The Mean Ones Review

Posted on June 20, 2025

Sadie’s first time at summer camp was traumatic after witnessing her friends brutally murdered. That was 17 years ago, and now she works as a physical therapy assistant and works out with her boyfriend and, hopefully, fiancé, Lucas. So, what if she sees hallucinations of her dead friends after visiting summer camp? No one needs to know why she sees them. Sadie will just never go camping again. Problem solved. Until Lucas accepts the invite to go on a couples trip with their friends, and things get worse. Sadie and her friends try to enjoy their trip, but her visions become more real to the point she wonders if the monsters she sees are here to hurt or help her on this trip.

I first discovered Tatiana Schlote-Bonne through her debut, “Such Lovely Skin,” and I was excited to receive her first adult horror novel from NetGalley. The book features dual flashback points of view, with Sadie and her younger self venturing into the woods. Although Sadie has grown significantly since her first visit, she still feels like the odd one out among her boyfriend and close friends. It’s easy to understand why she struggles with insecurities, given who she surrounds herself with. Even I wouldn’t want her friends if they ignore my growing concerns about the eerie things I see in the woods. I appreciate that Sadie is passionate about fitness, as I haven’t come across many books featuring a female main character who embraces fitness without resorting to violence to face her demons. Wink wink.

Sadie’s visions are horrific and might be too much for someone trying to get into the horror genre, but I enjoyed how the visions become increasingly surreal as the story progresses. The novel combines horror and mystery as both versions of Sadie must figure out who is behind the disturbances that occur whenever she and her friends travel into the woods. The reveal at the end definitely surprised me when I read it, which does NOT happen often.

I can’t wait to see this book come out in September, just when summer is almost over, and the scary season begins. Thank you, NetGalley, for this fantastic book.