Ten Review

Ten - Gretchen McNeil

2.5/5 stars


“You’re going to have fun this weekend if it kills me.”

I never read And Then There Was None, I meant to and now I’m a bit sad that I read this one first. I think this book is going to make Christie’s masterpiece less enjoyable when I finally do. It seems that a less “high school” version would suit this set up better and I’m sure most people agree with that for the acclaim the original version received.

The characters in Ten are…annoying bastards, pardon my French. I guess in a book like this you’re supposed to dislike the characters. It aims to make you wish they would die and makes you happy in a strange way when they do. But I feel like I should have cared about the characters more. I think if I cared about anyone who died I would’ve been sucked into the story and enjoyed it more. Don’t get me wrong it was a fun read, and I read it in one sitting but I still think some components could have been improved.

The speech and behaviors in the book were aggravating at first. I know I should’ve read it and been like well duh, they’re young and they sleep around and party and fight. But it was off putting, it made me feel like I was back in high school dealing with the petty drama I hated. (Maybe I need to just stop reading YA books if that annoys me.)

So all in all it was a decent book, interesting enough that I never wanted to actually stop reading it but at the same time I cringed at parts. (The guy who constantly said dude, especially.) Maybe I’ll get around to Agatha Christie’s, And Then There Were None and the plot will feel less childish, more warranted.

Also if you liked this book at all definitely give the movie, 9 dead a try. It’s one of my favorites.