A review by queenb13
You Killed Wesley Payne by Sean Beaudoin

3.0

I give this book 2.5 stars. It was...quirky. That's honestly the best way to describe it. And for the most part, I enjoyed it. The main character was likeable and the book was extremely funny. The author created his own high school jargon and social stratification so complex, the book comes with a glossary and chart to help you navigate the inner workings of the high school. While it got a little old having to flip out of a conversation to look up the word somebody said, it was interesting and showed the extent of the thought the author put into the book. So why didn't I like it you ask? It was just so implausible. I couldn't picture most of it actually happening. I know it wasn't supposed to be grounded in reality or based on a real high school or whatever, but I had a hard time really loving the book when the entire time I'm going, "Yeah, that would never happen." The motives for the people to do what they did made little sense.

Spoiler

The whole thing is about some stupid war between the cliques for control of the high school??? Seriously? Most of those characters were seniors, at best, juniors. They're not going to be there to control the school! They're graduating! Control of the town or something would at least make it more believable but anyway, I digress.

Another thing that bothered me was the answer to the book's great mystery: who killed Wesley Payne? It just felt...anticlimactic, honestly. And a bit stupid and pointless.

Spoiler

Wesley killed himself to protest how uncaring, self-absorbed, and money-driven the student body had become? If the problem is they don't care, why would a suicide change that? THEY DON'T CARE. It made no sense.

Overall, it was a good summer read. I would probably recommend it to friends who like lighter, funnier books.