NetGalley Buddy Readers discussion

For fans of Holly Jackson and Jessica Goodman, this high-stakes thriller is set in a virtual-reality paradise turned hellscape, from a celebrated writer making their YA debut.

At the start of each school year, Madison Pembroke, the most popular girl at Lincoln Academy, sends out invitations to her epic birthday party in the form of custom forged spiral keys. For that one night, a few lucky teens get to enter Ametrine, a virtual paradise designed to be the party of the year—an unforgettable celebration that will secure their social status in the real world. As Madison’s hated ex-BFF, Bree Benson never receives a key.

Until this year.

Despite warnings from her boyfriend, Bree sees the invite as an olive branch, the perfect opportunity to rekindle her once-amazing friendship with Madison. But as the party games begin to turn provocative and violent, Bree finds that Ametrine might not be the virtual paradise she was promised. And that Madison may have let Bree enter Ametrine, but she has no intention of ever letting her leave . . .

Kelsey Day’s gripping debut shows that while best friends know each other the best, ex–best friends know how to hurt each other the worst.

Elyse and I are starting 2/15

planning to start this one on the 18th or 19th

Hopefully by this weekend for me!

okay, pushing it out another day and plan to start tomorrow!

👍🏻👍🏻 I will def be starting tomorrow! Cleaning up my current reads today!

I'm through Ch. 4 (14%) so first impressions (and I've never read the synopsis at all, I only requested based on the intriguing cover lol) but didn't know it was YA and ugh, high school cliques. But this virtual world seems interesting. How bad could it be? lol

omg there are so many teenagers, I'm making a list lol

(view spoiler)[
Madison's Group

Everly - her ride or die
Chet - her rock
Kyle - a Junior (orange hair, pale)

Mark - unknown? he got the surprise key?
Brie - madison's grandma


Bree's Group
Devin - male, Bree's best friend (and he got a key?)

Lex - Bree's aunt
Petey - her brother
(hide spoiler)]

9 chapters / 35%

this is a really fast read

(view spoiler)[
okay, so this feels like. . .a revenge tour?
Chet having Vanessa there - and his gross reaction to her and how they split - just screams revenge

and then Bree's old drama with Evelyn - where she was kind of kid mean to her

But I wonder why Madison would steal all of Bree's ideas - put them in this VR world and then. . .invite her to bully her? hurt her?
(hide spoiler)]

Re: your character list-(view spoiler)[Jake is the one with the surprise key. Mark is part of Madison's group. Edie is Madison's grandma. Devin is Bree's boyfriend.

Yeah it's kind of sickening what happened with Vanessa. And I think Madison was actually the victim and Bree was the bully and Bree's just wearing rose colored glasses about their childhood or pre her father going to jail. So it's probably revenge on Madison's part. (hide spoiler)]

It is going by quickly! I've got some time so I might even finish today!

17 chapters / 61%

okay
(view spoiler)[ Bree being the bully seems like a weird twist. Madison definitely seems to run the school. I'm trying to picture a Madison that would have taken that crap from Bree lol

but Bree was definitely an a-hole!

hmm. . new game, guess we'll see how this goes. 3 lives
(hide spoiler)]

and done

(view spoiler)[
this one was so silly, so over the top

I had a tough time believing that Bree from just a year earlier (hadn't Devin only been there a year?) that she was still such a jerk but now she's suddenly better?

eh. and the cameras everywhere and Madison having more money than anyone on the planet and using it to kill students and then threaten the parents. so over the top and ridiculous

I did love that Bree laughed in her face. like, really? we're almost 18 and you still are upset about things I did in middle school?! lol but I still felt like Bree was a jerk for much longer.

meh, this was okay (hide spoiler)]

Finished. Meh. (view spoiler)[Very childish. Very over the top. I think Bree is still a bitch and Madison is also a bitch. They deserve each other lol. And Madison just disappears at the end? Ok. I also thought it was super weird that Petey followed Bree. A child. How old was he? 12? No way he's taking a commuter train alone in Boston at night. (hide spoiler)]

Elyse wrote: "Finished. Meh. [spoilers removed]"

YES!!! (view spoiler)[ I found Petey being there a little too. . .convenient.
I also thought all the characters (except maybe Devin) were awful and deserved each other and all the hell they put each other through! lol
absolutely a-holes, the whole lot of them! (hide spoiler)]