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Teacher's Pet
Kate will do anything to be the teacher’s petAn aspiring horror writer, Kate likes a little scare. When offered a spot at an exclusive weeklong writing conference, she jumps at the chance to go. After all, it’s taught by William Drewe, the master of horror himself.But strangely, when Kate arrives, William Drewe is nowhere to be found. Filling in for him is his brother, Gideon, whose assignments give Kate the thrills she seeks. With a teacher like this, she’ll get all the material she needs to become a bestselling author . . . if she survives.This ebook features an illustrated biography of Richie Tankersley Cusick including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author’s personal collection.
200 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1990
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About the author
Richie Tankersley Cusick
50 books796 followersRichie Tankersley Cusick is the bestselling young adult author of over 25 titles, including two adult horror titles, Scarecrow and Blood Roots. Her popularity grew at the height of the horror/YA boom in the late '80s/early '90s, particularly with books like Lifeguard , Trick or Treat and Teacher's Pet, just to name a few, allowing her to keep company on the bestseller paperback lists with the likes of R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike. Her fan base expanded about the time she changed publishers to Archway/Pocket Books with titles like Vampire and Someone at the Door.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 131 reviews
September 7, 2021
A nice nostalgic re-read. I definitely had this Point Horror as teenager as the cover is so striking, but I couldn’t recall the plot.
I was slightly surprised to find that it’s set in a writers retreat camp in the woods, as the cover had suggests a high school setting.
Kate is a budding horror writer and is given the chance to spend a week at the camp.
But she soon finds out that the fear is for real.
I loved the Camp Crystal Lake like setting in this one, Cusick really sets the creepy tone of this story perfectly.
The story itself didn’t quite fully hold my interest though, but there’s some gear scenes. I found this to be one of the more middling entries in the range.
I was slightly surprised to find that it’s set in a writers retreat camp in the woods, as the cover had suggests a high school setting.
Kate is a budding horror writer and is given the chance to spend a week at the camp.
But she soon finds out that the fear is for real.
I loved the Camp Crystal Lake like setting in this one, Cusick really sets the creepy tone of this story perfectly.
The story itself didn’t quite fully hold my interest though, but there’s some gear scenes. I found this to be one of the more middling entries in the range.
April 17, 2017
I think that Moonlight Reader and I posted this as a potential read during Halloween Book Bingo. Wow, I had forgotten what a mess this book was. I honestly went into this blind since I didn't recall a thing at all about this book. I know I had it though as a kid since I had most of Cusick's books when I was growing up. Maybe even at that age I knew a bad book when I read one and pushed it out of my head.
"Teacher's Pet" follows Kate and her teacher who go to a writer's retreat. Don't ask questions about this retreat though since her teacher is into romance and Kate is into horror. They both go off and go sit in on other seminars and Kate gets some one on one with Gideon Dewe.
Now here is the thing, most of Cusick's books follows a checklist, but it's like she upped the ante in this one. Besides having a teen girl who falls for the first guy she sees, she somehow has crushes on and kisses every dude she meets in this book (there are three, Gideon, Pearce, and unfortunately named dude named Denzil) and somehow all three fall in love with Kate and her beauty. Sorry, you can't see it, but I just snickered like I was five when I typed that.
I don't even get why Kate likes horror, it seems superficial at best the way Cusick describes it. She doesn't even go into her favorite authors. And Kate's writing is so terrific that she is singled out in class which makes someone jealous enough to kill (she's the teacher's pet).
This book had so many twists and turns I refuse to follow them all. And this was a bit more gruesome than her other works (people find body parts lying around) but it still seemed like a haha type murderous place instead of straight up Camp Crystal Lake.
The writing wasn't very good in this one and the characters we meet are shallow. Once again you imagine there are only really 6 people in this book (Kate, Gideon, Pearce, Denzil, Kate's teacher, and also a young girl named Tawney who will cause you to go, well bless your heart a lot while reading about the things she's saying) and you imagine that other people exist, but not really since Kate never speaks to any of them.
I laughed out loud while reading this ending around 1 am. The evil-doer is found out, I called BS on that whole thing, Kate kisses one dude, and then the other, both dudes still in love with her and promise to fight for her love (why???) and she hops on a train with her teacher. Um, you all were just murdered and there was a fire, why the heck are the cops allowing them to leave just like that just an hour or so after the events are revealed. I have watched enough of The First 48 to know they just couldn't go home like that. Also where are Kate's parents? You think she call them instead of having her heart beat fast cause she's looking at one of her beau's profile.
"Teacher's Pet" follows Kate and her teacher who go to a writer's retreat. Don't ask questions about this retreat though since her teacher is into romance and Kate is into horror. They both go off and go sit in on other seminars and Kate gets some one on one with Gideon Dewe.
Now here is the thing, most of Cusick's books follows a checklist, but it's like she upped the ante in this one. Besides having a teen girl who falls for the first guy she sees, she somehow has crushes on and kisses every dude she meets in this book (there are three, Gideon, Pearce, and unfortunately named dude named Denzil) and somehow all three fall in love with Kate and her beauty. Sorry, you can't see it, but I just snickered like I was five when I typed that.
I don't even get why Kate likes horror, it seems superficial at best the way Cusick describes it. She doesn't even go into her favorite authors. And Kate's writing is so terrific that she is singled out in class which makes someone jealous enough to kill (she's the teacher's pet).
This book had so many twists and turns I refuse to follow them all. And this was a bit more gruesome than her other works (people find body parts lying around) but it still seemed like a haha type murderous place instead of straight up Camp Crystal Lake.
The writing wasn't very good in this one and the characters we meet are shallow. Once again you imagine there are only really 6 people in this book (Kate, Gideon, Pearce, Denzil, Kate's teacher, and also a young girl named Tawney who will cause you to go, well bless your heart a lot while reading about the things she's saying) and you imagine that other people exist, but not really since Kate never speaks to any of them.
I laughed out loud while reading this ending around 1 am. The evil-doer is found out, I called BS on that whole thing, Kate kisses one dude, and then the other, both dudes still in love with her and promise to fight for her love (why???) and she hops on a train with her teacher. Um, you all were just murdered and there was a fire, why the heck are the cops allowing them to leave just like that just an hour or so after the events are revealed. I have watched enough of The First 48 to know they just couldn't go home like that. Also where are Kate's parents? You think she call them instead of having her heart beat fast cause she's looking at one of her beau's profile.
September 23, 2021
Welcome to Camp Convoluted in Hot Mess City, where you too can have a migraine trying to make sense of all this inanity!!
Our protag Kate goes to a writer's camp out in the woods, and weird shit starts going down.
A severed hand in glove is found in the woods, and then disappears...some freak is hanging out with an axe by the lake...you know, the usual.
And some wack-job shrouded lady named Rowena is chilling in the woods, talking in dumb weird sing-songs to our protagonist, and then we find out the wackadoo is the teacher's sister who supposedly had perished in a raging fire. But then--SURPRISE!!--Rowena is actually the groundskeeper in drag, going on a killing spree all in the name of his crispy fried dead lover! NORMAN BATES, EAT YOUR HEART OUT!
But at least Kate our protagonist gets to make out with the teacher (EWW), the groundskeeper (she totally didn't know he was PSYCHO yet, so it's ok :p) and the cook in a cowboy hat named Denzil Doyle (LMAOO).
2 out of 5 lip-smacking smooches from Kate, but you turn you head away because you don't want anything to do with this book.
Our protag Kate goes to a writer's camp out in the woods, and weird shit starts going down.
A severed hand in glove is found in the woods, and then disappears...some freak is hanging out with an axe by the lake...you know, the usual.
And some wack-job shrouded lady named Rowena is chilling in the woods, talking in dumb weird sing-songs to our protagonist, and then we find out the wackadoo is the teacher's sister who supposedly had perished in a raging fire. But then--SURPRISE!!--Rowena is actually the groundskeeper in drag, going on a killing spree all in the name of his crispy fried dead lover! NORMAN BATES, EAT YOUR HEART OUT!
But at least Kate our protagonist gets to make out with the teacher (EWW), the groundskeeper (she totally didn't know he was PSYCHO yet, so it's ok :p) and the cook in a cowboy hat named Denzil Doyle (LMAOO).
2 out of 5 lip-smacking smooches from Kate, but you turn you head away because you don't want anything to do with this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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September 24, 2021A teen thriller tied up and unmasked to reveal... it was a secret gothic romance all along?!? Yeah, and it would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for you meddling, skinny dipping poetesses! RTC goes full bonkers with this cracked gem, offering a smorgasbord of unproductive writer's retreats, possible ghosts, dead sisters, mysterious gloves, aloof cats, poison ivy attacks, secret twins, psychologist-at-the-end-of-Psycho monologues, and multiple acts of smooching men way too old for you, girl.
MVP goes to Tawney, the sweet, super-helpful teen kitchen worker and aspiring wordsmith, who loves being buck naked and blockheaded, and has the nicest spirit anybody ever did see.
MVP goes to Tawney, the sweet, super-helpful teen kitchen worker and aspiring wordsmith, who loves being buck naked and blockheaded, and has the nicest spirit anybody ever did see.
July 28, 2024
Fairly decent entry in the series with a satisfying ending. But the middle section was a little cluttered in my opinion and I struggled to keep track. Would still reccommend just.
A star author ruins a writing camp for aspiring child authors. But when he doesn't show up and his brother takes over instead, the children start to wonder what really happened to the teacher and if his brother may be to blame.
A star author ruins a writing camp for aspiring child authors. But when he doesn't show up and his brother takes over instead, the children start to wonder what really happened to the teacher and if his brother may be to blame.
May 5, 2019
I enjoyed this one a lot. The scares got a bit ridiculous but I'm not complaining. I'm pleasantly surprised that Kate's friends have unique personalities since in most retro YA they're often cardboard characters. Denzil's wiseass cracks are funny and his sarcasm, next-level. Tawney's dim-witted persona is believable and hilarious. When she was banned from the kitchen where she worked after burning some muffins and almost extending the favor to the whole building, she composed a poem, "Muffin Madness, My Early Morning Sadness". That had me chuckling.
The setting is a writers' convention/workshop set in a camp. This is of course preferable to a school setting, where any hint of romance between a teacher's pet and her maestro is strictly verboten. And yes, there's some major flirting here and it's not just between our lead and her guru. She also kissed a handsome someone she was previously very wary of after the latter caught his leg in a steel trap that was meant for her. Sometimes I just didn't understand what's happening anymore but I dug all that craziness.
There is a sad and wretched family affair underpinning all of this, but I shan't be spoiling anything. It's a worthy read, and not shallow at all. I'm rating it 7/10 or 3 whacked out stars out of 5.
The setting is a writers' convention/workshop set in a camp. This is of course preferable to a school setting, where any hint of romance between a teacher's pet and her maestro is strictly verboten. And yes, there's some major flirting here and it's not just between our lead and her guru. She also kissed a handsome someone she was previously very wary of after the latter caught his leg in a steel trap that was meant for her. Sometimes I just didn't understand what's happening anymore but I dug all that craziness.
There is a sad and wretched family affair underpinning all of this, but I shan't be spoiling anything. It's a worthy read, and not shallow at all. I'm rating it 7/10 or 3 whacked out stars out of 5.
March 8, 2021
This story started out really strong and I was really loving it. However the plot kept getting messy and there is a cringey autolove as well that I was not a fan of.
Kate loves horror and wants to become a horror writer. She goes to a seminar to learn and attend a class by one of her favorite horror authors. However when she arrives at this camp/retreat where the seminar is taking place, she starts to feel like someone is watching her, following her.
The mystery part was a good idea that did not succeed in my opinion because when trying to make it more intricate, it backfired and became messy.
Kate loves horror and wants to become a horror writer. She goes to a seminar to learn and attend a class by one of her favorite horror authors. However when she arrives at this camp/retreat where the seminar is taking place, she starts to feel like someone is watching her, following her.
The mystery part was a good idea that did not succeed in my opinion because when trying to make it more intricate, it backfired and became messy.
July 22, 2019
Apparently, Kate is beautiful and also frighteningly talented.
I have no evidence of this, but we were told at least 45 times every chapter, so I won’t argue.
I have no evidence of this, but we were told at least 45 times every chapter, so I won’t argue.
April 6, 2022
You know, no matter how many times I've read this, I never remember who the killer is. Probably because all these sketchy-ass men should be locked up!
September 7, 2025
Teacher's Pet is wild. Like so many Point Horror books, this is one I very distinctly remember owning as a kid, but I have no recollection if I ever read it or not. I must admit that I am really enjoying Richie Tankersley Cusick's contributions to Point Horror - this book very nearly usurped
Trick or Treat
as my favourite, but unfortunately there is no one character in this book who is quite as enjoyable as Conor.
I appreciated that Teacher's Pet flirted with the supernatural, although it is a little disappointing that (so far) no Point Horror book has fully committed to this idea, instead content to rely on pranks and crazed killers. Still, I was kept on my toes guessing who (or what) was behind everything right up until the end, with several pretty effective twists and turns thrown in. I also quite liked the protagonist Kate, and both Denzil and Tawney are fun secondary characters. There was even a moment where this book almost gets a little sexy, which was very unexpected.
There's a lot to like with Teacher's Pet. I remember as a kid never being particularly enthralled by the cover, unlike so many other Point Horror book covers, so perhaps I went into this with low expectations. I'm not sure, but by the time I put the book down I was very pleasantly pleased with how enjoyable this turned out to be.
3.5/5
Point Horror Ranked
1) Trick or Treat - 3.5/5
2) Teacher's Pet - 3.5/5
3) April Fools - 3.5/5
4) My Secret Admirer - 3.5/5
5) The Lifeguard - 3.5/5
6) Funhouse - 3/5
7) The Boyfriend - 2/5
8) The Baby-Sitter - 1.5/5
I appreciated that Teacher's Pet flirted with the supernatural, although it is a little disappointing that (so far) no Point Horror book has fully committed to this idea, instead content to rely on pranks and crazed killers. Still, I was kept on my toes guessing who (or what) was behind everything right up until the end, with several pretty effective twists and turns thrown in. I also quite liked the protagonist Kate, and both Denzil and Tawney are fun secondary characters. There was even a moment where this book almost gets a little sexy, which was very unexpected.
There's a lot to like with Teacher's Pet. I remember as a kid never being particularly enthralled by the cover, unlike so many other Point Horror book covers, so perhaps I went into this with low expectations. I'm not sure, but by the time I put the book down I was very pleasantly pleased with how enjoyable this turned out to be.
3.5/5
Point Horror Ranked
1) Trick or Treat - 3.5/5
2) Teacher's Pet - 3.5/5
3) April Fools - 3.5/5
4) My Secret Admirer - 3.5/5
5) The Lifeguard - 3.5/5
6) Funhouse - 3/5
7) The Boyfriend - 2/5
8) The Baby-Sitter - 1.5/5
July 6, 2024
I read this with my book club that I run on Instagram where we revisit Point Horror and other books from our childhood - @talespointhorrorbookclub
Tagline - Look what the cat dragged in
Memorable For - A remote writers retreat/camp in the woods.
Blurb -
Kate will do anything to be the teacher’s pet. An aspiring horror writer, Kate likes a little scare. When offered a spot at an exclusive weeklong writing conference, she jumps at the chance to go. After all, it’s taught by William Drewe, the master of horror himself. But strangely, when Kate arrives, William Drewe is nowhere to be found. Filling in for him is his brother, Gideon, whose assignments give Kate the thrills she seeks. With a teacher like this, she’ll get all the material she needs to become a bestselling author . . . if she survives.
Some Thoughts -
Assigned to cabin thirteen some crazy things begin to happen! Kate discovers a severed hand! And then when skinny dipping someone pinches and slashes all of her clothes! Her cabin is broken into and covered in blood and she thinks someone is following her in the creepy woods! Did I mention that something gets killed in Kate’s bath? No!? Opppsssiiieeesss! Very Friday the 13th / Psycho vibes with plenty of horror tropes - remote cabins, bonfire parties, skinny dipping, plenty of “I’ll be right backs”, people holding axes, comedy and scary moments!
Other highlights include a black cat called Pet (clothes thief by day, with a passion for blood at night), bear traps, lots of snogging (well it is summer camp after all and not to be mistaken with a Point Romance 🤣) and some classic Point Horror names like Gideon Drewe, Pearce Cronan and Denzil Doyle!! Special shout out to the Horror Hunt! Let’s set one of these up! They sound awesome!
#TawneyForever
Tagline - Look what the cat dragged in
Memorable For - A remote writers retreat/camp in the woods.
Blurb -
Kate will do anything to be the teacher’s pet. An aspiring horror writer, Kate likes a little scare. When offered a spot at an exclusive weeklong writing conference, she jumps at the chance to go. After all, it’s taught by William Drewe, the master of horror himself. But strangely, when Kate arrives, William Drewe is nowhere to be found. Filling in for him is his brother, Gideon, whose assignments give Kate the thrills she seeks. With a teacher like this, she’ll get all the material she needs to become a bestselling author . . . if she survives.
Some Thoughts -
Assigned to cabin thirteen some crazy things begin to happen! Kate discovers a severed hand! And then when skinny dipping someone pinches and slashes all of her clothes! Her cabin is broken into and covered in blood and she thinks someone is following her in the creepy woods! Did I mention that something gets killed in Kate’s bath? No!? Opppsssiiieeesss! Very Friday the 13th / Psycho vibes with plenty of horror tropes - remote cabins, bonfire parties, skinny dipping, plenty of “I’ll be right backs”, people holding axes, comedy and scary moments!
Other highlights include a black cat called Pet (clothes thief by day, with a passion for blood at night), bear traps, lots of snogging (well it is summer camp after all and not to be mistaken with a Point Romance 🤣) and some classic Point Horror names like Gideon Drewe, Pearce Cronan and Denzil Doyle!! Special shout out to the Horror Hunt! Let’s set one of these up! They sound awesome!
#TawneyForever
March 3, 2019
Teacher's Pet is a light horror novel that follows along on the trail of young adult horror created by R.L. Stine. For kids who wanted to experience horror but not on a scale of say King, they could pick up the Point novels and get a pretty decent experience. The covers on a lot of them were insane, and it's easy to see why so many adults pick these up to revisit them as adults. Are they perfect? Of course not, but that's not the point. They were often times predictable and cheesy and that's why I loved them.
Teacher's Pet is a decent novel that reads more like a thriller/mystery than a straight up horror novel. The plot is simple but adds enough twists and turns to keep your eyeballs glued to the page. Cusik is a writer who doesn't waste a lot of time with character developments due to the number of pages, but what she delivers is a swift moving plot that does make you groan a little at times but there's enough suspense here to make up for it. While most authors in this genre just follow Stine's example, Cusick attempts to breath new life into the genre by adding a bit of PG rated gore.
For what the book is and the audience it's written for, it's got enough suspense to keep most readers happy. You can't help but feel for Kate even though at times it doesn't make sense. Why is she targeted, an who is the person responsible? She gives us enough characters and even a bit of a hint as to who it could be but when the big reveal arrives it's just shocking enough to make you feel like an idiot for not figuring it sooner.
Teacher's Pet is a decent novel that reads more like a thriller/mystery than a straight up horror novel. The plot is simple but adds enough twists and turns to keep your eyeballs glued to the page. Cusik is a writer who doesn't waste a lot of time with character developments due to the number of pages, but what she delivers is a swift moving plot that does make you groan a little at times but there's enough suspense here to make up for it. While most authors in this genre just follow Stine's example, Cusick attempts to breath new life into the genre by adding a bit of PG rated gore.
For what the book is and the audience it's written for, it's got enough suspense to keep most readers happy. You can't help but feel for Kate even though at times it doesn't make sense. Why is she targeted, an who is the person responsible? She gives us enough characters and even a bit of a hint as to who it could be but when the big reveal arrives it's just shocking enough to make you feel like an idiot for not figuring it sooner.
February 18, 2022
Not gonna lie, this was pretty bad. The ending seemed flung out of absolutely nowhere and Kate’s ability to attract men to her like a magnet was bizarre - especially considering how much older Gideon and Pearce seemed. And then the Denzil romance is creepily chucked in at the end.
I thought Tawney was the baddie all along - but nope, they were just being mean to her with no consequence.
I thought Tawney was the baddie all along - but nope, they were just being mean to her with no consequence.
September 20, 2023
I would give this 2.5 on pure nostalgia alone, but I ended up giving it 2.
I first read this when the YA horror genre was just coming into vogue: all the R.L. Stine Fear Street books, and Christopher Pike, and Cusick were the rage when I was in high school. I remembered this being one of my favorites out of the bunch, along with Pike's Remember Me and Weekend. Feeling nostalgic - and wanting a quick read - I sought this one out. Wooo boy. Let me tell you, aging 20 years will definitely give a new perspective on this book.
Kate is a (I assume) high school student going to a writer's retreat with her creative writing teacher. It's at a camp in the middle of the woods (point here for being in a location prone to creepiness) with classes taught by writing instructors. I assume the only things they teach here are romance and horror - because that's all the classes we hear about: Kate for horror and her teacher for romance. For someone given a retreat to hone her craft, Kate really doesn't go to any classes. She really only seems to go to 2, and it's during the first one that she's singled out by the teacher, Gideon Drewe. He, of course, is dazzled by her beauty at first glance. Problem 1: she's, what, 17? His age is never stated, but he "looks young," so I'm assuming at least mid-20s, especially since he's been published quite often and travels a lot (for work, I assume. There's a lot of assumptions going on in this book). And - of COURSE - Kate is already a brilliant writer. Which, ok, some people have a natural talent, but this just adds to Kate's Mary Sueness. She's beautiful, caught the eye of the teacher, AND is a talented writer. But the point is, we have an at least 25-year-old man becoming infatuated with a high schooler. It happens, but it doesn't make it less icky.
From here, we meet the other main characters: Pearce, the tall/dark/handsome/troubled/mysterious/oh-so-bad-boy caretaker of the camp that is owned by Gideon and his brother William; Denzil, an 18-year-old who also works at the camp, who immediately takes Kate under his wing; and his sidekick, the sweet but quite dim Tawney. Kate's teacher suffers an extreme case of poison ivy and is shipped off to the hospital quite early, so she's out of the way. I enjoyed Denzil and Tawney's characters best out of the crew, but they still seemed to fall flat from what I remembered.
And since this is YA, we of course have the love triangle. Or quadrangle. I'm not entirely sure. Kate falls in love with Gideon, Gideon falls in love with her. Pearce admits being attracted to Kate, and even though Pearce gave Kate the heebie-jeebies at first, NATURALLY she starts developing feelings for him, especially after a nasty accident causes bodily harm to Pearce (because who can't help falling in love with a man who's just had his foot almost torn off by a bear trap??). And Denzil falls in love with Kate. Kate kisses Gideon, Gideon kisses Kate. Kate kisses Pearce (while he's practically bleeding out), who kisses her in return. Kate kisses Denzil, Denzil kisses her. Really, I was waiting for Tawney and Kate to kiss. She kisses half the camp, and this retreat is only a couple of days long!
So anyway, the plot happens. Someone is out to get Kate because she's caught the eye of Gideon. Starts leaving threatening messages, cuts up her clothes while she and Tawney are swimming, destroys her belongings in her cabin and sacrifices an animal in her shower, and later sets her cabin on fire. She finds a hand in a glove in the woods. She also runs across a mysterious woman in the woods near the Drewe house, but Gideon shrugs this off as one of his brother's weirdo friends.
But then later we find out there was a third Drewe sibling, Gideon's twin Rowena, who was a wee bit off her rocker, tried to kill William but ended up being caught in the fire, and died. No one's really recovered from her death. William, of course, hasn't been seen in weeks but is assumed to be off on another bender somewhere. Tortured writers, amiright? Gideon starts acting strangely, Kate gets drawn more and more to him, Rowena may or may not actually be alive. Turns out, Pearce has been playing as Rowena all this time. He set the fire to kill William to free Rowena, didn't realize she had been locked in William's room and died as a result. This made him go mad, end up in some weird split personality situation where he BECOMES Rowena, sees Gideon and Pearce falling in love with Kate, and sets out to destroy the one trying to take her place.
It was a convoluted mess with flat characters. Kate is the annoying Mary Sue: everything happens to her; she doesn't take action on anything. Dissolves into tears (which, I guess I can understand. She came to a retreat without a thought that she'd be singled out with someone trying to kill her). But she just moves with the story instead of moving the story. She really doesn't do anything to improve her situation, just makes it worse by kissing everyone she meets.
And the ending: after Pearce is caught, Gideon makes a comment that the doctors said his delusion has gone on for quite some time. Excuse me - we're a couple hours, maybe, from his being caught? What doctors? If this was known, WHY was he still allowed to run the camp? Why wasn't he in a hospital somewhere? And where were the cops? A cabin's been set on fire, there's no fire trucks there, William's been chopped up into pieces and strewn about the camp, and Kate's just allowed to get on the train and head home. You'd think she'd be questioned about the events and her part in all them, but it just seems like no one cares about what happened. The Drewes aren't rich enough to buy off the police. How are they going to explain William's disappearance?
Sometimes things that you loved in childhood should just be left there so you don't spoil the illusion. This was definitely one of them.
I first read this when the YA horror genre was just coming into vogue: all the R.L. Stine Fear Street books, and Christopher Pike, and Cusick were the rage when I was in high school. I remembered this being one of my favorites out of the bunch, along with Pike's Remember Me and Weekend. Feeling nostalgic - and wanting a quick read - I sought this one out. Wooo boy. Let me tell you, aging 20 years will definitely give a new perspective on this book.
Kate is a (I assume) high school student going to a writer's retreat with her creative writing teacher. It's at a camp in the middle of the woods (point here for being in a location prone to creepiness) with classes taught by writing instructors. I assume the only things they teach here are romance and horror - because that's all the classes we hear about: Kate for horror and her teacher for romance. For someone given a retreat to hone her craft, Kate really doesn't go to any classes. She really only seems to go to 2, and it's during the first one that she's singled out by the teacher, Gideon Drewe. He, of course, is dazzled by her beauty at first glance. Problem 1: she's, what, 17? His age is never stated, but he "looks young," so I'm assuming at least mid-20s, especially since he's been published quite often and travels a lot (for work, I assume. There's a lot of assumptions going on in this book). And - of COURSE - Kate is already a brilliant writer. Which, ok, some people have a natural talent, but this just adds to Kate's Mary Sueness. She's beautiful, caught the eye of the teacher, AND is a talented writer. But the point is, we have an at least 25-year-old man becoming infatuated with a high schooler. It happens, but it doesn't make it less icky.
From here, we meet the other main characters: Pearce, the tall/dark/handsome/troubled/mysterious/oh-so-bad-boy caretaker of the camp that is owned by Gideon and his brother William; Denzil, an 18-year-old who also works at the camp, who immediately takes Kate under his wing; and his sidekick, the sweet but quite dim Tawney. Kate's teacher suffers an extreme case of poison ivy and is shipped off to the hospital quite early, so she's out of the way. I enjoyed Denzil and Tawney's characters best out of the crew, but they still seemed to fall flat from what I remembered.
And since this is YA, we of course have the love triangle. Or quadrangle. I'm not entirely sure. Kate falls in love with Gideon, Gideon falls in love with her. Pearce admits being attracted to Kate, and even though Pearce gave Kate the heebie-jeebies at first, NATURALLY she starts developing feelings for him, especially after a nasty accident causes bodily harm to Pearce (because who can't help falling in love with a man who's just had his foot almost torn off by a bear trap??). And Denzil falls in love with Kate. Kate kisses Gideon, Gideon kisses Kate. Kate kisses Pearce (while he's practically bleeding out), who kisses her in return. Kate kisses Denzil, Denzil kisses her. Really, I was waiting for Tawney and Kate to kiss. She kisses half the camp, and this retreat is only a couple of days long!
So anyway, the plot happens. Someone is out to get Kate because she's caught the eye of Gideon. Starts leaving threatening messages, cuts up her clothes while she and Tawney are swimming, destroys her belongings in her cabin and sacrifices an animal in her shower, and later sets her cabin on fire. She finds a hand in a glove in the woods. She also runs across a mysterious woman in the woods near the Drewe house, but Gideon shrugs this off as one of his brother's weirdo friends.
But then later we find out there was a third Drewe sibling, Gideon's twin Rowena, who was a wee bit off her rocker, tried to kill William but ended up being caught in the fire, and died. No one's really recovered from her death. William, of course, hasn't been seen in weeks but is assumed to be off on another bender somewhere. Tortured writers, amiright? Gideon starts acting strangely, Kate gets drawn more and more to him, Rowena may or may not actually be alive. Turns out, Pearce has been playing as Rowena all this time. He set the fire to kill William to free Rowena, didn't realize she had been locked in William's room and died as a result. This made him go mad, end up in some weird split personality situation where he BECOMES Rowena, sees Gideon and Pearce falling in love with Kate, and sets out to destroy the one trying to take her place.
It was a convoluted mess with flat characters. Kate is the annoying Mary Sue: everything happens to her; she doesn't take action on anything. Dissolves into tears (which, I guess I can understand. She came to a retreat without a thought that she'd be singled out with someone trying to kill her). But she just moves with the story instead of moving the story. She really doesn't do anything to improve her situation, just makes it worse by kissing everyone she meets.
And the ending: after Pearce is caught, Gideon makes a comment that the doctors said his delusion has gone on for quite some time. Excuse me - we're a couple hours, maybe, from his being caught? What doctors? If this was known, WHY was he still allowed to run the camp? Why wasn't he in a hospital somewhere? And where were the cops? A cabin's been set on fire, there's no fire trucks there, William's been chopped up into pieces and strewn about the camp, and Kate's just allowed to get on the train and head home. You'd think she'd be questioned about the events and her part in all them, but it just seems like no one cares about what happened. The Drewes aren't rich enough to buy off the police. How are they going to explain William's disappearance?
Sometimes things that you loved in childhood should just be left there so you don't spoil the illusion. This was definitely one of them.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
October 9, 2018I had this book as a kid and know I read it many, many times. However, I didn't remember anything about it other than the cover. Teen Creeps Podcast is covering it this week and ever since I started listening to their show, this is a book title I've thought about revisiting. So, what better time than now?
This didn't hold up for me. I feel this weird loyalty to the idea of the book I wore out so long ago, but I think there is a reason I remembered nothing about it other than the cover. I tried so hard to get into the mindset of time, place, and audience, but wow.
The relationships made no sense.
It was quick read. I am glad I revisited it because it has been nagging at me for years now, but I really did have a hard time seeing exactly what I love so much about it when I was young.
This didn't hold up for me. I feel this weird loyalty to the idea of the book I wore out so long ago, but I think there is a reason I remembered nothing about it other than the cover. I tried so hard to get into the mindset of time, place, and audience, but wow.
The relationships made no sense.
It was quick read. I am glad I revisited it because it has been nagging at me for years now, but I really did have a hard time seeing exactly what I love so much about it when I was young.
August 22, 2024
One of my YA horror treats that sit on my shelf. I re-read this 2 years ago and about 18 to 20 years after first reading it. Entertaining with Lots of twists and turns and there is the creepy camp setting to fall back on and a killer on the loose with a handful of potential suspects
Wasn't thrilled with the whole ending but it's YA, what are you expecting lol.
RE-Read 8.22.24
Still Dig the whole camp setting on this one. Very 80s. It takes place at a writing convention/retreat. the Protagonist loves horror and loves to be scared. She attends a class by her favorite horror authors brother who is also good looking. She makes friends with a couple of kids ( one a good looking boy) and there is a creepy grounds keeper walking around who is friends with the Camp Owners family ( he is described as good-looking albeit creepy as well). And Yes, Kate at some point kisses all 3 of them.
Some creepy things start happening to Kate. The creepy things escalate to scary and threatening pretty quick. Body parts are found. There is a missing famous author revealed, a past student death revealed, a fire that caused the death of the authors sister. these are all thrown into the mix.
Who is the one after Kate. and why? Is it the her new friends? Is it the missing author? Is it her new romance/teacher? Is it the ghost of the dead sister? is it the creepy groundskeeper?
Decent Robert Bloch type of ending. 3.5 stars.
Wasn't thrilled with the whole ending but it's YA, what are you expecting lol.
RE-Read 8.22.24
Still Dig the whole camp setting on this one. Very 80s. It takes place at a writing convention/retreat. the Protagonist loves horror and loves to be scared. She attends a class by her favorite horror authors brother who is also good looking. She makes friends with a couple of kids ( one a good looking boy) and there is a creepy grounds keeper walking around who is friends with the Camp Owners family ( he is described as good-looking albeit creepy as well). And Yes, Kate at some point kisses all 3 of them.
Some creepy things start happening to Kate. The creepy things escalate to scary and threatening pretty quick. Body parts are found. There is a missing famous author revealed, a past student death revealed, a fire that caused the death of the authors sister. these are all thrown into the mix.
Who is the one after Kate. and why? Is it the her new friends? Is it the missing author? Is it her new romance/teacher? Is it the ghost of the dead sister? is it the creepy groundskeeper?
Decent Robert Bloch type of ending. 3.5 stars.
April 10, 2019
Can I swear ? F it .... this is awful.
Ok , it’s from 1990 / 91 but wow , like something else . Put this point Horror at the bottom and when you finally get to it read something else .
Nothing happens (spoiler alert) more nothing happens followed by pages and pages of nothing happening . Urgh , that’s my one word review : Urgh
Ok , it’s from 1990 / 91 but wow , like something else . Put this point Horror at the bottom and when you finally get to it read something else .
Nothing happens (spoiler alert) more nothing happens followed by pages and pages of nothing happening . Urgh , that’s my one word review : Urgh
April 5, 2018
I used to absolutely LOVE the Point Horror books! I would go through each of them in one sitting, for the most part. They definitely tweaked my interested in the horror genre.
July 4, 2018
Classic PH, in that there are plot holes like fault lines, actual idiot people and a totally ludicrous storyline. 8.5/10
October 30, 2025
Point Horror Re-Read #8, and I've been seriously slacking, as it's been two years since my last trip down this particular memory lane. Thus far, the prolific Christopher Pike's Slumber Party remains my favorite second drink, and, as I've now re-read all four of Ms. Tankersley Cusick's books that middle-school-Mike counted among his favorite YA horror, I must sadly conclude that her quartet of meh-diocrity was better off living in my past. Teacher's Pet isn't awful, and it certainly didn't disappoint me as much as my revisit to The Lifeguard, but it's decidedly unexciting and uninspired, save for a very un-PC final reveal that I have to applaud for its outlandishness and, I assume unintentional, giggle-worthiness. The biggest problem here is what appears to be an unfortunate staple of the genre--the personality-devoid protagonist who somehow manages to make all the male characters fall in love with her despite her aggressive blandness. I guess young readers gravitate to this kind of formless character because they can more easily project themselves onto her; but with my 35-years-later perception, I couldn't help but think how much more entertaining this would've been if, say, ditzy Tawney (she of the missing contact lens that may or may not be in the ice cream she happily serves to her friends anyway) were the lead. At least she gets a shining moment at the end, with a fun costume change to boot. Overall this is mostly stupid but occasionally fun, rounded generously up to a 3.0 for the genre/target audience (and because I know 12-year-old me was living for this), but I'm kinda glad I'm done with Ms. RTC. I have no idea if her later works got any better; perhaps one day she also found herself at a writers' retreat and, unlike MC Kate here, actually got some decent instruction instead of being distracted by a half-baked murder mystery and passionless (and kinda icky given the ages and power dynamics) love triangle. She might have even come away with better character names than "Denzil" and, wait for it, the pet cat named "Pet."
November 26, 2022
When RTC is good she never disappoints.
I was not disappointed.
The prologue is a little telling of what we can expect but not too full of spoilers. Oh no...not by a long shot unless you are a psychic.
Kate Rawlins is a want to be horror writer and she loves to be scared you know...a good book or movie (sounds familiar) and her teacher Miss Bunceton thinks she's the best writer in her Creative Writing class, she even won the Webster High Fiction Competition award.
Even though her teacher is more interested in romance, Kate comes along for a writer's conference at her request in order for Kate to learn a few things from accomplished writers teaching classes (like literary rock and roll fantasy camp if you will). Horror writer William Drewe is hosting the event and Kate is nervous.
The ladies arrive by train and it looks deserted until Kate finds a young man, older than her in his early twenties, who is not exactly thrilled to be there picking them up...the last ones to arrive. His name is Pearce Cronan and he's good-looking, tall and dour. He tells Kate that William Drewe is infamous for not showing up to his own classes and not to be too disappointed if he doesn't show up.
Kate and Miss Bunceton don't put up with his attitude and decide they are staying and he drives them to the lodge before going back to other duties among the grounds, owned by the Drewe family. Her teacher fits in with others right away since it is an older crowd, not high school seniors or college students, and Kate feels out of place until she dozes off in a chair and gets pinched.
At first she thinks it is a boy in his early teens with his gray eyes behind glasses with owl-like frames and a mop of curly hair under a cowboy hat until he introduces himself as Denzil Doyle, eighteen year old want to be writer. He's not only taking classes but is working in the kitchen part-time and he introduces Kate to another person their age, a want to be poet named Tawney. She's a frosted blonde with a heart of gold but she isn't exactly...smart.
The trio become good friends.
The next day, Denzil tells Kate that they have so one else covering William Drewe's class as he still hasn't shown. Denzil tells her Drewe isn't the nicest guy and has a little trouble holding his liquor that he sometimes goes off on drinking benders for days. Walking into the class to teach is a handsome young man with brown hair and violet eyes.
His name is Gideon Drewe, William's younger brother. Kate is skeptical at first but Denzil tells her he is legit with short stories published in literary magazines...specializing in thrillers. With his cultured voice, Kate soon finds him fascinating as he teaches the class but becomes shocked to learn that her teacher sent in her award-winning story when he says he'll schedule meeting with each writer who submitted a manuscript to be critiqued.
Her embarrassment grows when she's selected first thanks to her exclaiming her surprise out-loud to Gideon's amusement. Gideon tells Kate he'll talk with her one on one to throw out some ideas as he has read her story and found potential in it for her to be a great writer, flattering her. That's the teacher part of his personality...the other half is also clearly interested in her on a more romantic level.
At lunch, it's clear Denzil noticed too and he ribs Kate about it calling her the teacher's pet (which is funny because William Drewe has a black cat named Pet but now Gideon's the teacher so okay...)
Tawney said that Gideon always has them like the one at this past summer's conference, a girl named Merriam. Kate thinks she means they had an a passionate affair but it was more a one-sided infatuation on her part as Denzil puts it. Everyone knew about it, even Pearce, with the only one not on the crush being Gideon himself.
Then Merriam disappeared, all her things from her cabin too.
Some think Gideon found out and broke her heart which made her leave in tears, humiliated. Others think she was so heart-broken that Merriam killed herself but her body was never found.
When Kate goes for a walk to let Denzil and Tawney get some work done, she comes across Pet with a glove. Denzil says the cat is notorious for taking people's clothing and using it as toys. Amused, Kate tries to get the glove back but that is when the amusement ends for what the cat dragged in...is the remains of a hand inside the glove.
It could be a prank, orchestrated by Denzil with his weird sense of humor, but none of them are laughing least of all Kate and kind-hearted yet dim Tawney...even Denzil after a while as well.
Kate feels someone is watching her and when she gets lost in the woods, she comes upon the house that's said to be William Drewe's. Off limits to camp workers and guests, Kate soon finds herself face to face with a veiled woman dressed all in black. Her voice is gravelly and hoarse, she calls herself Rowena and says that he talks about how lovely Kate is...and also how Kate must never speak a word about her or she will come for her.
The book goes on like a modern day version of Gothic horror. Very Jane Eyre, a touch of The Woman In Black but with that YA edge we've all come to love. Still the RTC formula in play with a best friend for our female protagonist, three male love interests to play a guessing game of just which one is the psycho thrown in with the sinister shenanigans.
I did not see the reveal coming and it wasn't much of a twist because of the formula but still quite effective at making my jaw drop. The ending could have been very bittersweet but it had a touch of heartwarming and quipping for it to be too melancholy or a downright downer.
I also loved the characters. Denzil was my favorite with his weird Western fixation but Kate was pretty relatable and even Tawney, bless her. They felt like real people. Gideon and Pearce were characterizations of those brooding Byronic heroes but I still had a soft spot for both of them thanks to RTC expanding on their relationship as childhood friends to make them more than archetypes.
If you haven't read Teacher's Pet, I highly recommend it.
I was not disappointed.
The prologue is a little telling of what we can expect but not too full of spoilers. Oh no...not by a long shot unless you are a psychic.
Kate Rawlins is a want to be horror writer and she loves to be scared you know...a good book or movie (sounds familiar) and her teacher Miss Bunceton thinks she's the best writer in her Creative Writing class, she even won the Webster High Fiction Competition award.
Even though her teacher is more interested in romance, Kate comes along for a writer's conference at her request in order for Kate to learn a few things from accomplished writers teaching classes (like literary rock and roll fantasy camp if you will). Horror writer William Drewe is hosting the event and Kate is nervous.
The ladies arrive by train and it looks deserted until Kate finds a young man, older than her in his early twenties, who is not exactly thrilled to be there picking them up...the last ones to arrive. His name is Pearce Cronan and he's good-looking, tall and dour. He tells Kate that William Drewe is infamous for not showing up to his own classes and not to be too disappointed if he doesn't show up.
Kate and Miss Bunceton don't put up with his attitude and decide they are staying and he drives them to the lodge before going back to other duties among the grounds, owned by the Drewe family. Her teacher fits in with others right away since it is an older crowd, not high school seniors or college students, and Kate feels out of place until she dozes off in a chair and gets pinched.
At first she thinks it is a boy in his early teens with his gray eyes behind glasses with owl-like frames and a mop of curly hair under a cowboy hat until he introduces himself as Denzil Doyle, eighteen year old want to be writer. He's not only taking classes but is working in the kitchen part-time and he introduces Kate to another person their age, a want to be poet named Tawney. She's a frosted blonde with a heart of gold but she isn't exactly...smart.
The trio become good friends.
The next day, Denzil tells Kate that they have so one else covering William Drewe's class as he still hasn't shown. Denzil tells her Drewe isn't the nicest guy and has a little trouble holding his liquor that he sometimes goes off on drinking benders for days. Walking into the class to teach is a handsome young man with brown hair and violet eyes.
His name is Gideon Drewe, William's younger brother. Kate is skeptical at first but Denzil tells her he is legit with short stories published in literary magazines...specializing in thrillers. With his cultured voice, Kate soon finds him fascinating as he teaches the class but becomes shocked to learn that her teacher sent in her award-winning story when he says he'll schedule meeting with each writer who submitted a manuscript to be critiqued.
Her embarrassment grows when she's selected first thanks to her exclaiming her surprise out-loud to Gideon's amusement. Gideon tells Kate he'll talk with her one on one to throw out some ideas as he has read her story and found potential in it for her to be a great writer, flattering her. That's the teacher part of his personality...the other half is also clearly interested in her on a more romantic level.
At lunch, it's clear Denzil noticed too and he ribs Kate about it calling her the teacher's pet (which is funny because William Drewe has a black cat named Pet but now Gideon's the teacher so okay...)
Tawney said that Gideon always has them like the one at this past summer's conference, a girl named Merriam. Kate thinks she means they had an a passionate affair but it was more a one-sided infatuation on her part as Denzil puts it. Everyone knew about it, even Pearce, with the only one not on the crush being Gideon himself.
Then Merriam disappeared, all her things from her cabin too.
Some think Gideon found out and broke her heart which made her leave in tears, humiliated. Others think she was so heart-broken that Merriam killed herself but her body was never found.
When Kate goes for a walk to let Denzil and Tawney get some work done, she comes across Pet with a glove. Denzil says the cat is notorious for taking people's clothing and using it as toys. Amused, Kate tries to get the glove back but that is when the amusement ends for what the cat dragged in...is the remains of a hand inside the glove.
It could be a prank, orchestrated by Denzil with his weird sense of humor, but none of them are laughing least of all Kate and kind-hearted yet dim Tawney...even Denzil after a while as well.
Kate feels someone is watching her and when she gets lost in the woods, she comes upon the house that's said to be William Drewe's. Off limits to camp workers and guests, Kate soon finds herself face to face with a veiled woman dressed all in black. Her voice is gravelly and hoarse, she calls herself Rowena and says that he talks about how lovely Kate is...and also how Kate must never speak a word about her or she will come for her.
The book goes on like a modern day version of Gothic horror. Very Jane Eyre, a touch of The Woman In Black but with that YA edge we've all come to love. Still the RTC formula in play with a best friend for our female protagonist, three male love interests to play a guessing game of just which one is the psycho thrown in with the sinister shenanigans.
I did not see the reveal coming and it wasn't much of a twist because of the formula but still quite effective at making my jaw drop. The ending could have been very bittersweet but it had a touch of heartwarming and quipping for it to be too melancholy or a downright downer.
I also loved the characters. Denzil was my favorite with his weird Western fixation but Kate was pretty relatable and even Tawney, bless her. They felt like real people. Gideon and Pearce were characterizations of those brooding Byronic heroes but I still had a soft spot for both of them thanks to RTC expanding on their relationship as childhood friends to make them more than archetypes.
If you haven't read Teacher's Pet, I highly recommend it.
February 26, 2021
Ever wonder how you get caught up in family drama by attending a writers conference? Richie Tankersley Cusick certainly can make this happen, atleast if you read the book.
Our main character Kate goes to a writers conference, hoping to listen to one of the best horror writers of her time. Oh and she loves to be scared!
A short story in which people have such an ease with each other, trust is easily built and definately broken. I loved the setting, having this conference in the woods. The scary ghost stories shared around the camp fire.
Tawney was a favourite of mine. I've never read point horror where there is a character like that. Sweet yet fully oblivious. Denzel was awesome, the way he continued to Crack jokes put of the blue - even with the darkness threatening him and his friends.
Four stars, I always enjoy point horror books. This is published in the 90s so if you want to read you will have to hit up your second hand bookstore or try and find it online.
Our main character Kate goes to a writers conference, hoping to listen to one of the best horror writers of her time. Oh and she loves to be scared!
A short story in which people have such an ease with each other, trust is easily built and definately broken. I loved the setting, having this conference in the woods. The scary ghost stories shared around the camp fire.
Tawney was a favourite of mine. I've never read point horror where there is a character like that. Sweet yet fully oblivious. Denzel was awesome, the way he continued to Crack jokes put of the blue - even with the darkness threatening him and his friends.
Four stars, I always enjoy point horror books. This is published in the 90s so if you want to read you will have to hit up your second hand bookstore or try and find it online.
September 12, 2025
This is the third book by Richie Cusick that I've read and I'm afraid it will be my last, sadly.
This book is a hot mess with flat characters and just a whole lot of silliness. I never once felt like I could take this story seriously.
This author is just not for me.
This book is a hot mess with flat characters and just a whole lot of silliness. I never once felt like I could take this story seriously.
This author is just not for me.
June 4, 2024
2.5* Nostalgia filled re-read - gothic with slasher vibes. Like the writer's retreat/camp set up but it was a bit of a slog in the middle (repetitive) and felt wrong with a 17/barely 18 year old being the centre of affection for men in the mid 20s.
October 11, 2022
I’m a sucker for the juvenile and YA books from my childhood, so there is some bias in that 4-star rating.
I sometimes forget how much I enjoy reading. I get terribly sucked into reels on social media. Not “haha I’m so addicted!” sucked in.
Like, “holy shit, four hours just went by and it is dark outside and I forgot about dinner” sucked in.
It is incredibly unhealthy, and it has bled over into other areas of my life. I have a harder time focusing on longer tasks. Doing almost anything after work feels like an uphill battle. That last one might have more to do with all activities being cut off during the pandemic. Ramping back up to “normalcy” has not been easy. I find I like people a lot more when I don’t have to be around them. I found that the pandemic gave me a lot more autonomy in determining who I wanted to deal with, and I found that liberating.
Anyway, this is the first novel I have read in quite a while. I can still burn through audio books and graphic novels, but never really graduated to “book” books this year.
It took about 20 pages to get my focus back. But once I did, it was like riding a bike. It felt great to escape into another world for a little while. Sunday I spent a few hours living a different life through this book
And I want more.
This book takes place in the fall. I don’t know why, but I like to read stories set in the season I’m experiencing. When it is cold as hell, time for some Game of Thrones or fantasy set in a fictional ice age. During the fall, back-to-school horror, harvest horror, is what it is all about.
This story is nice because we’re heading to a writer’s retreat in the fall. It has a bit of a summer camp feel, but a bit of a back-to-school feel as well.
You get all the tropes of a light mystery here.
It has a chilling atmosphere, but never gets too gory or terrifying.
It’s a good, safe YA horror book.
Of course there are some elements of the story that may not have aged so well, given our social climate today. But I read with historical context in mind. As such, the book is fine. Nice little twist at the end, and the book did a decent job of keeping me guessing. Cusick is a respectable author of YA horror. I’ll pick up a book by her just about as fast as Pike, and I almost prefer her work to Stine’s Fear Street books.
I sometimes forget how much I enjoy reading. I get terribly sucked into reels on social media. Not “haha I’m so addicted!” sucked in.
Like, “holy shit, four hours just went by and it is dark outside and I forgot about dinner” sucked in.
It is incredibly unhealthy, and it has bled over into other areas of my life. I have a harder time focusing on longer tasks. Doing almost anything after work feels like an uphill battle. That last one might have more to do with all activities being cut off during the pandemic. Ramping back up to “normalcy” has not been easy. I find I like people a lot more when I don’t have to be around them. I found that the pandemic gave me a lot more autonomy in determining who I wanted to deal with, and I found that liberating.
Anyway, this is the first novel I have read in quite a while. I can still burn through audio books and graphic novels, but never really graduated to “book” books this year.
It took about 20 pages to get my focus back. But once I did, it was like riding a bike. It felt great to escape into another world for a little while. Sunday I spent a few hours living a different life through this book
And I want more.
This book takes place in the fall. I don’t know why, but I like to read stories set in the season I’m experiencing. When it is cold as hell, time for some Game of Thrones or fantasy set in a fictional ice age. During the fall, back-to-school horror, harvest horror, is what it is all about.
This story is nice because we’re heading to a writer’s retreat in the fall. It has a bit of a summer camp feel, but a bit of a back-to-school feel as well.
You get all the tropes of a light mystery here.
It has a chilling atmosphere, but never gets too gory or terrifying.
It’s a good, safe YA horror book.
Of course there are some elements of the story that may not have aged so well, given our social climate today. But I read with historical context in mind. As such, the book is fine. Nice little twist at the end, and the book did a decent job of keeping me guessing. Cusick is a respectable author of YA horror. I’ll pick up a book by her just about as fast as Pike, and I almost prefer her work to Stine’s Fear Street books.
April 7, 2014
I received a copy through Netgalley.
I love that all the old Point Horror books are coming back as ebooks. I read so many of these over and over when I was young.
I must admit I remember the cover with the black cat for this one but don't remember the plot at all.
The plot centres around Kate who goes to a writing retreat to meet a famous horror writer and at the camp she makes some new friends funny cute Denzil and sweet but dim Twaney. Alls going well until creepy thing start happening .
The story was okay and fairly slow to start but the latter part of the book the or becomes really quite twisted. Some nice creepy atmosphere and some good curve balls to throw the reader about. It wasn't - at least not to me - obvious where the plot was going.
And some damn good twists at the end. A fast fun read.
Thank you to Netgalley and Open Road Media for the chance to view the title.
I love that all the old Point Horror books are coming back as ebooks. I read so many of these over and over when I was young.
I must admit I remember the cover with the black cat for this one but don't remember the plot at all.
The plot centres around Kate who goes to a writing retreat to meet a famous horror writer and at the camp she makes some new friends funny cute Denzil and sweet but dim Twaney. Alls going well until creepy thing start happening .
The story was okay and fairly slow to start but the latter part of the book the or becomes really quite twisted. Some nice creepy atmosphere and some good curve balls to throw the reader about. It wasn't - at least not to me - obvious where the plot was going.
And some damn good twists at the end. A fast fun read.
Thank you to Netgalley and Open Road Media for the chance to view the title.
February 10, 2019
Kate is a horror fan and a budding writer, and is excited to be accompanying her English teacher to a writing conference. On arrival, the famous author who is supposed to be teaching classes is missing. And that is just the first of many strange things that start to happen...
This story felt a little more 'adult' that some of the other books in the Point Horror series. I think the setting of the writing conference had something to do with that as it took us out of the familiar high school setting. Also, there were some older characters (and some questionable romantic moments). And there is a skinny-dipping scene, which felt a little risque for what is essentially a kids book!
I thought this one was okay, it was quite fun and fast-paced. I did not guess the reveal at the end and I quite enjoyed the far-fetched and bonkers storyline!
This story felt a little more 'adult' that some of the other books in the Point Horror series. I think the setting of the writing conference had something to do with that as it took us out of the familiar high school setting. Also, there were some older characters (and some questionable romantic moments). And there is a skinny-dipping scene, which felt a little risque for what is essentially a kids book!
I thought this one was okay, it was quite fun and fast-paced. I did not guess the reveal at the end and I quite enjoyed the far-fetched and bonkers storyline!
February 8, 2017
I first read this when I was a teenager. I really had a thing for Point Horror books back in the early nineties! I remembered this as being one of my favourite books of the series and, upon revisiting it, I still love it. A quick, easy read, with chills and a twist. I enjoyed rereading this, especially over Halloween!
July 12, 2018
Re-read this for Episode 2 of the Teenage Scream podcast (lovingly dissecting the best and worst of 90s teen horror). Listen here, or subscribe on your podcast app:
https://soundcloud.com/teenagescream
https://soundcloud.com/teenagescream
January 30, 2025
Love a good nostalgic point horror. Yes there are plot holes etc etc but it's like watching a cheesy 80s horror movie. Even when it's bad it's good.
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