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emleemay's review against another edition
5.0
"Wouldn't we all look guilty, if someone searched hard enough?"
Why, hello there, awesome book. You managed to take me straight out of this whole Goodreads censorship/deleting reviews fiasco and plant me right inside another time and place; many brave books have tried and failed this past week to do what you have done. So, thank you.
[b:Dangerous Girls|16074758|Dangerous Girls|Abigail Haas|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1356513050s/16074758.jpg|21869436] is in danger. It's in danger of being underread. It's in danger of being given a quick once over and then dismissed as something vapid, senseless and probably crap. It isn't, my friends. It's damn good. [b:Dangerous Girls|16074758|Dangerous Girls|Abigail Haas|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1356513050s/16074758.jpg|21869436] is one of those multi-layered books that does several different things at once and still manages to do each one equally well. Haas does what, in my opinion, all good mystery writers should do: she doesn't hang everything precariously-balanced on her reveals. The ending is fantastic but it doesn't matter because the book is also about so many other things. It is a satisfying story from start to finish that took me through so many different emotions.
So, what is this book? It's a mature YA mystery. I use "YA" with some hesitation here because it's full of all the kinda stuff that will make some parents clutch their rosary beads - sex, alcohol abuse, drug use... oh yeah, and there's that whole murder thing too. It's about a teen summer vacation gone wrong. Anna, her best friend - Elise, her boyfriend - Tate, as well as others, all go to party hard, get laid and have fun. Then, one day, Elise is discovered stabbed to death in her bed and Anna and Tate are the prime suspects. From there, we are taken on a journey through a murder trial that seems to paint Anna in a worse light with every piece of "evidence" provided. The story of the present is also broken up with flashbacks into how Anna and Elise became friends.
This is a dark story that takes you through the many nasty corners of teen girl friendships but it also shows the other side, the importance of friends to one another and the complicated psychology behind it all. Elise is such a wonderfully complex character. I think most people know an Elise. That reckless, volatile person who is always the life of the party, so confident, often overtly sexual and looking for a new adventure at every turn. But underneath there's something a bit different, a sadness or an anger or loneliness, that hides beneath the mask they've created.
My knowledge of the law and judicial system is limited to one year at AS that I hated, so I'm far from an expert on what is realistic or not. But I've always been fascinated by the portrayal of court trials as a kind of show or circus where everyone plays their parts. Where it isn't about guilty/not guilty, but about the performance you put on and how convincingly you deliver the script. Like in the musical, Chicago. Anna's trial resembles a circus and it horrifies me at the way each little piece of a person's life can be taken out of context and manipulated to mean whatever the prosecutor chooses. Scary.
I honestly loved everything about this wild little gem and I'm now going to recommend it to everyone I know. That means YOU too.
Why, hello there, awesome book. You managed to take me straight out of this whole Goodreads censorship/deleting reviews fiasco and plant me right inside another time and place; many brave books have tried and failed this past week to do what you have done. So, thank you.
[b:Dangerous Girls|16074758|Dangerous Girls|Abigail Haas|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1356513050s/16074758.jpg|21869436] is in danger. It's in danger of being underread. It's in danger of being given a quick once over and then dismissed as something vapid, senseless and probably crap. It isn't, my friends. It's damn good. [b:Dangerous Girls|16074758|Dangerous Girls|Abigail Haas|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1356513050s/16074758.jpg|21869436] is one of those multi-layered books that does several different things at once and still manages to do each one equally well. Haas does what, in my opinion, all good mystery writers should do: she doesn't hang everything precariously-balanced on her reveals. The ending is fantastic but it doesn't matter because the book is also about so many other things. It is a satisfying story from start to finish that took me through so many different emotions.
So, what is this book? It's a mature YA mystery. I use "YA" with some hesitation here because it's full of all the kinda stuff that will make some parents clutch their rosary beads - sex, alcohol abuse, drug use... oh yeah, and there's that whole murder thing too. It's about a teen summer vacation gone wrong. Anna, her best friend - Elise, her boyfriend - Tate, as well as others, all go to party hard, get laid and have fun. Then, one day, Elise is discovered stabbed to death in her bed and Anna and Tate are the prime suspects. From there, we are taken on a journey through a murder trial that seems to paint Anna in a worse light with every piece of "evidence" provided. The story of the present is also broken up with flashbacks into how Anna and Elise became friends.
This is a dark story that takes you through the many nasty corners of teen girl friendships but it also shows the other side, the importance of friends to one another and the complicated psychology behind it all. Elise is such a wonderfully complex character. I think most people know an Elise. That reckless, volatile person who is always the life of the party, so confident, often overtly sexual and looking for a new adventure at every turn. But underneath there's something a bit different, a sadness or an anger or loneliness, that hides beneath the mask they've created.
My knowledge of the law and judicial system is limited to one year at AS that I hated, so I'm far from an expert on what is realistic or not. But I've always been fascinated by the portrayal of court trials as a kind of show or circus where everyone plays their parts. Where it isn't about guilty/not guilty, but about the performance you put on and how convincingly you deliver the script. Like in the musical, Chicago. Anna's trial resembles a circus and it horrifies me at the way each little piece of a person's life can be taken out of context and manipulated to mean whatever the prosecutor chooses. Scary.
I honestly loved everything about this wild little gem and I'm now going to recommend it to everyone I know. That means YOU too.
mallegar's review against another edition
dark
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Infidelity, and Murder
Moderate: Cancer and Terminal illness
pragreads's review against another edition
5.0
WHAT IN THE NAME OF FUCK WAS THAT WHO ALLOWED HER TO PUBLISH THIS I'M GOING TO HAVE NIGHTMARES FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE NOW AREN'T I FUCK I HATE READING THRILLERS
Actual rating: 1 star
(moral of the story: please don't read this kids it's fucked up)
Actual rating: 1 star
(moral of the story: please don't read this kids it's fucked up)
kerry2727's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 ⭐️ this was very easy to read thanks to the short chapters. I loved the writing style and the way the book was set out as it made it very easy to follow through the evidence and different timelines. My initial thoughts were 4 ⭐️ buttttt I think it was obvious who the murderer was all the way through, but I’m still a bit confused as to why the person did it… there were clues in the build up but it felt like a massive overreaction and the end was a lot darker than I expected from this character?!? I need someone else to read it so I can discuss
jocelynmae's review against another edition
4.0
“She was wrong, they all were. Telling the truth doesn’t make a difference, nor does being true to yourself. If it did, I wouldn’t be here now, awaiting the verdict that’s going to decide the next twenty years of my life.”
HOLY SHIT?!
But Anna babe…why not kill Tate? You and Elise were so hot couple vibes.
Anyways it actually took me fucking forever to realize that Anna DID do it…so…I’m an idiot. But the fucking UNRELIABLE NARRATOR!? I’m a slut for those so that was funnnnnn. Anyhow I shouldn’t be comparing this to other books but Anna and Elise lowkey give off the same vibes as Victor and Eli…likeeeee come onnnnnn. I see you.
But besides that this is not a romance so don’t read it if your looking for that, it’s more of a mystery which I’m 100% okay with because I’ll take a mystery over a romance any day, however it was marketed to me as a romance which ig is why I feel a tad disappointed that I didn’t see more fucking lesbians or bisexual or pansexual or omnisexual action going on. But IT IS STILL a GOOD BOOK.
HOLY SHIT?!
But Anna babe…why not kill Tate? You and Elise were so hot couple vibes.
Anyways it actually took me fucking forever to realize that Anna DID do it…so…I’m an idiot. But the fucking UNRELIABLE NARRATOR!? I’m a slut for those so that was funnnnnn. Anyhow I shouldn’t be comparing this to other books but Anna and Elise lowkey give off the same vibes as Victor and Eli…likeeeee come onnnnnn. I see you.
But besides that this is not a romance so don’t read it if your looking for that, it’s more of a mystery which I’m 100% okay with because I’ll take a mystery over a romance any day, however it was marketed to me as a romance which ig is why I feel a tad disappointed that I didn’t see more fucking lesbians or bisexual or pansexual or omnisexual action going on. But IT IS STILL a GOOD BOOK.
clairezhou's review against another edition
Wow. This book will make you angry for Anna, angry at the author for making you just… addicted to this book.
Spoiler I was, in the back of my mind, expecting the ending but that was only because I had been betrayed once by an author who had done something very similar- and when I looked at the table of contents (I had an ebook) I realized that the last chapter was titled “before” and wondered why the author would need to include that, as the last chapter.
Overall a fantastic book!
Spoiler I was, in the back of my mind, expecting the ending but that was only because I had been betrayed once by an author who had done something very similar- and when I looked at the table of contents (I had an ebook) I realized that the last chapter was titled “before” and wondered why the author would need to include that, as the last chapter.
Overall a fantastic book!
sarutza's review against another edition
5.0
I.....I don't even know what to say. During the book, I kept reading only to see how Tate killed her(because I was sure it was him). And then, the final chapters come and it's like a punch in the gut. It made me reread the hole book, three times. And give it 5 stars. It was just mind-blowing.
The final 'how much do you love me' was more like a lot of hurt. Not because her boyfriend cheated on her, no, then she would have killed him, it was because her best friend cheated. I think we all agree that Anna and Elise had been together before, it was a 'special' bond between them,and in that moment Anna saw it like Elise broke that bond. That's why she took the necklace away: it symbolized their bond. By sharing so much intimacy with a 'forbidden' person, Elise broke something in Anna. 'Feeling' was for their relationship, Elise could be with whoever she wanted, as long as it was just messing around, from Anna's point of view. And rather than to see her friend drift away, break what they had, Anna killed her. She saw it as binding Elise to herself, forever, not brutally ending her life, against anything Elise would ever have wanted.
Do you have any idea how I felt after this?! Ofc you do, you read it too....
The final 'how much do you love me' was more like a lot of hurt. Not because her boyfriend cheated on her, no, then she would have killed him, it was because her best friend cheated. I think we all agree that Anna and Elise had been together before, it was a 'special' bond between them,and in that moment Anna saw it like Elise broke that bond. That's why she took the necklace away: it symbolized their bond. By sharing so much intimacy with a 'forbidden' person, Elise broke something in Anna. 'Feeling' was for their relationship, Elise could be with whoever she wanted, as long as it was just messing around, from Anna's point of view. And rather than to see her friend drift away, break what they had, Anna killed her. She saw it as binding Elise to herself, forever, not brutally ending her life, against anything Elise would ever have wanted.
Do you have any idea how I felt after this?! Ofc you do, you read it too....
vanya_vatsal's review against another edition
4.0
Halfway through the book I was certain this will be one of the "gonna read several times" book. Only if.
The ending just didn't work on me. I was hungrily reading it, hoping for a better explanation, not a mere 3 pager, explaining nothing. I like it when the author leaves something to the imagination, but this was a bit too much left. No real explanation of the timeline. When? How? or even Who?
The ending just didn't work on me. I was hungrily reading it, hoping for a better explanation, not a mere 3 pager, explaining nothing. I like it when the author leaves something to the imagination, but this was a bit too much left. No real explanation of the timeline. When? How? or even Who?