Blood Will Out by Jo Treggiari // NOT For the Faint-Hearted

Blood Will Out, by Jo Treggiari
Publication: June 5, 2018, by Penguin Teen
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Horror, Contemporary
Pages: 256
Format: Hardcover
Source: Publisher
Rating: 

Ari Sullivan is alive—for now.
She wakes at the bottom of a cistern, confused, injured and alone, with only the shadowy recollection of a low-pitched voice and a gloved hand. No one can hear her screams. And the person who put her there is coming back. The killer is planning a gruesome masterpiece, a fairytale tableau of innocence and blood, meticulously designed.
Until now, Ari was happy to spend her days pining for handsome, recent-arrival Stroud Bellows, fantasizing about their two-point-four-kids-future together. Safe in her small hometown of Dempsey Hollow. But now her community has turned very dangerous—and Ari may not be the only intended victim.

My Thoughts:

Like many of the reviews are suggesting, this book is not for the light-hearted. This is one of the most gory and detailed stories I've ever read in my entire life. I normally would've given this award to Danielle Vega and her Merciless series, however, this book is certainly up there. If you cannot handle (I almost didn't) details about the abuse of both humans and animals, do not go for this, even though it was an interesting, suspenseful read full of plot twists I didn't see coming. I only really had one problem with the entire story, and that was the writing. But we'll get into that in a bit.

Blood Will Out is about our main character, Ari, whose story is told in the third-person perspective. She is living a relatively normal life until she wakes up, trapped, underground. She does not recall what has happened, nor why she is stuck, and she tries to do whatever it takes to escape and try to save herself. No one hears her screams and pleads for help, however, and she believes that the killer is coming back for her to receive what they originally wanted. We readers get to read about her past, and the present, in addition to a mysterious first-person perspective, technically that of the killer.

What entertained me the most in this novel was that first-person perspective. It obviously was the gory perspective, but it was interesting to get in the mind of the killer in this story. I've never read a book which showcases this kind of perspective before, so this was completely new and refreshing. Keep in mind that what you think you know about all the characters in this book is not the truth at all. At. All. Treggiari did an excellent job at convincing readers that they know the truth, keeping them interested to see if their predictions are correct. My predictions were so wrong.

What I don't get is why there's so much negativity. I understand that the writing was kind of gross in some parts; the author attempted to use some descriptive writing that just didn't work. It really made me laugh out loud at some points. But aside from that (only a minor flaw), the book was fast-paced and full of suspense, allowing this to be categorized as a thriller and horror story. I've heard people say that this is like a Silence of the Lambs kind of read, and now I feel compelled to watch it to see if it's like this.

Blood Will Out was such an interesting read and one of the most unique I've recently read. I cannot wait to see what else Jo Treggiari has in store for readers in the future.

*A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for a honest review. Thank you so much!*

What are some horror YA reads?