Book Review: I Know What You Did Last Summer by Lois Duncan
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With the new I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025) movie out in cinemas, I thought it would be fun to give the source material a go. No, not the other movie from 1997. Turns out, before it was a movie, I Know What You Did Last Summer was a YA thriller novel by Lois Duncan, released in 1973.
✅I'm keeping this post spoiler-free. Feel free to proceed.✅
Trigger and Content Warnings:
For the complete list of possible triggers and content warnings, please see my page on this link: Trigger Warnings: I Know What You Did Last Summer by Lois Duncan
The Base Setting:
I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER.
This base setting is the same in both the movies and the book—aaaand, basically, that's about the similarities.
General Thoughts on The Book:
Once I had received a secondhand copy of this book, I dived in immediately. I enjoyed how fast the pacing was (most of the time at least), and even though I did not really like any of the characters (maybe except for Ray, he was a somewhat decent guy), I wanted to see what was going to happen to them. Having seen the original movie from 1997, I had expected something similar: A fun, American slasher story. But I received something else (more on this in the next section).
Now, about the aspects I disliked. There is a good amount of misogyny and body shaming sprinkled throughout the paragraphs, which some readers may find off-putting. Besides, I thought the book would've benefited from a little more action.
Differences Between the Book and the Movie (1997):
The biggest difference between the book and the movies is the raincoat guy with his large hook—the Fisherman—because, in the original novel, he doesn't exist. The book is more like a YA horror or thriller thing. Yes, there is a stalker following the four teenagers, but there is no mindless hacking and slashing.
Another interesting thing Lois wrote in the Q&A section is how she didn't like the movie adaptation of her novel, partly because the creators had decided to change the plot and omit the main plot twist from the book, but mainly because they had turned her YA suspense novel into a violent slasher movie. According to the author, when she walked into the cinema, at first, she thought she had entered the wrong room, but as it turned out, what she was seeing was in fact the adaptation of her book.
The Updated Version of the Book:
While reading, I thought there was only one version, the one from 1973. But when I read about cell phones and Photoshop, I began to wonder: Man, I don't think they had Photoshop in the 80s.
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