I Know What You Did Last Summer

Four high school students, Julie, Helen, Barry and Ray are returning from a party when they accidentally hit a young boy riding his bike home. Other than stopping to make a call to report the accident the teens do nothing to help. Fearing the accident will ruin their lives they make a pact to never speak of the incident again.

A year has passed and the group has drifted apart. Julie has dropped the cheerleading squad and become a serious student, Helen has dropped out of high school and is the new television personality for the local news, Barry went to the local college, and Ray has recently returned after leaving town.

When Julie receives an anonymous note with ‘I know what you did last summer’ she is worried. Barry assures Julie that it is just a prank but when Helen finds a picture of boy riding a bicycle taped to her apartment door and Ray receives a newspaper clipping about the accident; the threat suddenly seems more serious. And when Barry is shot the remaining trio question their actions last summer and question who is tormenting them.

Duncan’s novel was first published in 1973 the version I read was the revised edition with modernised text released in 2010. The characters now have cellphones, email and their fashion has been updated. Personally I would rather have read the original version as I felt the teenagers values were not inclined with those of teenagers today.

The novel was adapted into a film penned by Kevin Williamson (Scream, Dawson’s Creek, The Vampire Diaries). Released in 1997 it starred Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe and Freddie Prince Jr.

A word of the warning – the film is very different to the book. While the book is a thriller / suspense novel the film fits more into the slasher genre. Duncan has not hidden her dislike for the film. Readers of the book will understand that while the reveal of the antagonist works on page this would not work onscreen.

Reader reviewed by chick box

Lois duncan is an amazing writer with mysteries. im not even kidding! i know what you did last summer is even better then the movie. its about the same story line but it is still a bit different. the person who seems to know what this group of teenagers did is someone you would never expect. the book takes you on a crazy rollercoaster. its not till you get to the end that you finally get it.

Reader reviewed by K. Weller

This book has gotten a lot of press because of the movie based on it, but in reality, it's nothing like the movie. The book deals with the same idea of 4 teens hitting a kid with the car and then trying to cover it up. Until they find that someone knows what they did and will not stop until the death is revenged.

The book deals more with the inner conflict the characters feel and in how their relationships have become strange now that this secret is like the white elephant in the room everytime they're around each other. You see how each or the 4 dealt with the death and the secret differently.

I think the book was a million times better than the movie. This is some of Lois Duncan's finest work and it's a shame that the movie turned her story into something that's less of a psychological thriller and mystery (what she intended)- than a horror film.

Reader reviewed by Dominque

Although I enjoy most books by Lois Duncan, this one wasn't the greatest. It was rather predictable.
After a horrible accident that several friends committed, it haunts them. Things get worse when they get mysterious notes and newspaper clippings about the accident. The person sending them knows what they did, and is out for revenge.