Title: Dangerous Girls
Author: Abigail Haas
Genre: YA thriller/mystery
Length: 388 pages
Published by: Simon and Schuster
Source: I bought it (how could I NOT with everyone raving about it?
Blurb:
It’s Spring Break of senior year. Anna, her boyfriend Tate, her best friend Elise, and a few other close friends are off to a debaucherous trip to Aruba that promises to be the time of their lives. But when Elise is found brutally murdered, Anna finds herself trapped in a country not her own, fighting against vile and contemptuous accusations.
As Anna sets out to find her friend’s killer; she discovers hard truths about her friendships, the slippery nature of truth, and the ache of young love.
As she awaits the judge’s decree, it becomes clear that everyone around her thinks she is not just guilty, but dangerous. When the truth comes out, it is more shocking than one could ever imagine…
I GUESSED IT.
I’m so proud of myself. I’ve never guessed one of these things ever. BUT I DID. I’m not going to say anything about that, because I think you should read this book yourself, but seriously, even despite me being able to guess it, it STILL shocked me. And it was STILL a riveting read all the way through.
Those last few pages.
Just.
Woah.
So if you haven’t already heard, I love Jodi Picoult books.
And while some people have said that the courtroom scenes in her books get a bit repetitive, that’s one of my FAVOURITE elements in her books. This one had a lot of that courtroom drama, and different revelations along the way. I love that. I don’t even know why, I just do.
I also really loved how disjointed it all was. It jumped back and forth quite a bit, going back to when Elise and Anna first became friends, then back to the interrogations and Anna being detained while she awaited trial. It could easily have gone wrong SO many ways – it could have felt disjointed, or lacking in clarity, or I might not have connected to the characters.
But I did.
Something I didn’t expect in this book was the amazing friendship between Elise and Anna. It was so easy to see how close they were, and how that started. And then there was Tate, who I wanted to PUNCH IN THE FACE several times, but he was believable, too.
Actually, this book took a surprisingly short time to read.
I guess part of that was because the excerpts are so short. And also because I really wanted to finish it and FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED.
I finished it in music class at school (shh, don’t tell!) and practically threw it across my room. My friends probably wondered what I was yelling about. But seriously. That ending. Crazy.
I also didn’t expect the depth and the cleverness of this book. Because that’s what it is: it’s clever. It takes its readers on a journey that is gripping, terrifying, dark and a little bit exhilarating. It made me think. In fact, I feel like reading it again…
It’s dark. It’s dangerous. You’ll be pointing fingers at everyone, accusing them of being the murderer.
And even if, like me, you guess who it is, you’ll still be shocked at the final reveal.
Bloggers, you have not let me down by recommending this book, and I can’t wait to get my hands on Dangerous Boys.
Rating: 5/5 Wonderkitties
The Loony Teen Writer 
Oh my goodness, I totally get what you mean! The way it was done was just so good.
And I totally did NOT see that ending coming…like, seriously, I had no idea.
WASN’T IT??? I’m hesitant to put any spoilers here, because I do NOT want to ruin this for anyone, so I won’t say anything. But…yes. Amazing ending.
I keep hearing that this book is all kinds of amazing – and it is a constant reminder sitting on my shelf at home that I really do need to read it. The courtroom drama and disjointedness of the plot sound like they could weave together to create something really suspenseful which I love. I’m glad that the ending hasn’t been spoiled for me yet, and one of the best bookish feelings is when things are totally unexpected and make me go ‘WOW’! I’m definitely reading this one as soon as I go on holidays *pinky swear*. Fantastic review Emily! 🙂
You have it on your SHELF and you haven’t READ IT? What’s going on, Eugenia??? 😛 I love disjointed novels. They work well with my own thought process. LOL. Good job on not being spoiled yet – I wasn’t either. Book bloggers are pretty good for that sort of thing.
Okay, as long as you promise to read it soon 😛
Everyone absolutely loves this book! I guess I have to read it. I love endings that are believable, but unpredictable and completely mind blowing. And I also love books that make me think. I’m reading Code Name Verity right now and you really have to read between the lines in that book.
I know!! I’m amazed by how I’ve hardly seen any negative reviews. And I have a weird tendency to be a black sheep, so I’m glad I wasn’t this time. OH YES CODE NAME VERITY. I felt smart when I was reading that. It’s a good feeling.
I’m so glad you liked it! This book does sounds pretty awesome, and I don’t think I’m going to be able to resist the hype much longer. So far, I’ve remained strong, but after reading this review… If the ending is as shocking and surprising as you say, I know that I’m simply going to love this book. I really enjoy novels that are suspenseful and “Wow”-worthy, and I haven’t come across to many of them lately. And also, you gif choices are superb. 🙂
SAME. Loving a really hyped book is the best feeling 🙂 caaaave, Kara, caaaaave. You won’t regret it. Come to the dark side…(no really, this book is DARK). I hope you love it. Seriously. 😀
DID WE ALL NOT TELL YOU THAT THIS WOULD BE AMAZING? HA! 😉 I am so, so, so glad to hear that you loved it just as much as I did, and I know when Cait comes back she’ll be all over you about it too! 😉
And I completely agree with everything you’ve said. The writing was brilliant, and I loved how literally every character had something that could have eventually made them the culprit, you know? In the end, though, the answer was a tad obvious, but, like you said, the reveal is thrilling all the same. I think the reason why is because that you kind of know who does it, but you don’t know exactly why they did it, and that makes it all the more thrilling. 🙂
Thanks for sharing Emily, and, as always, BRILLIANT review! ❤ GAH! I'm just so glad you liked it as much as I did. 🙂
“I win.” 😉
YOU ALL TOLD ME. I CONCEDE. Yes. I’m sure Cait and I will exchange quiiiiite a few capital letters over this book.
The writing was amaaaazing. I loved all the snippets. You’re right about how everyone had a motive, but yes, I could tell the author WANTED us to think that. So of course, being stubborn me, I didn’t 😛 Yes, the why behind the murder is still one I’m trying to puzzle out (because, you know, I’m not a sociopath), but I really loved how complex it was.
Can’t wait to read Dangerous Boys.
OMG that line, though. 😛
I’m not sure they are quite on this level of shocking but libba Bray’s gemma doyle series had some “omg!” moments, as did brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn trilogy
OOOH, actually, I’ve heard a lot of good things about Brandon Sanderson’s writing. Have to check those books out… 🙂
Definitely read his books. They are some of the best I have read this year
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I usually liked being shocked but honestly this book sounds so good that I don’t think I’d care! I’ve seen so many rave reviews of this one recently. I have to get my hands on it!
Wonderful review, Emily! As you know, I ordered this book recently too, because I couldn’t stand not having read it for much longer than you could…but anyway, my copy should arrive this week and it’s going to be SO HARD to not just drop everything I’m doing and begin to read it immediately.
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