2.5-2.75

I really wish Goodreads would upgrade their rating system. This book is a solid 2.5-2.75 for me, but I couldn't quite put it up to a 3 star...

I haven't read many YA mysteries. This one was interesting, especially since it was loosely based on a real case from the 90s (something the author mentions in her acknowledgments).

I liked the concept of the story, and the execution was decent. I had my theories about what could be the big twist (because let's face it...there is always a twist) and while I had certain elements right, it wasn't until closer to the end that everything became clear.

The chapters chronicling Sarah's life were more impactful to me than any of the stuff with Nico's POV. I honestly didn't really connect with her character at all. I get that she is very guarded, especially where Sarah is concerned, considering their previous relationship. But she just fell a little flat to me. Because of that, certain plot points just didn't have the emotional impact I would've liked.

My next biggest critique would probably be that I didn't feel like things were fleshed out enough. Events and people were mentioned and then not brought up again. I'm not sure why it was important to the story to bring up all the people Nico spoke to at the parties and school if there wasn't going to be any payoff later in the story. Also, I wish that we'd had a scene or two between Sarah and Paula before she disappeared...some sort of flashback or something. We are told that they had this tumultuous relationship based on competition. It would've been nice to see some more interaction.

However, understanding that this story was ultimately about the relationship between Nico and Sarah makes those side characters relatively unimportant.

All in all, I appreciated that this wasn't a typical YA book. It read like a movie to me. I could picture everything quite clearly. I would be interested to check out more of the author's works in the future.