Hello everyone! Welcome, welcome. I am so glad you are here!

It’s been a long time coming, this review. When I got rejected for the ARC on Netgalley I was so sad because I love YA thriller/mysteries. It’s one of my favorite genres and can always get me out of a slump. Imagine my surprise when it showed up at my door! I was so excited! I can’t thank Bloomsbury enough for sending it to me. I have been a long time fan of Bloomsbury and can’t even count the amount of Bloomsbury books I own and continue to buy. But without further ado, let’s get into the review!

Thank you to Bloomsbury YA for sending me an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. 

HOLY CRAP. This was so good! I couldn’t put it down. It’d been quite some time since I’d read a YA thriller and I was begging for a good one. Not only is this good, it’s one of the best I’ve ever read. It very well could be the best. I loved the group dynamic, the idea of grades and success being a motivator. It was like a combo of some of my all time favorite thrillers, Pretty Little Liars and One of Us is Lying! It was so dog gone good. I could not get enough of this. 

Let me tell you, Nancy is one of my favorite YA protagonists to date. She’s messy, brilliant, determined, but she’s not afraid to be vulnerable if she needs to be. She’s loving and learning. I loved the underlying growth arc throughout the whole book. I loved that she wasn’t afraid to go after what she wanted, but learned what she deserved. Her relationship with Alexander was so precious and made my heart swell. 

Zhao did such a fantastic job weaving the plot within the romance, friendship and parental dynamics. I appreciated that Zhao was straightforward with tough subjects, but still gave a warning in the beginning of the book for triggering topics. I thought they were handled with care, but still in such a realistic fashion. As a former “gifted kid” who was always striving for more academically and wanting to succeed, I can relate to the pressure each of them felt and wanting to just give back to their parents by giving them success from you. Zhao crafted a masterpiece that will stick with you long after you’ve finished the book and be begging her the way I have been for the sequel. I’m ready to go back to school now!

I can easily say this will be in my top books of the year. I haven’t wanted to continue reading a book if I was forced to put it down like this in a while! I am so excited to have it and will be twiddling my thumbs until I can get the sequel! This book released yesterday and I am urging you to go pick it up! You won’t regret it!

What’s your favorite mystery/thriller? Let me know in the comments! Until next time…

Safe Flight and Happy Reading Nights!

XO

B