Nice easy mindless read for a lazy sick day. I enjoyed it as a break from some of the denser texts I’ve been starting and not quite finishing recently and having to re-re-recheck out from the library. It was nice to finish something in a single afternoon.
For a young adult audience, this would be a decent intro to murder mysteries. It follows the classic formula, but uses teen level situational drama and speech. As a middle school teacher, this wasn’t a problem. 😂
The violence wasn’t graphic.
If you’ve read a ton in the genre, this may not be the book for you, but it was a nice break from my usual.

This was a book I couldn’t stop thinking about in between reading it.

Reasons I picked it up in the first place:
* its not in my typical style
* I read from too many white authors in the past and have been seeking out authors that don’t look just like me.
* I’m a teacher in a mixed income area - sometimes we get foster kids. I wanted to have a better perspective on what a non traditional home life /could/ look like.

To This Last Point.... I have been blessed with an incredibly sheltered upbringing. If I resemble anyone in this book at all it is the naive therapist trying to connect with these tortured youth. I have NO IDEA if this is AT ALL realistic. It was horrifying though. Large pieces of it felt very real so I expect that it is real for many group homes, and I found it eye opening. I did see many of the basic fight or flight survival instincts in some of my more extreme reactions from individuals over the years, and I can see from this where some of those may have come from.

The story kept me guessing. I didn’t see the twists coming. I reread parts of the last couple of pages several times to be sure I had gotten that right. She wove a good story, enjoyable for adults as well as YA.

As far as age appropriateness... there are some really tough issues. Murder of a parent. Murder of a baby. Several threats to murder a baby, both unborn and once born. Attempted murder of pregnant teen. Teenage pregnancy. Cheating, lying, stealing.

It’s all done in the scope of survival... but through a lens of mental illness. I think it depends a lot on the maturity of the reader. If they are looking to relate and not feel alone.... ehh? She’s a questionable role model. SAT wise yes, final pages, no. So only if it’s going to be discussed. As a wake up call for someone privileged? Yes. With discussion. And support.

Three and a half stars, rounded up because I was glad for a change of pace from my usual to jump start the summer.

Things I enjoyed;
Small bits of educational trivia thrown in.
Learning more about Japanese and Korean history, and the racism between the two countries.
The cultural representation of teenage life in another culture.
That it was a pretty quick read (the long dates are because I had other books going at the same time. I read about 60% to the end on the last day.)

Things I didn’t;
At times the characters felt a bit trivial.
Some action felt predictable.
The ending felt a little abrupt... rushed?
The balance in maturity of these high school students felt off. Maybe that was a cross culture thing... but it seemed like at one moment they were way too immature over simple things and the next way too deep and intense and forward thinking.

Overall I’m glad I finished it, wouldn’t recommend someone pay full price for it. Library loan? YES. Kindle for a few bucks? Certainly. Hardcover and keep on your shelf in a long term library? Ehhhh, not my pick. I don’t have plans to reread this one.