High school meets classic horror in this YA contemporary twist on Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Head Cheerleader Cassidy Hyde’s life should have been perfect. But it really, really wasn’t, and she’s about ready to give up and disappear. Until, the first time she takes Sunshine. This new experimental drug makes Cassidy feel like the perfect, golden girl once again. A little memory loss seems like a small price to pay to get her life back . . . at least until boys start to go missing . . . boys that Cassidy NEVER wanted to think of again . . .

Thus begins Chandler Baker’s second twisty-turny retelling of a familiar tale, once again set in the town of Hollow Pines, Texas, where high school is truly horrifying.

I was excited to find book two of this series. It has been a year since I read Teen Frankenstein and I was looking forward to see what would happen next. Needless to say, I was not disappointed by this book.

It’s been several months since the events of book one and the main character is that of Cassidy Hyde. In the wake of Adam’s death, Cassidy’s life has spiraled out of control. Her family and friends know that something is wrong, but what they don’t realize is that Cassidy has a secret. The secret is weighing heavily on Cassidy and when she’s given her first taste of Sunshine, she finds herself losing time as her vengeful side steps forward.

I think the author did a great job incorporating a very real modern problem and incorporating into this modern day twist of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. For the sake of not spoiling the book, I’ll be careful not to give away what has happened. But what I can say is that I think the author did a good job addressing this problem. I also felt the handling of Cassidy’s Jekyll and Hyde sides were done quite well.

The only thing I was disappointed by is the lack connection to the previous book. Yes, Cassidy mentions Adam and Tor, but I wish there would have been more clarification on what happened to Tor. Last we saw, she’s lost her best friend and is all alone. Hopefully, she’ll make an appearance in a later book. Maybe she’ll continue making monsters. As for Cassidy, I look forward to seeing how her story leads into the next and which classical horror creature will be featured.

Reviewer’s note: I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating

Amazon