Ever since Karen M. McManus released her YA thriller, One of Us is Lying, a number of other authors have written and released similar books. In fact, it’s become a noticeable trend, or fad, within the industry. Others want to cash in on the market, and the popularity of such books.
I was recently offered the chance to review one of several different upcoming books, and decided to go with Bad Like Us by Gabriella Lepore, which seemed reminiscent of the popular thriller series. I purposefully chose this, a young adult book, despite being a full grown adult, because I was in the mood for something like it. I won’t lie and say that I haven’t enjoyed all of Karen M. McManus’ books, or some like them. Call it a guilty pleasure if you will, but I’m not guilty about it, nor am I going to hide it.
In the end, I’m glad that I did, because I enjoyed this book. Not as much as the others I mentioned, but it’s a pretty good read.
In Bad Like Us, two friend groups come together to celebrate spring break at an isolated cabin in rustic Oregon. One of the teens’ uncles owns a place right by the lake, where it’s possible to surf and swim, and all he asks in return is that the kids do a bit of work to clean the place up while they’re there. In return, they get full use of the cabin and its number of rooms. This all obviously sounds great to the large group, who cannot wait to get away and enjoy some freedom.
Everything goes smoothly, until our main characters, Eva and Colton — whose viewpoints this story is told from — wake up to discover that police have arrived. They quickly discover that, sometime during the night before, one of their friends went missing and was later found dead inside a small cavern. It’s not known what happened, or exactly how she died, but it’s being ruled as suspicious and everyone must remain where they are. Interviews have to be conducted, as does a full investigation, to find out who may have killed the young woman and why.
Of course, some of the characters have back stories that make them suspects, including the ex-boyfriend whose name was run through the mud before and during the break-up. Then, there’s another scandal which caused a well respected student to end up being expelled from school. Then, there are those who the main characters don’t know as well. Thus creates an interesting mystery, during which the reader continues on in anticipation of finding out what happened. Thankfully, the result is decently interesting and realistic, but that’s all I’ll say.
For the most part, Bad Like Us by Gabriella Lepore is a decently well-written YA whodunit. It doesn’t stand out, or excel, for any specific reason, but it’s a solid read and something I enjoyed. If you’re looking for this type of book, it’s definitely worth checking out.
This review is based on a copy of the book we were provided with.