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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
mysterious
tense
medium-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
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Everyone sucks, but the protagonist sucks the least, and boy, is it fun watching her run around and play Nancy Drew among a sea of backstabbing prep school assholes. The twists were twisty, the investigation riveting, and the pace magnetic. And yeah; it's pretty damn funny that Tyler killed Emma just for the perfect essay topic. I want to study him under a microscope.
My big quibble is the pacing. Funnily enough, most books have strong beginnings and ends, with weak middles; I've never seen the polar opposite of second-act sag before! Basically, the middle 80% is the good shit, from Emma's death to the climax; however, the very beginning and the epilogue do drag a touch. Ethan's Canadian-ness did feel a bit hammered in; I don't think of my Canadian friends' nationality nearly this much. Plus, while this might be Emma's failing rather than Alexa Donne's, it should still go without saying that waiving the right to an attorney is a bad idea. Asking for an attorney is not suspicious behavior, no more than exercising your right to remain silent; it's something you should do before the police get you in trouble.
But I digress. A fun, enthralling thriller, and one I definitely recommend.
My big quibble is the pacing. Funnily enough, most books have strong beginnings and ends, with weak middles; I've never seen the polar opposite of second-act sag before! Basically, the middle 80% is the good shit, from Emma's death to the climax; however, the very beginning and the epilogue do drag a touch. Ethan's Canadian-ness did feel a bit hammered in; I don't think of my Canadian friends' nationality nearly this much. Plus, while this might be Emma's failing rather than Alexa Donne's, it should still go without saying that waiving the right to an attorney is a bad idea. Asking for an attorney is not suspicious behavior, no more than exercising your right to remain silent; it's something you should do before the police get you in trouble.
But I digress. A fun, enthralling thriller, and one I definitely recommend.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i wonder if i would've been a target
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An alright enough American YA thriller, though to a non-American, non-elite education-type person, utterly baffling at times. Think Mean Girls updated a full of the scions of the super rich thinking about getting into college whether they deserve to or not. Plus murder, of course.
I liked that while Olivia wasn't from the same world as the other rich bitch girls, she still proved that being rich and being a bitch don't have to come together. Everyone is hyper-aware of their horribleness, but who cares when Harvard/Yale ECT beckon and only take the most ruthless of them all? I also liked that there's a romance element, but it's just a bit of a side thing. The ending epilogue segment, post-murderer reveal, did feel a tiny bit overlong.
One for fans of teenage airhead (intelligence does not equal wisdom here at all) thrillers with a very post-COVID, modern-tech-infused tone.
I liked that while Olivia wasn't from the same world as the other rich bitch girls, she still proved that being rich and being a bitch don't have to come together. Everyone is hyper-aware of their horribleness, but who cares when Harvard/Yale ECT beckon and only take the most ruthless of them all? I also liked that there's a romance element, but it's just a bit of a side thing
Spoiler
and doesn't have an "I forgive your betrayal because I love you!!1!" HEA; girl can and does make it on her ownOne for fans of teenage airhead (intelligence does not equal wisdom here at all) thrillers with a very post-COVID, modern-tech-infused tone.