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Sidekick Super Review: The Executioners Three (2025) by Susan Dennard
- Jan 9
- 6 min read
The Basics
Page Length: 336
Audiobook Length: ~11 hours
Grade Reading Level: 8+
Target Audience Age: 13-18
Goodreads Score: 3.85 out of 5
Buy it HERE
Setting: 1999, in the historical village of Berm (a small American town)
Genre: Paranormal Mystery/Horror
Topics: Small town, Paranormal Folklore, Pranks, High School Rivalry, Romance, Serial Killer, Murder Mystery, Supernatural Curse
Plot: Freddie Gellar has always been a bit of a sleuth. She’s known for her killer gut instincts and sharp detective skills. Until now, those skills have been put to use helping out the local sheriff in the summers. But this year--after accidentally involving herself in an epic prank war between her school and another local rival high school--her skills are put to the ultimate test.
Freddie's bells start ringing when dead bodies begin turning up around town. What starts as a prank rivalry spirals into something far more dangerous when she stumbles onto a mystery that’s years old—one her deceased cop father died trying to solve.
The deeper Freddie digs, the more she realizes this is nothing like the innocent pranks she's mixed herself up in. There’s something ancient, sinister, and possibly even magical at play. And as the stakes rise, so do the complications—especially within her new friend group and her forbidden romance with a member of the rival school’s prank squad.
Will Freddie trust her gut when it points to something seemingly impossible? Can she piece together the truth before it’s too late? And is there any way to stop an ancient curse before it destroys everything in its path?
Themes: Loyalty vs. Moral Responsibility, Ignorance and Comfort vs. Truth and Discomfort, Controlling Fear, Weight of Legacy
You might like this book if you like:
Scooby Doo
90's pop culture
Visiting historical or haunted locations
Prank wars
Books like The Devouring Gray, The Wicked Deep, House of Hollow, The Raven Boys, Bone Gap
Shows like Wednesday, Stranger Things, Locke and Key, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Supernatural, Veronica Mars
Movies like The Wretched, Super 8, Disturbia
Other books written by this author: The Luminaries series, The Witchlands series, Something Strange and Deadly series
Teaching The Executioners Three in Class
Content
Language: not constant, but a few instances of mature language
Sex/Romance: several scenes of passionate kissing
Violence/Scariness: This book has some gore. Serial killer on the loose, dead bodies found by teenagers around town, monsters and paranormal activity, and kidnapping.
Drinking/Smoking/Drugs: Teens at a party where there is drinking.
Class Novel-ability: This one probably isn’t going to work as a class novel or literature circle pick—there are too many scary monsters and graphic descriptions of dead bodies. But as a pure enjoyment read, it shines.
It was one of my favorite books I read this year simply because it’s such a delightful, fun experience. Great story, great characters, a cool ’90s vibe, and a spooky, suspenseful mystery. Your students will love it. This is the kind of book that’s just plain fun, fosters a love of reading, and is likely to land on their list of favorite reads.
The Star Qualities
The ’90s references in this book are amazing—teen heartthrobs like Lance Bass and Leonardo DiCaprio, Nokia phones, Ask Jeeves, NSYNC, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, The X-Files. It’s got it all. Every time Freddie’s plays Snake on her Nokia or the lyrics to “Tearin’ Up My Heart” are quoted, my heart sang. These elements made the book feel nostalgic, cozy, and familiar, and they also made me laugh. I know students won’t connect to the references in the same way I did, but they’re still one of my favorite elements of the story.
Even though much of the book feels cozy, relatable, and nostalgic, the horror aspect is genuinely spooky. Teens finding dead bodies in the woods, kidnapping, blood curses, terrifying villains, and hangings, beheadings, and disemboweling, give the story real stakes and tension.
The romance element is very well done. There’s nothing too spicy—completely appropriate for teen readers—and it never overpowers the mystery or horror. Instead, it fits naturally into the story and adds depth to both the action and the characters. I really loved the richness the romance brought to the narrative.
The protagonist is one of my favorites I’ve read in a while—very ’90s nostalgic, Veronica Mars–esque. She’s funny, brave, and deeply relatable. She’s juggling an intense murder mystery and a dangerous curse while also navigating a crush, which makes her feel incredibly real. The author wrote her especially well, in my opinion, and I think students will connect strongly with her character.
Book Talk Read Aloud Section
If you have the physical book, read pages 3-7
If you don't, read the same pages in the Kindle reading sample here.
"Reading Like a Writer" Mentor Texts
This one is so spooky, and the author makes a lot of smart craft moves to create that effect. There’s repetition, internal monologue, vivid sensory detail, and a strong, distinctive voice. The mysterious, dramatic vanishing threat heightens the suspense, making the scene genuinely scary and leaving the reader wanting more.
This passage has some awesome craft. The sentence fragments, sensory details, listing elements, and paragraph breaks all work together to build tension and drama. The scene ends on an epic note, perfectly punctuating the spookiness of the moment.
This passage is a great example of suspense and uneasiness. Repetition, expert timing with paragraph breaks, exaggeration and hyperbole, metaphor, and clear cause-and-effect all work together to make the reader just as nervous as the characters in the woods.
Sentences for Combining and Imitation
Sentence sets for combining:
"The police station at the edge of Berm’s tiny downtown was nothing more than a brick cubicle with a coffeepot at one end and a long desk at the other." (The Executioners Three, p. 152)
The police station was at the edge of Berm's tiny downtown.
It was nothing more than a brick cubicle.
It had a coffeepot at one end.
It had a long desk at the other.
"She shoved her way in, half-frantic, half-sluggish, until at last she was inside and the door was clunking shut behind her." (p. 249)
She shoved her way in.
She was half-frantic.
She was half-sluggish.
At last, she was inside.
The door was clunking shut behind her.
"The lone window beside the narrow front door was framed in bright red paint, making it the sort of place one expected Keebler elves to topple out of rather than historians with advanced degrees." (p. 82)
The lone window was beside the narrow front door.
It was framed in bright red paint.
It made it the sort of place one expected Keebler elves to topple out of.
And NOT the place for historians with advanced degrees.
Sentences for Imitation:
All of these sentences are excellent examples of structure as voice. There’s frequent use of italics—sometimes for emphasis or sarcasm, and sometimes to convey internal monologue. There are em dashes, capitalization, and repetition as well. The protagonist’s voice is so charming and funny, and these sentences show how structural choices make that possible.
"She’d simply heard shrieks coming from the woods near her house, so she’d called the cops. Like any normal human with a normal conscience would do. (p. 17)
"Freddie was devastated. Defeated. Destroyed. (p. 46)
"Theo–curse him–bared a smile that oozed Romeo charm." (p. 110)
"Maybe Theo Porter isn’t so bad, she thought. Then half a heartbeat later, NO, WAIT. HE IS THE ENEMY. HE KILLED TYBALT. RED ALERT. RED ALERT. STOP SMILING." (p. 102)
Used this book in your classroom? Tell us how in the comments!
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