I find it only fair to let you know that I'm the type of reader who is fairly desensitized to horror novels at this point. I read a lot of them and, since I found this genre early on when YA horror wasn't a big thing, most of them are targeted to adults. So take my review with a grain of salt, my friends. I expect a lot from books that market themselves as horror. I love to feel the tension, hate/love the characters, and be completely blindsided at every turn. Basically, The Last Harvest had a lot to live up to. It nearly made it there too.

First off, credit where credit is due, Kim Liggett does an excellent job of setting the stage for Clay's possible descent into madness. The little town of Midland, Oklahoma is brought to life almost immediately. You can feel the breeze on a humid summer night, see the sunset over the corn fields, and relish in the small town feel of the characters and their day to day lives. I love books with settings like these. They settle you firmly into a sense of nostalgia, in my case for a place I've never been. This is my favorite kind of story, and that's one of the reasons I loved it so much.

Liggett also shines with her creation of the characters in this book as well. Clay, the golden boy quarterback turned outcast, is easy to fall in love with. As I met the rest of this not quite friends, I saw how easily each of them fit into the setting that was so expertly built. These are kids who raised in a town that sees them as the budding next generation. They are the future of Midland and, as such, can do no wrong. Although there wasn't as much time to get to know them as I would have liked, I at least appreciated the fact that they felt like real people, with real issues.

What took the star rating down for me in this book, and again I remind you that I'm pretty picky about books in this genre, is a mixture of how slow it was to build and how unsurprising the majority of the story was. Don't get me wrong, YA horror has it rough. There's a line that you can't cross in terms of the actual horror/gore aspects and I really feel like it hampered this story. What should have been shocking events in Clay's story, felt more like small breaks from the lull of this book. Although I liked most of the characters well enough, their fates never really resonated with me. As I mentioned before, my favorite part of this genre is the attachment and tension that I usually feel. I didn't feel much of that here at all.

I can say that this book is very easy to read through though, despite anything else. I powered through the story in roughly two hours, and didn't feel like I wasn't going to finish. There was enough to keep me invested in what the ending would actually be, even though I thought I had figured it out, and so I appreciated that. I just wish there had been more to make me feel really invested. I'll give this three stars, and highly recommend it to anyone starting out in the horror genre! It's well written, and not too terribly terrifying. An excellent place for a beginning. ( )

This was a good young adult horror book. The story is told from the view of Clay. A year ago his family lost their father when he apparently went crazy leaving Clay to work the farm and keep the family together. His Mom seems to have gone comatose, his younger sister is acting like she doesn't care and is hanging out with the wrong crowd and his littlest sister Noodle is positive and the light of his life. You really get to know Clay and Noodle the most but the rest of the characters are fleshed out enough to really care about them so as people die, I didn't really care. I was wanting to know what would happen next and Liggett does a good job of keeping my attention so that I want to get to the end and boy did she blow me away. I thought, wait...what?! I will definitely check out more books by Kim Liggett. ( )

The Last Harvest is an intense ride. Kim Liggett does not hold back, and within the first few pages, she already brings on the creep fest. The story centers around Clay Tate and his family. Clay is tormented by the memory of his father’s bloody and disturbing death. His last words to Clay were “ I plead the blood”.

The Tate family have lived in the small town of Midland Oklahoma for generations. They are part of the original six families of settlers. When his father passed, Clay had to give up on his dreams. Taking care of his mother and sisters came first before football glory or the girl he loves. However, those problems are just the beginning of what Clay is dealing with.

Nightly Clay has troubling dreams. Sometimes they happen even during the middle of the day. He feels as if he is going crazy. Clay can’t shake the feeling this has something to do with his father death and The Preservation Society. Now Clay must find someone he can trust in order to figure out what is really happening in his town, and why his father kept repeating the words “ I plead the blood”.

The Last Harvest kept me on the edge of my seat. Almost every chapter has something strange, weird, or disturbing happening in it. As the reader, you never quite know what to expect. Kim sucks you into her story and you can’t stop until the end. Her attention to detail and descriptions of the farmland make you feel like you are there right next to Clay as he agonizes over what to do.

I really love Clay’s character. He loves and cares for his family with such tenderness. He gives up on all his hopes and dreams in order to keep the family farm afloat. As his mother’s mental health deteriorates he is the only one who can properly care for his little sister Noodle the way she deserves. Clay other sister Jess is a handful, but like Clay, she is dealing with the grief of her father’s passing in her own way. Noodle (or Natalie Tate) is adorable and I really like how eccentric and odd she is for a little girl.

The Last Harvest is another chilling and terrifying masterpiece and Kim Liggett should be proud. Just like her debut book Blood and Salt, this one is going to haunt me for a long time to come. From occult blood rituals, creepy dolls, animal mutilation, religious undertones, strange secret town societies and exorcism this book has it all. You will keep turning the pages and when you think you have all the answers Kim will twist everything upside down and completely blow you away, especially at the very end. I loved every heart pounding, creepy second of it. Now I just don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep anytime soon. ( )