4.25 stars
Wil is trying to solve the mystery of her mother's disappearance. Everyone believes her mother abandoned her—but Wil knows better. She's confident the Clarkes and their congregation are responsible, despite Elwood Clarke (her former best friend) claiming he knows nothing. Then Elwood accidentally discovers his family's plans to sacrifice him. The two reluctantly work together to find the truth and stop the cult, all while fighting their growing feelings for each other...and discovering another secret hiding inside Elwood.
i found this hard to put down. it reminded me a lot of Sadie by Courtney Summers, especially regarding Wil's personality and her interactions with others. she's determined, snarky, and angry, often in an attempt to hide her pain, and she cares deeply. vivid descriptions were commonly used throughout the story and author wrote them so well, they genuinely gave me chills at times. overall i really enjoyed this book; however, there was one instance that threw me off (minor spoiler ahead!): Wil and Elwood were being chased, and instead of continuing to run or figuring out a plan they kissed and any sense of urgency or danger went out the window—which just doesn't make sense to me??
i don't usually do trigger warnings but i feel this book needs them, so: physical abuse (parental), body horror, cultism, grief, mentions of death
thank you to BookishFirst and Penguin Teen for the arc!
Wil is trying to solve the mystery of her mother's disappearance. Everyone believes her mother abandoned her—but Wil knows better. She's confident the Clarkes and their congregation are responsible, despite Elwood Clarke (her former best friend) claiming he knows nothing. Then Elwood accidentally discovers his family's plans to sacrifice him. The two reluctantly work together to find the truth and stop the cult, all while fighting their growing feelings for each other...and discovering another secret hiding inside Elwood.
i found this hard to put down. it reminded me a lot of Sadie by Courtney Summers, especially regarding Wil's personality and her interactions with others. she's determined, snarky, and angry, often in an attempt to hide her pain, and she cares deeply. vivid descriptions were commonly used throughout the story and author wrote them so well, they genuinely gave me chills at times. overall i really enjoyed this book; however, there was one instance that threw me off (minor spoiler ahead!): Wil and Elwood were being chased, and instead of continuing to run or figuring out a plan they kissed and any sense of urgency or danger went out the window—which just doesn't make sense to me??
i don't usually do trigger warnings but i feel this book needs them, so: physical abuse (parental), body horror, cultism, grief, mentions of death
thank you to BookishFirst and Penguin Teen for the arc!