Lia Setiawan is the new girl at Draycott Academy. There on a Track and Field scholarship, she knows she will have to work harder than the rich kids that surround her to earn her stay. Not long after she sets foot on the campus, she witnesses a girl being dragged, screaming off the campus by school security. That experience leads to her questioning everything about the school. As she is plagued with nasty gossip, unfair policies, and blatant racism, she finally reaches her breaking point when a death is discovered.
This book was a wild ride. Every time I got a grasp of what was going on, something new happened to change my view. I’ll put it this way, this is not a book that you can pick up and read little by little. No. This is a book where you get sucked in from page one and look up once it’s done, all the while, wondering what day it is. I loved the ease of the writing style. It was so engrossing that I wasn’t ready for the end when it came. It left me wanting more closure for my favorite characters.
There were few characters that I felt any connection to throughout most of the book. This was due to the enormously wealthy kids and their complete lack of maturity when dealing with, well, anything. Everything that Lia went through was dramatic and over the top, but it suited her environment and the all or nothing attitude of those around her. The complete lack of adult intervention was heartbreaking. There were times when the adults’ lack of involvement was far-fetched, but other times, it was believable. This variety in the interactions made certain scenes feel forced.
Overall, I enjoyed the representation of different Asian cultures, the depth in dealing with many heavy topics, and the fast pacing of the plot the most.
⅘ stars
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the eARC copy in exchange for my honest review.
The Novel Llama 