(Horror) At a drunken party, Scarlett tells the new boy a ghost story she’d promised her now-dead best friend she’d never repeat. (7,682 words; Time: 25m)
Rating: ★★★★★ Tense yet Endearing
"Three May Keep a Secret," by Carlie St. George [bio] (edited by Jane Crowley and Kate Dollarhyde), appeared in Strange Horizons issue 11/20/17, published on November 20, 2017.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Pro: The primary plot, of course, is how Scarlett saved Matt and freed Samantha. Secondary to that, yet moving, is how Scarlett worked up the nerve to tell he mom about her ghost story.
The characters of Scarlett and Matt add lots of charm to the story.
Matt’s an awfully nice guy, and his advice that “the bisexuality train is not a rollercoaster: you don’t gotta be this much gay to ride” is hysterical, as is his attempt to Google “weird local shit.”
Scarlett is the star, of course, and this is about her growth. From the initial adventure with Matt to her fear of saying “hi” to Anna to her attempts to hide things from her mom, we get a clear picture of her as something of a shy loser. Yet in this fight against the ghost and the monster, she proves to be strong enough to stand up and demand the truth. Bravo!
The irony that the real problem wasn’t telling but not telling is bittersweet.
Con: It was a little too obvious that the molester would be Uncle Wyatt.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 11/20/17)
Carlie St. George Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
The characters of Scarlett and Matt add lots of charm to the story.
Matt’s an awfully nice guy, and his advice that “the bisexuality train is not a rollercoaster: you don’t gotta be this much gay to ride” is hysterical, as is his attempt to Google “weird local shit.”
Scarlett is the star, of course, and this is about her growth. From the initial adventure with Matt to her fear of saying “hi” to Anna to her attempts to hide things from her mom, we get a clear picture of her as something of a shy loser. Yet in this fight against the ghost and the monster, she proves to be strong enough to stand up and demand the truth. Bravo!
The irony that the real problem wasn’t telling but not telling is bittersweet.
Con: It was a little too obvious that the molester would be Uncle Wyatt.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 11/20/17)
Carlie St. George Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
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