I Know What You Did Last Summer, by Lois Duncan

(pb; 1973, 1978, 2010: YA horror novel)


From the back cover:

"They didn't mean it. They didn't mean to hit the boy. There was a party, and it was an accident. . . but they had futures to protect. So Barry, Julie, Helen, and Ray swore one another to secrecy. But now, a year later, someone knows. Julie receives a haunting, anonymous threat: 'I know what you did last summer.'

"The dark lie is unearthed, and before the four friends know it, they need to outsmart a killer. . . or they will be the next to die."


Review:

Above-average, suspenseful-for-young-adults read that, while it sports a few uses of (situation suitable) profanity ("sh*t") and casual references to smoking pot, resonates in a real-world and teen-friendly way.

Worth owning, this.

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The more violent, loosely-based-on-the-book film was released stateside on October 17, 1997.

Jennifer Love Hewitt played Julie James. Sarah Michelle Gellar played Helen Shivers. Ryan Phillipe played Barry William Cox. Freddie Prinze Jr. played Ray Bronson.

Bridgette Wilson-Sampras played Elsa Shivers. Anne Heche played Melissa "Missy" Egan. Johnny Galecki played Max Neurick. Muse Watson played Benjamin Willis. Stuart Greer played Officer David Caporizo. Deborah Hobart played Mrs. James. Mary McMillan played Mrs. Cox. An uncredited Patti D'Arbanville played Mrs. Shivers.

Jim Gillespie directed the film, from a script by Kevin Williamson.

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Two sequels, neither of them based on books, followed:

I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998), which featured actors from the original film - Jennifer Love Hewitt, Freddie Prinze Jr. and Muse Watson - as well as new-to-the-franchise actors like Jeffrey Combs;

and

the direct-to-video I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer (2006), which didn't feature any of the original actors.