Gingerbread Bones by Lindsay Lovise

A spooky Hansel and Gretel remix!

A group of eleven delinquent teens is sent to a remote area to learn survival skills and improve their behavior. A counselor, psychologist and two cameramen accompany them to keep them safe and film the transformation to make a documentary for an influencer. The influencer is Ashley, the toxic stepmother of Georgie and Hamish. Georgie and Hamish are in the group and know they have to rely on each other to get through the camp together because they are cut off from the rest of the world, unplugged. Soon the adults go missing and strange things start to happen. When they discover a dismembered, bloody hand of one of the supervising adults, they wonder if any of them will survive?

Likes/dislikes: The Hansel and Gretel retelling makes the tale even creepier. Great character development. The characters have different but interesting backgrounds. I appreciate the content warning before the story begins. Social media posts or emails start each chapter, giving readers information and insight to what’s happening elsewhere.

Language: R for 228 swears and 111 f-words.
Mature Content: PG-13 for a passionate kiss.
Violence: PG-13 Bloody injuries and off-page stabbing death.
Ethnicity: Ava is Korean American. Talia has frizzy hair and freckles. Madison has brown skin. Alicia is white. Georgie and Hamish are white. One of the cameramen is Latino.