Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Harper Collins Publisher, 2021
Pages: 352
Rating: Highly Recommend
Synopsis: Growing up in Liberty Lake, Minnesota, Mary was chubby, awkward, and smart. Earning a scholarship to an Ivy League school was her ticket out; she was going to do great things , and never look back. Three years later, "Ivy League Mary" is back - a thinner, cynical, and restless failure. Kicked out of Cornell at the beginning of her senior year, she won't tell anyone why. Working at the local grocery store, she sees familiar faces from high school and tries to make sense of her past and her life.
When beautiful, magnetic Olivia Willand, a rising social media star, goes missing, Mary - like the rest of Liberty Lake - becomes obsessed. Best friends in childhood, Mary and Olivia haven't spoken in years. Everyone admired Olivia, but Mary knows better than anyone that behind the Instagram persona hid a willful, manipulative girl with sharp edges. As the world worries for perfect, lovely Olivia, Mary can't help but hate her. She also believes that her disappearance is tied to another missing person - a nineteen-year-old girl named DeMaria Jackson whose disappearance has gone under the radar.
Who was Olivia Willand, and where did she go? What happened to DeMaria? As Mary delves deeper into the lives of the two missing girls, old wounds bleed fresh and painful secrets threaten to destroy everything.
May no one is really a nice girl, after all.
Review: When I saw this compared to Luckiest Girl Alive and All the Missing Girls, I almost stepped away from it. Did I really want to read another messed up/missing girl novel? Then, I reconsidered and decided to give it a shot. This book was so good!
I read this in one sitting unable to put it down. I was drawn into the story, felt for the main character, and there was enough mystery to keep me interested.
This novel is dark, but uncovers so many truths about people too. It had me thinking about my own high school experiences and friends I had back then.
I paid attention to each character in this novel trying to decipher what had happened. My number one suspect turned out not to be involved at all. Lots of twists and a couple red herrings. Weird doesn't equal guilty.
This is Dang's debut novel and I cannot wait for more. This will be an author to watch.
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