Summary
In this queer YA psychological thriller from the author of Some Girls Do , perfect for fans of One of Us is Lying and A Good Girl's Guide to Murder , the sole surviving counselors of a summer camp massacre search to uncover the truth of what happened that fateful night, but what they find out might just get them killed.
"Shocking, captivating, and utterly chilling. A delicious thriller that will have you tearing through pages to get to the end, where you won't be disappointed." -Jessica Goodman, bestselling author of They Wish They Were Us
Sloan and Cherry. Cherry and Sloan. They met only a few days before masked men with machetes attacked the summer camp where they worked, a massacre that left the rest of their fellow counselors dead. Now, months later, the two are inseparable, their traumatic experience bonding them in ways no one else can understand.
But as new evidence comes to light and Sloan learns more about the motives behind the ritual killing that brought them together, she begins to suspect that her girlfriend may be more than just a survivor-she may actually have been a part of it. Cherry tries to reassure her, but Sloan only becomes more distraught. Is this gaslighting or reality? Is Cherry a victim or a perpetrator? Is Sloan confused, or is she seeing things clearly for the very first time? Against all odds, Sloan survived that hot summer night. But will she survive what comes next?
Author Notes
Jennifer Dugan is a writer, a geek, and a romantic who writes the kinds of stories she wishes she'd had growing up. She's the author of the graphic novel Coven , as well as the young adult novels Playing For Keeps , The Last Girls Standing , Melt With You , Some Girls Do , Verona Comics , and Hot Dog Girl , which was called "a great, fizzy rom-com" by Entertainment Weekly and "one of the best reads of the year, hands down" by Paste magazine. She lives in upstate New York with her family, their dog, a strange kitten who enjoys wearing sweaters, and an evil cat who is no doubt planning to take over the world. You can visit Jennifer at JLDugan.com or follow her on Twitter and Instagram @JL_Dugan.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Following a summer camp massacre perpetrated by a mysterious group of animal-masked, machete-wielding assailants, teenagers Sloan and Cherry, the event's sole survivors, have become inseparable. Moreover, their shared trauma deepens their romantic relationship into a mutually codependent dynamic as the two struggle to adjust to life after the incident. But when one of the masked murderers is taken into custody, Sloan uncovers disturbing facts about the circumstances surrounding the events at Camp Money Springs that lead her to suspect Cherry of knowing more about the tragedy than she's been letting on. Ominous motives, misremembered events, and emotional manipulation abound as Sloan works to uncover the truth behind the killings--and her entire relationship with Cherry. Leisurely pacing dampens somewhat straightforward twists; nevertheless, the teens' relationship develops via cinematic prose, giving it space to be complicated and messy in a way that makes it compelling to watch unfold. Dugan (Melt with You) pays homage to classic slasher flicks in this enthralling departure, a solid addition to the camp horror genre that boasts urgent mystery and queer romance alongside its psychological thriller foundation. Sloan and Cherry read as white. Ages 14--up. Agent: Sara Crowe, Pippin Properties. (Aug.)
Booklist Review
When Sloan met Cherry at the start of summer as they both trained to become camp counselors, it was love at first sight. But men in crude animal masks attacked the camp, slaughtering everyone. Months later, Sloan and Cherry, the only survivors, are the subject of intense public focus. Sloan, whose memory of the night is a giant blank, clings to tough, unflappable Cherry, relying on her for safety and to fill in the gaps. Sloan's overbearingly anxious mother pushes Sloan out of her comfort zone, not realizing that Sloan is struggling with her memories and doubting Cherry's version of events. As Sloan begins her own investigation into that terrible day, her mind, already fragile, begins to break down. Dugan, author of queer romances (Melt with You, 2022), takes a sharp, but perhaps not ultimately shocking, turn into a thriller that grapples with the loneliness of trauma and the bonds that, for better or for worse, are forged there. The slow spiral to an unsettling, well-earned end will leave readers with much to think about.
School Library Journal Review
Gr 9 Up--Sloan, 18, is one of only two survivors of a gruesome slaughter that took place during the summer camp where she worked as a camp counselor. With very few memories of what occurred--masked men wielding machetes, snippets of kissing her girlfriend while covered in blood--Sloan struggles to come to terms with her trauma. She is plagued by nightmares and has formed a codependent relationship with her girlfriend, Cherry, whom she had only known for a few days before the massacre. They are virtually inseparable; Sloan relies heavily on Cherry to fill in the blanks of what really happened that night. When the news reveals information about the cult that massacred their friends, Sloan begins to suspect that her girlfriend may have been more than just a victim--she may have even been a part of it. Can she trust what Cherry says happened? This psychological thriller will interest readers who appreciate a little bit of gore. The characters are complex and realistic. Main characters read as white, with several supporting characters cued as Black, Korean, and Latinx. Throughout the book, readers see the arc of how Sloan's relationships with family and friends change after the trauma, as well as her growth as she learns to live with her PTSD and anxiety. VERDICT A recommended purchase where thrillers are popular; hand this to fans of Holly Jackson's A Good Girl's Guide to Murder and Stephen King's IT.--Ashley Grillo
Kirkus Review
Eighteen-year-old Sloan narrowly escapes a massacre at a summer camp but is left missing her memory. Sloan expected to spend the summer before heading off to college having fun working as a counselor at Camp Money Springs, but her plans are cut brutally short when a band of men wearing carved wooden animal masks show up and slaughter everyone in the night with machetes. Only Sloan and her now-girlfriend, Cherry, survive, but Sloan can't remember anything about how they escaped, relying only on Cherry's version of events to fill in the gaps. As Sloan desperately tries to regain her own memories about that night and answer the myriad questions she has, her trust in Cherry begins to unravel. Sloan begins to wonder if anything she's been told is true, if Cherry may have somehow been involved in the massacre, and if the mystery of Sloan's own adoption 14 years earlier could be the answer to everything. Sloan's confusion and growing uncertainty build palpable tension as events hurtle forward in a haunting and compelling manner. Sloan and Cherry's codependent relationship rings true and feels suffocating and difficult to escape from, never quite allowing readers to develop trust in any one character. Occasionally, Sloan's unreliability as a narrator can feel repetitive, but overall, this element adds to the frantic march toward a shocking and satisfying conclusion. Main characters read White; there is some racial diversity in secondary characters. A queer psychological thriller with teeth. (Thriller. 14-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Excerpts
One It had taken sixteen sutures to close the wound on the underside of Sloan's forearm. Sixteen threads, woven in and out of her skin by careful hands wrapped in latex, while whispered words had promised, "It's okay. You're safe now." As if anyone could really know that. Sloan remembered the way the pain had dulled down to a useless ache as the doctors worked, a pressure and tug that she knew should hurt, would hurt, had hurt before everything faded to a blur of sirens and lights and hospital antiseptic. Sixteen stitches holding her together when she could not do so herself. "Sloan," a voice said, sounding far away and underwater. Sloan ignored it, instead staring down at the puckered pink line running down her arm. She traced the scar with her finger, paying special attention to where it bit into the peculiar patch of raised skin above her wrist. Her mother called it a birthmark, but Sloan had never seen a birthmark like that before. Not that either of them really knew. When the Thomas family adopted her at the age of four, the mark, whatever it was, was already there. Her social workers were no help, and her biological parents were long-gone---a single Polaroid picture and an urgent, whispered "remember who you are" were all they left in their wake. There would be no asking and no answers for anyone. "Sloan," the voice said again. This time Sloan snapped her attention to the woman sitting across from her. "Beth," she said, matching her therapist's tone. If you could really call her that. Beth was some new-age-hypnotherapist-slash-psychic her mother had dug up when Sloan refused to talk to the doctors the hospital social worker had sent them to. She wasn't even sure if Beth was accredited. She wasn't even sure if hypnotists could be accredited. "Where were you just now?" Beth asked, trying very hard to keep her face neutral. Beth was always trying to keep her face neutral, and it rarely worked. Sloan had never met a therapist with so many tells, and she had met a lot of them in those first few weeks after the "incident." Sloan flashed her patented smart-ass smile. "Here, in this chair, wondering how much more of this beautiful day I have to spend stuck inside your office." Beth frowned. "Is that all?" "Does there always need to be more?" Beth leaned back in her chair. "It would be helpful to your recovery if there was, at least occasionally, more." Her recovery. That was hilarious. What recovery? It felt more like a countdown from where she sat. They had been waiting and watching her for a while now. Waiting for her to snap. To break down. To tell anyone other than that first police officer what she remembered. What it was like. What she saw. To put the few memories of that night she could manage to scrape up on display for them to dissect like a science experiment. Her parents, Beth, and all the therapists and gurus and life coaches before her all claimed to want to "help" her process what she'd been through. They wanted to understand. But nobody could, not unless they'd been there too. Sloan glanced out the window to where Cherry's truck sat glinting in the September sun. As if she could sense Sloan looking, Cherry opened the door and slid out, her long brown hair flipping up in the breeze. Sloan drank in the sight of the other girl, her entire body relaxing as the person she loved most leaned against the truck with crossed arms. Cherry was safety, warmth. She didn't pry because she didn't have to. She was there when it happened, when everyone died except for the two of them: the last girls standing. Sloan's loss was her loss. Sloan's wounds were her wounds. They didn't need therapists or police or parents wandering around inside their heads---they had each other for that. "You need to talk about what happened. Let me help you." Sloan sighed. It wasn't that she didn't like Beth---she did. Or that she didn't think Beth meant well---she did. Sloan just didn't see the point. "Help with what?" she asked softly. "Your mother says your nightmares are getting worse. We could start there---do a longer session and try to reprocess whichever memories are affecting you most. We might be able to take some of the bite out of them. Many of my clients have had a lot of luck with this approach in the past, but you have to work with me. I can't do it for you." "I'll think about it," Sloan said, and then they lapsed back into silence. She was relieved when Beth's phone alarm chimed, signaling the end of the visit. The truth was that Sloan wasn't sure she wanted to "take the bite out" of her memories. To reprocess them or share them with anyone else. Because what she remembered most from that day wasn't fear. It wasn't the sticky scent of warm blood, although that remained thick and cloying even in her dreams. And it wasn't even the pain of the cut in her skin. No. What she remembered most was love. Two Cherry pulled open the driver's side door before Sloan was even down the concrete steps of the Smith Medical Building. It was home to an urgent care, a massage therapist, four empty suites, and, of course, Beth McGuinness, holistic hypnotherapist specializing in traumatic response therapy. "How was the headshrinker?" Cherry teased as Sloan slid across the long bench seat of her old F‑-150. Sloan didn't know anything about trucks, and she gathered Cherry didn't either, given that the passenger's side door had been stuck shut for as long as Sloan had known her. The truck had originally belonged to Cherry's dad, and her mom had passed it on to her when he died a few years back. Sloan didn't know if it was a sentimental thing or a money thing that kept them in that truck. Maybe a little of both. "Shrinky," Sloan answered. "I don't know why your mom keeps making you go." Cherry shifted the truck into drive and slowly pulled out of the parking lot. Sloan threaded her fingers between Cherry's and let all the tension bleed from her body. "Probably because if I had to write an essay about what I did on my summer vacation, it would say 'survived a mass murder,' " Sloan said, attempting to make air quotes with her free hand. "You know it freaks her out." "Then maybe she should see someone and leave us alone for once." Sloan liked the way Cherry said "us." The way she always combined them into one now. Nothing happened to Cherry or to Sloan; it only happened to both of them, as if what happened that day at camp had fused them somehow. "Oh, she does," Sloan said, twisting in her seat. "I'm pretty sure me going was actually her therapist's idea. Or maybe her guru's. I can't keep them all straight anymore. You'd think she was the one who had to get sewn back together." Cherry made a little tsking sound. "Sounds like a conspiracy to me." "Yeah, a real conspiracy: protecting my mental health." "You know I'm always here for all your protection needs." She puffed out her chest, and Sloan smiled back at her. "Yeah, I noticed that with the whole hiding-me‑from-masked-men-with-machetes thing." "Oh yeah, that clued you in? Good," Cherry said with a laugh. It didn't use to be like this. The lightness, the teasing, it was new. Just since Cherry moved to town with her mother a few days ago. Now it was like Sloan could breathe again. Like there was a reason to want to smile. It was a fluke they had both ended up at Camp Money Springs--two girls on opposite sides of the state just looking for a fun summer job and a way to earn some cash that didn't involve fast food or retail. They were both fresh high school graduates, and while Cherry was planning on taking a gap year to "find herself"---aka use up her friends' goodwill to couch surf her way across the country---Sloan was just trying to earn some spending money for her first semester at NYU starting that fall. They had almost nothing in common. Cherry loved punk and grunge bands from the '90s; Sloan would die for Olivia Rodrigo and Doja Cat. Cherry was sure that they didn't need to worry about global warming because nature would heal itself, getting rid of people the way it had gotten rid of dinosaurs. Sloan thought they should all use metal straws anyway, just in case. They shouldn't have worked, but from the second they met, painting old boats and then clearing weeds at the archery range to prepare the camp for summer, Sloan knew they were meant to be. And to her delight, so did the other girl. Fate , Cherry had called it, eating slushies made from -ground--down ice and cheap syrup by the fire. She had tasted like sugar the first time they kissed. She had tasted like blood the next. Excerpted from The Last Girls Standing by Jennifer Dugan All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
