Very Bad Things

Reviewed by: Megan Moynihan - Walker Memorial, Westbrook, Choose Library District

Review Date: May 7, 2015

Review

Katie thinks her boyfriend, Mark, is a dream-come-true. He's popular, sweet and a hockey star at Whitney Prep where they are both seniors looking forward to graduation. Katie practically has their future together planned out, when suddenly, a picture surfaces of Mark in a compromising position with another girl. Mark swears he is innocent, that the picture is not what it seems. But when the girl in the picture turns up dead, Mark finds himself the prime suspect in her murder. Katie doesn't know who to believe- Mark who swears to his innocence or her best friend Tessa who has hated Katie's relationship with Mark from the start and is convinced he is guilty of the crime. When Katie starts to dig into the mystery behind the death of the girl in the picture, dark secrets begin to surface that she never could have imagined, leading her to wonder about the people in her life she thought she knew. This book was fast-paced and a well-plotted page-turner. I enjoyed reading from the viewpoint of different characters but I did feel that Katie and Mark's characters fell a little flat. Being the two main characters, I would have liked to see more complexity. I especially would have liked to see Katie’s character have more of a backbone. When I read female protagonists who become so obsessed with the object of their affection that they abandon their friends and other interests in their life, it makes me question the message being sent to young female readers. Tessa, on the other hand, was a stronger character and seemed much more complex than Katie despite some of her obvious shortcomings. Overall, I think this book is a worthy purchase. It will appeal to readers who enjoy a well-plotted murder mystery with unexpected twists and turns or readers who enjoy prep school stories about friendships and relationships.

Overall Book Score: good