3.5 Stars

I can't decide if I like the fact that this book was super similar to the first book, [b:#Murdertrending|34521785|#Murdertrending (MurderTrending, #1)|Gretchen McNeil|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1503680360l/34521785._SY75_.jpg|55654547], or if I wish it was more of an independent spin-off. I wasn't expecting the original cast to be involved so heavily, which was a pleasant surprise, but the new Paniacs were complete off-brands. I wanted Oreo and I got Hydrox. I wanted Grey Goose and I got Vladimir.

I don't know how much I should say about the plot??? I think I can safely tell you that a girl that may or may not be Molly the Mauler (a serial killer from the first book)'s daughter, decides to enter a contest to become one of the new Paniacs. She wants to prove to a Fed-Xer (someone that wants to out the OG Paniacs) that her mom wasn't a serial killer-- and the best way to do that is to pretend to be a serial killer?? Clearly, logic is not this girl's strong suit. Anyway, she gets chosen to be on this new "game/reality" show, and everything goes haywire.

Meanwhile, Dee (the Cinderella Survivor) is determined to remember where her kidnapper AKA Kimmie originally lived. If she can find the house, she knows she can find out who the Postman was.

What I Liked:

( )

It's like watching a popular YA dystopian movie...while not a masterpiece, I enjoyed it and want to read the third book. Would not be eager to add to a classroom library though--bit too much gore ( )

Allow me to state what I wished I could on Goodreads, but didn't for fear of getting banned because this is a -harsh- thing to say about an original work: This sequel, written by the author herself in a way that clearly intends to start a whole series as per the last line in the book, reads like a really, really bad fanfiction of the first book, #Murdertrending. In my review, I was so annoyed that I forgot to note that the Enemies to Lovers trope, which I despise, is nonetheless done so abruptly that I got whiplash from the fuckton of instalove (which I do not like either) shoved into the "romance", as well. Seriously after two hundred pages of hating each other, WHAM I love you more than anything and will die for you, which has a literal meaning in this series. Also they've known each other for three days at this point. (groans in disgust)
Onto the review I posted on Goodreads.
What an enormous disappointment. What a bland but aggravating follow-up. I was bored by page thirty, rolling my eyes by page forty, and seriously considered DNF'ing by page sixty. I misunderstood what the sequel was going to be about in a very fundamental way, as well. I knew it was going to be from the POV of Molly Mauler's kid, but thought it'd be set up and executed (pun unintended) differently. I was bored or annoyed by every person in this book, but thought it clever that the original survivors were briefly included. Somehow I thought the original cast would return, but only these three did.
The world-building in this is terrible. Just because it's a sequel doesn't mean world-building isn't needed. "The Hunger Games" and "Harry Potter" (1-7 anyway) as examples, are terrific at using their sequels and subsequent books to enhance the built worlds. This book is coded as taking place right now, with its incessant references to President Cheeto and his cronies, but it quickly turns into a plot device. I kid you not, this novel has Russian agents involved, and Russians are some of the Paniacs' biggest fans. It could have been scathing commentary but instead is so, so stupid. The unfortunate implications from the first book are multiplied and intensified here. There's a Bury Your Gays trope four times over, alone, along with continued negative portrayals of POC and gay people before they died. But she did that in the first book, too, so it wasn't surprising, just enraging.

The cast doesn't start Paniac stuff until two hundred pages into the book. Around that time, supposedly strong bonds are unconvincingly formed and Enemies to Lovers is a trope that the author rams into my brain. This book has a lot of tropes I hate. The book ended with an incredibly melodramatic funeral scene, with the last line suggesting a sequel. I was glad the book was over. I'll reread the first one because it was interesting, but ignore this and further ones. ( )

Grades 9-12 Who cares if Alcatraz 2.0 is finished? A new show is on the horizon, Who Wants to Be a Painiac?, which pits would-be Painiacs against victims in a battle royal (but don't worry—the deaths are totally fake!). Most fans have aligned themselves with the Postmodern Painiacs, who want to find the original survivors, or the Fed-Exers, who want to punish family members of the deceased Painiacs. Enter Stef, who accuses Becca's dead mom of being the infamous Molly Mauler. The two grudgingly work together to find the truth by applying to be contestants. Unfortunately, it looks like the show isn't as billed when the contestants are kidnapped and forced to face off against the Postman's second wave of hand-chosen Painiacs. Fans of the first book will be delighted with this sequel as McNeil introduces new teens to love, revisits Dee and her crew, and highlights new Painiacs with fun twists (such as Psychoman and Gorefunkel—a Bill and Ted-esque deadly musical duo). While this appears as a stand-alone sequel, knowledge of the first book is recommended. -- Lindsey Tomsu (Reviewed 5/17/2019) (Booklist, vol 115, number 18)

Received via NetGalley for review.

I did not realize this was a sequel when I requested a copy to read, which is absolutely my fault. But even though I immediately went onto Wikipedia to familiarize myself with the plot of the first once I realized, I still found myself lost and a little confused at times.

As I haven't read the first one, I don't know if the writing style is different or not. Becca's chapters are written in an obnoxious "teen" style (lots of OMGs, already dated cultural references) which gets really grating really quickly. Unless this is how the first book is written, it could probably stand to be toned down a little. And there were a lot of spacing issues which interrupted the flow of the reading, which I'm sure will be fixed for final publication.

Plot-wise, it's exactly what I expected. Kind of. The first half of the plot, where Becca and Stef are arguing about Becca's family and where Dee and co are... doing whatever they're doing (seriously, ALL of the chapters with Dee and the old survivors could have been cut, for all the impact they had on the plot) dragged. Once the New Painiacs were chosen is when the action pumped up. I wish there had been more of an audition process for the New Painiacs (what kind of person wants to audition to be a serial killer, even if it's only for TV? Did they get themselves into their situation? Do they deserve sympathy?), but everything is satisfactorily tied up, which is the most I can ask for. ( )