I Know You Did It by Sue Wallman - Review

Where did I get it? My friend Sam bought it for me for Christmas 

What's it about? Ruby Marshall is starting a new school a couple of weeks into her GCSE year. Ruby has had problems. When she was four, she was responsible for the death of a little girl, and it has followed her ever since. She was aggressive and often got into trouble at her old school, and after a memorial garden for the little girl was vandalised, suspicion fell on Ruby again. Now she and her mother have moved a little bit further away, and Ruby is determined to keep her head down and just get on with her exams. 

But on her first day at school, there's a note on her locker that says I KNOW YOU DID IT. Then a kid called Isaac starts bullying Ruby, and it turns out he has lots of rumours from an anonymous source. Some are true and some aren't, but they're all damaging Ruby.

Meanwhile, there's Scott, the main writer of the school newspaper, and some people who seem to be in thrall to him for some reason - Euan, Khalid, Naz, and Amber (I might be forgetting one). Ruby starts making friends with Euan, which I liked a lot. She starts to understand stuff about how the school works (in a One of Us us Lying kind of way). Then someone turns up dead and all eyes turn on Ruby... again.

I really liked this, I had previously read Your Turn to Die by Sue Wallman and liked that too, so was happy to get to this. I liked Ruby a lot as a character and understood her and her motivations. There's lots of twists and turns which kept me guessing.

Ruby's sister is off at university and I liked the strained relationship she had with her. Their mum has been ill which wavers throughout the novel too. All in all, it's very good. 

What age range is it for? 14 plus 

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? They're not main characters, but there are a couple of gay characters

Are any main characters people of colour? As above, they're not main characters but they are there 

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? Yes, Ruby's mum 

Is there any sex stuff? No 

Are drugs mentioned or used? Yes, it's not a lot but yes 

Is there any talk of death? Yes, it is somewhat graphic 

Are there swear words? No I don't think so 

 

What criticisms do I have? Almost none, it kept me turning the pages 

Would I recommend the book? Yes absolutely 

Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? I had just pulled it out of my shelves to get to 

 

What do I think of the cover? I like it. My partner said it looked like I Know What You Did Last Summer, and it is intriguing 

 

What other books is it like? I can't think of any except One of Us is Lying, only British! 

How many stars? Four out of five 

 

Where is the book going now? I'll keep it!