School Library Journal Review
Gr 8 Up--Summer Cartwright's life is picture-perfect on Instagram--a closet full of designer clothes, countless followers, even a memoir on the way. She's living the ultimate influencer dream in her movie director parents' upscale LA home. But then Summer is found dead at her own Halloween bash, and the police suspect murder. Someone starts posting from Summer's account, implicating some of her closest friends and classmates from her fancy prep school. The main suspects are the four teens who found Summer's body: Adam Mahmoud, the ex-boyfriend who recently dumped her; Grace Godwin, Summer's purported best friend; Cora Pruitt, a sophomore who runs an intense Summer fan account; and Laney Miyamoto, a fellow junior who shared a room with Summer at international summer school. Each of them has secrets to hide, big ones--cheating, stalking, academic fraud, and more. The one person who knew all the secrets? Summer, of course. And they're all about to be published in her tell-all memoir. Can the four discover who the real killer is before their deepest, most dangerous secrets have been spilled? In this thoroughly gripping mystery, readers are kept on the edge of their seats by a present-tense narrative with a shifting point of view, sprinkled with social media posts, text message exchanges, flashbacks, and a diverse cast of characters and suspects. Debut author Weaver clearly knows how to dole out clues and secrets at a perfect pace to keep readers hooked. While the ending thoroughly satisfies, more is promised to come in this continuing series. VERDICT A must-read for those who love well-crafted whodunits, true crime, and juicy secrets.--Darla Salva Cruz
Publisher's Weekly Review
An L.A. Halloween murder mystery party turns into a real murder when 16-year-old social media influencer Summer Cartwright is found dead with #TOXIC written on her face. While Summer's biggest fan, Cora Pruitt; ex-boyfriend, Adam Mahmoud; former roommate, Laney Miyamoto; rival influencer, Avalon James; and best friend, Grace Godwin, are shocked by her death, they're also privately relieved, as Summer's upcoming high-profile, tell-all memoir threatened to reveal each teen's biggest secret. But when Summer's five million followers begin turning against the teens, labeling them as potential killers, the group joins forces to solve the crime and clear their names before public opinion alters the course of their lives forever. Employing an eye-opening combination of Summer's social media posts, police reports, and flashbacks, all told via alternating, realistic teen perspectives, Weaver expertly crafts a serpentine plot that moves without tarrying from one suspect to the next. Rapid-fire, wickedly biting dialogue and an almost suffocating air of uncertainty and stratagem cultivate a gossipy debut, which capitalizes on present-day social media obsession and one's ability to take control of their own narrative. Character descriptions suggest racial diversity throughout. Ages 12--up. (Jan.)
Kirkus Review
The suspects are photogenic, but don't let that fool you--some are rotten to the core. Summer is the #PerfectlyImperfect influencer; every part of the 16-year-old Angeleno's online life is cultivated and calculated. But everything goes out the window when her Halloween party takes a few unexpected turns. The make-believe of a murder-mystery party becomes all too real when Summer winds up dead. With her highly publicized tell-all book contract, there's no shortage of suspects--it seems like everyone has a motive for wanting to keep secrets from coming to light, including ex-boyfriend Adam, best friend Grace, stalker Cora, and rival influencer Avalon. Whose secret is worthy of murder? The combination of flashbacks, Instagram posts, and police transcripts woven into the third-person narrative from multiple perspectives gives the book a pleasingly varied feel. Summer's older social media posts must be reexamined in a new light whenever secrets are revealed. This passive-aggressive influencer wants to watch the world burn, and she drops hints about her revealing memoir in posts scheduled in advance of her death. The racially diverse cast members act like true teenagers, making mistakes like withholding information and playing detective. In the end, public perception is what matters most, and they will need to play their cards right to come out looking innocent despite suspicion thrown on them by entries from Summer's account. Fans of Pretty Little Liars will devour this series opener. A debut that keeps throwing curveballs with lies to piece together and mysteries to unravel. (Thriller. 12-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
