Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley to facilitate my review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Bram Stoker Award Winner for Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel

In Adam Cesare’s terrifying young adult debut, Quinn Maybrook finds herself caught in a battle between old and new, tradition and progress—that just may cost her life.

Quinn Maybrook and her father have moved to tiny, boring Kettle Springs, to find a fresh start. But what they don’t know is that ever since the Baypen Corn Syrup Factory shut down, Kettle Springs has cracked in half. 

On one side are the adults, who are desperate to make Kettle Springs great again, and on the other are the kids, who want to have fun, make prank videos, and get out of Kettle Springs as quick as they can.

Kettle Springs is caught in a battle between old and new, tradition and progress. It’s a fight that looks like it will destroy the town. Until Frendo, the Baypen mascot, a creepy clown in a pork-pie hat, goes homicidal and decides that the only way for Kettle Springs to grow back is to cull the rotten crop of kids who live there now. 

YALSA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults Nominee

• Perfect for Halloween Reading
• For teens who love dark and scary stories

I’ve been trying to read Clown in a Cornfield since it first came out. I tried to get an ARC but failed, I tried to get it from the library but failed. Then I finally got it from the library, but couldn’t get into it. I was just about to give up when I was able to request it from NetGalley. I still couldn’t get into it – until I managed to snag the audiobook through the Libby app via my public library. Then… it clicked.

Normally, I’d do the CAWPIRE review, but I think I’m going to just keep it low key today. I loved Quinn, Cole, and Rust. I liked Quinn’s dad. Wasn’t overly fond of the rest of the characters – although Janet was pretty cool. The rest of the cast was more or less window-dressing to me and I found myself more interested in Quinn and Cole than the rest.

I don’t scare easily, so of course, this didn’t really scare me. But after finishing it and thinking about it, I realized something – this book is more or less Stephen King’s Children of the Corn, but turned upside down and with a creepy-ass clown thrown in for good measure. If you’ve never read or seen Children of the Corn, it’s about some creepy kids in a Nebraska town who decide to take over and kill all the adults.

I’m not saying this is a bad thing, and in fact, I rather like the twist of it being the adults going after the kids as opposed to weird kids going after the adults. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series – books two and three (Frendo Lives and Church of Frendo) are already out, with book four (Lights! Camera! Frendo!) coming out in August 2026. Sadly, I was declined for Lights! Camera! Frendo! on NetGalley, so I’ll have to wait until Auguest like everyone else.

I gave this 4 stars as it was a really good YA horror novel and I’ve already got Frendo Lives queued up on audiobook, ready to start. I recommend this to anyone who likes Stephen King or who likes creepy clowns, cornfields, and small town horror.