Get Even (Don't Get Mad Series #1)

Bree, Olivia, Kitty and Margot are not the type of girls you would ever picture being friends. They don't speak to each other or hang out. That is what they want everyone to think. They are secretly meeting and are the girls of Don't Get Mad. No one knows anything about the group other than they help take down bullies and try to make school a better place. When the next person they had planned to take down ends up dead they are the main suspects. Someone left one of their cards with the body. Now the school and police are trying everything they can to find out who DGM is. The girls will lose everything if anyone finds out who they are. It seems someone does know who they are and is trying to ear them apart by sharing secrets they have kept from each other. The girls will have to hold it together and find the real killer before they go down for something they didn't do. I liked the idea of this story. Bullies who get took down by a group and taught a lesson. The girls all live in different little cliques and really have nothing in common you think at first. After the murder happens the secret group really starts to fall apart. They have a mystery they need to figure out but someone knows who they are and while that someone does help them with a few hints they also manage to tear the group apart. Each girl has her won reason for wanting to be in the group and those secrets are slowly coming out. You get to see what each of the girls is like and what makes them tick. There is the usual high school drama included but it does help to show hoe young they are. I enjoyed this book even if at times it did get on my nerves. You still never figure out who the killer is and I really did not see the end coming. I was surprised by it. The author does a good job on the twist and turns.

I absolutely love this book. I would definitely recommend reading it.

I give this book 3.5 out of 5 stars. First off, this book is described as The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars but I would have to say that statement is only half true; it is perfect for fans of Pretty Little Liars with its intrigue, the paranoia, and the mysterious envelopes that divulge long buried secrets. On the other hand, it is nothing like The Breakfast Club, that’s just absurd. This book revolves around four girls who are essentially vigilantes, they notice wrongs at school and try to right them. It actually reminded me a lot of The Amazing Spiderman (I just recently watched both of them); he attempted to help the police by using his abilities for good but he was viewed as a nuisance and a criminal. These four unlikely girls from different groups at school came together to stand up for the victims of bullies and to give the bullies a dose of their own medicine. The school had a divided view on the organization Don’t Get Mad, some thought that the DGM were troublemakers while others respected them, much like Peter Parker. I am not one for revenge but I understood where these girls were coming from, they weren’t content to just sit by while bullies ran rampant. One thing I found to be interesting was the distinction they made between manufactured lies and the truth, they did not make up stories about the bully but simply use their hypocrisy against them. Since they were all from different groups around the school, they each had unique skills that when combined together, made for one cohesive group. What did I love about this book? The plot! I found it to be SO interesting and compelling; I genuinely wanted to know what happened and learn more about the mystery. I felt like a cat diligently chasing a toy, I was completely enthralled until the very end. The book is really easy to immerse yourself in, the plot is constantly moving along and there are an ample amount of reasons and motives that one could have for killing Ronny. This would explain why I became crazy paranoid of every character in this novel; when I was halfway through the book, I could have made a compelling argument for every single character and why they could have killed Ronny. I wouldn’t necessarily say that this book was particularly scary but it does keep you on edge; I read this before bed one night and I woke up to the slightest noise, ready (in my mind) to attack. The paranoia just added to the book, I never wanted to put it down because it got to the point where I needed to know whodunit. What I didn’t like about this book is comprised of basically all of the other elements aside from the plot and the writing. First off, the story is told in alternating POVs between the four girls but there is no rhyme or reason to the order of the POVs. This was frustrating for several reasons, first off, the POV change would usually happen after a paragraph break but not always, sometimes there would be a break and it would continue to be the same character. Secondly, it made for an unequal balance of POVs or at least it felt that way, I read way more through Bree’s POV than Margot or even Olivia. The believability wasn’t there for me either, I didn’t buy that there would really be an organization called Don’t Get Mad and a rival organization to combat DGM, The Maine Men. Also, the two main adults in this book were idiots but more than that, they were idiots with power; basically I think I could have made better decisions than them at the age of twelve. It might seem like all this should detract more than one and a half stars but the plot was just that good. WARNING: remove all objects from your reach as you near the end and remember, there’s another one coming out next year. To wrap it all up: I really did enjoy the story, I was constantly on the edge of my seat and always unaware of whom the killer was. The book is written really well but characters and the believability were negatives for me. With that being said, I am so caught up in the mystery that I will definitely read the sequel and any other books after that. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good mystery.

For the most part, I really liked reading Get Even! I had a good time reading it and was left wanting more after I finished. The mystery was pretty good. It got really interesting towards the end, so I'm anxiously waiting for a chance to read the sequel. I really wanted to know who the killer was what his/her motives were. There was a Pretty Little Liars feel to it that I loved. Also, I loved the bits of romance! I was rooting for John and Bree the most. I also loved the romance that Margot had. She was my favorite, I think.  There were two things that I didn't like about the book. Sometimes, I had to push myself through reading it. I didn't feel sucked in by what was happening. It was also a little hard to distinguish characters from one another. I was able to tell them apart easily in the second half, after I gathered info associated with each character, but it was all just so much in the beginning. There were so many details and characters, so I got confused. I ended up really liking the characters and feeling sympathetic for them when things went wrong, though.  Overall, Get Even was a nice read with mystery, drama, secrets, and romance mixed in with its story. The ending left me needing the sequel. What will happen next? Who is the killer? What's in store for DGM? I really want to know! *I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Kitty, Margot, Bree and Olivia couldn't be more different. Olivia is the theater girl, Kitty the sporty type, Margot the tech pro and Bree is the daughter of a Senator. They are in the same high school and know how hard trying to be oneself can be. It is not friendship that connects them, but something bigger, something stronger. Revenge and justice. The four girls formed the group DGM in order to protect other students who have become victims to bullying and oppression. Together they have to withstand an accusation of murder themselves and find out who killed bully Ronny. This constellation kind of reminded me of Pretty Little Liars. But in comparison GET EVEN would make a much better Tv show since Gretchen McNeil's girls are stronger, smarter and more independent than Aria and her friends. While GET EVEN is about proving the girls' innocence, Gretchen McNeil throws in hints, clues and evidence that make you suspicious of all four girls in some way, too. Very sneaky! The story switches back and forth between all four girls and their perspectives. Bree was by far my favourite person to follow around with her best friend John and her growing feelings for him. Friendship becoming romance, yes, I really liked that and the way Bree started to realize her true feelings at some point. The other girls have interesting romances and friendship stories, too. I am so glad that Gretchen McNeil decided to bring out the girls' story as a duology, with the first book releasing in September 2014 and the second in summer 2015. This way there was much writing space to form a believable story background, and especially with a murder investigation going on. Gretchen considered love stories for each girl and one big part of GET EVEN is about the possibility of them becoming friends in the end despite the big differences between the girls. It was hard to put the book aside when it ended and now wait a few months until I can pick up its sequel. Hope that it starts right where the first ended. There are still a few questions and problems to solve so I'm looking forward to the second book. 4/5 **** GET EVEN - Gretchen McNeil's best book so far! The words "dying for the sequel" really fit in the case of GET EVEN. Bree and John's relationship is by far my favourite and the way things ended for them was so mean. It's been a long time since I read something so suspenseful and with so much teen drama. I can't wait for GET DIRTY!

This book. Just. Oh my god. To recap the ninja long synopsis, Olivia Hayes, Kitty Wei, Margot Mejia and Bree Deringer are completely different people. Olivia: The Socialite. Kitty: The Sporty Chick. Bree: The Punk Rock Loner. Margot: The Super Smart Nobody. Not similar in any way, right? Wrong. These girls are part of a secret group called Don't Get Mad, or DGM to everybody else. DGM right wrongs. They get revenge on the bullies who pick on defenseless kids. But when one of DGM's targets is murdered with a DGM card in his hand, Don't Get Mad is on high alert. Tension begins to tear the girls apart, but the real question hangs in the air. Who killed Ronny DeStefano?I was perpetually hooked on this book since page one. I loved every single minute spent reading. I was actually so engrossed in this book that I didn't realize I finished it until I saw the acknowledgements. I loved how the book flowed from character to character, with all four girls stating their opinions and even the stupid love interests. There were parts in the book where I was going "Awwww..." and other times I was like "(S)He likes you, don't be so ignorant, like, seriously, are you blind, character?" Which was aggravating in it's own amazing way. But you know what irked me? The ending. A terrible cliff hanger. And I mean terrible as in "Wait. It's over? No, no, nonononononooooooo." I was in shock. I cannot wait for the next book in the series, and I recommend this book for people who like Pretty Little Liars (♥) and Burn for Burn. Hopefully you'll enjoy this book as much as I did.

Gretchen is my mom's cousin's wife. Ive met her and shes awesome