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You're Not My Sensei
There is ONLY fear in this dojo…
Remy used to get picked on in school when she was younger. That was before she started taking karate lessons. When she and her family move to a new town, she’s left with only one option for a nearby karate dojo: Solar Strike Karate.
Remy goes in hopes of making new friends — what she finds is something straight out of a nightmare. She soon can’t shake the feeling everywhere she goes, she’s being followed by the kids with the matching headbands. Or, that she’s seeing things others around her can’t.
Not to mention everyone else at her new school are too scared to talk about the students and their Sensei — and Remy is about to find out why…
Remy used to get picked on in school when she was younger. That was before she started taking karate lessons. When she and her family move to a new town, she’s left with only one option for a nearby karate dojo: Solar Strike Karate.
Remy goes in hopes of making new friends — what she finds is something straight out of a nightmare. She soon can’t shake the feeling everywhere she goes, she’s being followed by the kids with the matching headbands. Or, that she’s seeing things others around her can’t.
Not to mention everyone else at her new school are too scared to talk about the students and their Sensei — and Remy is about to find out why…
169 pages, Paperback
Published December 17, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 24, 2024
You're Not My Sensei, the second novel in the Terror Valley series, delivers on more action, fun, and horror. It builds on the vibes of the first while slowly cranking up the dial for its readers. Remy and her new friend Chuck are delightful and well-developed characters struggling fitting in and zombie karate students?! Eagerly awaiting the next novel!
December 16, 2023
I was given an early copy of You're Not My Sensei. I honestly couldn't ask for a better ending. I'm extremely excited to see what Squall Charlson writes next!
March 1, 2024
EDIT: Reviews are for the readers. I didn't know if I wanted to share it but the author found my personal Facebook account to talk about my review on February 3, 2024 (one day after I posted this review). It was inappropriate and unprofessional. I will not be reading anymore books from this author.
1.5/5
My takeaway: I was hoping this book would be an improvement from the first one and unfortunately, my expectations weren’t met. This one is riddled with grammatical/spelling errors, inconsistent character personalities/actions, and conflicting imagery. The writing still struggles to capture the perspective of a child; making it easy (and jarring at times) to tell an adult is writing as a child. The build up leaves for a lackluster payoff.
As an adult reading this, I’m not sure if a child would feel differently. However, if I found it slow and confusing at times I feel that a child may feel the same.
**||SPOILERS START HERE||**
To get into a few specifics, the book starts off really intriguing. The imagery is beautiful and I felt sucked in. However, that’s the only time I felt this way. Throughout the book, we don’t get much descriptors of any characters. All I know is that Chuck smells bad & is USUALLY nervous (despite acting out of character at times before being gripped by Solar Strike Karate) and Principal Cope has long blonde hair and dresses cutely.
The characters’ actions don’t really relate to what we know about them which makes this a little hard to follow and a bit empty of a book. Remy is a dedicated karate student and rough around the edges. Aside from one time though, Remy disrespects when karate should be used and comes off overall aggressive. This mentality switches back and forth; it’s a bit confusing. I think seeing her struggle with wanting to be aggressive would have been a more interesting and dynamic perspective instead of her saying things like “we’re in an empty hall, can you blame me?” Remy is also a know-it-all in the book and she doesn’t really learn anything at the end of it (in fact, she gets what she wants which is to skip town). She makes for a really dislikable character.
Chuck is also another character who follows this, on a lesser extent given that his personality changes due to the hold Solar Strike has over him. He should not have been as excited to initially enter Solar Strike, it was completely out of character. It hadn’t been relayed as if Solar Strike was starting to have a hold on him, rather that he broke everything we knew as an anxious child and became immediately adventurous. In turn, Remy becomes fearful and worried which is also out of character for her.
The imagery gets confusing throughout the fights; so a little hard to follow. Especially at the end when the Solar Strike Sensei is gone. Does he vanish into smoke or is he still a body rolling around the ground? I sent screenshots of this to my friends to see if the imagery made sense and the consensus was that it was confusing.
Lastly, the build up is so long that it needs a satisfactory ending to it. WHY are these kids getting possessed? WHY was the Solar Strike Sensei going after these kids AND their families? It’s only mentioned in a speculation by Remy that he wanted “more power” - but why? This isn’t answered. And it would have been the perfect time to include a cheesy villain monologue.
**||SPOILERS END HERE||**
I’m not sure if I’ll continue on with the next book as my last critiques and thoughts are reflected with this one. Maybe I’ll pick it up later in the year, after its release. Truly, I want them to be enjoyable and genuinely revive the long missed Goosebumps era.
1.5/5
My takeaway: I was hoping this book would be an improvement from the first one and unfortunately, my expectations weren’t met. This one is riddled with grammatical/spelling errors, inconsistent character personalities/actions, and conflicting imagery. The writing still struggles to capture the perspective of a child; making it easy (and jarring at times) to tell an adult is writing as a child. The build up leaves for a lackluster payoff.
As an adult reading this, I’m not sure if a child would feel differently. However, if I found it slow and confusing at times I feel that a child may feel the same.
**||SPOILERS START HERE||**
To get into a few specifics, the book starts off really intriguing. The imagery is beautiful and I felt sucked in. However, that’s the only time I felt this way. Throughout the book, we don’t get much descriptors of any characters. All I know is that Chuck smells bad & is USUALLY nervous (despite acting out of character at times before being gripped by Solar Strike Karate) and Principal Cope has long blonde hair and dresses cutely.
The characters’ actions don’t really relate to what we know about them which makes this a little hard to follow and a bit empty of a book. Remy is a dedicated karate student and rough around the edges. Aside from one time though, Remy disrespects when karate should be used and comes off overall aggressive. This mentality switches back and forth; it’s a bit confusing. I think seeing her struggle with wanting to be aggressive would have been a more interesting and dynamic perspective instead of her saying things like “we’re in an empty hall, can you blame me?” Remy is also a know-it-all in the book and she doesn’t really learn anything at the end of it (in fact, she gets what she wants which is to skip town). She makes for a really dislikable character.
Chuck is also another character who follows this, on a lesser extent given that his personality changes due to the hold Solar Strike has over him. He should not have been as excited to initially enter Solar Strike, it was completely out of character. It hadn’t been relayed as if Solar Strike was starting to have a hold on him, rather that he broke everything we knew as an anxious child and became immediately adventurous. In turn, Remy becomes fearful and worried which is also out of character for her.
The imagery gets confusing throughout the fights; so a little hard to follow. Especially at the end when the Solar Strike Sensei is gone. Does he vanish into smoke or is he still a body rolling around the ground? I sent screenshots of this to my friends to see if the imagery made sense and the consensus was that it was confusing.
Lastly, the build up is so long that it needs a satisfactory ending to it. WHY are these kids getting possessed? WHY was the Solar Strike Sensei going after these kids AND their families? It’s only mentioned in a speculation by Remy that he wanted “more power” - but why? This isn’t answered. And it would have been the perfect time to include a cheesy villain monologue.
**||SPOILERS END HERE||**
I’m not sure if I’ll continue on with the next book as my last critiques and thoughts are reflected with this one. Maybe I’ll pick it up later in the year, after its release. Truly, I want them to be enjoyable and genuinely revive the long missed Goosebumps era.
February 18, 2024
This book is as good as the first! I can’t wait for the next book. I believe that this is quickly becoming one of my favorite series!
December 18, 2023
**I was sent a copy of this just before release**
I absolutely loved Book #1 in this series and the second was no disappointment! Taking what worked at a core level in School's Out For Never, this book elevates with more action and even more spooks!
Remy has moved to a crumbling town her father's company has come to rescue. Missing her old dojo and her old Sensei, she gets excited to find there is one not too far from her in the new town! However, when kids from the dojo start showing up uninvited and the Sensei gives Remy the wiggins, will she find the strength to fight for herself and maybe the town? Or will she bow and concede to a passion she's had since she was younger?
I was surprised at the step up in horror in this book. Still carrying itself in the same vein of Goosebumps, there is some imagery in this story that made me go 'uuugh', but in a good way. The action in this was a lot of fun and the good characters are warm and believable. The bad characters are ones that make you uncomfortable and definitely do their part to make you want them to fail. I loved that Remy had adults rooting for her and adults that believed her. Her relationships with those around her really felt genuine. Overall this was a really fast, fun read! I am thoroughly enjoying this series and I'm so ready for book #3!
I absolutely loved Book #1 in this series and the second was no disappointment! Taking what worked at a core level in School's Out For Never, this book elevates with more action and even more spooks!
Remy has moved to a crumbling town her father's company has come to rescue. Missing her old dojo and her old Sensei, she gets excited to find there is one not too far from her in the new town! However, when kids from the dojo start showing up uninvited and the Sensei gives Remy the wiggins, will she find the strength to fight for herself and maybe the town? Or will she bow and concede to a passion she's had since she was younger?
I was surprised at the step up in horror in this book. Still carrying itself in the same vein of Goosebumps, there is some imagery in this story that made me go 'uuugh', but in a good way. The action in this was a lot of fun and the good characters are warm and believable. The bad characters are ones that make you uncomfortable and definitely do their part to make you want them to fail. I loved that Remy had adults rooting for her and adults that believed her. Her relationships with those around her really felt genuine. Overall this was a really fast, fun read! I am thoroughly enjoying this series and I'm so ready for book #3!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews