ARC review, book review, young adult

Katzenjammer by Francesca Zappia (ARC Review)

Title: Katzenjammer
Author: Francesca Zappia
Type: Fiction
Genre: Young Adult, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Date published: June 28, 2022

This post is sponsored. A complimentary physical copy of this book was kindly provided by HarperCollins Canada in exchange for an honest review.

Cat lives in her high school. She never leaves, and for a long time her school has provided her with everything she needs. But now things are changing. The hallways contract and expand along with the school’s breathing, and the showers in the bathroom run a bloody red. Cat’s best friend is slowly turning into cardboard, and instead of a face, Cat has a cat mask made of her own hardened flesh.

Cat doesn’t remember why she is trapped in her school or why half of them–Cat included–are slowly transforming. Escaping has always been the one impossibility in her school’s upside-down world. But to save herself from the eventual self-destruction all the students face, Cat must find the way out. And to do that, she’ll have to remember what put her there in the first place.

Using chapters alternating between the past and the present, acclaimed author Francesca Zappia weaves a spine-tingling, suspenseful, and haunting story about tragedy and the power of memories. Fans of Marieke Nijkamp’s This Is Where It Ends and Karen McManus’s One of Us Is Lying will lose themselves in the pages of this novel–or maybe in the treacherous hallways of the school.

⤖ My Review ⬻

This was my first time reading Francesca Zappia even though I’ve had a number of her books on my TBR for some time now (yes, I know, shameful)! So needless to say, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I feel like Katzenjammer is also quite different from Zappia’s other novels, so I might not have been prepared regardless…

The synopsis definitely created a sense of mystery for me before even diving in…and the mystery continued throughout most of the book. This paired with the eerie and unsettling atmosphere and characters really pulled me in. I had to unravel it all and see what was at the center!

I wouldn’t say that I was scared at any point, but there were a lot of points where I felt unsettled. What I felt more was a deep sadness for the main character and the other kids surrounding her. And on that note, I did root for the main character while simultaneously questioning her reasoning, decisions, and actions…

Regarding story flow, I liked that it jumped forward and backward in time because it provided clarity while also adding more to that unsettled feeling. It was well done! It’s strange but I did have a little bit of fun trying to unravel the threads like I mentioned…while uncontrollably sobbing at times.

⤖ About the Author ⬻

Francesca Zappia is the writer of Made You Up and Eliza and Her Monsters. Represented by Louise Fury of the Bent Agency. Also wrote The Children of Hypnos serial on Wattpad. You can find links to all their social media on their website.

⤖ Places to Purchase the Book ⬻

⤖ Let's Chat ⬻

Thank you for reading my review! Have you read this book? What did you think? And if you haven’t read it yet, do you plan to? Let me know in the comments!

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