APRIL 2018 - AudioFile
Narrator Erin Spencer creates a crisp, powerful voice for Kay, a Bates Academy student who is tasked with completing a revenge project requested by a dead classmate, a possible murder victim named Jessica. If Kay doesn’t complete the task, secret information will be released that could jeopardize her soccer scholarship. Spencer develops unique voices for each of the secondary characters, who are introduced as Kay chats with potential suspects. The coarse voice crafted for Detective Morgan perfectly portrays the character and heightens the intensity of the police interrogations. Mystery fans will be engaged by a plot brimming with shady characters and intrigue. M.D. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
11/27/2017
Soccer captain Kay Donovan gets caught up in a game of murder and revenge in this sharp psychological thriller, Mele’s debut. Kay is at the center of a group of seniors who rule their girls’ boarding school. The girls find the body of fellow student Jessica Lane in a nearby lake, and as the school reels from her death, Kay receives an email—purportedly from Jessica—that forces her to expose her friends’ sins in order to keep her own secrets buried. As evidence mounts against Kay in Jessica’s apparent murder, the school turns against her, and Kay learns that cruelty does not go unrepaid. Feeling unmoored, Kay turns to Nola, a former target of the group’s bullying, but none of Kay’s relationships is without agenda, and Kay finds herself in the killer’s sights. Mele creates a cast of sharp-edged, prickly students; the fluid sexuality of various characters is handled well, and themes of betrayal and bullying are front and center. An eerie, unsettling thriller with deadly consequences. Ages 12–up. Agent: Andrea Somberg, Harvey Klinger. (Feb.)
From the Publisher
This juicy prep-school thriller has queen bees, super-cliques, and hints of PLL and Gossip Girl. But if you think you’ve got every plot turn figured out, think again: the drama is just getting started.”—Seventeen Magazine
“[A] whirlwind, fast-paced YA mystery. . . Not only will Mele’s gorgeous, melodic writing have you entranced, but the layered mystery of it all will have you scrambling to turn the pages to see who-dun-it.”—Buzzfeed
"Steeped in scandal and profound tragedy, this is a dark and thrilling look at female friendships, the pressures of scholastic success, and mental health . . . A classic and frightening tale of betrayal and mental illness told in a fresh and contemporary way, this book is difficult to set down for even a moment. It is an intricately designed, beautifully written, and extraordinarily chilling story."—School Library Journal
"Mele creates a cast of sharp-edged, prickly students; the fluid sexuality of various characters is handled well, and themes of betrayal and bullying are front and center. An eerie, unsettling thriller with deadly consequences."—Publishers Weekly
"Mele . . . weave[s] a tale of mystery, intrigue, and revenge in the style of Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why (2007), but with its own twists to keep readers on the their toes."—Booklist
"The characters and their relationships are nuanced, especially sexually fluid Kay, who has intimate encounters with males and females. This blend of predictable prep school elements with unpredictable suspense makes this a fizzy read for fans of the genre."—Kirkus Reviews
"This is a fun, dark whodunit with loads of twists and turns to keep readers guessing."—VOYA
"A . . . sophisticated read that is fast-paced and surprising to the last page."—School Library Connection
School Library Journal
12/01/2017
Gr 9 Up—Steeped in scandal and profound tragedy, this is a dark and thrilling look at female friendships, the pressures of scholastic success, and mental health. Daring, popular, and athletic, Kay is well on her way to achieving her dreams and securing the best that life has to offer at the prestigious Bates Academy, despite her family's financial situation and lack of pedigree. Then a student turns up dead in the lake, cutting to the core of the school and Kay's friend group. A sinisterly mysterious mastermind begins pulling Kay's strings and setting her up as the murderer. Kay must carefully solve the puzzles while risking what she's worked so hard to achieve before time runs out, her past is revealed, and all is lost forever. A classic and frightening tale of betrayal and mental illness told in a fresh and contemporary way, this book is difficult to set down for even a moment. It is an intricately designed, beautifully written, and extraordinarily chilling story. VERDICT Recommended for fans of psychological thrillers and mysteries who want to be riveted until the very end.—Emily Grace Le May, Williams School, New London, CT
APRIL 2018 - AudioFile
Narrator Erin Spencer creates a crisp, powerful voice for Kay, a Bates Academy student who is tasked with completing a revenge project requested by a dead classmate, a possible murder victim named Jessica. If Kay doesn’t complete the task, secret information will be released that could jeopardize her soccer scholarship. Spencer develops unique voices for each of the secondary characters, who are introduced as Kay chats with potential suspects. The coarse voice crafted for Detective Morgan perfectly portrays the character and heightens the intensity of the police interrogations. Mystery fans will be engaged by a plot brimming with shady characters and intrigue. M.D. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2017-10-30
For some girls, it's a killer getting into Bates Academy. For others, attending the elite prep school means getting killed.When Kay Donovan and her popular senior classmates uphold the tradition of skinny dipping in the lake after the Halloween dance, they're surprised to find the dead body of Jessica Lane, a fellow student. But it's not the first time Kay has seen a dead body—and someone knows it. As she, her friends, and other acquaintances begin answering questions for the police, the teen also receives an email from Jessica's account that takes her to a revenge website. There, Kay receives instructions to take down all her friends—this one for doping, that one for sleeping with a professor—or her own secrets will be revealed. The debut novel has all the tropes one would expect from a prep school mystery: plenty of backstabbing, predominantly white young socialites (except for Brie with "smooth brown skin"), and frequent parties with alcohol and sex. Yet this intertwined mystery that has readers figuring out Jessica's murderer and Kay's secrets (and their possible connections) is more than these clichés. The characters and their relationships are nuanced, especially bisexual Kay, who has intimate encounters with males and females.The blend of predictable prep school elements with unpredictable suspense makes this a fizzy read for fans of the genre. (Mystery. 14-18)
