house party. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their own reasons for wanting to be there, which involve their school's most eligible bachelor, T. J. Fletcher, and look forward to three glorious days of boys, bonding, and fun-filled luxury. But what they expect is definitely not what they get, and what starts out as fun turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine. Suddenly, people are dying, and with a storm raging outside, the teens are cut off from the rest of the world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn't scheduled to return for three days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine? Review: Since I heard about Ten, I really wanted to read it and I was not disappointed. The characters are so believable that I found myself sympathizing with all but two. I won't get into anything, because I don't want to ruin it for you. It is evident that McNeil chose each word carefully. Her voice comes out and shines within these pages. Meg is likeable and I found her smart and forceful. She is strong and loves her best friend, Minnie, and a boy named, TJ. McNeil hides the real killer very well, and don't ever assume anything about this book. I have you to warn you, once you start reading this book, you won't be able to put it down. I'm giving this book five stars. It gave me a thrilling ride that made me think. Who did it? What happened with Minnie and TJ and Gunner and Ben and Meg? My only complaint is that there were only a couple of questions that were brought up that weren't completely answered, but that didn't take away from the book for me. This is a must read!

It's the party everyone would kill to be at...and one that may kill you if you attend. Thrilling, horrifying, and strangely entertaining, TEN is a highly suspenseful murder mystery that is nearly impossible to set aside for even a second. The third person narration follows Meg, a sarcastic teenage writer who was dragged along to an exclusive party by her codependent BFF, Minnie. While I never felt a deep connection with Meg, I was rooting for her to survive from the beginning and was eagerly trying to unravel the clues right alongside her. Simply put, TEN is the type of story that will keep you up late at night reading, anxiously turning the pages and warily eyeing every shadowy corner in your home*. HIGHLIGHTS: I was both correct and incorrect about the killer's identity, so I found that to be a pleasant surprise. There is plenty of diversity among the characters, and I like that McNeil didn't follow the typical horror movie pattern entirely. All in all, TEN is one thrilling mystery. LOWLIGHTS: Neither the characters nor the romance are deep or complex, but that didn't bother me (I feel like this story is meant to be a quick, exciting read rather than deep or emotional). It takes a few chapters for things to get going. A few of the murders seemed a bit convenient (the killer had to get really lucky a few times in order for the right person to fall into the correct trap). RATING: 4.5 out of 5 * Probably not a good idea to read this one at night, like I did. I don't scary easily, but even I had a hard time falling asleep after reading this one (especially since my house makes creepy creaking noises at night - which so didn't help the situation). *cuddles with flashlight*

Ten teenagers are invited to White Rock House, stately mannor on a private island. Meg and her best friend Minnie just wanted to have a fun weekend and enjoy the party, but someone on the island has different plans for them. When they find a DVD with a vengeful message, people start disappearing and getting killed. Of course the killer is after the two girls as well. TEN is a mix of all the teen slasher movies that you've watched, turned into a book. The setting for TEN is very glum and isolated, a tiny island with only two mansions and a storm brewing. These factors are expected to make our characters' quest for survival harder and even though they often say they shouldn't separate they do exactly that. They were just as infuriating as teens in horror movies. Admittedly both setting and characters are a bit clichéd and the plot felt too generic. It could've been more extensive in explanations and allowed some more time to work on a stressed-out reader instead of rattling through the murders in a row, offing people like ticking off a check list. TEN comes along with a story of friendship, a small love story for Meg and one of the boys on the island and its grand killing spree. The story of our teens is supplemented with diary entries of an unknown person, whose past and entries are the key to finding out who's behind the murders. 3,5/5 ***/* TEN - A mainstream YA horror slasher story, with creepy occurrences and gruesome murders according to schedule. I read TEN during my summer vacation, in a lonely cottage on the Danish coast, while rainy and windy weather broke through the quiet of the night. So you can imagine a portion of the story's intended tension and creep-factor were definitly delivered to this reader.

Was looking for a novel for my high school students…. Perfect

Awesome book, really interesting

A tous les fans de Mrs Christie :évitez-vous cela; si la romancière était encore vivante,elle pourrait presque attaquer sa collègue pour plagiat éhonté : la trame est presque toute empruntée à "and then there were none" aka " dix petits n.......";tout y est :l'île, les dix qui ont quelque chose à se reprocher , l'hôte qui n'est pas là, le disque représenté par une bande video , les crimes suivant une "logique " (la comptine remplacée par un journal) , la "ruse " de l'assassin -totalement incompréhensible-même la fin est empruntée à la version théâtrale du livre de AC. Alors que Mrs Christie détaillait ses personnages ,ici ces ectoplasmes ont la consistance d'une victime de la série "vendredi 13" ; on a du mal à distinguer ces jeunes tant ils sont interchangeables ,le livre semble écrit à la vas-y -que-je-te pousse ,;je ne sais s'il a été traduit en français ,mais sa version originale est aussi indigeste que la salade qui manque étouffer un convive . "and then there were none" est le best-seller de tous les romans policiers ; il a été souvent imité ,jamais égalé ; mais ici on touche le fond.

Ten is about 10 teens that are invited to a party. It's not an original party, because it's a party on an island. ' SHHHHH! Don't spread the word! Three-day weekend. House party. White Rock House on Henry Island. You do NOT want to miss it'. It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives, but soon, it turns into a game of Hide and Seek and a very good place for a killer to hunt his prey. ' And their doom comes swiftly' Ten had me hooked from the very first page. I brought this book for Halloween, as i don't actually read horror books, but it turns out that i didn't have time to read it, because i had other books that i had to read first. But i really wish i would have read it sooner. The style of writing was very easy to like, and i think everything was well described, except maybe the characters. And speaking of which - they were one of the reason why i didn't really,really love it. As we already know, this book is about a killer, so obviously some people died. I think there were like 3 teens that died in a day, and the others thought that it was an ' accident'. They kept on thinking that, and i was so irritated! Only when we get to like page 190, do they finally come to their senses and realize that it wasn't an accident, and that actually there is some psychopath trying to murder them all. Like really?! How stupid are they!!!? And what also got on my nerves was Meg's ( main character) ' best friend' - Minnie. Meg was worried about her like every single second. There is this boy, named T.J ( What a stupid name/ nickname by the way) and both of them have a BIG crush on him. T.J wants nothing to do with Minnie, and wants Meg instead. And Meg is more than happy to be with him, but she doesn't because of her crazy friend ( and when i say ' crazy' i mean crazy), she is worried she will hurt her feelings if she finds out that she has a crush on him as well and wants to go out with him. BIG... DEAL... It seemed like literally EVERY girl has a crush on him. One word that i can think of to describe my feeling to that is - ANNOYING! The killer mystery was another thing that i didn't really like. I mean i liked it, but i suspected who it might be since the character appeared in the book. And i was right. So it wasn't a very big surprise for me. The thing that i liked the most was this cool diary that Meg found, i love reading diary's. It was so interesting! I have to admit, i was not expecting to be scared whilst reading this, but much to be shame, i was. Seriously! I was like looking around my bedroom thinking that someone might come through the door or something and slice my throat open or worse. Guess that's why i don't really read horror books. The very ending, as i told you, wasn't very full of surprises for me, but Ten still had some twists that i didn't see coming. Overall, Ten is a very well written, and engaging book that kept me guessing and turning the pages. Scary, spooky and totally awesome! I highly recommend it to people who like horror/thriller books, but not so much to people like me, who think the killer might magically appear out of the pages and stab you with a knife until you bleed to death. Urggghhh, me and my imagination... i better not read books like this, you never know what i might imagine next...