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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was a good book, and the ending was pretty realistic, though I wish it hadn't been. The worst offenders get no comeuppance, and while that's probably what would actually happen to rich kids, I wish it didn't. Also, fuck Ethan.
"you hit me with a fucking frying pan! what the fuck!"
~ ♡ 4/5
walked into this book with high hopes. the plot sounded so interesting, the ending surprised me, but i also think they could have done so much more with it.
i loved the whole juvenile detective ruse, and loved learning things as Olivia did, but once again i also wish we had of got more of what she did. because we were constantly focused on the other four ivies, when i think we all know liv did some messy shit too.
i loved olivia and truthfully avery as well even though she was super bitchy and did some very morally wrong things.
i would definitely re-read to see if i could pick up more clues to see if the killer was ever more prominent in past clues that were brushed off or ‘debunked’.
~ ♡ 4/5
walked into this book with high hopes. the plot sounded so interesting, the ending surprised me, but i also think they could have done so much more with it.
i loved the whole juvenile detective ruse, and loved learning things as Olivia did, but once again i also wish we had of got more of what she did. because we were constantly focused on the other four ivies, when i think we all know liv did some messy shit too.
i would definitely re-read to see if i could pick up more clues to see if the killer was ever more prominent in past clues that were brushed off or ‘debunked’.
I plowed through this It is a typical high schoolers want to get in prestigious school so they sabotage, but it is a good distraction book. I figured out who did it fairly early, but there were enough unexpected plot twists that it kept me intrigued. Olivia had very little character arc, but Avery had my favorite character arc which I did not expect! The person who ended up being the killer was an automatic least favorite character for me. Is this the best murder mystery I've ever read? No. Was it a good book that kept me reading from the time I bought it until the end? Yes.
Heathers meets A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, but make it dark academia.
This felt a bit like a tragedy, and I honestly loved that they didn’t really get a happy ending. This book points out flaws in the education and court system in which advantages are given to those with money.
Olivia is clever, intuitive, and really good at murder investigations. I didn’t love the main part of this book, but the fact that it had the ending that it did kind of sealed the deal for me. Olivia didn’t have the happy ending they usually have. Her life wasn’t crappy, as she got into a good school (I’m forgetting the name) because of being kind to a girl that was kind to her. However, she doesn’t get the boy (he betrays her, she walks out on him) she’s expelled from the elite private school she’s worked so hard at, she forfeits her lifelong dream of going to Harvard.
However, Olivia is an unlikeable character, at least in the very last chapter. In the beginning, Olivia is completely in the dark about her friends shenanigans, we realize they’re leaving her out, and even though she’s an Ivy and that makes her a jerk, she doesn’t seem like she wants to be one anymore. But gradually, we get exposed to more and more of what Olivia has done. She even is hypocritical of some of her friends in some situations, and she slips down a farther slope. In the last chapter, she lies again. She claws her way back up. I think this could be interpreted different ways depending on the person, but personally I think that Olivia didn’t learn from her mistakes of being an Ivy. She’s going to lie and cheat and become friends with the wrong people again, and it’s not going to work out for her. She didn’t get into her dream school, she didn’t get the boy, she didn’t get friends- why would her strategy work a second time?
The whole think feels like a high school tragedy after finishing it, like an old biography written by an unfortunate high school student who was caught up in all this. I think that’s really what it is. Olivia trusts the wrong people, makes mistakes, and although she solves the murder and gains things along the way, it feels like a tragedy when you realize most people in the book were using her.
I can’t help but think it was meant to be this way, and I love the book for that. It’s so different amidst all of my other novels, because of its melancholy ending.
As for the actual murder, I thought the plot twists were very well done, and although I did suspect the murderer, I did not suspect everything that led up to it. I had many other theories about Margot and the other Ivies, and it was fun theorizing about everything happening in the book! I loved it, and although I can’t put it on my favorites shelf, a good four stars seems perfect for this book.
This felt a bit like a tragedy, and I honestly loved that they didn’t really get a happy ending. This book points out flaws in the education and court system in which advantages are given to those with money.
Olivia is clever, intuitive, and really good at murder investigations. I didn’t love the main part of this book, but the fact that it had the ending that it did kind of sealed the deal for me. Olivia didn’t have the happy ending they usually have. Her life wasn’t crappy, as she got into a good school (I’m forgetting the name) because of being kind to a girl that was kind to her. However, she doesn’t get the boy (he betrays her, she walks out on him) she’s expelled from the elite private school she’s worked so hard at, she forfeits her lifelong dream of going to Harvard.
However, Olivia is an unlikeable character, at least in the very last chapter. In the beginning, Olivia is completely in the dark about her friends shenanigans, we realize they’re leaving her out, and even though she’s an Ivy and that makes her a jerk, she doesn’t seem like she wants to be one anymore. But gradually, we get exposed to more and more of what Olivia has done. She even is hypocritical of some of her friends in some situations, and she slips down a farther slope. In the last chapter, she lies again. She claws her way back up. I think this could be interpreted different ways depending on the person, but personally I think that Olivia didn’t learn from her mistakes of being an Ivy. She’s going to lie and cheat and become friends with the wrong people again, and it’s not going to work out for her. She didn’t get into her dream school, she didn’t get the boy, she didn’t get friends- why would her strategy work a second time?
The whole think feels like a high school tragedy after finishing it, like an old biography written by an unfortunate high school student who was caught up in all this. I think that’s really what it is. Olivia trusts the wrong people, makes mistakes, and although she solves the murder and gains things along the way, it feels like a tragedy when you realize most people in the book were using her.
I can’t help but think it was meant to be this way, and I love the book for that. It’s so different amidst all of my other novels, because of its melancholy ending.
As for the actual murder, I thought the plot twists were very well done, and although I did suspect the murderer, I did not suspect everything that led up to it. I had many other theories about Margot and the other Ivies, and it was fun theorizing about everything happening in the book! I loved it, and although I can’t put it on my favorites shelf, a good four stars seems perfect for this book.
One day I will read a thriller without a romance subplot but today is not that day…
Despite that, it was an enjoyable read!
Despite that, it was an enjoyable read!
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Enjoyable mystery. The final reveal was a bit too villain monologue. I really liked the characters. I think the author did a great job of writing grey, unlikeable characters. The selfish choices they made were very believable.