Author: Jennifer Mathieu
Release date: June 3, 2014
Published by: Roaring Brook Press/MacMillan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book really surprised me.
I expected to hear from Alice Franklin right away in this story. I mean, she is the girl who has rumors flying. She apparently slept with two guys in one night at a party and then caused the death of one of the guys a few weeks later!
But Mathieu cleverly formatted her novel so that I, the reader, was involved in the gossip circle. I had to hear about what happened through Elaine, the popular girl who hosted the party, Josh, the dead guy’s best friend, Kelsie, Alice’s ex-best friend, and Kurt, the shy outcast. I had to decide who I believed and apply my own judgement and values to all the things I heard about Alice at the start of the story through these various people. At first, I was like “Wait. What? I don’t get to hear from Alice? This is weird.” Then I realized this formatting emotionally connected me to everything that was going on and really vested me in the outcome of Alice’s story.
You will not be disappointed if you pick up this book. It was sad and uplifting all at the same time, and for a shorter read it packs quite a few punches. When I finished it, I was reminded of the power one person has to impact the lives of others in both positive and negative ways.
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