Another one Tiktok made me read. Heard some very mixed reviews but I was pleasantly surprised.
Synopsis: Five seemingly random students end up in detention, suspiciously. But only four students walk out, because Simon, the outcast, dies. The police arrive and determine that the death wasn't an accident and the four remaining students are immediate suspects. At school, to make matters worse, an anonymous website Simon used to run continues to post juicy secrets threatening these four characters' futures and relationships. Pretty Little Liars meets The Breakfast Club.
Plot: I love a good whodunnit and the whole time reading I was questioning everything. I think McManus did a good job at not being obvious about the ending and most of the twists were very surprising and well-thought-out. All of the chapters end on a cliffhanger making it impossible to put down. My only complaint is that it felt a little "too YA" at times but I'm not the target audience so that is fine and didn't hinder my experience or enjoyment too greatly. The ending was a little bit odd and moved away from the main plot slightly but I still enjoyed the twists and many moving parts that this story had along the way. A little darker than I was expecting but a really good time.
Characters: I think this was definitely more of a plot-oriented book because some of the characters seemed to only exist to move the plot along. However, the main four still had a lot of intrigue about them and I enjoyed reading from each perspective since the story is told in multiple POVs. Each character is very mysterious and felt especially real since none of them are perfect and all had made mistakes along the way, which also left you guessing even more at the killer.
Already read the sequel. Really enjoyed these.
4/5 stars.
TW: Self-harm, school shootings, suicide.
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