Published by: Kensington Books, June 28th 2016
Genre: YA, Mystery, Contemporary
Pages: 256
Format: Ebook
Source: Kensington Books, via Netgalley
“The mother I knew would never do those things.
But maybe I never knew her after all.”
Clothes, jokes, coded messages…Cecilia Brooks and her mom shared everything. At least, CeCe thought they did. Six months ago, her mom killed herself after accusations of having sex with a student, and CeCe’s been the subject of whispers and taunts ever since. Now, at the start of her high school senior year, between dealing with her grieving, distracted father, and the social nightmare that has become her life, CeCe just wants to fly under the radar. Instead, she’s volunteering at the school’s crisis hotline—the same place her mother worked.
As she counsels troubled strangers, CeCe’s lingering suspicions about her mom’s death surface. With the help of Sam, a new student and newspaper intern, she starts to piece together fragmented clues that point to a twisted secret at the heart of her community. Soon, finding the truth isn’t just a matter of restoring her mother’s reputation, it’s about saving lives—including CeCe’s own…
“The mother I knew would never do those things.
But maybe I never knew her after all.”
Clothes, jokes, coded messages…Cecilia Brooks and her mom shared everything. At least, CeCe thought they did. Six months ago, her mom killed herself after accusations of having sex with a student, and CeCe’s been the subject of whispers and taunts ever since. Now, at the start of her high school senior year, between dealing with her grieving, distracted father, and the social nightmare that has become her life, CeCe just wants to fly under the radar. Instead, she’s volunteering at the school’s crisis hotline—the same place her mother worked.
As she counsels troubled strangers, CeCe’s lingering suspicions about her mom’s death surface. With the help of Sam, a new student and newspaper intern, she starts to piece together fragmented clues that point to a twisted secret at the heart of her community. Soon, finding the truth isn’t just a matter of restoring her mother’s reputation, it’s about saving lives—including CeCe’s own…
Wow this book seems way longer than 250 pages. Partly because by the midway point I got SO CONFUSED by the amount of victims (were there just two? or four? Is Lil from 20 years ago, or recent?) and suspects, but partly because it's kinda slow. I wasn't interested in the romance with Sam, who screamed dodgy from the beginning in every kind of way (but turned out to not be?) and the actual killer seemed pretty nice. I liked him. I guess that was the point - master manipulator and all that, but by the end with the big reveal it seemed so ... unlikely. Too unlikely. The explanation of his motive was just weird and not believable. I don't GET IT. But hey, people do murdery things for any reason.
I'm just disappointed, I guess. I really liked this in the beginning, and there's still a lot about it I do like, but it's overshadowed by confusion about the victims, the murder, the sexual predator-ness, and EVERYTHING. I still don't know why the MC's mum's hair was all cut off, and how the crime in the past led to all this. But it's a different mystery, and it's unique in its story.
I'm just disappointed, I guess. I really liked this in the beginning, and there's still a lot about it I do like, but it's overshadowed by confusion about the victims, the murder, the sexual predator-ness, and EVERYTHING. I still don't know why the MC's mum's hair was all cut off, and how the crime in the past led to all this. But it's a different mystery, and it's unique in its story.
Characters ★★★☆☆
Setting/world ★★★☆☆
Writing ★★★☆☆
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