Book Review: Clown in A Cornfield

CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD by Adam Cesare
08.25.2020 | Harper Collins
Rating: 5/5 stars

Quinn Maybrook and her father have moved to tiny, boring Kettle Springs to find a fresh start. What they don’t know is that since the Baypen Corn Syrup Factory shut down, Kettle Springs has cracked in half. On one side are the adults, who are desperate to make Kettle Springs great again, and on the other half are the kids, who want to have fun, make prank videos, and get out of Kettle Springs as fast as they can. The town is caught in a battle between old and new, tradition and progress. It’s a fight that looks like it will destroy the town. Until Frendo, the Baypen mascot, a creepy clown in a pork-pie hat, goes homicidal and decides that the only way for Kettle Springs to grow back is to cull the rotten crop of kids who live there now.

In the last year I have grown to love the YA horror subgenre and CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD is a shining example of what makes it so great. The YA genre as a whole is often misjudged with people thinking that these stories will be juvenile or cannot be read by adults, but that’s simply not true. CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD has all of the great traits of a traditional slasher horror story, but the characters happen to be teenagers. Trust me, there is nothing and no one being spared in this story. It’s not overly gory in my opinion, but packs just enough punch to leave the reader unsettled. I loved everything from the concept, the interactions between characters, the examination of generational differences, and the subtle, but effective social commentary. This is my second book by Cesare this year and I think it’s safe to say I’ve found a new favorite author!

50 States of Horror Challenge: Missouri

This book is available to buy from: Amazon | Book Depository

Disclosure: What Jess Reads is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This in no way influences my opinion of the above book.