“I don't know why it's so hard for people to admit that sometimes they're just assholes who screw up because they don't expect to get caught.”
Yale hopeful Bronwyn has never publicly broken a rule. Sports star Cooper only knows what he's doing in the baseball diamond. Bad boy Nate is one misstep away from a life of crime. Prom queen Addy is holding together the cracks in her perfect life.
And outsider Simon, creator of the notorious gossip app at Bayview High, won't ever talk about any of them again. He dies 24 hours before he could post their deepest secrets online. Investigators conclude it's no accident. All of them are suspects.
Everyone has secrets, right?
What really matters is how far you'll go to protect them.
This book has been described as "Pretty Little Liars meets The Breakfast Club" and I suppose that's true to some extent in that the whole book really lacks originality. It was one of those books where the whole idea for the plot is very exciting but the actual novel doesn't live up to the hype and seems kind of lackluster. I found the characters to be very cliche of a teen novel, there really wasn't anything unique about them, which was quite disappointing actually. I was also kind of gutted that all four of the protagonists seemed one dimensional and undeveloped, all of their backgrounds and their individual stories weren't given the time they deserved as the author flitted between them all each chapter. It was interesting getting everyone's unique perspective but the readers don't really get a chance to fully understand the characters, meaning none of the scenes are particularly shocking or emotional.
What I love most about murder mystery novels are the plot twists that usually have me gripped and hanging on to every word but all of the supposedly surprising revelations in this novel were predictable and I'd already guessed them. The scenes in school were overly cliche and unrealistic as well, and I appreciate that it is a work of fiction but it does make it harder to enjoy the book and relate to the characters when that's the case. Also, the overly done, typical bad boy romance in this book was poorly written. If done well, it could have added a lot to the plot but as it was it just wasn't believable or relevant.
This book was marketed and hyped up as a shocking murder mystery book with some unlikely teens banded together who bond over their shared experience as falsely accused but it just didn't live up to that at all. It was slow and not fast paced as a good thriller should be. I can't recommend it but you should always read a book for yourself to make your mind up!
3/10
Oh no, that's too bad. This book wasn't necessarily on my list of which books to buy next but I was thinking about it. As a quick read but I think now I won't pick it up...
ReplyDeleteI mean you shouldn't let me put you off, but I personally just didn't feel it lived up to the hype!
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