Someone Is Always Watching

by Kelley Armstrong

Overview

Their lives are a lie. Their memories may not be real. A new young adult psychological thriller by #1 NYT bestselling author, Kelley Armstrong.

Blythe and her friends — Gabrielle, and brother and sister Tucker and Tanya — have always been a tight friend group, attending a local high school and falling in and out of love with each other. But an act of violence has caused a rift between Blythe and Tucker . . . and unexpected bursts of aggression and disturbing nightmares have started to become more frequent in their lives. 

The strange happenings culminate in a shocking event at school: Gabrielle is found covered in blood in front of their deceased principal, with no memory of what happened.  

Cracks in their friendship, as well as in their own memories, start appearing, threatening to expose long-forgotten secrets which could change the group’s lives forever. How can Blythe and her friends trust each other when they can’t even trust their own memories?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780735270923
Publisher:	Tundra Book Group
Publication date:	04/11/2023
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	360,850
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.40(d)
Lexile:	HL570L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

KELLEY ARMSTRONG is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of three trilogies for teens: the Darkest Powers; Darkness Rising; and Age of Legends, as well as several thriller and fantasy series for adults and three YA thrillers (The Masked Truth, Missing and Aftermath). She is also the author of the Royal Guide to Monster Slaying series and the co-author (with Melissa Marr) of the Blackwell Pages series, a middle-grade fantasy series based on Norse gods. The Masked Truth received a starred review from PW ("overflowing with twists"), while Missing received a starred review from VOYA ("a compelling thriller that keeps the reader hooked until the end").

Editorial Reviews

02/20/2023

In this riveting thriller by Armstrong (the Royal Guide to Monster Slaying series), a shocking act of violence jars a group of teenagers into recovering hidden memories from their past. Ambitious, rule-abiding Blythe Warren, 17, and her friends Gabrielle, Tanya, and Tucker—students at a prestigious private STEM academy—have been close for as long as they can remember. But the teens are stunned when typically mild-mannered Gabrielle vehemently claims that the school’s security camera is “watching us. It’s always watching.” Blythe later finds Gabrielle disoriented and mysteriously drenched in blood near their vice principal’s dead body. The quartet are suddenly plagued by terrifying nightmares and misremembered recollections, which reveal a covert plan carried out by adults in their lives that was, it seems, meant to protect them from a traumatizing truth. Through punchy prose, Armstrong explores fascinating questions of personhood, identity, and the role of memory in creating a sense of self. While underdeveloped plotlines leave many questions unanswered, fans of mind-bending psychological thrillers will find a lot to love in this labyrinthine read. Central characters are white. Ages 12–up. Agent: Lucienne Diver, Knight Agency. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

2023-01-25
Who can you trust when you can’t even trust yourself?

Blythe Warren, a 17-year-old attending a small private STEM school run by her parents’ employer, a medical technology company, is shocked when one of her friends has a breakdown in class. Normally even-keeled Gabrielle Harris starts swearing, shouting, and raving about the security cameras and how they’re always watching her, and the teacher sends her to the vice principal’s office. When Blythe goes to check on her later, she stumbles across a bloody crime scene. Strangely, the next day Blythe remembers nothing about it: She only has memories of slipping on the bathroom floor and hitting her head. But when the combination of gruesome visions, invasive thoughts, and inaccurate memories becomes impossible to ignore, Blythe is set on a course of discovery that will uncover a web of secrets and lies among her friends and family—some of which are unknown to the very people who keep them. The story will be pure catnip to readers who love twists, turns, and mysteries involving pretty White kids with problems, especially if they’re willing to occasionally overlook realism for the drama of it all. The mysteries on top of mysteries will keep the pages turning in this plot-driven thriller with reluctant-reader appeal.

Mental potato chips, happily devoured. (Thriller. 12-17)

Kirkus Reviews

"A must-purchase rollercoaster ride that will have readers wondering if people and memories can be trusted." —STARRED REVIEW, School Library Journal

"The mysteries on top of mysteries will keep the pages turning in this plot-driven thriller. . . . Mental potato chips, happily devoured." —Kirkus Reviews

"Armstrong explores fascinating questions of personhood, identity, and the role of memory in creating a sense of self. . . . [F]ans of mind-bending psychological thrillers will find a lot to love in this labyrinthine read." —Publishers Weekly

"There is no shortage of neck-snapping turns." —Youth Service Book Review

"This book definitely meets all the requirements for a psychological thriller and will have readers turning page after page trying to find the truth." —Young Adulting

"Someone is Always Watching is a well-crafted, high-quality work of psychological fiction by bestselling author Kelley Armstrong." —CM: Canadian Review of Materials

From the Publisher