It’s hard to think someone can write a book about a murderous clown on par with Stephen King, but Adam Cesare does just that with Clown in a Cornfield.
Quinn and her father moved to tiny, boring Kettle Springs to find a fresh start. But 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.
When I first heard about Clown in a Cornfield I was a bit apprehensive to say the least–a young adult horror just didn’t speak to me. However, I gave it a shot and boy am I glad I did. What Adam Cesare crafts is a bloody, gory, and original slasher tale that is at the far border of the young adult age range. Truthfully, there are spots in this book that even made me uneasy–a man in his thirties. However, the blood is just the right amount for this tale.
I live within the confines of the fictional town of Derry, Maine where King has based a large amount of his storytelling and my initial thoughts when opening Clown in a Cornfield were of Stephen King’s IT and Children of the Corn–a wonderful comparison if handled well and Cesare lives up to the honor.
Cesare takes a classic 1980s style slasher and gives it a modern refresh with technology and a generation divide to cause strife in a town where the older generation takes it a bit too far. While the blood and gore were perfectly placed, the overall story had such an original and fun plot that had me hooked either way. With just the right amount of twists, Clown in a Cornfield makes for a fast-paced and horrifying read from start to finish.
Not only is the plot and action wonderful in the first book of this series, but the characters are outstanding. Cesare brings to life our protagonists in such a way that allows us all to relate and care for them. Quinn, Rust, and Cole’s survival is something I hope and cheer for as I rapidly turn each page. The antagonists I loved to hate which added even more depth to the story at hand.
With so many great horror books it is hard to take a 2020 release and say it is my favorite book, but I simply find it even harder not too. Clown in a Cornfield has everything I could hope for in a great slasher horror and with each re-read I find myself loving it more and more. This book is one I continuously recommend to new and old reader–regardless if they are within the young adult age range.
Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare is a next generation version of the 1978 Halloween that we all need as the iconic series came to a close in 2022. Frendo the Clown could one day wind up as a classic horror character such as Michael Myers, Pennywise, and Jason. The story is truly set up for multiple mediums and it’s no wonder the feature film adaptation hits theaters on May 9, 2025.
This book is the first of a series of novels. Clown in a Cornfield 2: Frendo Lives hit bookstores in 2022 and Clown in a Cornfield 3: The Church of Frendo release in 2024. While the some continue to call it a trilogy, Cesare has plans for more and I cannot be any more on board for this that I already am.
Clown in a Cornfield was released in hardcover in 2020 followed by a paperback edition. With the release of the feature film looming, we are getting treated to a Movie Tie-In paperback edition coming April 1, 2025 from HarperTeen. The audiobook, narrated by the wonderful Jesse Vilinsky, is available at Libro.fm!
