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3.29 AVERAGE
3.29 AVERAGE
2.5 stars? Idk, it was a super quick read and I think had generally good intentions on exploring the topics of mental health and privilege especially in AAPI communities. The characters were all barely developed and the "twist" was entirely dependent on not giving the reader enough information.
This was entertaining but not exactly great for me. Very Gossip Girl meets I Know What You Did Last Summer. I didn’t find it all that well developed or see a lot of character growth which they all greatly needed. The reveal was
Very reminiscent of PLL and Gossip Girl. It was paced well and the author did a good job of dropping new information every couple of chapters to keep me entertained. The writing was very classically YA but that’s what you get of the genre. The ending didn’t make much sense and it wasn’t shocking because we didn’t know enough about the actual antagonist to be properly shocked. Interesting read, somewhat poorly executed, but just juicy enough to keep me reading.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
This book discussed some important issues, but everything else about it was bad: the writing, the characters, the plot and especially the reveal.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
TW include: racism, classism, inappropriate student-teacher relationships, arson, bullying, and others.
While I know that that this book was written by an Asian woman and focuses the struggles of her MC, an Asian teen, a lot of this book resonated with me. While my parents didn’t push us to only be the best, they did push us to be our best. My heart ached for Nancy when her dad gave her a hard time over missing one question on her math homework. Like dang bro. 9/10 is still a great grade, and she’s only human.
Nancy has a dual role in this book, and that part was hard for me to reconcile, but as soon as it clicked, so many of her actions made sense.
I’d definitely recommend this to fans of thrillers and books with a school setting, which I myself am absolute TRASH for.
While I know that that this book was written by an Asian woman and focuses the struggles of her MC, an Asian teen, a lot of this book resonated with me. While my parents didn’t push us to only be the best, they did push us to be our best. My heart ached for Nancy when her dad gave her a hard time over missing one question on her math homework. Like dang bro. 9/10 is still a great grade, and she’s only human.
Nancy has a dual role in this book, and that part was hard for me to reconcile, but as soon as it clicked, so many of her actions made sense.
I’d definitely recommend this to fans of thrillers and books with a school setting, which I myself am absolute TRASH for.
Really highlighted a lot of the problems with highly competitive schools - extreme competition, discrimination, wealth enabling people to buy their way to the top and out of their problems. I loved that it covered these problems so well while making it interesting via flawed (albeit flat) characters.
Some of the plot was really predictable, and I absolutely hated Nancy. From the synopsis it seemed like there would be multiple povs from the 4 primary suspects, but it was just Nancy’s, which got really boring after awhile. It seemed like the author was going for an antihero/morally grey/multifaceted mc, but Nancy was just so unlikable that any deeper characterization attempts just fell flat. I would’ve liked to see a lot more from all the other characters. Or just literally any character other than Nancy.
Some of the plot was really predictable, and I absolutely hated Nancy. From the synopsis it seemed like there would be multiple povs from the 4 primary suspects, but it was just Nancy’s, which got really boring after awhile. It seemed like the author was going for an antihero/morally grey/multifaceted mc, but Nancy was just so unlikable that any deeper characterization attempts just fell flat. I would’ve liked to see a lot more from all the other characters. Or just literally any character other than Nancy.
the concept set high expectations, which were not met due to the writing. however, I would check out their upcoming novel, as it sounds really good. 2,5 stars