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Prom Date
As prom approaches, a killer targets the most popular girls in school
Margaret Dunne’s afternoon job at her mother’s dress shop is usually tranquil, but in the weeks leading up to prom, her work is nonstop. She wouldn’t mind helping the popular girls try on dresses if she had a date too, but boys hardly look at Margaret. After a particularly grueling day taking abuse from three popular girls, Margaret finds a strange package in the alley behind the shop. Inside are the three girls’ dresses—mangled, muddied, and completely ruined. Plenty of people hate the popular clique, but why take it out on their prom dresses? A few days later, Margaret sneaks off from the senior picnic to enjoy the view from the old lighthouse. A scream pierces the air, and Margaret sees one of the popular girls, Stephanie, dead at the bottom of a cliff. It seems someone at her school has her eye on Stephanie’s perfect date, and will kill to get her hands on him. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Diane Hoh including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author’s personal collection.
Margaret Dunne’s afternoon job at her mother’s dress shop is usually tranquil, but in the weeks leading up to prom, her work is nonstop. She wouldn’t mind helping the popular girls try on dresses if she had a date too, but boys hardly look at Margaret. After a particularly grueling day taking abuse from three popular girls, Margaret finds a strange package in the alley behind the shop. Inside are the three girls’ dresses—mangled, muddied, and completely ruined. Plenty of people hate the popular clique, but why take it out on their prom dresses? A few days later, Margaret sneaks off from the senior picnic to enjoy the view from the old lighthouse. A scream pierces the air, and Margaret sees one of the popular girls, Stephanie, dead at the bottom of a cliff. It seems someone at her school has her eye on Stephanie’s perfect date, and will kill to get her hands on him. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Diane Hoh including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author’s personal collection.
284 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 1, 1996
37 people are currently reading
711 people want to read
About the author
Diane Hoh
83 books283 followersDiane Hoh is the author of fifty-seven novels for young adults. She grew up in Warren, Pennsylvania but currently resides in Austin, Texas. Reading and writing are her favorite things, alongside gardening and grandchildren.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews
October 21, 2021
One-Line Review: Buy the dress. Even if you’re not going to prom. Even if you’re 37. Even if you’re a cis hetero guy who’s never worn dresses. Buy the dress. Buy ALL the dresses.
Full Review:
Oh good Lord, a later Point Horror that's actually really good. Blessed be!
Excuse me, I'm being facetious. I'm just so happy, though. I've certainly noticed - and I'm not the only one, this is something I see echoed in just about every Point Horror blog I've read - that the later PH novels are just, well, not great. Some of them are memorable, with wild plots often involving supernatural stuff, and a handful are excellent - The Stranger comes to mind (although that's not a great example, I have no idea why that one was released under the Point Horror imprint at all) - but the majority of the books released post-1994 don't hold a candle to classics like Trick or Treat, My Secret Admirer, Beach Party or The Train.
I'm happy to say that Prom Date is a delicious return to those golden days.
Margaret is an intelligent, soft-spoken, not-especially-popular girl who works in her beautiful mother's dress store, which at this time of year is filled with the Beautiful People (known as the Pops) who are all trying on prom dresses. The Pops are the bane of her and her friends' lives. There's sleek, bitchy Stephanie; perfect overachiever Kiki; elegant, sophisticated Liza and sweet, pretty Beth. They rule the school and make everyone else feel like something stuck to the bottom of your shoe. (Not that anything would dare stick to the bottom of these girls' shoes.)
Then the senior picnic comes along, and Stephanie is shoved off a watchtower onto the rocks below. Who killed Stephanie, and why? There are so many candidates...
Margaret is surprised when Mitch, one of the most handsome, popular guys in school, starts showing interest in her. But before long, nasty things start happening, both to Margaret and to the store. The dresses that the Pops chose for prom are cut to ribbons. Someone slips poison in Margaret's milk and she narrowly avoids death when she gives it to a stray cat in the alley behind (who is unfortunately not so lucky). Then she gets hit on the head and shoved in a dumpster, and the dumpster set on fire, and is just barely rescued by Mitch. Kiki is attacked and has her face smushed, and the replacement prom dresses are stolen. Someone is out to destroy the girls who are lucky enough to have prom dates...
I really, really liked this book. There were so many things I loved, and so few that I didn't. First, huge kudos on writing a longer book! I never feel like Point Horrors are long enough to really get a feel for the characters, but Prom Date stands at 274 pages, and the difference really shows. Secondly: dresses. Can I drool a bit? Oh Em Gee. I love 90s fashion, and I love books where characters' clothes are described. These books totally need more shopping scenes.
Third, I utterly adore Margaret. She's got to be one of my favourite Point Horror heroines ever. Quiet but not shy, not popular but not cowed by those who are, soft-spoken and kind but unafraid to speak up - often with a quick, sharp wit - when she or her friends are being put down. This girl is awesome. She's more complex than the one-dimensional heroines you tend to find in teenage horror. She's totally someone I'd want to be, or want to know.
Mitch is lovely. I'm not usually a fan of the sensitive-jock or sensitive popular guy trope, but it kind of works here. Like Margaret, he's better developed than your average Point Horror love interest, and I credit that to the extra length of the book. He's a real sweetheart, and I'm glad, because Margaret deserves someone no less than brilliant. And if their romance progresses a little fast, with only a couple dozen pages between first interest and first I-love-yous? That's okay too. This is the end of high school, after all. :)
I really quite like Margaret's mom, too - an actual present, decent parent for once!
Even the Pops have some depth to their character. I was particularly touched by Kiki's thoughts as she was walking alone, about how hard it was to balance everything in life and put out a flawless, poised image. I was a Kiki in high school, although rather than being in the popular crowd I flitted from crowd to crowd, being welcomed and accepted by all and committing to nobody. I spent a lot of years trying to be close to perfect in all possible areas - good grades, extra credit projects, art classes, volunteer work, popularity, prettiness, being someone who people could rely on but would never need anything from others - and, on the occasions that that failed, providing a smooth untouchable surface that made it appear like I wasn't the slightest bit ruffled by anything. Being a secondary character, we're not provided with Kiki's motivations other than a general fear of messing up, and I'd like to have seen more of her. That said, I'm pretty darn impressed with the fact that we hear the Pops' feelings at all; usually background characters are solidly in the background, and any information we get on them comes via conversations with protagonists.
It's generally agreed that info dumping is a sign of an unprofessional author, but I love info dumps. I'm not a fan of books that are totally dialogue-driven, I like to see people's inner thoughts.
Bitchy in places, scary in others, cheerful in more, this is as comforting as hot tomato soup on an autumn day. I just read it three weeks ago and find myself wanting to read it again.
Verdict: One of the best of the later books, with one of the most developed heroines. Brilliantly entertaining.
Full Review:
Oh good Lord, a later Point Horror that's actually really good. Blessed be!
Excuse me, I'm being facetious. I'm just so happy, though. I've certainly noticed - and I'm not the only one, this is something I see echoed in just about every Point Horror blog I've read - that the later PH novels are just, well, not great. Some of them are memorable, with wild plots often involving supernatural stuff, and a handful are excellent - The Stranger comes to mind (although that's not a great example, I have no idea why that one was released under the Point Horror imprint at all) - but the majority of the books released post-1994 don't hold a candle to classics like Trick or Treat, My Secret Admirer, Beach Party or The Train.
I'm happy to say that Prom Date is a delicious return to those golden days.
Margaret is an intelligent, soft-spoken, not-especially-popular girl who works in her beautiful mother's dress store, which at this time of year is filled with the Beautiful People (known as the Pops) who are all trying on prom dresses. The Pops are the bane of her and her friends' lives. There's sleek, bitchy Stephanie; perfect overachiever Kiki; elegant, sophisticated Liza and sweet, pretty Beth. They rule the school and make everyone else feel like something stuck to the bottom of your shoe. (Not that anything would dare stick to the bottom of these girls' shoes.)
Then the senior picnic comes along, and Stephanie is shoved off a watchtower onto the rocks below. Who killed Stephanie, and why? There are so many candidates...
Margaret is surprised when Mitch, one of the most handsome, popular guys in school, starts showing interest in her. But before long, nasty things start happening, both to Margaret and to the store. The dresses that the Pops chose for prom are cut to ribbons. Someone slips poison in Margaret's milk and she narrowly avoids death when she gives it to a stray cat in the alley behind (who is unfortunately not so lucky). Then she gets hit on the head and shoved in a dumpster, and the dumpster set on fire, and is just barely rescued by Mitch. Kiki is attacked and has her face smushed, and the replacement prom dresses are stolen. Someone is out to destroy the girls who are lucky enough to have prom dates...
I really, really liked this book. There were so many things I loved, and so few that I didn't. First, huge kudos on writing a longer book! I never feel like Point Horrors are long enough to really get a feel for the characters, but Prom Date stands at 274 pages, and the difference really shows. Secondly: dresses. Can I drool a bit? Oh Em Gee. I love 90s fashion, and I love books where characters' clothes are described. These books totally need more shopping scenes.
Third, I utterly adore Margaret. She's got to be one of my favourite Point Horror heroines ever. Quiet but not shy, not popular but not cowed by those who are, soft-spoken and kind but unafraid to speak up - often with a quick, sharp wit - when she or her friends are being put down. This girl is awesome. She's more complex than the one-dimensional heroines you tend to find in teenage horror. She's totally someone I'd want to be, or want to know.
Mitch is lovely. I'm not usually a fan of the sensitive-jock or sensitive popular guy trope, but it kind of works here. Like Margaret, he's better developed than your average Point Horror love interest, and I credit that to the extra length of the book. He's a real sweetheart, and I'm glad, because Margaret deserves someone no less than brilliant. And if their romance progresses a little fast, with only a couple dozen pages between first interest and first I-love-yous? That's okay too. This is the end of high school, after all. :)
I really quite like Margaret's mom, too - an actual present, decent parent for once!
Even the Pops have some depth to their character. I was particularly touched by Kiki's thoughts as she was walking alone, about how hard it was to balance everything in life and put out a flawless, poised image. I was a Kiki in high school, although rather than being in the popular crowd I flitted from crowd to crowd, being welcomed and accepted by all and committing to nobody. I spent a lot of years trying to be close to perfect in all possible areas - good grades, extra credit projects, art classes, volunteer work, popularity, prettiness, being someone who people could rely on but would never need anything from others - and, on the occasions that that failed, providing a smooth untouchable surface that made it appear like I wasn't the slightest bit ruffled by anything. Being a secondary character, we're not provided with Kiki's motivations other than a general fear of messing up, and I'd like to have seen more of her. That said, I'm pretty darn impressed with the fact that we hear the Pops' feelings at all; usually background characters are solidly in the background, and any information we get on them comes via conversations with protagonists.
It's generally agreed that info dumping is a sign of an unprofessional author, but I love info dumps. I'm not a fan of books that are totally dialogue-driven, I like to see people's inner thoughts.
Bitchy in places, scary in others, cheerful in more, this is as comforting as hot tomato soup on an autumn day. I just read it three weeks ago and find myself wanting to read it again.
Verdict: One of the best of the later books, with one of the most developed heroines. Brilliantly entertaining.
April 2, 2021
I own this book.
Margaret isn't going to prom, neither are her friends, because they don't have dates, and what rubs it in even more is that Margaret and Caroline have to sell dresses at Margaret's mothers shop to all the girls going, including the intolerable most popular girls in school. But when these girls start dying with their dresses being stolen soon after, Margaret can't help but think their deaths are connected to the prom and also her mother's shop. Things don't stop there with Margaret's life being threatened after she accepts an invite from one the popular girl's exs to the prom. Will someone really kill to get to prom?
I love cheesy 90s teen horror, it is in no way scary at all but these Point Horror books really make me happy. I remember borrowing them from the library as a kid and just absolutely absorbing them, this one was no different and I finished it in one sitting. Is it the best book I've ever read? No. But is it very enjoyable and easy to read? Yes, yes, yes, yes.
Margaret isn't going to prom, neither are her friends, because they don't have dates, and what rubs it in even more is that Margaret and Caroline have to sell dresses at Margaret's mothers shop to all the girls going, including the intolerable most popular girls in school. But when these girls start dying with their dresses being stolen soon after, Margaret can't help but think their deaths are connected to the prom and also her mother's shop. Things don't stop there with Margaret's life being threatened after she accepts an invite from one the popular girl's exs to the prom. Will someone really kill to get to prom?
I love cheesy 90s teen horror, it is in no way scary at all but these Point Horror books really make me happy. I remember borrowing them from the library as a kid and just absolutely absorbing them, this one was no different and I finished it in one sitting. Is it the best book I've ever read? No. But is it very enjoyable and easy to read? Yes, yes, yes, yes.
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 - She’d kill for a date…
Memorable For – Death in a Point Horror and never stopping the prom!
Some Thoughts -
Slaughtered Prom dresses, creepy lighthouses, a dead body floating in the water, dumpster fires, cash box face hitting and bumper cars! It’s carnage in this Point Horror I tell you! Carnage! Someone REALLY wants to go to Prom so they are going to bump off the competition and when they still get turned down for a date bump off some more competition!
Other highlights include move over Mean Girl plastics....The Pops are here now, proper slasher horror film vibes with people being bumped off and attacked and a Sunset Boulevard ending which was just a Point Horror classic moment!
Shout out to the brilliantly names shops in this little old town – Quartet, Impeccable Tastes – I basically want to live there…..but not go any where near Prom!
Tagline - She’d kill for a date…
Memorable For – Death in a Point Horror and never stopping the prom!
Some Thoughts -
Slaughtered Prom dresses, creepy lighthouses, a dead body floating in the water, dumpster fires, cash box face hitting and bumper cars! It’s carnage in this Point Horror I tell you! Carnage! Someone REALLY wants to go to Prom so they are going to bump off the competition and when they still get turned down for a date bump off some more competition!
Other highlights include move over Mean Girl plastics....The Pops are here now, proper slasher horror film vibes with people being bumped off and attacked and a Sunset Boulevard ending which was just a Point Horror classic moment!
Shout out to the brilliantly names shops in this little old town – Quartet, Impeccable Tastes – I basically want to live there…..but not go any where near Prom!
May 20, 2018
A great Point Horror!
As Toomey High is gearing up for the night of the year - Prom Night.
Margaret and her friends don’t have dates, but when popular girls Stephanie (murdered) and Kiki (a nasty accident) is someone trying to kill off the competition?
As Toomey High is gearing up for the night of the year - Prom Night.
Margaret and her friends don’t have dates, but when popular girls Stephanie (murdered) and Kiki (a nasty accident) is someone trying to kill off the competition?
December 15, 2016
The ending is great, but the rest of the book is solid Diane Hoh thrills too, with a smart protagonist and an endless supply of possible guilty parties! I really wish Diane Hoh had kept writing beyond the Point Horror boom. She wrote good, suspenseful mysteries about teenagers, rather than for them and (technological advancements aside) that makes them quite timeless in my eyes! I'll be passing her books on to my niece when she's old enough.
September 3, 2012
Rating: 4 of 5
Prom Date was among the many Point Horror books I read in the 90s, between the ages of 12 to 16. In those days, when I wasn't buried in a Stephen King novel, nine times out of ten I was reading L.J. Smith, R.L. Stine, Christopher Pike, Caroline B. Cooney, or Richie Tankersley Cusick. Their novels always thrilled and entertained, and yes, there was a healthy dose of jumps and creepies.
Nowadays, I'd recommend the Point Horror books for younger 12- to 15-year-olds, who want to dip their pinkie toe in the horror pool. (These books will likely fall short for anyone who's already dabbled in adult dark fiction or film.) The horror elements are mild, for the most part, the mysteries usually keep you guessing right up 'til the end, but some of the teenager-y behavior may seem a little outdated. Other than that, these are great fun!
Note: My rating is based on what I remember from 20+ years ago and, of course, includes a fair share of sentimentality.
Prom Date was among the many Point Horror books I read in the 90s, between the ages of 12 to 16. In those days, when I wasn't buried in a Stephen King novel, nine times out of ten I was reading L.J. Smith, R.L. Stine, Christopher Pike, Caroline B. Cooney, or Richie Tankersley Cusick. Their novels always thrilled and entertained, and yes, there was a healthy dose of jumps and creepies.
Nowadays, I'd recommend the Point Horror books for younger 12- to 15-year-olds, who want to dip their pinkie toe in the horror pool. (These books will likely fall short for anyone who's already dabbled in adult dark fiction or film.) The horror elements are mild, for the most part, the mysteries usually keep you guessing right up 'til the end, but some of the teenager-y behavior may seem a little outdated. Other than that, these are great fun!
Note: My rating is based on what I remember from 20+ years ago and, of course, includes a fair share of sentimentality.
May 19, 2019
Someone is killing and assaulting girls left and right just to get a date for the prom. And with such savagery! I have to say, I admire the perpetrator's single-mindedness, though the methods leave a lot to be desired. Psychopathy does leave one with very unfortunate predispositions so I shouldn't really be surprised.
This one is unique in that it has a rather feminine feel to it, something that I rarely encounter in retro YA horror. It's not only manifest in the writing but in the subjects that it tackles - unstable girl cliques, missing prom dresses, boy-chasing, catty maneuverings, etc. I find all these quite refreshing, really.
I like how the author structured the mystery that lies at the heart of this book. The reveal is a right stunner though I did guess who the killer was from the start. Proceeding through the story with that perspective, I think the author gave fair but deeply deceptive clues, the type that would make one's head spin since they scatter suspicion around almost everyone like buckshot.
The book itself is among the better ones that the genre cab offer. I liked it all the more for its bittersweet ending. I'm rating it 7/10 or 3 stars out of 5.
This one is unique in that it has a rather feminine feel to it, something that I rarely encounter in retro YA horror. It's not only manifest in the writing but in the subjects that it tackles - unstable girl cliques, missing prom dresses, boy-chasing, catty maneuverings, etc. I find all these quite refreshing, really.
I like how the author structured the mystery that lies at the heart of this book. The reveal is a right stunner though I did guess who the killer was from the start. Proceeding through the story with that perspective, I think the author gave fair but deeply deceptive clues, the type that would make one's head spin since they scatter suspicion around almost everyone like buckshot.
The book itself is among the better ones that the genre cab offer. I liked it all the more for its bittersweet ending. I'm rating it 7/10 or 3 stars out of 5.
August 20, 2013
I've recently been re-reading a lot of my favorite childhood horror books, and this is probably the best one so far. Thank goodness my library is carrying some of them as e-books now, since they purged all of the hard copies! I'm having a lot of fun with these trips down memory lane.
I love that I had no idea who the killer was, even though I had read this before.
I love that I had no idea who the killer was, even though I had read this before.
July 26, 2023
Another fun Diane Hoh point horror. This one had more gore than I was expecting.
December 27, 2021
Absolutely wild and wacky. One of the most memorable later PH titles for me. Parts of this book have stuck with me for years.
July 3, 2023
Toomey High is getting ready for prom, but Margaret and her best friend Caroline won't be attending due to a shortage of dates. This is an especially bitter pill to swallow because Margaret's mom owns the coolest formal wear store in town. While the two girls work there after school they must endure The Pops, the four most popular girls in school, coming in to shop and gossip about the prom, and generally make their lives miserable. However, when someone begins targeting The Pops to thwart their prom plans, Margaret and Caroline find themselves in the middle of a town-wide murder investigation and in the path of the killer.
PROM DATE by Diane Hoh is part of the Point Horror book series which hosts other notable YA horror authors such as R.L. Stine, Christopher Pike, and Caroline B. Cooney and was published between 1991-2005 and again between 2013-2014. The stories were a bit edgier than some of the other teen horror series floating around because real terror and death could be visited upon these characters. While wildly popular in their day, reading them decades after their publication dates can feel stagnant. These books are very much of their time - their rife with outdated conceptions of gender and identity, certain peer pressures and social conventions, and even the very idea of what it means to be "popular" - and still, there is an appeal to PROM DATE and the series as a whole.
Compared to some of the other Point Horror stories, PROM DATE offers us a more well-rounded female protagonist who is level-headed and thinking about her future. She's more reserved while still being relatable and not a caricature of teenage girldom. The book is told mostly from Margaret's point of view, but we also have a strange prologue to contend with, and the killer's POV. There are some pretty gruesome scenes, wig snatching and brutalized prom dresses, a literal dumpster fire, a cringe inducing buddy teen romance with whiffs of bizarre toxic masculinity, and the most heinous prom committee meetings you'll ever have to read through.
That said, while I found most of PROM DATE hard to stomach, in its day, this was one of the most coveted Point Horror books. It was almost double in length compared to the others, has a pretty good mystery at its core, and an even better red herring and set-up. No spoilers, but there's just as much to groan over in this book as there is to enjoy if you can manage to push through.
Read with the #MyDarkLibrary bookclub on Instagram in May 2023
PROM DATE by Diane Hoh is part of the Point Horror book series which hosts other notable YA horror authors such as R.L. Stine, Christopher Pike, and Caroline B. Cooney and was published between 1991-2005 and again between 2013-2014. The stories were a bit edgier than some of the other teen horror series floating around because real terror and death could be visited upon these characters. While wildly popular in their day, reading them decades after their publication dates can feel stagnant. These books are very much of their time - their rife with outdated conceptions of gender and identity, certain peer pressures and social conventions, and even the very idea of what it means to be "popular" - and still, there is an appeal to PROM DATE and the series as a whole.
Compared to some of the other Point Horror stories, PROM DATE offers us a more well-rounded female protagonist who is level-headed and thinking about her future. She's more reserved while still being relatable and not a caricature of teenage girldom. The book is told mostly from Margaret's point of view, but we also have a strange prologue to contend with, and the killer's POV. There are some pretty gruesome scenes, wig snatching and brutalized prom dresses, a literal dumpster fire, a cringe inducing buddy teen romance with whiffs of bizarre toxic masculinity, and the most heinous prom committee meetings you'll ever have to read through.
That said, while I found most of PROM DATE hard to stomach, in its day, this was one of the most coveted Point Horror books. It was almost double in length compared to the others, has a pretty good mystery at its core, and an even better red herring and set-up. No spoilers, but there's just as much to groan over in this book as there is to enjoy if you can manage to push through.
Read with the #MyDarkLibrary bookclub on Instagram in May 2023
July 30, 2023
I review my point horror books against other point horror books only.
This book was good fun, more of a murder mystery than a horror, though I couple of the scenes were scary for the main character to go through. There are lots of characters is this book, which makes for a great who done it! Plenty of choices! There are spots of humour, and plenty of red herrings!
This book was good fun, more of a murder mystery than a horror, though I couple of the scenes were scary for the main character to go through. There are lots of characters is this book, which makes for a great who done it! Plenty of choices! There are spots of humour, and plenty of red herrings!
August 8, 2023
Oh, I loved this one. An all round 90's classic. As far as point horror goes, this is up there now as a favourite, and, this was my first time reading it!
I did work out who the antagonist was pretty early on but it was fast paced with a bit more substinance to the characterisation which I loved. I liked Margaret as the protagonist and main narrator, and loved the short, sinister chapters, which fed into the horror side.
Crazy concept but that just made it all the more fun. Perfect escapism!
I did work out who the antagonist was pretty early on but it was fast paced with a bit more substinance to the characterisation which I loved. I liked Margaret as the protagonist and main narrator, and loved the short, sinister chapters, which fed into the horror side.
Crazy concept but that just made it all the more fun. Perfect escapism!
February 18, 2021
Took off a star for the dead cat. Liked the dumpster fire and lighthouse scenes. Not a huge fan of dance books but not a lot of time is spent at the dance in this one.
July 18, 2023
SO unhinged and full of so many characters to keep track of like all of Diane Hoh’s books but 4 stars for the last scene and the creative murders. A super fun one!
October 15, 2020
Onvan : Prom Date - Nevisande : Diane Hoh - ISBN : 0590544292 - ISBN13 : 9780590544290 - Dar 284 Safhe - Saal e Chap : 1996
August 5, 2023
Someone is so desperate to go to prom that they would kill for it! Yes it's that ridiculous. This point horror book was of course cheesy and fun. I didn't guess the killer which is always good.
August 19, 2022
Random listen thanks to the Audible Plus Catalogue. God, I fucking loved Point Horror when I was a kid and this was a very nostalgic type of listen.
May 18, 2023
I don't know how I went so long without reading this Diane Hoh book!
This is a thick book compared to her other works in the Nightmare Hall series and her other standalones. I thought for sure that it would be a dragged on plot because of that length or super cheesy instead of super boring...but no.
We are given a prologue where there is a group of young preteen girls, four of them who have made a blood pact to be friends forever. When it gets to senior year in high school, that is stated to no longer be true.
Funny thing is we are presented two different groups of girls.
The really beautiful girls who have parents with money and influence, handsome boyfriends who are jocks and just as well to do but with varying degrees of bitchiness. The Pops - the popular potential prom queens.
Stephanie, Kiki, Beth and Liza.
Then there are the girls who aren't exactly ugly but a little low in self-esteem and cash. Gone on dates with a few guys but no long-term sweethearts that they spend most of their time watching movies instead of going to any of the dances at Toomey High. Also with varying degrees of bitchiness to combat the Pops and their snark.
Lacey, Jeannine, Caroline and Margaret.
The latter two girls work at the boutique called Quartet where all of the clothes and dresses are designed by Margaret's mom Adrienne. They are stunning enough that her three other owners are mothers of the Pops who have money invested in the store. It's Prom Time and the shop is swamped with girls buying dresses.
Caroline and Margaret are planning on skipping the Prom to hang with the two other girls so are reduced to selling them to three of the Pops: Liza, Beth and Stephanie. Apparently, Kiki doesn't think much of Adrienne's dresses since she isn't there.
Barbs are exchanged in normal teenage cattiness between all the girls but Margaret and Caroline can't help but keep a few dresses on standby...who wouldn't want to wear one of the gorgeous dresses...to have hope that there is still time to be asked?
Margaret knows that Scott who works at the boutique as a delivery driver is crazy about Caroline even though he's a junior and hasn't plucked up the courage to ask her to Prom. She also knows that Caroline only sees Scott as a friend and wants a more popular and handsome senior to ask her...so picky but I guess we are all like that in high school.
Later that night, Margaret finds the dresses that had been purchased by the Pops and needed alterations before the big night have been vandalized. Torn to bits by muddy tires...all her mother's hard work. The police are called to search the store but no money is taken from the register and no other gowns or merchandise is destroyed.
At the senior picnic, Margaret finds herself visiting the lighthouse on the Point to enjoy the view and clear her mind of the incident at the store. Most people are scared of it being that it is so old but not Margaret or Mitch McGill, Liza's boyfriend, who finds his way up there.
His brother Eddie was one of the cops informed about the incident at the shop and it seems he is quite a motor-mouth by telling Mitch about it. They seem like good guys though because Eddie said that Margaret's mother was gorgeous but also a nice lady and that her daughter had the same beautiful eyes.
Adrienne Dunne only has one daughter, Margaret, and Mitch said he had to see for himself because Eddie has only ever said that about his own wife being the most gorgeous or beautiful woman he has ever seen. These McGill boys are a bit of alright with me...
That meet-cute moment is then switched to one girl leading another to the very same lighthouse which Margaret and Mitch just left only moments ago. Lured there by a lie about her boyfriend cheating on her, the "girl in yellow" is in for a shock when the other girl corners her and demands she break her prom date.
The confrontation takes a fatal turn as the girl in yellow falls over the railing and is then sent plummeting into the water and rocks below when she loses her grip...thanks to the other girl kicking at her fingers in some sort of psychotic glee once her terror fades.
We soon learn that the girl in yellow was Stephanie and the girl who killed...really isn't right in the head. Very good at acting normal but a few chapters from her perspective are of a clearly disturbed individual...desperately wanting a date to the prom.
Margaret is soon very concerned when she notices that her friends could care less about Stephanie's death or the fact that Mitch has asked Margaret to the prom. Liza apparently got herself a date with a friend of her brother who is IN COLLEGE when Mitch said he couldn't afford all the trappings she wanted: dinner, limo, etc.
Mitch, however, has a very nice grandmother to give him enough money in a graduation present to now afford a dance at his senior prom. One he wants to share with Margaret because apparently she is a nice enough person that her concern over Stephanie's boyfriend Michael being depressed over losing Stephanie the day her body was found showed she was a human being.
Also he asks to call her Meg, which no one else does, and he is amazed that she wants to go to prom with him in his new truck instead of a limo. Mitch and Meg even kiss when he takes her home from Stephanie's funeral (not the most romantic of days but the sentiment behind it is very sweet.)
The romance will have to take a backseat once it is clear that now that Margaret has a date to prom...she's another target for the prom date obsessed killer. If she can't go, no one else will...
The question is then: which of our girls is behind this?
We assume that it is one of Margaret's friends but it could also be one of the Pops as there are hints of Stephanie's boyfriend Michael cheating on her. From what I can gather, Michael wasn't the best boyfriend or the nicest guy so do you believe he would cheat on his rich, modelesque girlfriend with someone on a different social level?
Didn't think so but it is so wonderfully woven by Hoh in her storytelling that you can't be sure.
Out of the girls we are presented, Margaret as the main character is also the nicest one and my favorite next to her mother. "Meg" is smart and intelligent and you can see why Mitch falls for her.
Mitch is my favorite of all the boys we are introduced to with the next one being his brother.
We don't get to know the other boys as well so it is hard to judge how nice they really are but compared to Michael, they are saints. Compared to Mitch, they aren't saintly enough.
When it seems like we have the story wrapped up, there are many twists in the road that come up fast. The first swerve is jarring, the next one even more, followed by a huge reveal before it seems the slopes are gone and we are going to get our smooth ending to a sappy note...but...
Everything goes bonkers that you think that maybe this is all just some fake-out but to me those endings are the best...mostly.
If you have never read Prom Date by Diane Hoh, I can highly recommend it. The cover enough is a reason...so normal but there is such a deranged touch to it you have to wonder if such a scene truly does exist in this book?
Are you ready to find out for yourself because I certainly wouldn't want to ruin it for you...
This is a thick book compared to her other works in the Nightmare Hall series and her other standalones. I thought for sure that it would be a dragged on plot because of that length or super cheesy instead of super boring...but no.
We are given a prologue where there is a group of young preteen girls, four of them who have made a blood pact to be friends forever. When it gets to senior year in high school, that is stated to no longer be true.
Funny thing is we are presented two different groups of girls.
The really beautiful girls who have parents with money and influence, handsome boyfriends who are jocks and just as well to do but with varying degrees of bitchiness. The Pops - the popular potential prom queens.
Stephanie, Kiki, Beth and Liza.
Then there are the girls who aren't exactly ugly but a little low in self-esteem and cash. Gone on dates with a few guys but no long-term sweethearts that they spend most of their time watching movies instead of going to any of the dances at Toomey High. Also with varying degrees of bitchiness to combat the Pops and their snark.
Lacey, Jeannine, Caroline and Margaret.
The latter two girls work at the boutique called Quartet where all of the clothes and dresses are designed by Margaret's mom Adrienne. They are stunning enough that her three other owners are mothers of the Pops who have money invested in the store. It's Prom Time and the shop is swamped with girls buying dresses.
Caroline and Margaret are planning on skipping the Prom to hang with the two other girls so are reduced to selling them to three of the Pops: Liza, Beth and Stephanie. Apparently, Kiki doesn't think much of Adrienne's dresses since she isn't there.
Barbs are exchanged in normal teenage cattiness between all the girls but Margaret and Caroline can't help but keep a few dresses on standby...who wouldn't want to wear one of the gorgeous dresses...to have hope that there is still time to be asked?
Margaret knows that Scott who works at the boutique as a delivery driver is crazy about Caroline even though he's a junior and hasn't plucked up the courage to ask her to Prom. She also knows that Caroline only sees Scott as a friend and wants a more popular and handsome senior to ask her...so picky but I guess we are all like that in high school.
Later that night, Margaret finds the dresses that had been purchased by the Pops and needed alterations before the big night have been vandalized. Torn to bits by muddy tires...all her mother's hard work. The police are called to search the store but no money is taken from the register and no other gowns or merchandise is destroyed.
At the senior picnic, Margaret finds herself visiting the lighthouse on the Point to enjoy the view and clear her mind of the incident at the store. Most people are scared of it being that it is so old but not Margaret or Mitch McGill, Liza's boyfriend, who finds his way up there.
His brother Eddie was one of the cops informed about the incident at the shop and it seems he is quite a motor-mouth by telling Mitch about it. They seem like good guys though because Eddie said that Margaret's mother was gorgeous but also a nice lady and that her daughter had the same beautiful eyes.
Adrienne Dunne only has one daughter, Margaret, and Mitch said he had to see for himself because Eddie has only ever said that about his own wife being the most gorgeous or beautiful woman he has ever seen. These McGill boys are a bit of alright with me...
That meet-cute moment is then switched to one girl leading another to the very same lighthouse which Margaret and Mitch just left only moments ago. Lured there by a lie about her boyfriend cheating on her, the "girl in yellow" is in for a shock when the other girl corners her and demands she break her prom date.
The confrontation takes a fatal turn as the girl in yellow falls over the railing and is then sent plummeting into the water and rocks below when she loses her grip...thanks to the other girl kicking at her fingers in some sort of psychotic glee once her terror fades.
We soon learn that the girl in yellow was Stephanie and the girl who killed...really isn't right in the head. Very good at acting normal but a few chapters from her perspective are of a clearly disturbed individual...desperately wanting a date to the prom.
Margaret is soon very concerned when she notices that her friends could care less about Stephanie's death or the fact that Mitch has asked Margaret to the prom. Liza apparently got herself a date with a friend of her brother who is IN COLLEGE when Mitch said he couldn't afford all the trappings she wanted: dinner, limo, etc.
Mitch, however, has a very nice grandmother to give him enough money in a graduation present to now afford a dance at his senior prom. One he wants to share with Margaret because apparently she is a nice enough person that her concern over Stephanie's boyfriend Michael being depressed over losing Stephanie the day her body was found showed she was a human being.
Also he asks to call her Meg, which no one else does, and he is amazed that she wants to go to prom with him in his new truck instead of a limo. Mitch and Meg even kiss when he takes her home from Stephanie's funeral (not the most romantic of days but the sentiment behind it is very sweet.)
The romance will have to take a backseat once it is clear that now that Margaret has a date to prom...she's another target for the prom date obsessed killer. If she can't go, no one else will...
The question is then: which of our girls is behind this?
We assume that it is one of Margaret's friends but it could also be one of the Pops as there are hints of Stephanie's boyfriend Michael cheating on her. From what I can gather, Michael wasn't the best boyfriend or the nicest guy so do you believe he would cheat on his rich, modelesque girlfriend with someone on a different social level?
Didn't think so but it is so wonderfully woven by Hoh in her storytelling that you can't be sure.
Out of the girls we are presented, Margaret as the main character is also the nicest one and my favorite next to her mother. "Meg" is smart and intelligent and you can see why Mitch falls for her.
Mitch is my favorite of all the boys we are introduced to with the next one being his brother.
We don't get to know the other boys as well so it is hard to judge how nice they really are but compared to Michael, they are saints. Compared to Mitch, they aren't saintly enough.
When it seems like we have the story wrapped up, there are many twists in the road that come up fast. The first swerve is jarring, the next one even more, followed by a huge reveal before it seems the slopes are gone and we are going to get our smooth ending to a sappy note...but...
Everything goes bonkers that you think that maybe this is all just some fake-out but to me those endings are the best...mostly.
If you have never read Prom Date by Diane Hoh, I can highly recommend it. The cover enough is a reason...so normal but there is such a deranged touch to it you have to wonder if such a scene truly does exist in this book?
Are you ready to find out for yourself because I certainly wouldn't want to ruin it for you...
June 19, 2020
After getting stuck in a book slump, I needed something that I knew I would love. I've read Prom Date several times and I love it. It takes me back to my teenage days, when everything was about boys and prom, and we all knew girls like 'the pops'.
I must admit, I wasn't expecting the book to be as good as it was. I was expecting to be disappointed. But it was brilliant, I loved the characters, the tension was there and kept up throughout the whole book. There were plenty of red herrings and several times I thought I'd worked it out, only be foiled again (I couldn't remember who the murderer was). Don't get me wrong, it is not going to be critically acclaimed. But it's a five stars from me as it has that personal connection.
I must admit, I wasn't expecting the book to be as good as it was. I was expecting to be disappointed. But it was brilliant, I loved the characters, the tension was there and kept up throughout the whole book. There were plenty of red herrings and several times I thought I'd worked it out, only be foiled again (I couldn't remember who the murderer was). Don't get me wrong, it is not going to be critically acclaimed. But it's a five stars from me as it has that personal connection.
July 18, 2018
It's prom season when every girl is out looking for the perfect dress.... But oh no! Someone waits in the shadows (plotting and scheming) This book was so suspenseful and an awesome who-dun-it. I couldn't put it down. The twists and turns will keep you reading until the last page. When it was reviled who the person was, I was kinda-of shocked, I thought it was someone totally different!
Highly Recommended for ages 12 and up. Has that old school feel from the 90's. No drugs. No sex.
Highly Recommended for ages 12 and up. Has that old school feel from the 90's. No drugs. No sex.
August 28, 2014
Really good, I liked that it was longer than most Point Horror, I liked that Mitch liked Margaret because he thought she was interesting. I also liked that there were so many possibilities for who was doing it, I like books that make me think and keep me guessing. Even though I've read it before it still surprised me who the culprit was and the ending... So creepy and weird but so fitting.
July 20, 2013
A little bit longer than the other Point Horror books. but left room for a lot more intrigue.
May 12, 2015
There was a point in my life where point horror novels were an obsession. This is one of the better ones
July 8, 2020
Sloooow. And bizarre ending scene.
October 20, 2024
It didn't take me long to realise that I had already read this book 😂 It took a while to work out what it was called when I last read it though, I'm pretty sure it's this - Date with Death the only differences seem to be a couple of names Margaret/Megan, and Liza/Zoey. Not sure why they felt the need to change some of the names, but everything else seemed the same 🤷🏻♀️
August 2, 2025
When I picked up this audiobook I didn’t realise it was almost 30 years old. That’s actually a little wild but it does reflect in the content. I didn’t realise until after finishing it that not a single phone was used throughout, which isn’t completely strange but a book about teens that doesn't mention social media is. But yeah I then realised Prom Date was written in 1996 and it all made sense. This audiobook was produced in 2013 though, so I don’t know if anything was changed from the original story.
I listened to this entire audiobook in one sitting, not because I was desperate to find out what was going on, just because I was cleaning and it was providing at least a little bit of entertainment.
I’m going to spoil the ending as this book is so old now that I don’t think anyone will care too much. The killer made no sense and having them be ‘crazy’ and have mental health issues was a little distasteful for my liking. Right up until the end of the book, this character acts perfectly ‘normal’, there are zero hints that she suffers from mental health problems or that she holds a grudge against any of the characters. It would have made more sense for it to be one of Margaret’s friends as they spent the majority of the book complaining that they don’t have dates to the prom.
The unreliable narrator aspect was good though. There were chapters told from the perspective of the killer but without giving away who it was. These were fairly repetitive as they just talked about wanting a prom date, but it was a nice change in pace and added some interest to the book.
I don’t really have a lot to say about Prom Date other than the fact that it was a decent read/listen. The narrator gave a solid performance and the plot was interesting enough but this won’t be making it onto my ‘favourite thrillers’ list.
I listened to this entire audiobook in one sitting, not because I was desperate to find out what was going on, just because I was cleaning and it was providing at least a little bit of entertainment.
I’m going to spoil the ending as this book is so old now that I don’t think anyone will care too much. The killer made no sense and having them be ‘crazy’ and have mental health issues was a little distasteful for my liking. Right up until the end of the book, this character acts perfectly ‘normal’, there are zero hints that she suffers from mental health problems or that she holds a grudge against any of the characters. It would have made more sense for it to be one of Margaret’s friends as they spent the majority of the book complaining that they don’t have dates to the prom.
The unreliable narrator aspect was good though. There were chapters told from the perspective of the killer but without giving away who it was. These were fairly repetitive as they just talked about wanting a prom date, but it was a nice change in pace and added some interest to the book.
I don’t really have a lot to say about Prom Date other than the fact that it was a decent read/listen. The narrator gave a solid performance and the plot was interesting enough but this won’t be making it onto my ‘favourite thrillers’ list.
March 31, 2022
I have read A LOT of Diane Hoh novels of late, so unfortunately that has tainted my enjoyment of 'Prom Date'. Having read so much of her work, it's hard to tell whether Prom Date is an inferior title, or whether I am just reaching saturation point. Whichever the reason, I did not enjoy Prom Date as much as Funhouse, The Accident or The Fever.
That isn't to say Prom Date is a bad book, it's just not as good as Diane Hoh's other work. I think any teen horror fan will still find plenty to enjoy in this book. The chracters are fun and there is lots of mystery and suspense to be had.
The big finale was a little abrupt for my tastes, but I thought the epilogue was a very nice touch from the writer; although she probably did exagerate the idea a little too far.
Long Live Point Horror! 3/5
That isn't to say Prom Date is a bad book, it's just not as good as Diane Hoh's other work. I think any teen horror fan will still find plenty to enjoy in this book. The chracters are fun and there is lots of mystery and suspense to be had.
The big finale was a little abrupt for my tastes, but I thought the epilogue was a very nice touch from the writer; although she probably did exagerate the idea a little too far.
Long Live Point Horror! 3/5
February 28, 2021
I remembered reading this book when I was in high school, too many years ago. And it was one that always stuck with me. Well, I for the life of me couldn’t remember what it was called. When I finally figured it out, I bought it to re-read. Reading it again as a 35 year old adult, it doesn’t hold the same, interest, it did as a high school sophomore. Lol. But it was a cute story, and I enjoyed reading it again, and reliving a little bit of my younger days. Lol. It’s definitely a book for a young teen, and not an adult. I will say, even though it was written in 1996, it’s seems to age fairly well, better than some books I’ve read.
July 18, 2023
Margaret and her friends won’t be going to Prom, unlike the popular girls no-one has asked them. But then the “accidents” start to happen and it seems someone is desperate to go to Prom and taking out the competition, can Margaret find them before they kill her?
This was fun, I grew up when prom was not a thing in the UK but I can see how this would be such a must attend event when you’re a teenager. Image and popularity are so important when your hormones are out of control. The story is a quick fun read and there is the usual mix of loveable, annoying, weird and completely bonkers characters. I found this funny rather than creepy, it is cheesy and comforting, I thoroughly enjoyed it!
This was fun, I grew up when prom was not a thing in the UK but I can see how this would be such a must attend event when you’re a teenager. Image and popularity are so important when your hormones are out of control. The story is a quick fun read and there is the usual mix of loveable, annoying, weird and completely bonkers characters. I found this funny rather than creepy, it is cheesy and comforting, I thoroughly enjoyed it!
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