Dead End Girls

by Wendy Heard

In one week, Maude will be dead. At least, that’s what she wants everyone to think. After years of research, Maude has decided to fake her own death. She’s figured out the how, the when, the where, and who will help her unsuspectingly.

The why is complex: revenge, partly. Her terrible parents deserve this. But there’s also l’appel du vide, the call of the void, that beckons her toward a new life where she will be tied to no one, free and adrift. Then Frankie, a step-cousin she barely knows, figures out what she’s plotting, and the plan seems like it’s ruined. Except Frankie doesn’t want to rat her out. Frankie wants in. The girls vault into the unknown, risking everything for a new and limitless life. But there are some things you can never run away from. What if the poison is not in the soil, but in the roots?

This pulse-pounding thriller offers a nuanced exploration of identity, freedom, and falling in love while your world falls apart.

Genres: Thriller, Young Adult, Mystery, Lesbian, LGBT, Mystery Thriller, Queer

336 pages, Hardcover

First published May 10, 2022

About the author

Wendy Heard is the author of books for adults and teens, including You Can Trust Me and She's Too Pretty To Burn. Wendy lives in Los Angeles, her hometown, and she enjoys haunting local bookstores and spending time with her little rescue dogs. You can hear more from Wendy through her newsletter at www.wendyheard.com.

Reviews

[Claude's Bookzone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hi Disbelief
Hey Claude, how are you going?
I'm okay. You, however, have a problem coming your way.
Oh no! What's happening?
You're being suspended
Not again!

Seriously, the plot is so preposterous at points it's crazy. I found Maude to be quite unlikeable but I really enjoyed Frankie's character and their story arc. The Rainbow representation is really good with the characters on journeys to be comfortable with their identities and who they fall in love with.

[Dr. Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel like my brain has melted after reading this.

Dead End Girls is the sapphic thriller I didn't know I needed. The story revolves around step-cousins Maude and Frankie. Maude has been planning to commit psuedocide for years now and escape her life being shuffled from two indifferent parents. When Frankie discovers Maude, Maude must bring Frankie with in order to keep her plans in order. Unfortunately the police soon catch onto their trail, and everything is a race against time.

This book was so freaking good. I love Maude. I love her character so damn much!! She is definitely a genius and probably a bit of a sociopath, but I don't care because I love her and her brain! I want to know a Maude in real life, minus the psuedocide bit though. Frankie is going through a lot of shit at home and has come to the conclusion that someone is trying to kill them. Their only escape is with Maude and they leap at the opportunity. Throughout the book we see Frankie question their gender and come to the realization that they're nonbinary. Frankie loves to play with gender presentation and I loved seeing this in an AFAB character. I feel like I haven't seen a lot of that in YA lit.

There was constant action in this book. The whole race against time/police really worked for me, because it always kept the plot moving forward. I never felt bored and the ending was so damn satisfying. Brb I need to go inhale She's Too Pretty to Burn!

Rep: white lesbian female MC, white sapphic nonbinary MC, BIPOC side characters.

CWs: Blood, car accident, child abuse, death, drug use, dysphoria, gaslighting, homophobia, injury/injury detail, lesbophobia, mental illness (PTSD), murder/attempted murder, violence. Moderate: abandonment, bullying, fire/explosion, gun violence, kidnapping, outing, sexual harassment.

[gloria .☆ﾟ. · Rating 3 out of 5]

➥ 3 Stars *:･ﾟ✧ dnf @ 35%

"I hate the idea that a virgin is something you can be, like a part of your identity. Sex is something you do, not something you are."

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It seems I'm dnfing fucking everything these days, but I don't know, I just can't be assed to suffer through uninteresting material when my time is already so limited (not because I'm dying, because school work is asphyxiating me (I am dying)). And yeah, I will be counting them as read - sue me.

Dead End Girls had a promising premise, one I was hoping to sink my teeth into. Yet...there's no flesh to it - the bones of the story are there but everything that makes a book engaging and impactful is not.

Granted, I did know this was YA going in (I think I fit into the YA demographic still?) but the characters are so juvenile and ANNOYING 😭. Like if I have to read about Maude (h) explaining her genius techniques to not getting caught and Frankie just gaping saying "you're SO smart" ONE MORE FUCKING TIME ISTFG I'LL END IT ALL.

Next, though this book's primary focus seems to be its thriller...action whatever aspect, the romance that was here was pretty shit too SORRY. I mean I am just SICK of reading badly-written romance like, come on people, in this day and age? Where people give you feedback for free? and there are exemplars of well-written romance that you can follow?

Maude expressing how she had to "try hard not to look at Frankie in her bikini" etc. soooo early on was just bleh. Let them have moments of vulnerability, moments where they grow together, moments where they BOND first, without the promise of their future relationship being so obnoxiously established so early on.

And for fuck's sake, I'm not trying to blab the suitably-hated "I'm not like other girls" thing, but AS A GIRL IN MY LATE TEENS, their characterisation is a mess. There's just like no nuance to their characters. They're annoying and dumb and juvenile and annoying and dumb. (Though Sam may argue I fit that bill).

Even if teenagers are stupid etc. irl, it's common knowledge that younger audiences like to read about people who are somewhat admirable/aspirational in at least one aspect. Like you think younger girls like The Hunger Games because Katniss does stupid teenager stuff? No! It's because Katniss is a woman with agency, strength and power - something they can aspire to have/be.

Now, to get back on track, I just mean to say that this author should have made these girls out to be smarter, with more substance (because there's no such thing as a girl without depth), and with better interactions because what the shit was that.

I mean, I used to volunteer to work at primary camps. You know, the ones where I have to watch over literal 9-year-olds and that's how these bitches fucking acted like. Is it to much to ask to have a young-ish female protagonist that is cunning and has depth? And write a romance that doesn't feel cheap to read? Surely, SURELY, not. (I don't volunteer though.)

Then it got all messy when they killed a fucking dude and I just. I don't fucking know. *Shrugs and sighs*.

But it wasn't anything horrifically bad. Just like, I wouldn't call it good by any means. Well, now I feel like this was unnecessarily harsh and if the author reads this review I'm kms, but yah *slaps three stars* 😊😚.

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[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a big fan of Wendy Heard like I am, you will absolutely love this book! Told from two perspectives, the novel focuses on Maude and Frankie, young girls who are unhappy with their lives and are desperate to get away and build better futures for themselves. Maude is savvy and street-smart so she develops a plan and when the girls are thrown together on a Hawaiian vacation, Frankie befriends her and the plan expands. This is where the whirlwind adventure begins...and never stops! The girls are attracted to one another but haven't come out as they worry about teasing and punishment from peers. Seriously, the action doesn't stop until end so don't plan on adulting unless someone threatens your life (or needs you to make dinner). I stayed up way too long for this one but it was totally worth it! Another winner for Heard! Out in May.

[Mónica BQ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have loved to say I loved the book, but it felt like so much was missing.

The premise was there. I wanted Maude's journey and plan to succeed. I wanted to see everything come to fruition.

But I think the book missed the mark with her backstory and then with her easy acquiescence to a change of plans for Frankie after two years of being careful and paranoid. On the other hand, Frankie's queerness and the limitations of her being able to come out were much more developed and gave her a more robust purpose for her actions, but she was definitely an unprepared drag on Maude's plans.

I was also a bit bothered about how Maude and Frankie's romantic relationship never tackled the fact that they had been raised as step-cousins for quite a few years by the time the book began. It cheapened both their journeys for me.

The adventure was there. The fun was there. The idea was top notch. But it didn't pan out.

[Rachel Lacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a ride! This is a fast-paced sapphic thriller about two teenage girls who fake their own deaths to escape their family situations, and I devoured it in a day. Highly recommend if you enjoy a somewhat morally gray heroine and lots of high stakes shenanigans!

[Toya (thereadingchemist) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed She’s Too Pretty to Burn, so I had really high expectations of Dead End Girls. That being said, this book just didn’t hit the way that I wanted it to.

What Heard does well in this book is really capture the essence of two desperate teen girls who will do anything to get out of their current situation all while being messy and making questionable decisions along the way.

As far as the characters go, I definitely preferred the chapters told from Frankie’s POV rather than Maude’s. I feel like Frankie’s inner monologue and struggles from not being accepted because of her nonconformity to gender roles as well as being queer is something that a lot of readers will gravitate towards; especially the scenes that detail her bigoted grandmother who funds her private education. I don’t really have much to say about Maude because I just felt like so much was missing from her personality, but I can’t really put my finger on why.

And I’ll be honest, the romance between Maude and Frankie knowing that they are step-cousins who were raised within the same family sphere just felt gross to me. There wasn’t an acknowledgment that there relationship was at all taboo, and I just couldn’t get over that fact.

Overall, I’m just sort of meh with this one.

Thank you to Hachette Audio for providing a review copy. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.

[Rowan's Bookshelf (Carleigh) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of fun thriller, kind of annoying characters that get into not-that-interesting situations because Frankie is literally the most oblivious person on Earth.

Frankie's reasoning for wanting to be dead is at least understandable in a teenager-way. Unfortunately she thinks nothing through, trusts everyone immediately, and gets way too into Maude for kind of no reason. Maude I mostly liked - she's reasonable and prepared, a quick thinker and logical, with her plans being constantly messed up by Frankie's lack of awareness. However Maude's reason for wanting to fake her death is soooo melodramatic. She could easily just wait a few months until she's 18 and do the same thing without any risk. It's not hard to change your name, really.

The trail of bodies along the way get increasingly more ridiculous which is sometimes fun, sometimes just kind of eye rolling. I really think they're should have gotten in a LOT more trouble than they end up in, so this is just fine

[Diabolica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this - I was admittedly not sold in the beginning and really thought Maude was just a whiny teen, but as we kept going through the book I really did sympathize with Maude. 

I also just love how Heard covered so many issues without making the book seem like one big political statement. Instead that this was how these issues were felt by two teens trying to carve out a life for themselves. 

[Larakaa · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a quick read, I'll give it that.
I didn't like the protagonist, her initial motivation is way too low a bar to do all that. I get that this is kind of a what-if story and I don't live in the US, so I don't know how authentic all of this is, but it just didn't feel very believable. The way she just found someone who can forge perfect passports. The way they just stumble on helpful random people when they need one.
While the switching of the PoVs is a neat narrative tool, it really didn't work for me here. It's just so imbalanced and makes the plot flow suddenly clunky. Usually, we have it to get a second perspective on events and get to learn more about a certain character, but the way it's separated into super small pieces and also being mostly about the past it just breaks the storytelling.
Also, the main protagonist doesn't really evolve much. The tiny shreds of self-reflection and realization aren't enough. And the ending also didn't work for me. But I wont get into details here because of spoilers.

I know it's a young adult book, which often focuses more on plot and action, but still I've read better ones.

[Jan Agaton · Rating 3 out of 5]

As expected, Wendy Heard's other book, She's Too Pretty to Burn is far superior. I liked some of the discussions in this book, as well as the sapphic & non-binary rep, but the overall storyline felt too stale for my liking. Maybe it's because I read Hello Girls by Britney Cavallaro & Emily Henry a couple years ago, which had a similar plot. My favorite part was the reason Frankie wanted to fake death and the twist that came with that. Otherwise, it was an okay YA book about two girls running away together.

[julia ☆ [owls reads] · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dead End Girls made sense for about a second and then descended into deep deep unhinged levels of unrealistic for a contemporary novel. It was so damn entertaining, though!

The premise caught my attention and managed to keep it almost through the end. I really enjoyed Maude as a character (for the most part) and how determined she was to get the hell out of dodge. The way she dealt with unforeseen situations was also pretty fun to read about, even more so as her plans kept getting more and more complicated and reckless lol

Frankie was... there. I was pretty interested in their chapters when it came to figuring out what was going on with their family, but that was up until that twist was solved. That was also when the plot just went beyond what I could suspend my disbelief for.

The final few chapters were just rushed moment after rushed moment without things making any sense or having any sort of build up at all. I found that everything sort of fizzled out into nothing until some mega convenient things happened that made it all Work Out again so Maude and Frankie could get together. That was really disappointing since I felt like I got pretty much no resolution for some of the big plot points in the book.

And the romance: eh. It was pretty lukewarm to me.

[Kit Frick]

Utterly addictive. Dead End Girls is a riveting, holds-no-punches thriller with the deeply relatable adolescent hunger for escape and reinvention at its core.

[B · Rating 1 out of 5]

10/10 do not get the hype. I can only suspend disbelief so much before it just gets to be too much. And this was absolutely too much. I hated everything and everyone about this.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book took “Be gay, do crimes” to a whole other level.

3.5/5

[merr · Rating 5 out of 5]

holy moly this deserves more recognition rtc

[Luna · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO FUCKING COOL I AM IN LOVE

[Steph Hanlon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolute lunacy and completely unbelievable. I loved it.

[Catalina · Rating 4 out of 5]

We need an extra chapter of Maude figuring out her ankle bracelet and draining the bank account and all that.. That part felt rushed, that’s why the 4 stars… It could’ve been so good. Also wtf happened to the waitress? So much left unknown.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the publisher for an ARC via NetGalley for an honest review.

CWs: faking their own death, murder, stabbing, hit-and-run, homophobia, drug overdose

I’m not really sure how I feel about this book. I though the premise was super interesting, it was really fast and easy to read, it was definitely thrilling, but I didn’t connect or relate to either character.
The book is told mostly from Maude’s POV with a few chapters from Frankie’s. Frankie’s started out being in the past as we learn about the events that were happening that push her to go along with Maude when she learns of Maude’s plan. I thought this was really interesting, but it was also predictable and I felt like it didn’t really do much to the main plot.
Maude was an interesting character for sure. She was really smart, selfish, and often pretty rude. I couldn’t figure out if she was supposed to be unlikeable or if it was just me. I thought learning about all of Maude’s plans for how to fake her death and escape were interesting, and when she threw most of them away to let Frankie go with her it meant we got to see Maude come up with new plans.
I also liked the relationship between the two girls. Both are queer, and Frankie is struggling to figure out her gender identity. This isn’t really discussed in major detail. I didn’t really feel romance or love while reading, but it was kind of sweet towards the end with the girls’ relationship.
Overall it was a really fast-paced and intense read. I read it in a couple of sittings and couldn’t put it down, but I wasn’t a big fan of the main characters. Other readers might really enjoy this sapphic YA thriller.

[Kal ★ Reader Voracious · Rating 5 out of 5]

holy hell, this was GOOD. also the audiobook narration is INCREDIBLE.

Told in dual timelines, Dead End Girls is the sapphic thriller you didn't know you needed in your life! Tightly plotted, the book is full of action and high stakes that is utterly addictive and impossible to put down. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time while listening. Protect Maude & Frankie!

This plot is bonkers in the best of ways. From pseudocide to accidental murder and running from the cops (as well as their past), Maude and Frankie are going through it in this book and just trying to start over. Maude's a mastermind who's probably watched way too much True Crime Content and I'm honestly in awe of her brain. But as they find out: even the best laid plans cannot account for everything.

I love that we learn about Frankie's reasons for wanting to disappear through timeline POV chapters, slowly piecing together everything as the chapters get closer to the present-day. We learn so much about Frankie's character through these flashbacks.

Words cannot express how much I adore Maude and Frankie. They start out as partners-in-crime but their chemistry sparks and the their slowburn romance so good. Because honestly, falling in love while on the run from the police is just iconic.

Dead End Girls is explosive, gripping the reader from the first page until the last. I love the way things get more and more unhinged as they stray further from The Plan, doing their best and making some of the worst decisions possible. But this book also explores identity: as Maude and Frankie escape their lives, their narratives explore question the sexuality and gender, making Dead End Girls a beautiful coming of age story of self-acceptance in addition to a captivating sapphic thriller. Highly recommended and this won't be my last book from Wendy Heard!

Audiobook notes: 10/10 performance from Natalie Naudus & Taylor Meskimen! They really brought the story and characters to life and somehow managed to instill the page-turning sense of urgency with their narration.

Representation: nonbinary rep, wlnb, sapphic, fat rep
Content Warnings: abandonment, attempted murder, bullying, child abuse, drug use, suicide mention

ALC provided by the publisher via Netgalley for my honest review. This does not impact my opinions of the book nor the contents of my review. Quotations are from an unfinished proof and subject to change upon final publication.

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[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up

This was an incredibly quick read - not in terms of length but because it kept me up late last night to get to the end just to see what would happen. No one could accuse Wendy Heard of writing a boring story, that's for sure. It was a lot of fun from beginning to end. However, there were a few things that took a star and a half off this rating for me.

- Loved the nonbinary/lesbian representation, and I also appreciate how difficult it is for many teenagers to come out to their friends and family, deal with bullying, etc. However, JUST ONCE I'd love to see queer teens who are actually 100% confident in their identities and who really couldn't care less whether people don't like it because they are who they are. Again, I totally get that what Maude and Frankie were dealing with when it came to their respective sexualities/gender identities is all too common in the real world, so Heard's not wrong for writing from this perspective. However, there are plenty of nonbinary and LGBTQI+ folks out there who aren't struggling with their identities and are quite confident in them and I'd love to see more characters written this way.

- I really struggled to connect with either Frankie or Maude. We were given a cursory rundown of their backstory, but only insofar as it informed both of their motivation to fake their own death. I don't feel like I really learned anything about either of them and therefore I didn't care all that much about them. I rooted for them because it would make the story better, but I didn't feel invested in the outcome either way. Again, that's likely a personal quirk and Heard had a LOT to accomplish in a little over 300 pages, but I just felt a little disconnected.

- The things that happened in this book go from hard to believe to downright ludicrous. I get that the premise alone didn't really lend itself to much realism and that this book isn't trying to be a hyperrealistic portrait of young criminals, but things got wilder and wilder to the point that I got somewhat detached from the story because it was so ridiculous. Of course, as stated above, ridiculous can be fun, so it still kept me reading, but the suspension of disbelief necessary to keep your head in the game here may test certain readers' thresholds.

All in all, an entertaining read that likely won't leave much of a lasting impression but was a lot of fun while it lasted.

[Hallie Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

why does no one seem to care that the romance is between STEP COUSINS?? idc if they’re not blood related it’s still icky.

the way frankie’s POV is in past tense and then catches up could be a cool technique but overall just felt like playing literal catch up. also frankie had like a literal reason to leave their family but maude could just like… run away. what was the insistence on the family seeing her as dead?? idk i knew this wasn’t gonna be realistic but so much of this was hard even when i was trying to manage my expectations and suspend my belief. even the school parts were unrealistic and goofy.

maude was annoying. she was so back and forth and was supposed to be so smart but was stupid.

the ending was even more unbelievable but i can appreciate lesbians and non-binary people doing crime and running away, even if it was rushed unbelievable.


now this one is on me bc i read this knowing that The Kill Club was one of the worst books i’ve ever read. i requested it before i realized it was the same author and i read it out of curiosity and interest in the premise. but still. this author seems to have a niche and that’s fine i am just not part of it! (even tho the premises will catch my eye Every Single Time)

[Cassidy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Sure, this teen thriller is outrageous, but Wendy Heard’s super-engaging style made me want to believe every word—so I did. Only a few times did my logical brain try to call out some unrealistic details, but my heart did not care one bit and kept plunging me forward into the book. I was so enthralled by this story that I couldn’t stop talking about it to anyone who would listen. I love these characters, even though I am slightly terrified of Maude, but I definitely want Frankie to be my best friend.

[Chloe Redman · Rating 1 out of 5]

They are literally step cousins and that is just so uncomfortable.

[ReadingTilTheBreakOfDawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a full fledged Wendy Heard fan now! After reading She's Too Pretty To Burn in 2021, I knew the voice of this author was something special. I loved her characters and their unique journeys she put them on. So when I saw Natalie Naudus recommend this book on Instagram because she narrated it and loved it, I had to check it out. And I'm so glad I did. It's the YA sapphic thriller I didn't know I so desperately needed.

Told in 2 POVs, we follow 2 high school girls on vacation in Hawaii with their families when one of them is ready to ditch the crew and make their plans a reality. And it is crazy well planned out. Like to a T! But her plans are for her and her alone. Maude has had enough being shuffled back and forth between parents and not being wanted by either one of them. She hasn't felt loved and she hasn't felt like she could be herself in a very long time. So for the last couple of years, she's meticulously planned her death so she can live. But when circumstances lead to Frankie tagging along, that's when everything gets turned upside down and Maude's plans now have to include 2 people. And Maude doesn't have the resources for it. With fast thinking and intelligent minds between the two, we are lead on a roller coaster of events that is heart pounding, touching and unbelievable, but oh so dang good.

Oh my goodness! I absolutely loved this story and the great narration from Natalie Naudus as Maude and Taylor Meskimen as Frankie. To have 2 strong female teenager protagonists on the run from their families in search of better lives and getting caught up in some serious crimes was pretty darn entertaining. It's non-stop action and never for one moment are you ever bored. There is always something happening. And even within the action, we get to see a story of 2 teenagers figuring out their identities and who they want to be. Maude finally is comfortable in her own skin to come out and Frankie tries on nonbinary because they feel like one gender just doesn't fit them. I loved that Wendy Heard dove into these characters identities all while having them being on the run. It was high octane, nail biting, full speed ahead for these characters all throughout. While some aspects were a bit over the top, you gotta love the tenacity of these two and everything they overcame

WIth that said, if you're looking for a YA Thriller that is smartly written, full of action and with 2 very strong characters, please give Dead End Girls a chance. Maude is my new favorite YA badass chick. I could read more and more about her well thought-out plans and what these two will do next. Frankie and Maude are ready to take on the world. Watch out!

[Ladz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read a physical ARC
Content warning: Murder, drug overdose, homophobic bullying, bullying, blackmail, attempted murder

In Dead End Girls, Maude wants to quit her life, but not in a way that prevents her from further participating. She has a plan to fake her death, but when her step-cousin, Frankie, catches onto the plan, she wants in. What then starts is a journey of being gay, doing crime and self-discovery as the two girls sprint away from their families and towards something else.

Exciting, unexpectedly tender, and a wild ride from start to finish.

This book is fun, but by no means is it fluffy. Heard does a phenomenal job layering both girls’ reason for wanting to leave their shitty families. I’m not going to speak about specifics because that would be spoilers. What I can say, is that while there are elements that are steeped in rich girl privilege, the book is aware of this and calls it out as it sees it. But the reasons are also so heart-breaking in ways that cannot be resolved with some grand gesture or even family therapy. It’s really well-done and compelling.

When it comes to the fake death strategy, the cracks are covered up enough that my suspension of disbelief held together for the whole book. What’s nice is that Heard also provides insight into what the adults around the girls are doing. Technology plays as much of a role as any character, providing to be both help and nemesis. Maude checking social media is by far among the most stressful bits. The tension ramps up and returns the sense of urgency. The pacing is simply exquisite, and I couldn’t keep myself away from it for any extended period of time.

My favorite thing is that this book makes me want to yell at the teens and the adults in equal measure. The ending is cathartic, and it’s admirable how little will stop these girls from escaping the nightmare that is their lives.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75 Stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Hachette Audio for the ALC of this book!

Maude has grand plans to fake her death, run away, and live free as a completely different person, out from under her family's thumb. But when Frankie discovers her plot while on "family vacation" in Hawaii, they insist Maude takes them with her.

This was amazing! Wendy Heard writes thrillers like no other and I was invested from the first page to the last. I love Maude, love Frankie, love the faking their deaths plots and the on the run scenes and everything else that happens that would be spoilery!!!

There are so many twists and turns, especially within Frankie's storyline. And I'm honestly just in love with the whole vibe. I LOVED the ending.

This book will grab you by the shirt and pull you underwater for the whole ride, and you'll be glad it did!

The audiobook narration is excellent, and I highly recommend!

Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Death, Blood, Child abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Bullying, Abandonment, Car accident, Drug abuse, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Fatphobia

[Arianna Mclaughlin (arianna.reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dead End Girls is a fantastic YA thriller. Maude has been planning her "death" for years. What she wasn't expecting is that Frankie would come along for the ride.

The relationship between Maud and Frankie was such a delight to read. Each girl has her quirks and trauma, and their natural instinct is not to get emotionally involved. But the emotions and energy between the two is impossible to hide and the book's ending is just what I needed.

While reading the book, it felt like a clock was counting down - everything is on the line and the tension is real. I love reading about messed-up wealthy families and this one did not disappoint.

[Quinn · Rating 3 out of 5]

devoured it.

i’m so glad they made it away. i knew they’d get away with it the next time they tried; but thank god for super-sleuth maude getting leah what she deserves!!!! good ending. that book was a rollercoaster. i came away feeling a lot better about the main character than i did through 90% of the book 😭 i love that Maude met the waitress in Las Vegas and it worked out perfectly to keep their identities out of police hands. perfect 👏🏻

i hated how maude’s dad was even more absent during all this. and her mom… the last conversation between maude and her mom was SO frustrating. this is why parents lose their kids - she wouldn’t even consider maude’s feelings and experience.

not my favorite read this year, but a quick read and enough “oh jeez, how are they going to get out of this?” moments to propel me through quickly, and good descriptions of GAY LONGING which is a brand of read i’m very much here for