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Teen SRC 2021 – Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell

Ellie Mack. The perfect daughter. The perfect student. The perfect girlfriend.

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell, tells us a story about Ellie Mack, who went missing when she was fifteen. “She ran away,” the police had said. As if anyone would believe that. Ellie had her golden future shining out in front of her; she was the definition of perfect. Then she was gone, though. So what happened?

Whoa. Not many books do this to me, but this one had me thinking-about-the-plot-at-2 A.M. Is that a good thing? Most of the time, yes. This particular book, though, was somehow disturbing. Let me take you through the general mood/tone and how it changes throughout this book.

When I first started reading the book, I thought, okay, the pace is slow and it’s kind of boring, but I can deal with it. Around halfway through, the ENTIRE book changed. I mean like full-blown, the writing style, the plot, the energy level, the tone, etc. And THAT’S when I thought, things are getting more interesting.

I was totally right, by the way. It definitely got more interesting…but not in a positive way. I can’t even find the right words to describe it. Gross? Disturbing? Upsetting? Yeah, maybe a combination of those three. It was just…really, really deep. I don’t know, I was thrown incredibly off guard, and to think about some of the specific details…yikes.

It’s weird, because I still enjoyed the book. Unsettling as it was, I think it’s a good read with an unpredictable plot twist; I would recommend ages 15+. REALLY deep concepts, and it’s probably a good idea to read the trigger warnings before the book too.

Overall, 7/10 as a rating, I don’t think I’m quite ready for other books like this yet, but it could certainly be someone else’s cup of tea!

Teen SRC 2021- Loveboat, Taipei by Abigail Hing Wen

In the book Loveboat, Taipei by Abigail Hing Wen, Ever Wong’s strict parents are sending her to Taiwan for a summer program before the start of college/medical school. Only when she arrives, Ever realizes that the “Loveboat” program is less about reclaiming her roots and more about partying all night–at least according to her classmates it is. As Ever breaks more and more rules set out for her by her parents, the future she doesn’t want looms at the end of summer. Will she deny the expectations of med school and follow her dreams of dancing or is the strength of her immigrant parents’ sacrifice too much to shed?

I’ll be honest: I wasn’t expecting to like this book. To me, it sounded like Ever, a rigid rule-following daughter goes to a fun summer camp, learns the taste of freedom (and goes crazy) which leads to her rejecting her future and her parents. This isn’t exceptionally original or interesting, as far as plots go.

In the end, I was right. I didn’t love this book very much. At Loveboat, Ever gets stuck in a love triangle (sigh). There is some cheating that is disguised as not-cheating, a lot of drama (most of it unnecessary), and girl hate. Like seriously, I do not understand the friendship–if you can call it that–between Sophie and Ever. There were some things that surprised me in a good way, though. The daughter of immigrants and the “your dream not mine” plot line was surprisingly well-written. Ever does not completely discount her parent’s perspective and admits that their sacrifice is not something she can ignore, even if a future of dancing means more to her than anything. For such a shallow novel, these type of discussions were surprisingly nuanced.

Unfortunately, most other discussions were not. Some heavy topics are brought up in the novel, like depression, gender stereotypes, and the stigma of dyslexia, but aren’t fully developed or discussed. Some plot points don’t add up (Sophie spending loads of money but her backstory being the fact that she’s poor, for example). We are introduced to some characters that don’t show up again, such as Meghan. Also I don’t want to spoil anything but the last couple of chapters were SO rushed and most of it didn’t logistically make sense…

Some plot lines show surprising depth and are fun to read but the shallow drama and emotional/romantic manipulation throughout the book makes it a very frustrating read. A fun setting with cultural nuances but flat characters and too much teenage drama. 7/10.

Teen SRC 2021 – They Wish They Were Us by Jessica Goodman

They Wish They Were Us - Goodman, Jessica

Another YA mystery set at a prestigious boarding school! I seem to have a soft spot for those. Anyway, I had high hopes for this book because wow, what a cover. They Wish They Were Us by Jessica Goodman gets a 7/10 because while I enjoyed the setting, and smaller details, the mystery just didn’t deliver.

They Wish They Were Us is about a group of elite students at Blackbrook Prep, called the Players. Being the elite of the elite means good grades, better parties, and the best drama. But it all comes at a cost. No one knows this better than Jill Newman, whose best friend was killed by her boyfriend during Player initiation. That’s all done and dusted, though, because it’s three years later and Jill is going to make the most of her senior year. But then she gets a text message, questioning what happened the day she became a Player… and when Jill looks deeper, she realizes not everything is as it seems.

There is a lot of your typical YA stuff in this book, like partying, pulling pranks and drinking…most of it I don’t enjoy nor find realistic. The only thing I feel this book did better than any other YA mystery is the character relationships which are complex and go deeper than labels. I also liked the premise of a boarding school with its unjust hierarchy system, as well as how Jill’s financial struggles played into the story. Still, like I said before, the mystery was too predictable and got frustrating as the book dragged on.

Overall, I would recommend this book as a contemporary drama/coming of age more so than a mystery. It’s fun, shocking and you’ll enjoy the character relationships in spite of the lukewarm plot. 7/10