A review by pineconek
Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

3.25

I do appreciate some genre-bending YA. 

I thought about lots of different genres and media as I read this book: mean girls, the secret history, a good girl's guide to murder, beartown, rebecca, the girl with the dragon tattoo, ninth house, heart stopper, silence of the lambs, skins/euphoria, sex education, recess, the end of the fucking world (did that one get another season?), and heathers. Several things happened that I didn't see coming, and a few were not something I could have predicted if I tried. 

That said, there were several cons. The book relied on a suspension of disbelief and abided by YA lit rules (in other words, don't expect realism or an air tight plot). There are a few moments when lessons about social issues are occasionally spelled out in an unnatural ways, and characters will do or say things that are illogical, tropey, or inconsistent with how teenagers would act. I learned from another review that the book drags around the halfway mark, and then changed gears in the 60-65% range and suddenly A Lot Happens. I had considered DNFing this one, but am ultimately glad I didn't. The whole thing was a wild ride. 

Recommended if adolescent gothic dark academia sounds like a good time, especially if it's contrasted with painfully comedic teen culture. 3.25 stars.