3.5 - not my favourite horror I've ever read.
I've heard a lot about how utterly disgusting this book is, and that's very true, but that's also its strongest point. The best thing about The Troop is how visceral and bloody the horror often is, while simultaneously being psychological and relatively rooted in the real world. Beyond the horror, though, I don't think this is an incredibly good book? The characters aren't very likable, which I suppose makes sense because they're mostly 14-y/o boys. The plot is revealed from practically the beginning, so the twists that do exist are presented pretty flatly, and I didn't care about them. Presenting a plot asynchronously, where the reader knows what's going to happen before it does, is tricky, but can be wonderful when done right. Unfortunately, the way Cutter intersperses interviews and court documents removes a lot of the potential suspense.

Spoiler

I would've been even more horrified about the worm's results if they weren't so obviously revealed at the very beginning, in detail, you know? I wasn't shocked or even disappointed when everyone but one character died; you're told that'll happen from really early on in the book.

The writing style is maybe slightly better than average, but nothing to write home about. Overall, not bad, especially if you're just looking for gross-out horror, but don't expect enthralling plot twists, suspense, or characters that you'll latch on to.