The Last Girls Standing

Jennifer Dugan has written a homage to 80s slasher films but with LGBTQ+ rep. Sloan and Cherry meet at Camp Money Springs where they are preparing to work as counselors after their senior year. A fledgling romance between them develops but days later, a ritual massacre occurs leaving them as the only survivors. The story is set months later. The two are dating and bound in a codependent relationship by the trauma they experienced. Sloan's memory of the night of the killings is blocked. As more information is revealed about the murders, Sloan starts to suspect that Cherry is more than just a survivor. The final twist is clever and unexpected. I have mixed feelings about the ending and am still processing it. There were some problems with the pacing of the story, but overall, I enjoyed this YA thriller. The toxic relationship between the girls was written well. I feel like an epilogue was needed because the ending was so abrupt.