It's interesting how childhood memories comes charging back when new variations of an old classic make its way to television, movies or even books. I was a fan of the Archie comics when I was younger, so I was thrilled to pick up this new book by Micol Ostow. Riverdale: The Day Before is the prequel to the popular Riverdale television series. I've yet to watch it, but being in book form, I figure I'll give it a try.

Riverdale: The Day Before is told from the four main characters' point of view, which I personally think is one of the highlights of this book. Stories with different POVs are hard to grasp at times, but the author did a great job in distinguishing the different voices. The format between  text messages, diary entries and normal book text was easy to follow and does give readers a better context of the plot. However, that is where it ends. Though in all, the story has merit, I felt like there's a lot missing or rather as a reader without seeing the TV serial, not everything made sense. Multiple plot twists didn't seem to conclude properly or with the satisfaction of a solid conclusion, but rather eluding to what is to come. Of course, if the objective is for readers to continue on with the next novel in the series, or onto the TV serial, the author hit her mark.

In all, I liked it, but I also didn't. Riverdale: The Day Before is exactly about the before, and it is successful in writing and in characterization, though development is rather slow. Despite my qualms, I would give this a solid 3 star.