Mx3 Review: Ten by Gretchen McNeil

• Reading level: Ages 13 and up
• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Balzer + Bray (September 18, 2012)
• ISBN-10: 0062118781
• Source: Publisher

Best friends Meg and Minnie have been invited to an exclusive house party on Henry Island. The two friends are looking forward to the weekend’s activities and the time spent together before Meg heads off to college in the fall. The group invited is small, only five boys and five girls. Meg and Minnie know some of the other members of the group, but many attend another school. While waiting for the host to arrive, the group sits back and enjoys their freedom. Alone on an island until the ferry picks them up the following Monday. A teenager’s dream, right?

All dreams quickly turn to nightmares when they discover a terrifying DVD with the message “Vengeance is mine.” The home loses power due to a storm, the remote location preventing a cell signal, and one by one members of the group are killed in the most unique manners possible.

Told from Meg’s point of view, readers will become immersed in the terrifying world McNeil has built. As people start dying, surviving members of the group start placing blame on one another and the intensity builds. Meg is the only individual who seems interested in figuring out who/why they have been targeted. The majority of the other members are initially reluctant to believe that a killer is among them but the rising death count soon persuades them.

One of the many things I loved about this book was the strong lead character McNeil created with Meg. At first glance, she appears pretty meek, almost a pushover. As time passes, however, she is the one person in the motley group of teens who seems to grow a backbone.  From early on, I was suspicious of most everyone in the group, not really feeling a connection with any of them, other than Meg. Needless to say, I was pretty shocked when the culprit was revealed. A truly addictive read, the intense pacing never waning. This novel is based on Agatha Christie’s, And Then There Were None; I think Christie herself would have been proud of this adaptation!

Ten is destined to become a movie; I’d be largely disappointed if it didn’t. Until then, it makes a perfect book to read this Halloween season. Highly recommended.