Definitely wouldn't have picked up this book if I wasn't reading it for book club. I read this author's Raised by Wolves series some years before, so I wasn't too hesitant going in, but after a few couple chapters, ooo boy.

For one, this book seemed so...hollow. I didn't understand what the purpose of anything was and it just kept spiraling. The characters seemed more like tropes than anything: the main character, the angsty broody boy, the more easy going boy, the bad girl, and the quirky girl. These are the characters that make up 90% of teams and I'm so tired of it.

This series is marketed as a Criminal Minds for teens and it is no way messed up or suspenseful enough for that distinction. They only start going after the murderer pretty much 70% into the book, which makes for a pretty slow middle. I was waiting for something to happen, but it kept going at a snail's pace.

Have I mentioned how I loathe love triangles? Because I do. A lot. They always try to make it so you don't know who the lead is going to end up with, but it's always painfully obvious. (Hint hint, it's always the broody one, why I'll never know)

I'm definitely not going to be continuing with this series. It's not worth it.

I read this book for my YA Books for Adults Book Club. Usually, contemporary realistic isn't exactly my usual genre, but I'm so glad I read this. Definitely a step up from what we read last month.

I found it to be very relatable: those feelings of invisibility, trying to find your family, dealing with a mother than micromanages your entire life. I originally thought of Dessen's books as being more on the fluffy side, but this was kind of more than that.

I like how it wasn't a solely a romance, that it wasn't only the guy that had a part in changing her life but his entire family and the friend group she joins. Sydney faces other dilemmas than "Oh my God I hope this guy notices me. I hope we can work things out."

And can more YA best friend characters be more like Layla? Eccentric but without it being too overbearing? Where she actually has a personality and feelings instead of a quirk?

I might get around to reading Dessen's other books. We'll see.