It was supposed to have been a night of mischief. Just some friends and a little unsupervised fun. But it all descends into chaos when 17-year-old Ryan Rogen and his friends are caught up in a series of devastating meteor strikes that upends much of the East Coast.
And despite all the destruction and chaos left in its wake, the worst is yet to come.
The meteors have brought something with them. Something terrifying. Something deadly. Something that turns their sheltered world into a gruesome nightmare.
Forced to escape from their Roanoke homes with only the clothes on their backs, Ryan and his friends will have to tap depths of courage they've never known they possessed if they are to have any hope of surviving the long night that now lies ahead of them.
Can Ryan and his friends survive a world that is no longer theirs?
Assessment:
Plot/Idea: A teenage party is interrupted by a world-ending meteor storm—and its devastating aftereffects—in this fast-paced novel by Alexander. The plot takes off with a bang, and Alexander throws in rapid-fire surprises that will keep readers riveted until the end.
Prose: The prose struggles to keep up with the story’s intensity, and moments of suspense are sometimes interrupted by unwieldy writing, but Alexander crafts a solid, edge-of-your-seat novel with plenty of horror features to entertain readers.
Originality: Though end-of-the-world themes are common, Alexander integrates terrifying elements that make this novel stand out from others.
Character/Execution: The characters grapple with familiar teen issues while navigating a life-changing event together, and none of them come out the same. Ryan feels superficial in the beginning, but as the story’s events ratchet up, his character deepens.
Date Submitted: August 14, 2023
Fans of alien invasion scenarios will find that Till Dawn rates with the best of them, presenting a scenario in which teens who gather one evening to enjoy some freedom and fun find their lives changed by a meteorite's crash and the danger it brings.
Suddenly, Ryan and his friends are no longer carefree teens, but are fighting for their lives and their world. Instead of being filled with freedom and promise, the suddenly-long night becomes one filled with terror and trials.
Once preoccupied with snagging bits of parent-free time to hang out with his friends, Ryan and his group face destructive forces that penetrate their carefully arranged cloak of singular teen interests:
"In a split second, the security that once surrounded the home Ryan had lived his entire life in had been shattered. He wanted to believe they would become untouchable upon making it through the door-way—a bold fantasy, it would turn out, as it soon became clear the house much like everything else would not be immune."
T.H. Alexander employs a steady, logical hand to portraying Ryan and his group's disparate reactions to these extraordinary events. This imparts a realistic sense of human failings and ideals as the group assimilates their new reality and their revised roles in it.
As flight leads to a long-distance journey, confrontations with creatures, Vietnam vets who have become addicts, outcasts, and aliens in their own world, and other circumstances outside their comfort zone, Ryan and his friends develop a maturity in their actions and reactions that support their ability to survive.
Teens formerly immersed in high-tech devices and self-absorbed patterns may seem unlikely to become survivors, but this group is different. Alexander's ability to follow their journey on more than one level translates to a heady read that juxtaposes action-packed encounters and surprises with the kinds of survival challenges that force maturity.
The result is an invasion saga that is gripping and thought-provoking. Till Dawn will attract a wide audience of teens interested in sci-fi, horror, and the process that leads a disparate group of friends to cement relationships, psyches, and intentions with newfound courage and grit:
"...he had already looked back for the last time, and wouldn’t have the emotional, nor physical, strength to do that to himself all over again. Though the urge itself was strong, he would hold himself firm and fight against it, maintaining his focus in the only place it needed to be in that particular moment: right in front of him."
Libraries looking for compelling leisure reading for teens that can also translate to book club discussions will find the allure of Till Dawn vivid and attractive.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
In Till Dawn, what was predicted by NASA scientists as a “beautiful meteor shower” becomes a nightmare for the United States. Instead of having unsupervised fun with his friends like he planned, with his parents on a week-long vacation, seventeen-year-old Ryan Rogen and his friends are forced to flee his home and escape the destruction of the meteors that appear to be destroying the east coast and claiming lives unceasingly. Their situation becomes even gloomier when they discover more bizarre developments about the meteors, leaving the teenagers in a vulnerable state—both physically and mentally. Will Ryan and his friends remain united and find enough strength to survive the horrors from outer space? T.H. Alexander’s Till Dawn is a horror-themed, suspense-filled tale that follows a group of teenagers’ quest to survive extraterrestrial attacks and desperate, vicious humans.
My favorite aspect of the book is its expertly portrayed theme of teenage drama, which is strategically merged with the larger horror theme. For example, a possible, planned breakup is temporarily and secretly buried when the more troubling possibility of dying springs up.
We also see deep into the protagonist’s thoughts and inner struggles, through a third-person perspective, as he battles the possibility of dying, loss, and the gruesome nature of the monstrosities they face. I was almost equally affected emotionally, as I could barely keep my eyes open while reading such vivid descriptions as “a narrowed snout instead of a beak with an eight-inch tail on its end repeatedly slapping the carpet.”
Alexander paints a realistic picture of what living in a world decaying into chaos and panic feels like. The story, at times, veers from the main characters’ viewpoints to depict passionate discussions in the news about the state of the country.
Conversations about the level of preparedness of the US and who is to blame reminded me of how the media responded to the Covid-19 pandemic in the USA in 2020. Furthermore, finding people to trust in the new world proves quite difficult for the teenagers, who face gun owners and murderers as they search for safety.
When it comes to horror, spine-chilling stories centered on teenagers, it doesn’t get better than Till Dawn! Fans of Stranger Things and books by R. L. Stine and Stephen King will enjoy this epic, evocative book. I loved every bit of it. In addition to making me jumpy and keeping me glued from start to finish, it gave me a deeper appreciation for teamwork, resilience, and problem-solving skills.
