All the Best Liars

by Amelia Kahaney

A dark, modern psychological thriller and coming-of-age about obsession, manipulation, and the intensity of those first friendships that take hold of you and never let go

Tic tac toe, three girls in a row. Nine years old and inseparable. Friends for life, or so they think . . .

Best friends Syd, Rain, and Brie grew up on the wrong side of the tracks in the stifling California desert, desperately wishing for a way out.

In the end, each of them will escape—but not in the way they expect. One will do it by dying, another by lying, a third by taking the fall. A deadly fire is set two weeks before the end of their senior year of high school and nothing will ever be the same.

With gorgeous, taut prose and twists to the very last page, All the Best Liars switches between the present and the past to unravel the truth behind the fire and the cost of the secrets at heart of their friendship.

Genres: Mystery, Young Adult, Thriller, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Contemporary, Coming Of Age

336 pages, Hardcover

First published April 5, 2022

About the author

Amelia Kahaney is the author of All the Best Liars and The Brokenhearted series. Her short fiction has appeared in Best American Nonrequired Reading, One Story, and Crazyhorse, among other publications. She teaches writing in New York City, where she lives with her husband and son.

Reviews

[Chelsea Humphrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know how this keeps happening to me, but I have read three books in a row now with endings that are left open or ambiguous, and I think that might be what nailed the coffin closed for me on this one. If you're a big fan of slow burning, atmospheric, YA mysteries, definitely give it a try for yourself.

*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy.

[Elisha Jachetti · Rating 5 out of 5]

ALL THE BEST LIARS by Amelia Kahaney is a blaze of a novel that starts off as a slow burn before engulfing you all at once. The book explores the shifting dynamics between three childhood friends, Syd, Rain, and Brie, who, as kids, lived right outside Palm Springs in a rundown area and were always looking for a way out. Brie was the first to go. Her dad got successful in business, and when she left, she was all too fine with leaving Syd and Rain behind too. When the book kicks off, Syd, and Rain especially, hate Brie— that is until Rain’s mom hits the lottery and Rain suddenly finds herself in a completely different world. Brie and Rain start to get close again, bonded by similar circumstances, while Syd is reeling. She doesn’t want to wind up alone, and conveniently, Brie winds up dead.

This novel is expertly written. The characters, setting, and plot are all a masterclass in how to effectively tell a story. My favorite part is the structure and how we hop around in time, switching perspectives. It ramps up the tension and suspense, while also allowing us to understand what each girl is thinking about and to relate to her on some level, even if we don’t agree with her actions. While the circumstances of this novel are heightened, the author does a great job at capturing the essence of female friendships at such a tricky time. They can be supportive and nurturing, while also being possessive and fraught. Similarly, Kahaney also portrays the pressure of needing to change your circumstances in a way that feels visceral. It tapped into my muscle memory and made me ache the entire novel. There are, of course, a lot of other novels similar to this, but with the genre-blending and her surprising twists, this book stands out from the rest.

One of my favorite storylines is what happens between Chase and Syd. It’s so real. All the dialogue feels exactly how it’d actually happen, and the way his and Syd’s relationship unfolds is so sweet and heartbreaking. I got butterflies during their scenes. That being said, I’m glad that it’s a subplot and doesn’t distract from the main storyline, but instead enhances it. I also love Spider and his role in the story. The small details about everything he does are so authentic that I could easily picture him in action. Syd’s mom is the only character who’s a bit underdeveloped. Aside from her, the world of this novel is so fully realized, you could practically step right into it.

Overall, ALL THE BEST LIARS is a heart-wrenching book that reminds us the world isn’t fair, some problems are of our own doing, and other times we just have to play the cards we’ve been dealt. It combines a similar structure of GENUINE FRAUD by e. lockhart with the twisted friendships of PRETTY LITTLE LIARS. Whodunit fans won’t be disappointed.

Review originally published on YA Books Central: https://www.yabookscentral.com/all-th...

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this from a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review.
Brie, Rain and Syd were best friends as young girls living in the same run down neighborhood in the Palm Springs area. But when Brie moves to a more prestigious neighborhood their friendship dissolves. Brie has reinvented herself and is now the Queen Bee mean girl, Rain and Syd long forgotten.
It's senior year and the girls are looking forward to graduating when a fire that destroys Brie's house leaves one of the girls dead.
Told through alternating voices of Brie, Rain and Syd the circumstances leading up to fire are revealed. Each girl faces the heartache, drama and pitfalls of navigating high school life.
A tense, twisty story of jealousy, obsession, friendship and first love.
Perfect for fans of Pretty Little Liars.

[Cristina Lazăr · Rating 5 out of 5]

https://carti.blog/2025/07/25/cine-mo...

[Ashley Strother · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow… That’s all I could say towards the end when I’d figured out what was happening. All this build up, all the twists, all the switches… Even when I knew, I couldn’t believe it. That’s how you know the story is good. I couldn’t put it down, didn’t want to put it down, I had to keep going.
The beginning was a little slow even when you sort of knew already what it would come to, but even having that little bit of knowledge, it wasn’t really anything once you got in to it. Sure you know someone’s dead, but to see it all come together in the end, you didn’t REALLY know.
My only complaint is that I’m a person who craves the “after”. I want to know what happens, want to see it all come full circle, and unfortunately I don’t get that at the end, but it’s so darn good I can’t even be mad about it!
This book deserves to be read, it deserves to be known. It deserves to be shared. I was lucky enough to receive this as an ARC book and I’m so grateful to be one of the first people to experience this book, experience the greatness that will follow it.
And even at just over 300 pages, it’s not a quick read, but it’s so good it becomes a quick read because you just can’t put it down. I’m excited to see this book take off because I know it will!

[ᒪᗴᗩᕼ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐

Ɱ◎◎ĐႽ…
➨ YA Psychological Thriller ➨ Highschool drama and classism ➨ Twisty ➨ Coming of Age ➨ Badly behaving teens

A story of three best friends who fell apart when money, and living in the “right neighborhood” came between them. The main characters are a trio of refreshing teenage girls who actually didn’t irritate me in some way. This is weird because YA characters have done that to me of late. I’m not saying that they were all perfect because that wouldn’t make much of a story if they were, only that their personalities/actions felt genuine. Overall, this surprised me with how much I was into it.

◾Narrated by: 🎙️Karissa Vacker 📣 She is always consistently good and possibly even a favorite. I’m sure that the narration was part of the reason I liked it as much as I did.


Total Score 7.50/10 | Opening-7 | Characters-8 | Plot-8 | Atmosphere-8 | Writing Style-7.5 | Ending-6.5 | Overall Enjoyment- 7.5

[hannah! · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

oh my golly gosh that was amazing
the music was also awesome <3

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Flatiron Books for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

You are able to purchase this anywhere you purchase books NOW!

This book was ... alright. I will be honest, I am not one who reads much YA if any. But this was OK.

It had very simple writing and was interesting, but not something I think is amazing per se. The beginning and end were both very good but the middle was not.

I liked the suspense throughout the book but the middle just felt unnecessary. There was literally nothing happening. Now if this was a literary fiction novel MAYBE I'd understand. But it's not. It's a mystery, and none of the mystery happened in the middle.

But, I will say I usually expect low from YA's but this one was not bad.

The twist was good, kind of messed up but really good. Something that always gets me off guard in YA's is the fact that it's like really twisted and profane, which makes us wonder what the audience is.

As a Gen Z human being myself, some parts of this were very cringey. Kahaney really tried to put in some references to Juice Wrld, Lorde, and others that are maybe for "young people." However I will say I was that angsty teen who listened to Pure Heroine in 2013 like everyone else but still...it's cringey.

Anyways, regardless of the cringe, this wasn't a TERRIBLE book. But I don't think YA is really for me.

This book is for fans of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder and We Were Liars

all in all: eh, kinda mid but not bad

[Mădălina Udrescu · Rating 3 out of 5]

„Lucrurile pe care toate trei și le vor aminti cel mai mult din timpul petrecut împreună pe dealurile uitate de lume din Termico, în California, sunt strălucirea și arșița și sentimentul de a rămâne prizoniere acolo, captive sub un dom invizibil de sticlă. Pentru că deșertul este un loc unde înveți să aștepți, sechestrat și încins, agitându-te inutil până când îți pierzi tot entuziasmul. Este un loc unde ar trebui să te retragi, un climat pentru cei care și-au trăit deja viața, care au visat mult înainte să se resemneze. Orice tânăr — orice om cu minte — va vrea să plece.”

Au fost odată ca niciodată trei prietene – cele mai bune prietene – care visau să părăsească pentru totdeauna orașul natal și să-și făurească un cu totul alt destin, departe de familiile disfuncționale și arșița ucigătoare a deșertului californian. Brie, Rain și Syd au fost ca trei surori, nedespărțite, mereu gata să cerceteze necunoscutul și să pornească într-o aventură fascinantă, sperând în fiecare clipă că într-o bună zi vor vedea cu proprii ochi cât de verde e iarba de dincolo de granița orașului Termico. Nădăjduiau că, dacă vor reuși să scape din colivia în care au crescut, perspectivele și  posibilitățile uluitoare ce se vor ivi la orizont le vor ajuta să înflorească împreună și să se bucure de un viitor tihnit și plin de divertisment. Însă viața e la fel de imprevizibilă ca furtunile de nisip. Anii au trecut în zbor, iar camaraderia lor s-a spulberat în vânt, fiecare fată urmându-și propria cale. Brie și-a câștigat un loc printre elevele populare, banii, hainele de firmă și energia inepuizabilă transformând-o în sufletul petrecerilor; Rain și mama ei au câștigat o sumă uriașă la loterie, ajungând cea mai bogată familie din regiune; iar Syd a rămas aceeași fată silitoare, simplă și modestă, care muncește zi și noapte ca să poată pleca la facultate. Dar invidia și ranchiuna sunt un izvor nesecat de răutate și agresivitate îndreptate împotriva celor care nu se potrivesc șabloanelor impuse. Doar știți vorba aia: cine se aseamănă se adună, cu precizarea că, uneori, lucrurile capătă o turnură nefastă pentru toți cei implicați direct sau indirect.

În prezent, o întâmplare tragică tulbură liniștea cetățenilor din Termico – casa familiei Walsh a luat foc în toiul nopții și se pare că Brie a fost prinsă înăuntru. Sărmana fată n-a avut nicio șansă în fața flăcărilor devastatoare ce au transformat totul în cenușă. Se crede că a fost un accident, însă violența incendiului le dă de gândit autorităților. Cine i-ar fi putut face rău fetei de zahăr, iubită și admirată de întreaga comunitate? Firește, dacă luăm în calcul ipoteza conform căreia focul a fost pus cu bună știință, atunci trebuie să aruncăm o privire asupra anturajului tinerei. Brie nu era tocmai un îngeraș, fiindcă, adesea, în casa ei erau organizate petreceri demențiale, udate din belșug cu alcool, presărate cu o gamă variată de droguri și condimentate cu scene lascive, înnebunitoare pentru niște adolescenți în călduri. Hotărâtă întotdeauna ca lucrurile să iasă așa cum își dorește, Brianna se reîmprietenește cu Rain, pe care o învață cum să-și trăiască viața de bogătașă, îndepărtând-o pe aceasta de Syd. Fiind mereu a doua în ierarhia fostului lor grup, Rain găsește în tovărășia lui Brie adrenalina de care are nevoie, începând să o imite în felul cum se îmbracă sau cum vorbește. Însă cele două sunt mult mai asemănătoare, ambele confruntându-se cu situații familiale foarte complicate. Din toată treaba asta, Syd a ieșit cea mai șifonată, fiind din nou aruncată în anonimat, pierzându-și cea mai bună prietenă, dar și pe băiatul de care era îndrăgostită și pe care aceeași Brie i l-a suflat de sub nas. Prin urmare, fata avea toate motivele să-și dorească să scape de aroganta și hoața de Brie. Dar chiar așa de simplu să fie totul? Suspect e și faptul că Rain nu e de găsit, după toate semnele părând că a fugit din oraș în aceeași noapte în care a ars casa familiei Walsh. Niciuna nu are vreun alibi valabil, iar poliția e hotărâtă să afle ce s-a întâmplat cu adevărat.

Acțiunea romanului „Cine moare, cine minte” e structurată pe două planuri, prezent, în care suntem martorii morții Briannei și anchetei ce a urmat, și trecut, când sunt derulate evenimentele dinaintea incendiului, acest plan fiind cel mai important. Cu toate că cele trei fete iau pe rând cuvântul, expunând câte o frântură din evenimentele ce au culminat cu moartea Briannei pentru a completa imaginea de ansamblu, Syd rămâne vocea principală. Însă rolul său de protagonistă e eclipsat de Brie, care atrage toate personajele în jurul ei ca un magnet, fiind atât catalizatorul, cât și elementul destabilizator ce sădește discordia în paradis. De fapt, fetele sunt niște arhetipuri clar delimitate. Brie e fata cool, care vrea să-i aibă pe toți la degetul mic, folosindu-se de orice tertip ca să îndrepte situația în favoarea ei. Rain e fata fără o personalitate prea strălucitoare, care caută să se identifice cu cineva mai puternic, fiind dispusă să renunțe la anumite valori morale ca să aibă parte de notorietate. Iar Syd e umbra, fata care suferă în tăcere, mintea ce analizează și cântărește toate posibilitățile înainte să acționeze, ceea ce o face cu atât mai periculoasă pentru celelalte două, care acționează impulsiv. Însă, orice poziție ar adopta, toate au ceva de ascuns, secrete și minciuni care, odată dezvăluite, vor porni un adevărat război.

Amelia Kahaney scrie un thriller copleșitor, în care dorința de libertate, invidia și gelozia își împletesc firele, formând un cocktail Molotov de aparențe și minciuni ce răstoarnă lumea cu susul în jos. Ritmul destul de lent al evenimentelor și episoadele repetitive mi-au pus puțin răbdarea la încercare, însă, în ciuda faptului că povestea e puțin clișeică, finalul mi-a dinamitat orice așteptare, lăsându-mă mască. Am primit catharsisul de care aveam neapărată nevoie și, în același timp, am rămas cu niște semne de întrebare, având în vedere că epilogul lasă loc de speculații și continuări.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I rarely read YA thrillers but this got me with this 👇🏻

Best friends Syd, Rain, and Brie grew up on the wrong side of the tracks in the stifling California desert, desperately wishing for a way out.

In the end, each of them will escape—but not in the way they expect. One will do it by dying, another by lying, a third by taking the fall. A deadly fire is set two weeks before the end of their senior year of high school and nothing will ever be the same.

What specifically got me was the dying, lying and taking a fall part, SOLD! So I liked this one ok but didn’t love it, and I know I’m not the target audience here but I think even my younger self would’ve had some issues here. First it was a super slow burn, like very slow buildup and as much as I keep trying to have patience with these types of thrillers it just ends up annoying me, like get to the point already. But on the other hand I thought the writing was strong and the characters were well developed, as much as I can’t relate to a group of teenaged girls I felt like actual teenagers definitely would. There was also something mesmerizing about the atmosphere of this one as it’s set in a dry and super hot California desert town and the author had a lot to say about class and money issues. As far as plot goes this was decent for me, I did guess what would happen before but it was clever in its own right, just not very surprising for me. The ending is where it really lost me, I’m not a fan of open ended, leave things wide open things so I didn’t love that aspect. Overall this may work better for you if enjoy slow burns that you can really sink your teeth into.

[Kayla TM · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always worry, with YA novels, that they’ll fall into the same niche as all the others. Same whiny characters trapped in a love triangle. If there is a cliche about teenage representation it’s in almost every YA novel.

This, however, is not a typical YA novel. The story follows three teenage girls, who used to be close friends when they all lived in the poor part of town. But as seniors in high school, a fire breaks out at one of the girls’ houses. One girl is killed. One set the fire. And another feels guilt over what happened.

I felt the portrayal of the girls is very well done. They are interesting and flawed. More than that, they aren’t portrayed at dumb and simply missing what’s in front of them. I feel it’s rather accurate. Plus they aren’t whiny. The main conflict has nothing to do with a love triangle. It’s an interesting story from start to finish.

I do wish the ending had been a little different. Not with what happened, but how it was explained. It felt like there was a little bit more of a distance there than there should have been. I would’ve liked to feel more than I did.

A solid 4 stars. Very enjoyable.

Thanks to the publisher and goodreads for my copy of the book.

[Mariota · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este libro lo he leído como parte de un club de lectura.
Puedo decir que me ha gustado. Es cierto que la primera mitad del libro estás un poco perdida porque parece que no pasa nada... Luego ya todo mejora y te engancha, no puedes parar.
Tres amigas que tuvieron una infancia en el mismo barrio. De adolescentes, hay 2 que han prosperado y una que sigue viviendo en el mismo barrio marginal. Las 3 van al mismo instituto pero ya no son "amigas".
Este libro trata del dinero, de las clases sociales, de las apariencias, de la amistad y de la falsa amistad... Una de ellas muere en un incendio. ¿Es un incendio provocado? ¿es un accidente? El libro está contado en varios tiempos y por varias personas, quizás por eso, sea un pelón lioso...
Es un libro juvenil. A mi me ha gustado.

[Brynn | readyourworriesaway · Rating 3 out of 5]

Syd, Rain, and Brie were inseparable since they were nine years old, growing up on the wrong side of the tracks in the California desert. When a fire is set two weeks before they graduate from high school, one of them will end up dead, one will take the fall, and the other will lie.

I’m a big fan of YA thrillers, but this one fell short for me. It had a lot of potential, and while there were things I enjoyed, overall it just didn’t compare to other YA thrillers I’ve read.

What I liked
✨Alternating POVs
✨Alternating timeline
✨friend drama, deceit

Dislikes
✨Drama got repetitive
✨slow burn & pacing
✨I couldn’t connect with any of the characters
✨the ending

All the Best Liars is a slow-burn young adult thriller about three girls who were once close, and a fire that leads to nothing ever being the same.

[Jessica Adams · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you for the ARC. I wanted to love this book, but it fell flat. There was nothing "thrilling" about this psychological thriller. It followed the lives of teen girls and their friendship in the most ordinary situations. No suspense, nothing too interesting going on in their lives (except at one point one of their mothers win the lotto, but even the excitement of that fell flat). The characters were hard to connect to. It started to get better towards the last 1/4 of the book , and the ending was a twist I didn't see coming.. but getting to the end was a struggle.

[Bobbi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!! This story grabbed me right from the start. A never ending wild ride with all kinds of juicy twists and turns. I absolutely recommend this story. It’s quick, it’s thrilling, it’s 🔥. I absolutely must read more from this author.

[ToniTomato · Rating 1 out of 5]

okay well i got this book as a gift from a friend. to give this book its credit, after a century long reading slump, this was a quick and easy read
im gonna be honest though, i didnt really care about anything happening. 99% of the time i was bored, the characters didnt have any depth and the story didnt excite me. the only good moment was syds “who is this??” text. because im gonna be honest i didnt think rain was gonna be the dead one, even though it shouldve been painfully obvious and usually i would get it earlier but alas. anyway that lasted about 0.2 seconds and then i was bored again. also the whole lottery thing was so painfully unrealistic and meh..
also why did NO ONE say “hey. did u notice brie only started talking to you the SECOND you got money” .. because that was the most suspicious thing of all
all in all i think this was too unrealistic, i feel like i can believe a friendship between friends like rain and syd can be wedged apart, but not this way.. everything was too obvious and unrealistic yeah. no way no one caught on
also i feel like joan shouldve reacted more to rains death, i mean we only hear from her a few months after it but i still feel like thats too soon to be chill about it, and then shes just like. woah i have so much money !! seriously?
i dont think anyone really grieved rain enough, especially syd
also i feel awful knowing brie didnt get what was coming to her at the end. like are u kidding me

anyway if i had to describe this book in one word itd be: meh.

[Grace Burningham · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this ARC from a Goodreads Giveaway and I must say… THANK YOU!

“Tic-tac-toe, three girls in a row. Nine years old and inseparable. Friends for life, or so they think…”

Where to start? I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I’ve never read a book written specifically like this one, and although I was hesitant at first, I loved it. It started out slow, but as the story picked up, so did the pace. I thought the individual storylines of all the characters, Rain, Syd, and Brie was incredible and wonderfully written. I really felt like I was living their lives with them, and was on the edge of my seat for most of this story, wanting to know how it would end.

Also, that twist?! Totally unexpected, but maybe that’s because I’m not the best detective. I digress, I never liked Brie from the start and I was annoyed with Rain for most of the story, but I thought Amelia Kahaney wrapped up the story perfectly. I don’t think there’s a convenient way to end a story like that, and yet she did it perfectly.

100% recommend this book to anyone looking for a little mystery. I’m definitely reading more books from this author in the future.

Side note: I loved the role that family relationships played in this. Spider was such an interesting character, and I’d be interested to read more about him. I also really loved Joan.

[Rossy Montaño · Rating 3 out of 5]

De tinte juvenil, está historia se centra en tres amigas de la infancia que crecieron juntas Brea, Rain y Sidney, hasta que la primera se muda a un barrio mas acomodado distanciándose de manera inevitable por las diferencias económicas.

Más adelante por un golpe de suerte Rain podrá acceder a más dinero del que puede soñar, pero este solo será el inicio de sus problemas, puede el dinero cambiar la suerte de las personas?

El final se intuía, habían claras señas de por donde iba el asunto, así que por ese lado peca de un poco predecible pero no me ha convencido como se resuelve para una de ellas, esperaba otro giro o que cayera por sus propias mentiras, bueno creo que he dicho demasiado...

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love a book in which you can see how the characters misunderstand each other. I never knew who to trust in this book.

[Alexia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Je viens de lire ça d'une traite et je suis complètement détruite

[Lanie Hirsch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was fun and very twisty, and I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected to! I figured out the ending somewhat early on in the book, but that didn’t take away from the story at all and there were still some good twists and reveals. The characters in this were really interesting and complex. This one was a wild ride!

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

all the best liars is een slow burn (hehe 🔥) en omschrijft perfect de (giftige) dynamiek tussen tienermeiden. ik vond de omgeving, de woestijn in californië, ook goed passen bij het plot, het draagt bij aan de zinderende sfeer.

[chelle ✰ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐ This was a good book, I'm not gonna lie. It wasn't my favorite but it wasn't bad either, it really wasn't. It was just a bit... slow. It really didn't get interesting much for me until I reached about 75% of the book. I understand that the story-telling may have needed to be that way for most of the book to properly explain the ending and the finale twist, but it was still hard to pull through at times. If I hadn't started being sucked in and curious as to what happened, I would have probably taken longer to finish it. But overall, truly, it's a good book and I like the different portrayals of each of the girls. They all had their own personalities and traumas and problems to deal with. They were seventeen year old girls that acted like seventeen year old girls, so that was nicely done.

*** SPOILERs BELOW (?) ***

But oh my god, the amount of triggers this had for me as someone with a shit load of friendship trauma LOL. A few of these chapters these so damn hard to get through as I read Brie snatching Rain away and Rain just letting it all happen and Brie being so damn rude on top of it. It wasn't hard to imagine how Sydney felt, and I believe most of us girls have felt that way at least once in our adolescence. It sucks and man, it brought up some ugly feelings. But it was realistic, I guess that's the good thing about it. It was uglily relatable.

And boy, I did not see that twist coming. All throughout the book you had me joyful as frick knowing Brie would be d-word by the end of this book. What a shitty shitty person, I hated her myself. So when I pieced together that she wasn't actually the one who died... well, that hit. I actually shed some tears over Rain's death. She made some silly mistakes but that girl did not deserve what happened, she was a good person. It was sad and I truly wish the book would have ended with this psychotic "weirdo" having been found and arrested and locked away forever. But ah, we don't always get what we want. It's okay. It was a rollercoaster of a read and that was nice.

*******

Would recommend to anyone to anyone that doesn't mind slow burns kind of books until you figure out the ending. Good twist, too. I didn't see it coming that easily.

Also: CHASE<3

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

took me a while to get into this book but oh my god, i did not see that ending coming.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I originally read this because a professional review warned that it had heavy drug use. Drugs are used but I wouldn't call it HEAVY. Drugs tie into the plot line but it is not the main theme. Alcohol infused underage ragers are hardly exclusive to alcohol during the opioid epidemic. Teens take pills and use drugs as well. Most of the people that use drugs in this book also do bad things, so the messaging is clear. What this boils down to is this is fine for a public library teen collection. High school? Depends on your school but there is no actual sexual intercourse in this (talk of it, yes...actual sex, no).

Anyways, I really liked how much of a pageturner this one was. I did not guess the ending right away but had a few iterations of what I thought was going to happen. It was a fun YA mystery/realistic fiction read. Rain is my favorite character for sure but I can totally relate to Sydney too.

[Raegan · Rating 3 out of 5]

-Disclaimer: I won this book for free through Goodreads giveaways & NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.-

Who you are friends with is who you become.

What begins as drama between girls turns out to be much more than anyone bargained for. It's always interesting how vastly different people grow up to be. You never quite know how the characters would react to the circumstances they were thrown into.

This was partially intriguing. It was a slow burn (I am not into slow burn novels). There was a ton of building that all led up to the last hour and a half. Everything happened all at once. The writing and pacing were the only things I think needed extra work.

I also enjoyed the narrator for the audiobook! I could see this being a TV series. Not bad.

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actual rating 2.5. This started off intriguing, but the characters ruined it for me. They were too toxic whether they were alone or together. Sydney was more tolerable than Rain and Brie, so I liked her character the best; I definitely could connect to her. As for the good, I didn't see the twist towards the end which was nice. Thank you NetGalley for an ARC.

[Shawna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. A little too YA for my liking, and saw that ending coming a mile away.

[Amelia Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was so messed up

[Efímera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Queeeeee?! No puede ser que el final sea ese, necesito respuestas, necesito venganza!

Estoy en shock, no me esperaba un cierre de ese tipo para todo lo que pasó, después de todo lo que pasó.