Published: 2022
Author: Kelly DeVos
Genres: YA Thriller, Horror, Mystery
Audience: Grades 9–12
Number of Stars: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)
Goodreads Link: Go Hunt Me
Content Warnings: Graphic violence, gore, and strong language.
Publisher’s Summary
For Dracula lovers and fans of Diana Urban’s All Your Twisted Secrets, this spine-tingling thriller follows seven horror buffs as their dream trip to a remote Romanian castle turns into a nightmare when they begin to be killed one by one.
Alex Rush is ready for the trip of a lifetime.
She and her friends have made some creepily awesome films together throughout high school, so with only a few months left before they go their separate ways for college, they’re determined to make the best one yet: an epic short film that reimagines the story of Dracula, filmed on location at a remote castle in Romania.
But when they get there, it’s not quite the majestic setting they planned for. Menacing weapons line the walls, the twisted halls are easy to get lost in, and with no connection to the outside world, the group is unexpectedly off the grid. After just a few hours spent under its roof, Alex and her friends have no trouble imagining how this dark, terrifying castle inspired one of the most enduring horror novels of all time.
Only soon they no longer have to use their imaginations to understand the location’s terrifying history—just as they get the film’s first shot rolling, one of Alex’s friends disappears, and she’s nearly certain she saw a cloaked stranger lurking in the shadows. As more members of the group begin to meet an untimely demise, Alex is desperate to stop the bloodshed, even if it means facing a monster she never thought would be let loose.
Full Review
Go Hunt Me is an action-packed, spine-tingling thriller that requires a healthy dose of “suspension of disbelief.” The premise is a bit unrealistic: a group of high school filmmakers is whisked away to a remote Romanian castle by a mysterious neighbor to film a Dracula reimagining. Once they arrive, the power goes out, the cell service vanishes, and a masked killer begins picking them off with brutal efficiency.
For the majority of the book, I was fully invested. The action scenes are well-written, and the atmospheric tension of the dark castle is palpable. It functions as a classic “slasher” flick in book form. However, this is one of those rare cases where the ending significantly impacts the rest of the story. The final twist—revealing the true identity of the killer—felt poorly executed and “cheap” compared to the high-octane survival plot that preceded it.
Despite the polarizing ending, I would still recommend this to students who love the horror genre. It is a genuine page-turner and would make for an excellent classroom discussion about plot twists, unreliable narrators, and the “Final Girl” trope.
🎒 Classroom & Curricular Connections
- ELA (The Unreliable Narrator): This book is a perfect case study for the Unreliable Narrator.
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Activity Idea: After finishing the book, have students go back and find “clues” or “foreshadowing” that point to the ending. Was the twist earned, or did it contradict the character’s internal monologue?
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- Film Studies & Media Literacy: Since the characters are aspiring filmmakers, discuss the “Final Girl” trope in horror cinema. How does Alex Rush fit or subvert this archetype?
- History (Bram Stoker vs. Reality): Research the real Vlad Dracul.
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Activity Idea: Compare the historical figure to the fictional Count Dracula and the “monster” depicted in Go Hunt Me. How does the book use history to enhance the fictional scares?
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- Creative Writing (The Twist): Discuss what makes a “good” twist versus a “cheap” twist.
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Activity Idea: Have students rewrite the final five pages of the book with a different ending. How does changing the killer’s identity change the theme of the story?
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