Nearly thirty and right back in the same town and teaching at the same high school, Ren Taylor comes head to head with the trauma of her sisters untimely death. When she observes another young girl ABC an all-too open teacher, she knows history is doomed to repeat itself. Not on her watch. Ren refuses to stand by and let another young life be cut short.

The book promised me a haunting ride through a small town dripping with secrets, and I’ll give it this: it delivered on the eerie vibes. Ren’s paranoia is palpable, and I found myself nodding along as she spiraled, because who hasn’t had a moment of thinking the shadows are out to get them? The small-town setting, where everyone knows your tragedy and still brings it up at the grocery store, felt all too real.

But here’s where the wheels wobble. The pacing is like a car with a shaky transmission… sometimes it cruises, sometimes it stalls. I was invested in Ren’s quest to protect a student from the charming-but-suspicious physics teacher, but the plot took detours that left me tapping my foot. There’s a lot of brooding and reminiscing, which I get, trauma’s messy, but it felt like Ren was stuck in a loop of “woe is me” 

The supporting cast didn’t quite stick with me; they flitted in and out like guests at a party I wasn’t cool enough to join. I wanted more meat on their bones, something to make me care beyond Ren’s orbit.

And the ending… THE ENDING. Without spoiling it, let’s just say it’s like when your GPS says “you’ve arrived” but you’re staring at a barren field instead of the garage sale you were promised. It tied up some threads, but left others dangling in a way that felt less intentional and more “oops, out of pages.” I flipped back, wondering if I’d missed something. 

So, three stars. Didn’t love it, didn’t hate it.