Escape Room by Maren Stoffels (2017) Review

Why I picked up the book:

Alissa, Sky, Mint, and newcomer Miles decide to spend their Friday night trying to beat an escape room adventure. But when things get real, who will come out alive?

The book through my criteria lens:

Overall, this book met my expectations. It was a fun, and quick YA read. Stoffels did a great job creating the ambiance and atmosphere in the escape room. I could picture what each room looked like and what the characters were dealing with. Within the escape room portion of the book, the suspense and tension were palpable, and I really appreciated the claustrophobic feeling leading to the climax.

Unfortunately, I feel that all the characters were just shy of reaching their full potential. As was the book’s execution, the premise could have been explored further. Still, for a short YA book, it delivers entertainment.
Even though the author left some breadcrumbs through the book, I feel that one major plot twist was delivered as a curveball. It did not bother me too much in this instance because I wasn’t taking the book too seriously and was just looking for pure mindless entertainment.

My personal feelings:

I recommend The Escape Room for people wanting to get out of a reading slump and looking for a fast read. I might try the audiobook in the future as it is a full cast production, and I feel that will be fun!

This is a book you should not take too seriously, or you might not enjoy it. There are some angsty teens, a lot of grief-related anger, and some overused tropes.

I am just sad that Stoffels missed a chance to elevate The Escape Room by focusing more on the supernatural potential of Mint’s abilities instead of trying to get some check marks with a short and poorly delivered queer subplot.

My total rating: 4.25