REVIEW: Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas

Paradise in Aruba quickly gets gruesome in this ripped-from-the-headlines thriller (Kirkus Reviews); with a twist that defies the imagination.

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 harsh revelations about her friendships, the slippery nature of truth, and the ache of young love.

Awaiting the judge's decree, it becomes clear to Anna that everyone around her thinks she is not only guilty, but also dangerous. And when the whole story comes out, reality is more shocking than anyone could ever imagine... 

Two of my absolute favorite people on twitter (and off), Elliot Wake and Dahlia Adler , loved Dangerous Girls and I've learned that when these two love a book resistance is futile. So with a teeny tiny opening in my reading schedule, I buddied up with two of my friends (Hi Jennifer and Allen) to read it. The original plan was to read a few chapters at a time and share our thoughts...this plan worked for the first 5 chapters. I tried, I swear I really did TRY, to stop reading at the designated spot but I could NOT help but read 'just one more chapter' (which turned into all of the chapters). 

Honestly, I wasn't expecting to like this novel as much as I did. As a high school teacher, I don't read many YA books for pleasure because I basically live in a YA novel daily and it's nice to escape into the adult world when I read. This book (as well as Unteachable) showed me once again why this is a dumb rule on my part. Seriously. I need to get over my resistance to YA novels. Maybe it's because this was what I think they call "mature" YA, or more likely, because the writing was the perfect combination of intrigue and characterization and the pacing of the plot and dialogue were exactly right, I found myself completely unable to put this novel down. 

Another surprise was the "ripped from the headlines" plot; I don't often like these types of novels because they rarely live up to the hype. This one did. I felt like I was inside of the story at all times--the confusion, horror, sadness, anger and hopelessness that Anna feels are what I felt. As she was trying to figure out what could possible happen next, I was too. 

The way the story was structured--flashbacks mixed intermixed with the trial, transcripts of television shows and text messages, and the mind numbing walls of the cell forcing memories and reflection to float up like dead fish in a stagnant pond--all worked to keep me submerged in this story. At various points I felt heartbroken, outraged, and violent...and then stunned. Mouth open, heart racing, eye brows raised to the ceiling, incredulously laughing stunned. I sat in my bed at 3 AM with the glow of my Kindle and no one to talk to...thank god Dahlia and Leah were awake to talk me down; there was no way I was sleeping until I could commiserate with someone about the state of my brain. 

In case it's not evident, I loved this book. Anna and Elise's relationship was ridiculously spot on--their intimacy, their jealously, their love and support of each other was a lyrical poem to girlfriends everywhere. The way that Anna and Tate came together and Anna + Tate + Elise created their own little world and all of the things that happened because of that seemed so realistically captured, in many ways. And the secondary characters?  I loved them, I hated them, and I loved to hate some of them. All of their interactions and observations were masterfully woven into the fabric of this story.  

Dangerous Girls held me in its thrall and I cannot wait to carve out time to read Dangerous Boys. 

ETA: I wrote this review FIVE! years ago and neglected to post it. Enjoy?

BUY IT: https://amzn.to/39ynaq5

SYNOPSIS:

Paradise in Aruba quickly gets gruesome in this “ripped-from-the-headlines thriller (Kirkus Reviews)” with a twist that defies the imagination.

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 harsh revelations about her friendships, the slippery nature of truth, and the ache of young love.

Awaiting the judge’s decree, it becomes clear to Anna that everyone around her thinks she is not only guilty, but also dangerous. And when the whole story comes out, reality is more shocking than anyone could ever imagine...