We're all gonna die down here. . . .
Julie lies dead and disemboweled in a dank, black subway tunnel, red-eyed rats nibbling at her fingers. Her friends think she’s just off with some guy—no one could hear her getting torn apart over the sound of pulsing music.
In a tunnel nearby, Casey regrets coming to Survive the Night, the all-night underground rave in the New York City subway. Her best friend Shana talked her into it, even though Casey just got out of rehab. Alone and lost in the dark, creepy tunnels, Casey doesn’t think Survive the Night could get any worse . . .
. . . until she comes across Julie’s body, and the party turns deadly.
Desperate for help, Casey and her friends find themselves running through the putrid subway system, searching for a way out. But every manhole is sealed shut, and every noise echoes eerily in the dark, reminding them they’re not alone.
They’re being hunted.
Trapped underground with someone—or something—out to get them, Casey can’t help but listen to her friend’s terrified refrain: “We’re all gonna die down here. . . .” in this bone-chilling sophmore novel by the acclaimed author of The Merciless.
Danielle Vega's Survive the Night was yet another creeptastic and surprising read! As the story started out I thought we'd be seeing another horror themes but Danielle completely surprised me with this one! It got pretty terrifying for the last 1/3 of the novel.
Casey just got out of rehab for drug overdose. It was a sad story of sorts. Casey was a soccer star and had a lot going for her. Then she injures her leg and is out for the season. While in the hospital she meets and befriends Shana. Through Shana, Casey loses a part of herself. She doesn't really realize this though. Soon she starts popping painkillers even when she doesn't need them and Shana's bad girl ways continue to fuel and strengthen the habit. And it's because of Shana, Casey ended up overdosing and was sent to rehab.
Though when our story begins, Casey doesn't seem 100% ready to change. She ditches her old friends to join Shana and the girls at a club where her ex-boyfriend is playing. Naturally, she still longs for him, especially since she was the "dumpee".
Soon the group of friends find themselves looking for the elusive Survive the Night party, because it's all the rage! That's when trouble starts to brew. Firstly, you cannot leave the party until sunrise or some such time. But when the police break it up early that's not the issue. Getting out it.
Before we're halfway through, Casey finds one of her friends dead. Murdered. It's pretty gory. And when the friends try to leave, they find themselves lost and no viable exits.
Word on the street is that there's a murderer on the loose. Someone was found dead and missing body parts at a previous party. Which this info only ante ups the danger. But what the group doesn't realize is how very real the danger is.
This read was far creepier than Danielle's first book. But you don't realize how creepy until maybe the last third of the novel. The pages start flying by because you want to see if Casey and her friends will make it out alive. Answers are truly never clear, but that's almost a positive thing here, because it adds to the insanely creepy mystery. Though I do still wonder about the "mystery". An answer never really became clear for part of it. But it almost seems nonsensical in the light of day.
It's funny too, not that long ago I was watching this old 90s horror movie on TV, I even saw it as a kid--terrified me then, not so much now! Yay! Anyway, I felt reminded of that movie, though the setting was different. I won't mention the movie for obvious spoiler reasons, but it's odd that I thought of said movie when I had watched it months ago. I swear there was another read somewhere in between all these books that also reminded me of the same movie!! I think I even met that author this year and asked her about it, but if I recall, that movie played no part in her inspiration. It was truly just a coincidence! Luckily, I'll meet Danielle soon and I can ask her about this then!
Survive the Night is not for the faint of heart. It's quite terrifying because a lot of the story happens in total darkness underground! Everything is always far creepier when you can't see what's coming at you! Its ending will leave you chilled! So be sure to leave a light on! *winks*
Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars
OMG, Jessica! This sounds absolutely horrifying! And I still really want to read it. I would be so afraid in the underground being chased by something... Excellent review!
ReplyDeleteLexxie @ (un)Conventional Bookviews