Such Charming Liars by Karen M McManus - Review

I recently realised that I have been out of the loop on what Young Adult literature there is around at the moment. So I made a concerted effort to look in a couple of bookshops. And honestly, I was quite disappointed. It felt like a lot of the books were the same stuff that has been hanging around in YA sections for like ten years. And that's a lot of years when the target audience of these books are only fifteen years old. It's sad really that nothing new and spectacular seems to be coming out. So I decided to have a look at my local library, which isn't always brilliant, but I hoped it would be a bit better. And it was! I really need to look at the big library in the middle of Barnsley, so I'll try to do that too. But I was happy with the selection in my local library. I picked up three books, including this one, because I've read everything else by Karen M McManus but this from last year had bypassed me. 

I liked this one as much as I've liked her other ones, so that's good. I'm glad she is out there writing new contemporary YA even if no one else is. 

So, there are two protagonists of the book, and sometimes I felt like it switched oddly, but that's one of my only criticisms of the book. The first one is Kat. She's sixteen and she lives with her mother, Jamie, and her found family, Gem, who is like her grandma, and Gem's daughter, Morgan, who is the same age as Jamie. Gem is a jewel thief. She runs a front, a cleaning company called Spotless. Jamie works for her. After a bad time with Kat's dad, Cormac, when Kat was little, Jamie ran away with her and eventually met Gem. But she is trying to go straight. She is going to do one last heist; she is going to swap the ruby necklace of a woman called Annalise Sutherland with a fake, and use the money to set herself and Kat up for good. 

Meanwhile, Liam is seventeen, and after the traumatic death of his mother a few months ago, he has been living with his dad, Luke. His parents have been divorced since he was tiny, and he has never been close to his dad. But now he has no choice. Luke is a conman - he has been leading women on on dating sites and Liam has been trying to stop him and has told women what he's up to. Luke has been dating Annalise and has been playing the doting father to try to win her over. Liam isn't convinced at all. But then Annalise's dad, patriarch Ross Sutherland, is turning eighty, and there's a big party planned on his compound. He's very rich and it's obvious that Luke just wants in on the family money. But he and Liam are invited to the party so they head off together. 

Jamie has got a job as staff for the party, so she heads off. But Kat schemes to go with her. Jamie isn't happy but there's not much she can do about it. On the way to the party they break down, and are stopped on the side of the road when Liam and Luke turn up. 

And it turns out they already know each other. When Kat was four and Liam was five, Jamie and Luke got married in Vegas. They were married for just forty eight hours and in that time Kat and Liam went missing and there was a whole panic before they were found by Gem (which is why Jamie got involved with Gem in the first place). Jamie has never forgiven him and so the reunion by the side of the road isn't a happy one. Liam and Kat remember each other though. 

So then they're all on the compound and many things happen - I couldn't even include them all. Kat ends up having to trust Liam without really knowing him. They both get friendly with the Sutherland grandson, Augustus. The whole family is a mess - Augustus' father is an alcoholic and has been in and out of rehab, and everyone else is basically insufferable. Jamie is trying to pull off the heist by swapping Annalise's necklace, but everyone else is scheming too.

This is a really good fun heist novel with added YA - Kat and Liam are both excellent characters and it's easy to feel sympathy for both of them as well as liking them. I did find the book dragged in a couple of places and could have done with a tiny edit, but I really liked the twists. I'm giving it five out of five. 

One Of Us Is Back by Karen M McManus - Review

It feels like absolutely forever since I read any Young Adult fiction. I can't quite explain why that is, either. I do feel like it has stagnated a little bit in recent years and like I've read everything that I would be interested in. A lot of current YA seems to be fantasy and it's just not my thing. So I've sort of fallen out of knowing what's new. But I've had this on my radar for a little bit. I've read everything that Karen M McManus has written, so I obviously needed to read this too. It's the third in the Bayview trilogy but it had been so long since I read the second one that I had forgotten most of what happened. But this does explain a lot of what previously happened. And it was nice to be back in Bayview with Nate and Addy and Phoebe. 

The book is told from their points of view, although all the others are too - Cooper, Kris, Knox, Luis, Maeve, Bronwyn... The whole Bayview Crew. I had forgotten Knox, for sure, and I found I kept mixing him up with Kris which annoyed me. I also would have liked more Bronwyn, because I like her, but beggars can't be choosers... 

Bronwyn is off at Yale or something. Nate is working construction and he's also working in the bar of a country club or golf club or something, because he's keeping himself afloat aged nineteen. His relationship with his parents his better - they're both sober now and his dad has a job at Bayview High, where the other books are set. Nate is living with some others around his age, including Reggie, who I had definitely forgotten from book two, and who Nate hates. 

Phoebe is in her last year of high school and she's working at Cafe Contigo which belongs to Luis' family, although I had forgotten him, too. But she's really distracted - in book two she discovered the truth about her sister Emma's and her brother Owen's parts in what happened, and she and Emma have been covering for Owen ever since. He's thirteen now and sullen and removed from the family, and Phoebe is worried sick. She's also kind of got this thing going on with Knox, but it's really complicated. 

Addy is still living in Bayview, with her mum this time, who she doesn't get on well with. But her sister Ashton is now married and pregnant, and Addy is excited for that. She kissed her friend Keely and is having complicated feelings about this. I actually really liked this tiny bit of the book; it was a cute development for Addy. But Jake, who was involved in both the previous sets of crimes and who threatened Addy, is about to be released from prison as he's getting a new trial. He's banned from being anywhere where Addy is, but she's still terrified of running into him and so on. I love Addy - she's my favourite across the books and I liked her in the TV show, too, although I've only watched the first season. 

Everything seems to be going fine, except that a billboard in the locality is hacked, and there's a hint that a new game has started. But who would be doing this, and how? And how is it related to Jake's parents? And how is it related to when Jake and Simon were friends six years ago.

The book kept me guessing and I liked the mystery. I loved the ending but I felt it came together slowly at first then a bit too quickly. But I'm giving it five out of five - it's a worthy ending to the series. 

Nothing More to Tell by Karen M McManus - Review

You know I love Karen M McManus so I ordered this book as soon as I heard it was out, but I had to wait a while to read it because I was only reading ebooks in September. That was an interesting challenge - I did get my way through some Netgalley books which is always good. I did miss a paper book though, so I was thrilled to finally be able to pick this up. 

However, I don't feel like it lived up to Karen's previous books. I can't really explain why, but I'm writing this three weeks later and I feel like I can barely remember what it was about. I gave it four out of five stars, but I feel like it missed the mark a little bit for me. But here's what it's about:

Brynn used to live in a small town in New England and attended St Ambrose School. She had a favourite teacher, English teacher Mr Larkin. He was brutally murdered and found by three of Brynn's classmates - Tripp, who had been her friend until just before the murder, Shane, and Charlotte, who are a couple. The three of them are now at the top of the school's social pyramid, but Brynn reckons they're all hiding something about the day they found Mr Larkin. 

Brynn's family has been living in Chicago but has now moved back. Before moving, Brynn got into trouble at her old school on the newspaper, when someone posted dick pics under her name. She went viral and had to leave the paper. She is applying for an internship with a true crime podcaster and at her interview she pitches the idea of looking into Mr Larkin's murder. She gets the job and has to start looking into the case but in an undercover way. 

I didn't exactly warm to Brynn, but I can't explain why. She's a proper Nancy Drew type and a bit uptight. I liked her family and I'd have liked to see more of them. However, I would like to see Brynn again in a story if it came to it!

Tripp's point of view is given too. Tripp lives alone with his dad, who he barely sees or speaks to. His mother lives in Las Vegas, having left the family some years earlier, but then Tripp sees her and realises she's back in town. He works at a local bakery and is close to his boss there - I felt like she was a parental figure in his life which I really liked. 

I liked Charlotte as a villain - she has Brynn and keeps going up against her. I also really liked the ending and how everything came out, it was told in a good way. 

Marple by Various Authors - Review

I had heard of this book on Twitter because Elly Griffiths is one of the authors inside, but when I looked it up on Netgalley I was too late to request it. So I 'wished' for it, which I've only done a couple of times before, but a couple of weeks later I got a notification to say my wish had been granted! That's never happened to me before! I was absolutely thrilled.

I was away in France for the first twelve days of September, and I decided to only take my tablet as it's much lighter than lugging a load of books with me, and it means I have access to ALL my Kindle books. I then decided that for the whole of September I would only read books on my tablet, as a bit of a challenge to myself. I started this right on the first day of the month, on the day before we flew to Carcassonne for our holiday. I read it on the two hour flight on the Friday and finished it later that evening. It is a fantastic anthology of stories and I reall enjoyed it. Thank you Harper Collins for granting my wish!

I have to admit that I'm not familiar with Miss Marple at all. I'm much more familiar with Poirot and his stories. I don't know all Marple's background and canon works, so I wasn't sure how I would feel about these stories. But the calibre of the authors involved just had me gasping - there are some I love and some I was looking forward to reading. They are twelve of the best women writing crime today, and I think Naomi Alderman did a brilliant job in putting the anthology together. The authors included are: Naomi Alderman, Leigh Bardugo, Alyssa Cole, Lucy Foley, Elly Griffiths, Natalie Haynes, Jean Kwok, Val McDermid, Karen M McManus, Dreda Say Mitchell, Kate Mosse, and Ruth Ware. I have to admit that I barely paid attention to who wrote which story, because they're all so brilliant that I genuinely didn't care. I was caught up in all the stories, finding them utterly believable and an excellent addition to the Marple canon. I am writing this review a couple of weeks after reading the book, so I will talk about the stories that stood out to me. I will say that there's such a variety of stories - a couple set in big houses, one at Christmas, ones with Miss Marple's friends, one with her granddaughter (written by Karen M McManus, which should surprise no one!) and one set in New York. Those are the ones I liked best, I think, but honestly there's not a bad story between them. 

I thoroughly recommend this book especially if you are already a fan of Marple, unlike me! Reading this would make me want to read some of the books starring her though, or maybe watch the TV series! I am giving this fiveo ut of five as I just liked it so much. 

This book was published on the 15th of September. I was provided with an electronic copy of the book for review purposes but was not otherwise compensated for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

You'll Be the Death of Me by Karen M McManus - Review and Blog Tour

Hello and welcome to my blog for my stop on the tour for You'll Be the Death of Me! If you haven't been to my blog before, please do have a click around as I've reviewed all of Karen's previous books and plenty of other YA novels. It is a pleasure to welcome you! 

Where did I get it? I was given an electronic copy of the book in exchange for this review. I was not otherwise compensated and all thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you very much to Penguin for having me! 

What's it about? Cal, Ivy, and Mateo are all seventeen and are high school seniors in a suburb of Boston, MA. They used to be friends in 8th grade, after a school trip where they snuck out together and had The Greatest Day Ever, but things happened and they haven't spoken since. But each of them has things going on in their lives. One day, they all meet in the school parking lot and decide to skip school and head into Boston. 

This is what's going on for each of them:

Cal has split up with his girlfriend Noemi and has started 'seeing' someone else. It turns out this person has been grooming him and he is rightly unsettled about it. Noemi says he's like a shell of a person, and Cal certainly feels it. He's been pulling away from all his friends and even from his dads. I don't want to spoil the storyline but I loved how it all unravelled for Carl. 

Ivy lives with her parents, who are high achievers (her mum is due to receive an award on the night of the day that Ivy decides to skip school) and so is her brother Daniel. In fact Daniel skipped a grade so he's a senior like she is. Ever since this happened Ivy has felt 'less than', there's no love lost between her and Daniel and she is constantly striving to keep up with him. Ivy had been in the running for class president, but she lost to Brian 'Boney' Mahoney, who was running as a joke, and she's annoyed about it. She feels a bit lost and lonely. 

Then there's Mateo. He lives with his single mum and his cousin, Autumn, who lost her parents in a car crash when she was eleven and has lived with Mateo and his mum ever since. Ma used to own a bowling alley, but after an accident there and with her own health declining, money is tight in the house. Mateo is working three jobs and Autumn is too, including doing something that becomes pertinent to the plot. Ivy and Mateo also kind of had a thing when they were thirteen, but something happened and they haven't spoken since. 

So yes, the three of them decide to skip school and head into the city. Each chapter is told from one of their points of view, taking it in turns, which I really liked because I got to know each character well. I liked them equally, and for different reasons. They are heading towards a cafe when they see Boney Mahoney heading towards a squat that is used as an art studio. Boney, as winner of the election, is supposed to be giving a speech at school at right that minute. Ivy is furious - thinking that he has skived off and that this shows how little he cares about being class president - so she follows him into the building. However, when she gets there, she finds Boney dead, with a syringe at his side. The boys realise that she makes a pretty good suspect for killing him actually, so when they hear sirens they leave very quickly. 

The day disintegrates as Ivy does find herself public enemy, as Cal discovers truths about the person who has been grooming him, and as Mateo finds himself under suspicion and increasingly worried for Autumn. All the action is contained to one day which adds to the tension of the book. I really enjoyed it, I liked how good and bad things happened and how many things got sorted out 

What age range is it for? Fifteen plus 

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? No I don't think so 

Are any main characters people of colour? Yes, Mateo's mum is Hispanic 

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? Mateo's mum, I'm going to say she counts. And I loved the way that her ill health and the cost of her medication had such an effect on Mateo and Autumn - this is reality for so many children and teenagers and I thought it was very well put across. 

Is there any sex stuff? No, but trigger warning for the grooming obviously 

Are drugs mentioned or used? Yes. I won't give away the plot but it's illegal drugs. There's not much talk about effects of the drug, but be careful 

Is there any talk of death? Yes, obviously as Boney gets murdered. It isn't too graphic but be careful. 

Are there swear words? A few, they're well used within the plot though. 

 

What criticisms do I have? Almost none, I loved the book as I've loved everything else by the author! 

Would I recommend the book? Yes completely. 

 

What do I think of the cover? I like how it fits with Karen's other books. They would look gorgeous in a whole collection on your bookshelf! 

How many stars? Four out of five!

 

Karen M. McManus is the #1 New York Times and international bestselling author of young adult thriller/mystery novels, including One of Us Is Lying, One of Us Is Next, Two Can Keep a Secret, and The Cousins. You'll Be the Death of Me will be her next novel, publishing December 2021. Her work has been translated into more than 40 languages worldwide. Karen lives in Massachusetts and holds a master's degree in Journalism from Northeastern University, which she mostly uses to draft fake news stories for her novels. For more information, visit www.karenmcmanus.com or @writerkmc on Twitter and Instagram.

One of Us Is Next by Karen M McManus - Review

Where did I get it? I bought it a few weeks ago as I didn't have it and wanted to read the sequel to Karen's first book. 

What's it about? It's a sequel to One of Us Is Lying, but not starring the same characters. They have moved on - Bronwyn is at Yale, Cooper is playing baseball at college, Nate is working for a construction company in Bayview, and Addy is preparing for her sister's wedding to lawyer Eli. Instead, we're concentrating on Maeve, Phoebe, and Knox, eighteen months after Simon's death in the first book. 

Maeve is Bronwyn's younger sister, and she has previously had leukaemia which she has survived twice. She misses Bronwyn and although she and Knox went out for a while, they're better off as friends. She has a crush on Luis, who works in the cafe she goes to a lot. (Luis is from the first book, he is Cooper's BFF). 

Knox lives with his parents - his lawyer mom and his dad, who owns the construction company Nate works for. He feels like a disappointment to his dad. He has four older sisters, all of whom's names start with K - he jokes they're like the Kardashians. He feels like a bit of a nerdy loser, and I really liked him. Bless him.

Then Phoebe, she was mentioned in the first book as the family lost their dad and had to move to a smaller apartment. She and her sister Emma are barely speaking, even though they have to share a room. She's worried about her mum, too. She works at the cafe that Maeve frequents and while they're not excactly friends, they're not enemies.

Anyway, then it seems like the spectre of Simon is raised again. Every student in school gets a message from an Unknown number, saying there'll be a new game, a game of Truth and Dare. Phoebe gets the first message, telling her to choose, but she ignores it. Then Unknown tells everyone that Phoebe slept with her sister's ex boyfriend, Derek, right after he split up with Emma.

Phoebe is of course devastated. Her relationship with Emma seems broken beyond repair. She gets bullied a bit at school. When the next message comes, chief jock Sean takes the dare, which is obviously the sensible option. Next to be targeted is Maeve, but she's got other things on her mind.

The book, like the first one, has a lot of high stakes, a lot of intrigue and mystery, and a lot of kids sorting stuff out for themselves. I, as an adult, desperately wanted them to get adults involved, but their reasons for not doing so were REALLY good, and totally in character and in keeping with the book, which I appreciated. I was totally captivated by the story and the three main characters, all of whom I really liked. 

This feels to me like a middle book of a trilogy, and I really hope I'm right, because I would love to be back in Bayview with some of the same characters. I loved it, I read the last third in a couple of hours one afternoon on my sofa because I was so desperate to see how it ended. 

What age range is it for? 14+ 

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? No. There is a little bit of mention of Cooper being an out gay baseball player, which I liked. 

Are any main characters people of colour? Maeve's dad is Colombian, and Luis family is Argentinian - there's not much around race but there's some nice bits in the cafe around food, which I liked. 

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? No. 

Is there any sex stuff? A little, it's a bit graphic but not too bad. 

Are drugs mentioned or used? No I don't think so. 

Is there any talk of death? Yes and it's a bit graphic. I thought it was really well done, actually, I got nervous alongside it. There's some description of injury too, which is a bit graphic. 

Are there swear words? Only a couple, and well used. (Once by Nate! Who I love!) 

What criticisms do I have? Almost none. The only thing I found weird was the time slides sometimes. At the beginning of the book we learn that a student has died, and then we go back in time to learn who that was, and then part two goes from the death. It was fine but it confused me a couple of times. 

Would I recommend the book? Yes, a hundred percent. I find the author such a good author, I would read anything by her. 

Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? I've just been meaning to, and as I didn't gel with the book I read previously I wanted something to really get my teeth into, and this was perfect. 

What do I think of the cover? It's like the others, so it fits the branding! 

What other books is it like? I think a comparison to A Good Girl's Guide to Murder is an apt one. I really feel like in both books there are real high stakes. 

How many stars? Five out of five. 

Where is the book going now? Oh I'm keeping it!

Two Can Keep A Secret by Karen M McManus - Review

Where did I get it? I got it recently. But I can't remember where! Did someone buy it for me? I'm not sure. But it's been by the side of my bed for ages and I've been meaning to read it because I liked One Of Us Is Lying so much. This isn't a sequel to that book, it's a total standalone. The sequel is called One Of Us Is Next. It confused me and I'm not the only one. But yes, this is a standalone. 

What's it about? At the beginning of the books twins Ellery and Ezra are leaving their home in California to live with their Nana in Echo Ridge, New York, which is right up near the Canadian border. Their mother, Sadie, who is somewhat of a failed actress, has had to go into rehab after she crashed a car into a shop while high on prescription drugs. The twins aren't close to their Nana, but have nowhere else to go. 

Echo Ridge has a lot of history - in 1996, Sadie's twin Sarah went missing on her way home from the library and was never found. This had a massive impact onf Sadie's life, obviously, and is part of the reason she left the town. Five years ago, in 2013 ish, a girl called Lacey was killed. She was found strangled in the local theme park, Murderland. Her boyfriend, Declan, was heavily suspected to be involved, but nothing could ever be proven. He eventually left the town, and his mum and brother still live with the effects of what happened to Declan and the family. 

The book is told from two points of view - Ellery, and Malcolm, who is Declan's brother. As Ellery and Ezra arrive, a science teacher is found dead, the victim of a hit and run. Then, at a fundraiser in Lacey's name, some graffiti is found, hinting that there will be more murders. That's where Ellery and Malcolm meet. 

At school, the twin become friendly with Malcolm and his friend Mia, whose sister Daisy is back in town after years away. Declan is around too, meaning lots of people are under suspicion as graffiti and other vandalism is ramped up. 

Malcolm's mum is now married to Peter Nilsson, a big shot in the town, and Malcolm has a stepsister, Katrin, who is a shoe in for homecoming queen at the beginning of October. Ellery and Ezra get jobs at Murderland, now renamed Fright Farm. Ellery is obsessed with true crime and wants to get to the bottom of what happened to Sarah, who her mum and Nana barely talk about, as well as what happened to Lacey. 

There's loads of red herrings in the book, some of which I caught and some of which I didn't. There were a couple that I felt required further explanation (like some of Sadie's dodgy behaviour, but maybe that's just who she is as a person) but there were no unravelled knots by the end of the book which I appreciate. I really enjoyed the book. I LOVED both Ellery and Malcolm and their friendship as it developed. I thought the ending was slightly rushed, and would have liked a little bit more explanation at the end, but I wasn't unhappy with it. Karen M McManus is a very skilled writer, and I'm really happy she's using her skills in YA as I think it showcases it really well. Her crime narratives are believable, but her books have so much heart. 

What age range is it for? 14+ 

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? Yeah, but it's not often mentioned - I would have liked slightly more on this, if I'm honest. 

Are any main characters people of colour? Mia is Korean, and it is mentioned a couple of times that her family is one of the only minorities in town. 

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? Not really. 

Is there any sex stuff? No 

Are drugs mentioned or used? Yes, there's mention of Sadie's addiction to prescription painkillers. It's not graphic, and it's well done. 

Is there any talk of death? Yes, but it's not graphic. 

Are there swear words? Yes! I actually loved this. Quite often Declan is the one swearing, which gives insight into his characters. 

What criticisms do I have? Apart from my brief criticisms above, I would have liked a bit more of Ezra in it. I liked him and I would have liked to get to know him better. I would read a whole book about him, honestly 

Would I recommend the book? Yes one hundred percent. 

Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? Because I've been meaning to. 

What do I think of the cover? It's cute, it does look like One Of Us Is Lying which may lead to confusion over whether it's a sequel or not, but I guess I get it from a marketing point of view. 

What other books is it like? One Of Us Is Lying. 

How many stars? Four out of five. 

Where is the book going now? Oh I'll definitely keep this!

One of Us Is Lying by Karen M McManus - Review

Where did I get it? Amazon, I bought it. 

What's it about? Let me tell you this is one of the best YA books I've read in ages, I absolutely loved it. 

It's set near San Diego in California and is a contemporary YA novel. In it, five teenagers end up with detention with a teacher, Mr Avery. They're a bit of a motley crew - there's Bronwyn, Cooper, Addy, Simon and Nate. The five of them have their phones confiscated and are supposed to start an essay, but then a car accident outside distracts them. Simon, who is the owner of a gossip app about the school, drinks some water, and ends up writhing on the floor having suffered an allergic reaction. No EpiPen can be found, and despite paramedics' best efforts, Simon dies from the reaction.

It turns out his cup of water was laced with peanut oil, so police start looking for a murderer. It then further transpires that he was about to publish posts about Bronwyn, Cooper, Addy, and Nate, and that each one of them had a reason to want him dead. The four of them are suddenly in the spotlight and somehow unlikely friends - but one of them is lying. 

I guessed some of the twists and turns in the book, but that only added to my enjoyment of it. I thought it was a really fantastic book told from four points of view. 

Bronwyn is a super high achiever who wants to go to Yale. She lives with her parents and her sister Maeve, who I also loved. Cooper is a star baseball player who is getting attention from scouts. He can't let down his father, who is really into him being a major league player. He has a girlfriend, Keely, but he also has a secret he really doesn't want anyone to find out. 

Addy is a popular girl with a popular boyfriend, Jake. Everything looks perfect in her life, but her mum is a bit of a mess and her sister has moved out. Plus Jake dictates everything about Addy's life, like the clothes she wears and the parties they go to. Addy's secret is that she slept with a friend of Jake's over the summer, and feels really bad about it. 

Nate is the school misfit. He's on probation for selling drugs, although he's still doing it. He lives with his alcoholic father and his mum isn't around anymore. He and Bronwyn end up getting close, which I absolutely loved - he is a perfect brooding YA hero and I loved him. I think my favourite bits were Nate's bits, followed by Bronwyn's. 

Then there's Simon. Simon has tried hard for years to fit into the popular cliques at school, but has never quite managed it. He has this gossip app that doesn't spell people's names out specifically, but gives their initials. And the thing is, the gossip on there is never wrong. Each of the four of the suspects want to keep their secrets safe, and Simon has come up against each of them before. It's a real whodunnit!

What age range is it for? 14+ 

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? Yeah, no spoilers though. I did see some criticism that there was some internalised homophobia here, and I don't quite agree. I think the person concerned is worried about how their family will react, which is totally a valid thing to worry about. 

Are any main characters people of colour? Bronwyn's family is Colombian, but it's not a main part of the story. 

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? No I don't think so. 

Is there any sex stuff? Yes, it's not graphic and people always use protection. Again, I saw criticism saying that Addy is slut shamed, and while I agree that she is, it's other people's reactions to her. It's not her internal thoughts - she realises she has the right to have sex with anyone she likes. The author doesn't slut shame her, but characters in the school do, if that makes sense. 

Are drugs mentioned or used? Yeah, as Nate is a dealer. It's not graphic, but it is there. 

Is there any talk of death? Yep, obviously. Simon's death is quite graphic for sure. 

Are there swear words? A few, not many 

What criticisms do I have? Almost none. My only one really is that there are a couple of gaps sometimes when the book skips between different narrators. Gaps in the reader's knowledge and in time. But you can fill in those gaps so it's not a big deal. 

Would I recommend the book? Absolutely. 

Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? Well, you see, I bought Karen's next book Two Can Keep A Secret, and I thought that was a sequel of this, so I thought I had better read this first. But it's not a sequel... But whatever. I'll read that one soon. 

What do I think of the cover? I prefer other covers to this one, but this was the Kindle one. 

What other books is it like? I thought it was a lot like A Good Girl's Guide to Murder. 

How many stars? Five out of five. Excellent, fun, intriguing book.