Book Review: Sirens by Braden Cawthon

Title: Sirens
Author: Braden Cawthon
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Publishing Date: September 19th, 2023
Read: April 1st, 2024
Pages: 304
Audio Length: 6 Hours 12 Minutes
Genre: YA Apocalypse
TW: N/A
Series: Standalone
Source: Audio

What it's about:

A apocalyptic horror debut from Braden Cawthon!

Joel Walker wakes up to a world suddenly and frighteningly changed. In the wake of a massive power outage, an otherworldly siren begins to blare, changing all that listen to it for too long in frightening ways. Desperate to find his mother and little sister, Joel will have to survive in a world that is coming apart at its seams.

What I thought:

I think this book had so much potential, it wasn't horrible it just wasn't great. It definitely read like a debut novel and I think once the author has more practice he can definitely jump from good to great.

Cover:

The cover is okay, it fits the book well I think.

Story:

It's definitely a very unique take on the apocalypse, one I've never seen before.

Pace: 

It felt a little slow, even though it started in right away with the action, I still felt kind of bored. 

Writing: 

The writing felt a little juvenile, but again it's a debut novel and I'm sure it'll get better.

Characters: 

I found most of the characters to be really whiny and annoying, I understand it's a big scary thing that happened and that a lot of teens are whiny and annoying (Sorry they just don't know better) but man sometimes I was just like rolling my eyes.

Ending: 

The ending was okay, it kind of felt like it just ended. Apocalyptic books are so hard because unless there will be a sequel or the apocalypse just ends, it's hard to have a good ending. It's usually pretty open.

Narrator:

Overall:

Meh, it was okay. 

A little Snippet:

“Just because I’m doing worse than you are doesn’t mean you can write off the damage to yourself as less meaningful.”

― Braden Cawthon, Sirens: The End of the World has a Sound.

Possible books of likeness: