Review: Let's Split Up, by Bill Wood

Rating: 🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍

Initial Reaction:

Y'all, this book was adorable.

One Sentence Summary:

A couple of teenagers get murdered in a haunted house and a group of their classmates decides to investigate.

Tell me more:

This book is marketed as "Scooby Doo meets Scream," and while I've never seen Scream (I love horror, but slashers have always given me the ick), I'm a HUGE fan of Scooby Doo.

Like, I have a Scooby Doo toothbrush cup that was hand painted for me when I was 5, and I still use it to this day. I am unashamed of this fact.

So this book had me on it's side from the get-go.

I'd say the "Scooby meets Scream" description is pretty accurate. There's a group of teenagers I could easily map to the Mystery Inc. gang (though the differences were substantial enough that the copyright lawyers won't come calling); and there was even a dog companion, though she stays at home while the humans are off investigating.

The iconic intro to Scooby Doo, Where are You?

The book definitely isn't afraid to show off it's influences. There were several moments that were reminiscent of Scooby Doo staples (danger-prone "Daphne" twists an ankle, "Fred" falls back through a wall like in the classic Scooby Doo, Where Are You? intro, etc.) Similarly, there was at least one scene that looked like it was ripped straight from the script for Scream. I don't know much about the movie (again, slashers are icky) but I've seen a few clips here and there, and the opening of the movie is EXTREMELY similar to a scene near the midpoint of the book, though the character getting attacked is male rather than female.

I'd never watched this scene in it's entirety until fact checking this post, and OMG this is TERRIFYING.

What gave the book it's "adorable" feeling was just how... teenager-y? the characters are. I didn't realize this was a Scholastic publication when I checked it out on my Hoopla, and while I knew it was YA, I wasn't expecting it to feel as light and... hormonal... as it was. The two male main characters are in the process of figuring out their feelings for each other, and while it was kinda cute to watch them work it out, it also kinda made me wanna roll my eyes and laugh at just how DRAMATIC they are (and they aren't even playing the 'dramatic gay' stereotype, they're just teens). I remember what it was like being a teenager, when every day was the end of the world, and while I was able to roll with it in this book, there were also a few times I just wanted to be like, "Ok, y'all, calm down."

I'm giving Let's Split Up 🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍 out of 5 just because it was so fun to read, though I don't know if I'll ever read it again. It was fun, but maybe just a little too YA for me to want to come back to it. If there are sequels, I might give them a go, though I don't think I'll prioritize them on my TBR. If you have a teen who loves Scooby Doo and is interested in horror, this might be the perfect book for them. Baby's first slasher with a loveable mutt!