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Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite
Would You Rather... by Kimberly Baer revolves around a group of students in a small town who become caught in a curse after playing a disturbing "Would You Rather" game led by a substitute teacher. The game forces them to make unsettling hypothetical choices that start to appear real. As they experience strange outcomes, such as mysterious illnesses, accidents, and missing persons, they suspect the game is connected to a death years earlier due to a prank gone wrong, and its ghostly aftermath. Blake, Ava, and their friends attempt to uncover the truth behind the curse, seeking answers from the spirits by holding a séance, hoping to end the issues. Meanwhile, Maddy is kidnapped by a man obsessed with her and held captive, forcing the group to race against time to unravel the mystery and save their friends.
Kimberly Baer’s Would You Rather... The Haunting of Pinedale High is a unique premise in the genre with a few fresh ideas, and she does well in tapping into the darker side of choices, fate, and consequences. I love that the suspense kicks off from a seemingly innocent game that gradually becomes a terrifying force. The characters' varying reactions to their "Would You Rather" choices—like Ava being asked whether to go missing forever or have someone she loves vanish, Reina choosing between going bald or growing excessive body hair, and Alyssa faced with becoming either a brilliant mathematician or an amazing artist—keep the plot steamrolling forward. Baer constructs pitch-perfect adolescent dialogue and provides each student with enough agency to take action. With echoes of the afterlife and a real sense of foreboding, the overall story is a thrilling, edge-of-your-seat read. Very highly recommended.
